The Harry Potter books and films were a delight, introducing both old and new to the wizarding world. With every entry, there were new and exciting stories to uncover and puzzle about even to this day. Now a few questions can finally be remedied with the most recent gameplay trailer for Hogwarts Legacy. A more interactive, higher scope, to bring the detail and wonder of Harry Potter to a new audience.
Who makes Hogwarts Legacy?
Avalanche heads the development of this new entry into the franchise. Previously known for the Just Cause franchise, Rage 2 and the Mad Max game. It’s entirely speculative whether they can pull something magical out of the bag, but the gameplay shown so far looks like a step in the right direction. The LEGO Harry Potter Collection was the last game to be (re-) released for consoles. The 6 year gap no doubt has left many Potterheads itching for a more authentic experience.
Fantastic Beasts
The first gameplay for Hogwarts Legacy came to Playstation’s State of Play. It revealed many new and interesting ways to interact with the world. The trailer’s beginning already shows creatures such as the centaurs, trolls and dragons as well as other unidentified beasts. All of this comes before the title and we can only hope this is a small portion of the creatures that you will be able to encounter.
Create your character, choose your house and make friends
You start out the game as a new, fully customisable student with the ability to be the chosen one of your own game. Once the game begins you are sorted into the house of your choosing and initially left free to explore your surroundings and make friends with classmates. Having classmates will allow you to learn new spells and they can accompany you on your journey. There are also a plethora of classes to choose from, with Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology and Potions being the only named so far. Through manipulating and discovering powerful magic the mystery surrounding it’s return will be uncovered.
Some familiar and not-so familiar faces
The game is set in the late 1800s, due to this the building itself will be the similar to those who’ve seen the films, with some new characters to explore and interact with. Nearly Headless Nick has been already shown to be in the game and hopefully this indicates that Peeves might also be in, fingers crossed. The character is chosen by a Professor Fig to discover the plot behind a goblin rebellion and a shady organisation called ‘Ragnarok’ that may very well influence the wizarding world. You’ll meet many other students while traversing the school, in the hallways between classes and social gathering areas. So far there were 3 students introduced in the trailer. Natsai Onai, a brave Gryffindor driven to seek justice. Poppy Sweeting, a kind Hufflepuff interested in magical creatures. And Sebastian Sallow, a charismatic Slytherin with a mysterious family secret. Through interacting with characters and the world you can unlock side quests. These are to level up your character, disguised as the character ‘coming late’ into 5th year and will serve as tasks to help the player brush up on the controls.
Time to Duel!
Duelling forms the basis of combat in the game, with descendo, incendio and repairo being the spells listed so far. The player will also being given the option to pursue darker magic and possibly, the chance to alter the characters fate depending on the choices they make. Enemies within the game have unique defensive and offensive abilities which include blasting curses, stunning spells, enchanted weapons and more. Enemies interact with and help each other in how they will try to defeat you. One may attack directly while the other enchants or incapacitates you to give their ally the upper hand. In that case, there is the shield charm, designed to deflect ranged spells and direct weapon strikes. Stunning charms are effective as a counter attack with many different combinations to ensure your victory. Enemies also have specific weaknesses so paying attention to what spells you are using against what kind of enemy is crucial. Throughout your classes you will also learn to brew potions that will increase your power, grow magical plants to aide you in combat and unleash a mandrake seedling to stagger your enemies.
The Room of Requirement and more!
The room of requirement within the game has been converted into a customisable room. It’s purpose within the game is to allow you to brew potions outside of classes and upgrade the gear that you have gathered throughout your adventure. With the help of a house elf named Deek, you can discover vivariums that enable you to create a menagery of magical beasts. This space can be freely customised to reflect the players personality and magical specialties. This will no doubt create some excellent personalisations for the avid Potter fan. Injured magical beasts can also be captured in the world and can be restored to health in the room of requirement. So sort of like Cho garden or Tamagotchi.
Take to the skies on your broom to get around
Travelling by broom through the wizarding world is a key feature, serving as your main mode of transportation through the world. It remains to be seen whether Quidditch will feature in the game but it is highly likely that it will. There are other locations outside of Hogwarts that are also explorable, such as Hogsmeade, which serves as a vendor for magical recipes, plants and gear. These vendors are scattered throughout the world, all with unique items and stories to unlock new missions and lore. The forbidden forest also made an appearance so it is likely that it will appear in the game. While it hasn’t appeared in the trailer, it would also be nice to have Diagon Alley appear (even if it’s just the introduction). It was stated however that there are many activities, wonders and unusual areas to explore outside of Hogwarts. Some of these areas even allow the player to explore locations seen in the film in full. This will allow greater immersion that can be done in the films. For the mood, there is also a dynamic weather system that can cover the land with snow, rain and fog.
Hogwarts Legacy is slated for released on PS4 and PS5 Holiday 2022 .
