Hogwarts Legacy was always going to be an exciting title due to the massive scope they were trying to convey in the game. They wanted to bring Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to life like never before. Previous games in the Harry Potter genre were more focused or only told what needed to be to relay the story of the books/movies. However, with this new game, you “live the unwritten” and have your own story to tell. But, until recently, people were still determining how much freedom we would have and whether it plays like The Sims or something else. Thankfully, the recent gameplay showcase focused on those questions and answered them.
The team admitted in the showcase that they could’ve gone the “sim route” but decided against it to focus on the story and what it could be like:
“Ultimately we decide not to go the sim route… there is a day-night cycle, but everything is very narrative-based,” said game director Alan Tew. “And so, there’s a big mystery going on in the world, there’s something happening in the narrative.”
That’s important because the game will be broken down into chapters. How you progress through those chapters is up to you. In addition, you’ll have “missions” to do, and some of those missions will involve the classes you’ll take to advance your education.
Speaking of your education, there are “side classes” that you can do to learn additional spells, learn more about your professors and help you further on down the line. But, again, that emphasizes that you’ll need to explore Hogwarts from top to bottom at times to get the most out of it. But, because of the timing aspect of the game, you won’t be able to do everything in one go by design. Thus, multiple playthroughs will be encouraged.
The game looks deep in its content, and its customization is impressive, too, as you’ll be able to create the Hogwarts student you always wanted to be. Whether it looks exactly like you, or a “magical version” of you from that world, you’ll have options.
Hogwarts itself is robust, and that doesn’t even count the outer areas like the Forbidden Forest. Plus, when you consider the multiple paths you can take in terms of being a “good wizard” or going down the “dark paths” to learn the Unforgivable Curses, you have multiple ways to partake in the game.
We’ll have to wait until February 2023 for Hogwarts Legacy to come out, but it might be worth it.
Source: YouTube
