➤ Hogwarts Legacy, the review of the best Harry Potter video game of all time 🕹

The Hogwarts Legacy review talks about a video game with a dual soul: the world created by Avalanche Software is a dream, but not perfect.

Han pasado veintiséis años desde que un niño inocente sobrevivió misteriosamente al ataque del mago oscuro más poderoso de todos los tiempos. Veintiséis años desde el momento en que el pequeño Harry Potter, residente en el número cuatro de Privet Drive, recibió la inesperada carta de admisión al Colegio Hogwarts de Magia y Hechicería, abriéndole de par en par las puertas a un mundo mágico que ha capturado dentro de sus acogedores confines. millones de niños y jóvenes repartidos por los cinco continentes. Veintiséis años plagados de hechizos, historias, películas y videojuegos que han explorado cada rincón del Mundo Mágico, dando una segunda vida a las páginas de las novelas hasta el punto de grabarlas en el corazón de los fans.

If the magical universe has proven to be an irreplaceable life companion for more than a generation, if it has been transformed into a safe haven ready to lighten even the most difficult moments, never before has it happened that one could cross the doors of the great hall of Hogwarts, to follow the lessons, to spend the night in the castle dormitories, in short, to enjoy life beyond the ink that Hogwarts Legacy promises. The title of Avalanche software It is a creature with a dual soul, with changing forms: for some, in fact, it is a role-playing video game like so many others, set in an open world based on a famous literary saga; For others, however, it represents the realization of an impossible dream harbored with hope for decades.

Through what lenses should we look at it? With the loving gaze of the enthusiastic first-timer, or with the critical gaze of the strict, nitpicky parent? The time has come to wake up from that lifelong dream: Hogwarts Legacy is undoubtedly the best video game dedicated to the world of Harry Potter ever created, a tribute to the magical world embroidered with great care and brimming with content. But theirs is a path made of lights and shadows, of flashes and stumbles, of great beauty and cumbersome imperfections. The more intense the love you feel for the Harry Potter universe, the more dazzling its positive aspects become, to the point of making the veil that separates the experience from the actual game almost invisible. But if the desired result was to take the fans by the hand and lead them to the settings and atmospheres of the saga, then it can be said that it has been more than achieved.

As? We tell you in ours Hogwarts Legacy Review.

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Hogwarts Legacy, the review of the best Harry Potter video game of all time — Welcome to your new home

Estamos en 1890. Albus Dumbledore es aún demasiado joven para asistir a Hogwarts, el nacimiento de Harry Potter está noventa años en el futuro, mientras que el director de la escuela es el detestado Phineas Nigellus Black, progenitor del famoso Sirius. The magical world is in crisis- Still burned by the riots of 1752, the Ministry of Magic shows concern about the revolts brewing among the Goblins, led by the revolutionary Ranrok and strangely active in the Scottish countryside. But otherwise, life in the Wizarding World goes on as if nothing had happened, with trainloads of students marching toward the highlands and crowds of wizarding families flocking to the haunted shops of Hogsmeade Town. It is in this framework that the protagonist -o el protagonista- de Hogwarts Legacy, un lienzo en blanco sobre el que dibujar con la imaginación para dar vida a tu alter ego. ¿Su peculiaridad? Por alguna extraña razón fue asumido por el mundo mágico con unos años de retraso, por lo que será admitido de forma muy excepcional al quinto año de estudios en el colegio Hogwarts. Para llenar los vacíos causados por esta condición se le une el profesor Eleazar Fig, y será durante el entrenamiento que la extraña pareja hará un descubrimiento desconcertante: el joven mago tiene una conexión misteriosa con el ancient magic, a source of power lost for centuries and once capable of erecting none other than the legendary walls of Hogwarts. An ancient force that attracts many, especially the aforementioned goblin Ranrok and the dark wizard Victor Rookwood, leader of a group of feared mercenaries sadly known by the name of Ashwinder.

Así comienza el viaje del nuevo "elegido", un largo camino de formación marcado por el paso de las estaciones. Mientras los colores del otoño se desvanecen junto con las hojas amarillentas y dan paso a las primeras nieves del invierno, la aventura avanza dividida por la mitad, abordando en paralelo fragmentos de la vida cotidiana dentro de los muros de Hogwarts y una misión secreta en la que se decidirá el futuro de El mundo depende de todo el universo mágico. Es una doble vida: por un lado asistes a clases, cultivas amistades, te pierdes por los laberínticos pasillos del colegio y te topas con todas las facetas de la educación mágica; por el otro, sin embargo, te enfrentas a peligros que van mucho más allá de la preparación de un estudiante de quinto año, explorando inmensas ruinas encantadas y escapando de las garras de los magos oscuros más temidos.

La narrative component of Hogwarts Legacy does its thing, without ever exaggerating: it feeds on this double identity to stage a light, climatic and pretentious story, taking advantage of the busy days at Hogwarts to delve into the depths of the Wizarding World. Along with the great story of ancient magic, many smaller adventures emerge that, using the secondary characters as a springboard, dive directly into the canon of the series, playing with already known locations and dynamics. And perhaps this is precisely the greatest defect of the plot: not the lightness that has always characterized the magical world, but the fact that too often we find ourselves faced with situaciones ya leídas en novelas o vistas en la pantalla grande, here proposed again in a way that, if not the same, is excessively similar, in a strange amalgam that is a triumph of fanservice.

The structure of the magical world.

In the middle of the Scottish highlands rise the towers of Hogwarts Castle, the former School of Magic that dominates a carpet of dense forests reflected by the calm waters of the lakes; Surrounded by the embrace of the mountains, the sloping roofs of many small settlements radiate, among which the town of Hogsmeade stands out. The valleys are traversed by the express train tracks to London, while, beyond the last ruins on the horizon, you reach the coasts, where rock walls plunge straight into the sea. Hogwarts Legacy adopts a estructura de mundo completamente abierta, raising the curtain on a vast open world that allows you to wake up in the morning, leave the bedroom, wander through the courtyards and walk to the town of Hogsmeade, perhaps to buy a new flying broom or a couple of potion ingredients.

And it is an open world that is not empty at all, in fact, in some aspects it ends up revealing itself. too full of content. In fact, the architecture is that of the classic large region dotted with small points of interest, from the Trials of Merlin (environmental puzzles that expand the inventory once completed) to the camps full of dark wizards that must be destroyed, from the tiny caves from where to recover some equipment to the numerous lairs of fantastic animals. Every hundred steps you encounter a ruin touched by ancient magic, a place dedicated to stargazing, a small interaction that houses a treasure room, to the point that it is extremely difficult to understand whether this density is an advantage or a defect. If recently the works that have chosen this type of structure have been strongly criticized, the big difference is that here we are in the world of harry potter. En lugar de disparar una flecha o cortar con una espada, aquí debes usar el hechizo más adecuado al contexto; en lugar de encontrarte con cocodrilos y familias de ciervos, te cruzarás con grupos de hipogrifos y thestrals. Esta dinámica es una metáfora perfecta de toda la experiencia que ofrece Hogwarts Legacy, que cambia completamente de forma y color según quién lo observe: está hecho de simple interactions, already seen, sometimes even banal, which nevertheless acquire immense added value when they feed the eyes of first-time fans.

The story changes when you cross the doors of Hogwarts, an area so vertical and intricate that it may have a dedicated world map, a labyrinth of shortcuts and stairs so extensive that we are sure we have not yet explored every corner. It is in the castle where the artistic direction shines, capable of extracting all the best from the original saga to translate it into a three-dimensional construction. coherente e interconectado. There is the statue of the one-eyed witch that hides the secret passage to get to Hogsmeade, there is the Prefects' bathroom on the fifth floor, there are all - absolutely all - the elements and views that one would expect to find in the school. , replicated with a level of detail and craftsmanship that is simply not found anywhere else outside of walls. Walking through the corridors one is surrounded by the magic of the series, which arises both from the chance encounters with the poltergeist Pix and the famous ghosts, and from the scenery itself, colored by moving paintings, coughing suits of armor and musical instruments that they sing symphonies independently. . Obviously, the school is also full of small puzzles and environmental interactions, most of them superficial and dry, from paintings that open to hidden rooms to ancient locks that are impossible to break with a simple Alohomora.

It is therefore theatmosphere to take center stage in Hogwarts Legacy: Avalanche Software has managed to perfectly capture the soul of the saga and then return it in a feast of settings and details that - until today - lived exclusively in the imagination of the most avid "potterheads". The architecture erected by the developers is decidedly more visually suggestive than its depth in mechanics, it is clear that they have not invented anything new, it certainly should not be understood as a magical Grand Theft Auto in which you shoot spells at your companions and observe their reactions. On the other hand, it manages to carry out in an excellent manner the arduous task entrusted to it: that of dragging enthusiasts beyond the mirror like Lewis Carroll's Alice, with the big difference that instead of Wonderland one he finds himself catapulted into the Wizarding World. Harry Potter World.

The typical day at Hogwarts

Life at Hogwarts is marked by the passing of the seasons, which travel parallel to the progress of the main narrative thread. Four seasons, four acts, four game sections each characterized by a larga serie de actividades: en el contexto de la trama horizontal hay una extraordinaria cantidad de contenido, a veces completamente opcional y en otros casos indispensable para continuar con la aventura. El tiempo no avanza hasta que se agota la lista de tareas más importantes y, al mismo tiempo, puede suceder que te quedes sin objetivo si descuidas demasiado la oferta de garantía. De hecho, es esencial participar en lessons learn spells, the fundamentals of herbology, the noble art of potions, and it may happen that access to certain missions is impossible precisely because a certain magic has not yet been mastered. In essence, the many windows of life that open onto everyday life at Hogwarts are woven into the fabric of history, staging what is the most classic day at the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Waking up in the bedroom of your own house, you have to rush to sit at the desks to study Professor Sharp's recipes or Hecat's saved curses, not to mention that there is no shortage of homework, or rather special ones, either. assignments que completar para tener en tus manos fórmulas mágicas aún más avanzadas. Por ejemplo, puede suceder que Howin, un profesor de Criaturas Mágicas, pida capturar un par de especies particularmente raras después de las lecciones, ofreciendo un determinado hechizo como recompensa. Ya sea que elijas perderte en la exploración del mundo abierto o permanecer anclado en tus estudios, obviamente no debes olvidarte de socializar con otros estudiantes. Hay muchos estudiantes de Hogwarts que tienen algo que contar, y si en la mayoría de los casos lo hacen a través de insignificantes misiones folklóricas, en medio de los claustros también hay espacio para construir relaciones más profundas.

In fact, the protagonist can make real friends con ciertos compañeros de clase, por ejemplo Slytherin Sebastian, Gryffindor Natty y Hufflepuff Poppy; Sabemos que elegimos Ravenclaw, y nuestra pertenencia a esa casa no influyó de ninguna manera en la maduración de las relaciones, salvo algunas líneas de diálogo específicas dedicadas al tema. Además de acompañarnos durante algunos puntos esenciales de la aventura, los personajes secundarios se caracterizan aún más a través de la misiones de bonos, long narrative chains aimed at cultivating the relationship, enriched by the presence of special rewards and filled with all the depth, both in terms of writing and gameplay, that is missing in open world activities and favors.

Hogwarts Legacy is, in fact, at its best in the context of linear missions, adventures that drag the player to the four corners of the magical world and also go beyond those borders, raising the curtain on historical settings, immense lost ruins and dungeons much more complex than we could have imagined. These are the rare parentheses willing to open up about the darkest mysteries of Hogwarts and its surroundings, and only on those occasions does the work take some risks in terms of complexity, both on a narrative and mechanical level.

Chopsticks Out: Gameplay

If at first glance the game de Hogwarts Legacy puede parecer una criatura particular, pero al profundizar te das cuenta de que simplemente toma todas las reglas del género al que pertenece y las une a la fantasía del mundo mágico. El elemento central reside en los treinta años enchantments that the protagonist can dominate, almost all of them with a double identity: in addition to silencing dark wizards and erratic magical creatures, they constitute the main tool for interaction with the setting; Therefore, the fabric of the game also reflects the same dichotomy, presenting more reflective phases and segments oriented towards pure and simple combat. There are different categories of spells, from essential ones - that is, always present in the arsenal in a similar way to Metroidvania upgrades - such as Revelio and Alohomora, to war variants designed to control, inhibit or explode the hordes of enemies.

More environmental interactions They are quite essential, not to say excessively immediate: an unlit fireplace can be lit with Incendio, a handle can be pulled with an Accio, Repulse is used to push heavy objects, while a simple Lumos will convince a moth to follow us. wherever we go. go. This simplicity is found throughout the open world and explodes within the confines of Merlin's Trials, a hundred small challenges that require sharpening your eyes more than using your wits. As if that weren't enough, the protagonist is worse than Atreus in God of War: you don't have time to get to a puzzle that's already muttering the solution to itself, sometimes before you even realize the puzzle exists. in question. To get the fabric of interactions back on track, the following intervenes dungeon quest-related, the only situations where we scratch our heads for a few minutes before coming up with an answer. In any case, it is a fluid, fast and entertaining system, which allows you to change spells on the fly and cast several in sequence, providing good feedback especially towards the end of the adventure, when the arsenal is already complete and you move at full speed. at full speed alternating between a Bombarda cast and a Wingardium Leviosa.

Il combat system, however, was defined by the developers as a kind of "ranged duel" and this description turned out to be accurate: there are all the classic mechanics of the action genre, from dodging somersaults to avoid the most powerful attacks, to the solid defense erected. through the Protego bubble, to finally reach the inevitable"stall", un Protego con sincronización perfecta que abre el devastador contraataque con Stupeficium. Es posible tejer combos largos mezclando el hechizo básico con los dieciséis hechizos que eliges asignar a los botones frontales, atrayendo al enemigo hacia ti con Accio y usando la proximidad para entregárselo a las llamas con Incendio, golpeándolo contra el suelo con Descendo y haciéndolo explotar con un Confringo tras el rebote. Es un sistema muy inmediato, claramente diseñado para uno contra muchos y adornado con magia antigua, que te permite controlar ciertos objetos del escenario así como lanzar devastadores ataques finales. El mayor defecto sin duda radica en el muy poca variedad de enemigos y sobre todo de los jefes, lo que corre el riesgo de hacer que las batallas sean rápidamente repetitivas y redundantes. Si desatar un torbellino de fuego y explosiones en medio de una horda de magos oscuros es una experiencia gratificante, cuando te encuentras con el vigésimo Troll - también equipado con una barra de salud infinita - o el milésimo batallón de Goblins, el hechizo corre el riesgo de romper el en un abrir y cerrar de ojos.

In addition to magic, it is possible to trust potions - better if they are distilled by hand, since they cost a fortune - and three magical plants particularmente agresivo. Las decocciones impartidas por el profesor Sharp no se limitan a recargar la salud de nuestro héroe, sino que desatan efectos devastadores en el campo de batalla, como auténticas tormentas eléctricas; de manera similar, al extraer una Mandrágora en el momento adecuado es posible aturdir una arena entera llena de fuerzas oscuras, y solo dependerá de ti elegir qué armas usar para presentarte en las puertas de Ashwinder. Ciertamente no falta variedad: el hechizo Desilusión te permite, por ejemplo, become invisible and acts silently, grabbing opponents from behind to instantly knock them down with a Petrificus Totalus. In short, there are all the elements - including strengths and weaknesses - that one would expect to find in the confines of an action formula inserted in an open world, with the difference that each of them has been sewn around the fantasy of Harry Potter.

Open Kedavra: the sfumature role-playing game

The Hogwarts adventure begins with a series of strategic, desde los macroscópicos que delinean la apariencia y la identidad del protagonista, hasta la elección del hogar y la varita que resonará con el alma del mago. Hogwarts Legacy prometió varios matices de los juegos de rol, pero en general estos a menudo se resuelven en pequeñas notas de personajes con un impacto relativo en la experiencia real. Allá eligiendo una casa, for example, allows you to exchange some additional chat with your dormmates, modifies the rewards of some side quests, is imprinted on the aesthetics of clothing, and permanently prevents access to other common rooms unless you find a secret passage to sneak inside without being seen. Of course, the other students will know that we are - for example - from Ravenclaw, and the protagonist himself will utter some exclamation like: "Not bad for a Slytherin!", when he is in the company of a friend like Sebastian. But generally, in the context of dialogues, the only real decision that can be made is between kindness and cruelty, despite the absence of an explicit karma system. Will you choose to return the recovered Gobstones to a timid first-year student or will you keep them with a smirk?

However, there is a case in which the moral dilemma seems to have great consequences for us and for those around us: obviously we are talking about the path linked to dark arts. If in the original saga it is said that to use the Unforgivable Curses you have to desire them intensely, in Hogwarts Legacy it is not enough to simply desire them: you really have to go looking for them. The mission that opens to the Dark Arts - which lasts the entire adventure - is without a doubt the best of the entire experience, a story that slowly drags the player towards the abyss, first making him test the waters of temptation and then pushing him to commit. deplorable gestures in the search for the depths, transforming him into a sadistic manipulator worthy of the best Tom Riddle. Of course, there is the possibility of staying away from curses, you can even actively decide not to learn them, but to be honest, we don't know how deep the consequences are in the narrative; The fact is that this is the only segment in which there is a true system of decisive elections.

Por lo demás, de hecho, Hogwarts Legacy se limita a asociar algunas tímidas mecánicas de juego de rol al aparato. progression, y no siempre con los resultados deseados. En primer lugar están los talents, which allow you to specialize the character in five different branches ranging from spells to the aforementioned dark arts, bringing decidedly impactful upgrades to the table. The heart of the growth system, however, lies in thelevel advancement, underlying the obtaining of experience points and linked to the pure and simple increase of statistics. Every activity, from collecting pages of the Hogwarts Guide to every enemy defeated, awards these points, and appearing on the doorstep of a battle against higher-level opponents means facing almost certain defeat. Unfortunately, both the level system - which makes certain enemies conjure sponges - and, above all, the equipment, they add little or nothing to the experience. Being constantly inundated with loot, whether rare or legendary, the tendency is to always use the item with the highest number. This, which might seem like a small inconvenience, has very serious consequences for the entire game economy: firstly, the hundreds of rewards scattered throughout the open world lose their value and, consequently, detract from the secondary activities themselves; , you realize that the inventory is full of useful items only to make money, and it is probably for this reason that the merchants' prices reach crazy figures.

Not to mention that most of the remaining rewards that work offers, for example those resulting from the very rich challenge system, orbits around the aesthetic customization, allowing the player to enjoy dozens of suits, coats and scarves of all kinds, without having to depend on equipment. In this sense, we cannot fail to mention the historical Room of Requirements, a place where it is possible to exploit all the Magiformulas spread throughout the magical world to furnish and transform the operational base within the castle walls with complete freedom. Here Hogwarts Legacy wants to give a nod to Animal Crossing, offering the possibility of building a home within the confines of the Wizarding World, raising herds of fantastic animals captured in the highlands and even having them reproduce to lovingly raise their cubs. If, once the final curtain falls, some timid additional activity seems to enliven the rest of the stay at Hogwarts, the Room of Requirement represents a fundamental element to fuel the longevity of the work, if only through the search for Magic items. creatures.

Luces y sombras

The adventure in the Wizarding World lasts approximately veinte horas en lo que respecta únicamente a la trama principal y las desviaciones más importantes, pero éstas pueden alcanzar cifras astronómicas para quienes deciden revelar todos los secretos del castillo. Y son horas hechas de luces y sombras, de méritos evidentes y de los múltiples defectos heredados del género al que pertenecen, suavizados aquí gracias al cuidado puesto en la imaginería de Harry Potter. Allá art direction ha marcado un centro perfecto, creando un universo virtual capaz de recibir con los brazos abiertos incluso a los fanáticos más exigentes de la saga, y ciertamente no serán algunas mecánicas cuestionables las que socavarán la gran promesa de Avalanche Software. Pero a la sombra del castillo también hay algunos tropiezos, y como era de esperar la mayoría de ellos están ocultos en el technical sector.

Si los interiores de Hogwarts hacen gala de un extraordinario nivel de detalle y una calidad de los shaders ajena al resto de la oferta, traspasando los confines de las paredes te topas con una open world que muchas veces parece sacado de la última generación de consolas. La distancia de renderizado es realmente baja, la calidad de los materiales y las texturas deja mucho que desear (basta mirar las superficies acuáticas) y los fenómenos pop-in son una parte integral de la oferta. El sistema de iluminación es el elemento menos refinado, tanto en los pasillos como en las zonas altas, hasta el punto de que muy a menudo da lugar a molestos fallos gráficos. Además, la pesadez de la producción también surge de la exploración de Hogwarts, ya que al navegar rápidamente por las alas del castillo te quedas atascado frente a las puertas porque la siguiente área aún no se ha cargado. Para aligerar la mezcla, todas las mazmorras más grandes se han colocado en instancias dedicadas, pero esta decisión ha aumentado el número de transiciones al negro y pequeñas secuencias diseñadas para enmascarar la carga. Seamos claros, ninguno de los elementos antes mencionados es capaz de invalidar la experiencia de juego, y al margen hay que tener en cuenta que Hogwarts Legacy se prepara para debutar dentro de unos meses en Xbox One y PlayStation 4, antes de llegar a Nintendo Switch durante el el próximo verano.

For our part, on PlayStation 5 we opted for the Performance graphic mode and, except for some framerate drops in some invasive sequences on the particle front, the experience was pleasant, also and above all because of the magic of Harry's world. Potter almost always manages to repair technical imperfections. But be careful with bugs, because the engine gives a lot of freedom and seems quite prone to giving rise to unexpected situations: for example, we had to reload a couple of missions because we were locked in a room with no exit, while on another occasion we penetrated some solid objects with quite unpleasant consequences. The general cleanliness situation has improved considerably following the launch update, especially in the confines of the Fidelity graphics mode, now intriguing for those with suitable screens, but still far from the level of care that such a long-awaited production deserves. capable of showing off.

We could focus on some elements of a more philosophical nature, such as the "Starkiller effect" that accompanies the introduction of magic disproportionately compared to the power levels of the original series, or even the excessive indifference of the magical universe. in the face of our actions, but finally Avalanche Software has managed to fulfill its greatest promise: it has created a parallel world that cannot wait to open its doors to millions of new students, giving them life among the halls of Hogwarts. who have never stopped dreaming. Is it possible that they are still dreaming about it, twenty-six years later? "Always," one might answer.

Conclusions

Tested version PlayStation 5 digital delivery Steam, epic games store, playstation store, Xbox Store Price 74,99 € Holygamerz.com 8.5 Readers (183) 7.7 your vote

Hogwarts Legacy is the best Harry Potter themed video game ever created. The artistic direction has made fans' recurring dreams come true by sending them a golden letter of admission to Hogwarts School, opening a window to a magical world full of activities and content. When you try to do so much, it is physiological that deficiencies also arise, and in this case they end up dirtying mainly the technical sector, too often close to the past generation. The experience packaged by Avalanche Software lives anchored in mechanics already seen, it does not invent anything new, but it manages to paint a great fresco that sets the Magic World in motion. Yes, it will not be the perfect video game, but it keeps its promises by betting heavily on the emotional charge: when the time comes to leave school, believe me, a tear will be inevitable. Luckily in video games a moment can also last forever, and Hogwarts Legacy is a work that lives on snapshots: the castle is embraced by the sunset, the great hall lights up, a hippogriff flutters around the tallest tower. Need anything else?