@@fourohsevenfishing Facts. At the start I was going to every thing, doing every quest available. By the end, I just rushed the story quest. Beating Ranrok wasn't even all that satisfying, considering the cutscene afterwards.
I HATED the first 5-10 hours. I just hate when open world games railroad you (linear, walking slow with the npc, etc.) Once you get to Hogsmeade and get your broom, that's when the game actually gets good.
any sort of morality system would have been nice. especially since one of the adds states that theres a price to pay for using dark arts or something like that.
Y'all crazy if you think he actually 100% the game. He no doubt beat the main story and dabbled in all the side stuff. Its not like he finished every challenge, got every field page and claimed the platinum trophy. Its just clickbait
@@mister-hajime they means mort can play more than most people and 100% doesn't always mean good at playing the game because at this case there are no "Finish the game at highest difficulty, with no death, etc"
Would’ve liked to see more relationship building between classmates and professors similar to a school simulator, as well as a better looting/rewarding system, since almost everything is pretty much sold right away. Besides that one of my personal favorite open world games, pure nostalgia.
The Harry Potter world would be literally perfect for a game with Persona elements. I don’t understand why developers and publishers haven’t thought of this before
@@Erick-tv8oq Couldn't agree more bro! Persona killed it when it came to relationship/confidant building and school life, hopefully they implement something like that in the next hogwarts game.
@@esahoosa That would be awesome. The thing I think AAA publishers/devs/producers don’t understand about Harry Potter is that the appeal to the series was never shooting things with a wand. Of course, that was part of it, and the magic system is really intriguing and all, but every single person I’ve ever heard talk about Harry Potter speak of how they would imagine themselves being spirited away to the world, not battling other mages in deadly duels. Happy Potter is much more about mystery solving, colorful characters and intriguing worldbuilding, which is why I am so eager to one day play a Harry Potter game that is more a choose your own adventure book than a FPS. Of course, wand combat should still be part of it, but so should potion making classes. That aside, Hogwarts Legacy has its own merits
Agree. One example, they could have had the dining hall, where you choose who to sit with and eventually pick a best friend and/or gf/bf. You could also ask them to accompany you, even if it was just for exploration. We can see with all the dialog and characters they have the ability. Mass Effect showed how to make a good game exceptional.
A sequel revolving around a Triwizard tournament being held in your year 6, where you could transfer over your witch/wizard SHOULD be the next step. w/ quiditch
Can't. It would contradict the known in-universe history of the tournament mentioned in the books. The last tournament before the one in the fourth book was stated to have been in 1792.
@Uldihaa Man they made McGonagall appear in Fantastic Beasts before she was canonically born. I dont think it'd be a big deal if they brought back the triwizard tournament for a fun game.
@@TheAmishTechSupportyeh it’s always baffled me with this. Whatever you wanna say about JK, she always used to be good at being consistent with characters and certain lore of the story. But after the 7 books it’s like she kept needing to change things or bend the rules for no real reason. Like when she came out and said she wished Harry ended up with Hermione - JK you wrote the damn story and made it clear in the books that Harry and Hermione had no romantic inclinations for each other. Like when she spoke about how much she liked deathly hallows part 1 including that dance scene with Harry and Hermione. Some way say it’s just a cute moment between two friends but no…that scene was intentionally made to show a likelihood in which Hermione and Harry possibly could have kissed in that moment. The argument is they’re depressed, sad and in a state of despair and may look to each other to fill some kind of satisfaction. Book Harry and Hermione would never get close to kissing. They didn’t see each other like that. In the book Hermione and Harry rarely spoke after Ron left. They would be alone a lot, Hermione would be crying, and Harry would often watch Ginny on the marauders map. This stuff was all removed to fuel a possible romance that does not exist in the book. I feel this is where JK started being influenced by the movies and sometimes doubting certain decisions she made and saying stuff just trying to please people.
In My Opinion there are a few things i really missed: 1.) A morale system that you can't break into everywhere and steal without being detected. 2.) It would be better if you learned more in class and also learned how to brew a certain potion within a class. For example, that you first have to find the ingredients for the lesson and then actively brew the potion in the lesson (possibly with a minigame) 3.) That there are no randomly generated items in chests you can find. Especially with more special caves, it would be cooler if there were clothes that can really only be found there. 4.) Some minigames only make sense so that you don't get in all over the place. For example, why do I need a minigame for Aloha Mora? 5.) That it matters more which house you're in, and that there's actual competition to win the house cup at the end. E.g. questions at the end of the lesson which, if answered correctly, give you points for your house
I have the feeling that some of your points will be developed in the second game (if they make one). This game reminds me of Breath of the wild, where they really developed a good base and the next games will expand on that first pilot, in context of Zelda which will be Tears of the kingdom.
“(They) let you kill people all over the countryside… they could have at least implemented something like detention” That’s a sentence I never thought I’d hear.
Nah, I think it's part of the lore Even if the MC is relatively young, how the hell are they supposed to stop a mf who uses an ancient form of magic noone knows anything about, while also knowing many curses including AVADA KEDAVRA. I think they just went "yeah, let em do whatever as long as they're not messing directly with the school"
@@whenallelsfails21 yeah but bro, the murderer in question is known to be able to casually pop avada kedavra on anything that is even remotely aggressive towards them
The one thing that completely baffles me about the game is how badass you feel in a fight when you play things right. I would never have guessed that a teenager with a feeble wooden stick could feel just as cool to play as Kratos or Dante. The combat animations for the player character are impeccable, as well as the accompanying visual and sound effects.
@Christian Jackson when I was playing yesterday, I thought "damn did that dude just die?" And then the thestrals appeared and answered my question lmao
Yeah you just feel like a god later on. I do wish they just threw hordes more often at you outside main story missions/fights because it's the most exciting.
This game was a real surprise to me. I am not a huge Harry Potter fan, but did enjoy the movies, but this game has blown me away. The magical world they created and attention to detail is amazing. I can’t stop playing it.
would be cool that if you used a lot of unforgivable spells, the ministry of magic would catch you at the end and there would be a quest (maybe even dependent on some previous quests) that could end either by you "dying" by the dementor's kiss or escaping and becoming a villain
God the nostalgia is real! Playing this game made me feel 15 years younger, reading the books under the covers and daydreaming what it would be like if I were whisked away to the wizarding world.
I just finished 100%. The ending scene. Got me in the nostalgia feels. What a well done game. It’s world is so good the main complaint I hear is. We want more. Feed us!!! Give us London, give us consequences, give us diagon alley, Azkaban! FEED ME MOOOOOOORE!!! OM NOM NOM
I went to hogwarts it was aiite. You have to apply yourself to really get good at wizard stuff. I only learned like two spells. One is Lacium imedium which ties your shoes and the other is bootyus Maximente which is private.
Wow, I wish I could have felt the same way. I hope their next installment is more of a student experience within Hogwarts without the empty countryside
There is a true wizarding world out there... but it is very different than what is in the books. There is just as much drama though... which is why I left my particular Mystery School and created my own curriculum and circle of friends. If you wanna know what these things are like check out the history of The Rosicrucians and how their ideas led to the creation of The Order of The Golden and Rosy Cross which created the base structure many in the future would follow. Most notably the S.R.I.A. built upon their structure and then some of their members created The Hermetic Order of The Golden Dawn which eventually broke down and led to the creation of dozens of branch offs especially after Regardie leaked the entire curriculum and all the teachings which you can now find easily in libraries or online. There are some interesting groups out there like Builders of The Adytum, Aston Argon, Society of The Inner Light, The Martinists, Elus Cohens or the more modern “Chaos“ groups like DKMU or Arcanorium College
I'm not even a HP fan and I got this game because the open world looked fascinating. I know I'm missing some references that would probably heighten the level of enjoyment, but it's still a really fun game. The world exploration is top notch. I find myself just getting lost all the time, either in the castle, or just around the world...I just keep exploring. Every once in a while I think "wait, I have to do quests". Likewise I unlocked some stuff later than normal because I was just caught up in roaming around.
On my first playthrough I didn't even get to my spell upgrades (that you should get at lvl 5) until lvl 20 - as I spent so much time exploring the school and world. I'm not much of a Potter fan, either (enjoyed a couple of the movies) but this game just felt so magical. They really nailed the atmosphere and gameplay. As Mort said, the only thing I wish is that it had more roleplaying elements like going to a school dance and finding a date to take with you.
@@Maehedrose Exactly! It reminded me a bit of Fable. The soundtrack, the world design, really is immersive. Also, I appreciate that it's not any kind of movie tie-in that you need to know. When I was hours in, it just felt like any other fantasy open world RPG. Loved all the little villages around the countryside, the puzzles, it was really fun to explore.
@@drunkhusband6257 It still is hard tho. Trying to 100% before a game even comes out is insane, more so when games have so many stupid collectables nowadays
I love the difficulty level in this game. They managed to make hard mode without turning every enemy in to a sponge, and in my opinion its the best way to play this game.
Yep, I started on normal and just felt that it wasn't much of a challenge, so I bumped it up to hard. I actually feels slightly challenging at times now but without making me waste resources or continually feel like I'm bashing my head into a wall.
Yea idk it felt exactly the opposite to me. Every fight was a sponge with little real difficulty. It's like playing Batman or Spiderman, press a button when you're about to be hit and you are immortal, every combat turned into CC (levitate, paralyze), damage, rinse and repeat. Use ancient magic when it comes up to use purple avada kedavra (lol killing curse is bad but exploding people into dust with ancient magic isn't I guess), or throw pots/stones/barrels. There is 0 combat diversity. It will always be the same, every single time.
Huh... You actually do reviews only after completing not only the main questlines but have thoroughly gone through side content and played around with all game mechanics. And you do straight up thorough reviews without leaning on some kind of specific "You-Tube gimmick trope" and deliberately avoid as many spoilers as is possible to give the viewer a good idea without ruining anything overtly special. While also managing to not "fanboy bias" too much even regarding worlds that you obviously hold in high regard outside of gaming. This combination altogether is extremely refreshing regarding gaming reviews. I'll have a look at a few other of your reviews first just to make sure that this is the standard of your review style. But if that is the case, consider me a new subscriber. Seriously outstanding work.
Funny how you can roleplay a "good" wizard and not learn the forgivable curses, but you immediately follow it up by explaining how you can, as an alternative, transform an enemy into an explosive barrel and make him and any surrounding enemies explode 😄
Hogwarts Legacy really doesn't want you to roleplay. It wants you to play through a giant wonderful theme park with cast members putting together a little show for you. You get lots of toys to have fun with but there is no deeper philosophical meaning behind the dark magic skill tree being the strongest offensive one just some developers wanting you to go wild with it. It's great but it could really serve as the basis for a discussion about the difference between an action adventure with rpg features and an actual rpg.
I am absolutely loving the game. I'm playing my first playthrough as my normal goodie two shoes hufflepuff self and not learning anything to do with the dark arts and being nice to everyone, but im so excited to do another playthrough on hard mode doing dark arts and learning the unforgivable curses
I finished it. It was fun. I got my money's worth. It didn't blow me away (no video game has since KCD in 2018) but I thought it was genuinely enjoyable. This is definitely a game where you don't want to overthink it. Day night transitions, everything is open all the time, NPCs standing in the same spot, there's plenty to be critical about if you want to be ... but it was still fun.
Kingdom come, RDR2 and Wittcher 3 were the last games to blow me away. Hogwarts could really,take things from games like Bully, Skyrim, RDR2, Kingdom and Witcher 3.
Don't use this spell that kills them outright. That would be evil. Turn them into a bomb and kill them like that. This is one of the things I love about video games. Sometimes, morality is as simple as which weapon you kill your enemy with.
Yeah wizard morality is weird. Avada Kadavra=A quick kill that doesn't damage the surrounding area. Incendio=Wizard firebomb, then slam them into the ground or other enemies. And it's not like Batman's magic non-lethal car or Spiderman's "oh the enemy gets automatically stuck to a wall, they survived" your character regularly says things after battle that implies the enemies are dead. But then again in the wizarding world being proactive against threats is a great sin. They punish the students for saving people instead of dealing with threats themselves so students wouldn't even have to be junior Aurors. You can even say it to the cops face and she's like "Uh due process".
I just finished the main story and I really enjoy this game! I waited years for this and I’m not disappointed at all. Ofc there are a few things I wish were done different but nothing major.
I'm having loads of fun, and it's mostly with exploration and finding secrets. This game basically did what ubisoft has been trying to do, having a map saturated with similar quests/collectables but actually managed to make it fun.
I love some of the random things I've found along the way during the game. For instance, I came across a random quest marker in Hogsmead during winter. It was a house elf. They gave me a quest that turned into something like a Scarecrow sequence from an Arkham game, but with actual puzzles you had to solve, and ended with a boss fight (of a monster I haven't found elsewhere in the game yet, either), part of which had me playing upside down. I thought it would be a quick, ten minute quest. Turned into an hour. It was awesome.
So impressed by you consistency! Absolutely my favourite source of reliable and truthful information on games. Keep it up! I'll be sure to follow along on the journey
This is the only review of the game Ive actually read/listened to. That is a good sign. I dont have to worry about spoilers since I know you care and also use timestamps. You have a good, and thourogh format so I know that all the key points will be covered. So. Thank you for your continous quality content!
The lack of consequences thing reminds me of the Fable series. There wasn't necessarily "punishment" for going evil I guess, but the game did change, yah know? NPCs would have new dialogue about you, both when you were just passing by or when you spoke to them directly, they'd still give you things but out of fear instead of a reward, etc. I feel like something as simple as that would have worked? They didn't need to go all out and even have the whole 6 endings thing like the Fables (considering there are SO many different stories within this game already between houses and levels and stuff). But even walking around Hogsmeade and hearing "he's/she's just as bad as Rookwood was, what's the good in that?" or people whispering insults, enemies talking about you in fear while you sneak up on them, and so on, would have been an easy and mild thing to add in that would still make you feel a little guilty about killing people, you know? 😅 Edited add on: Especially because in the game you can also demand more money, keep items for yourself, etc. it's not even just the unforgivable curses that make you "bad". So there are already mechanisms within the game that could easily make you set up to establish a "bad reputation". Which would then affect the dialogue on the following quests as you progress through the game. Usually, when you end quests and beat everyone, they're all just *gone*, so there's no "proof" you killed anyone, so it would just be rumors and that would be enough to get the villagers talking and scared of you.
Mortismal, you became my go-to game reviewer. Your reviews are pretty thorough with all the game's aspects : gameplay, look and story... You aren't overly negative, so much so that I often am surprised when you have a strong negative stance toward a game. And last, but not least, you take the time to address some aspects and problems others talk about.
Great review. What I take away from it personally is, "wait to see the volume/quality of DLC which we all know will be coming." That gives a chance for any patches to fix/break the PC side of things. I personally really dislike it when control schemes are obviously console-optimized, so hopefully, they'll add the ability to remap things on PC at some point. Also, games like this are always cheaper when you buy the bundle including the DLC later (and I haven't even finished Wrath of the Righteous yet, so it isn't like I'm lacking for other games).
The one thing i wish they focused on a bit more(SOPILERS i guess) was the night time in hogwards, there are a couple of missions where stealth is a necessity but other than that there really aren’t any consequences for night time explorations.
Reminiscent of Odyssey for its open-world aspects, how it utilizes environmental interactions as world activities like Hogwarts Legacy's use of "Revelio", which activities correlate to lore for world-building, and Kingdom of Amalur's open-world scale. Great open-world game that rewards players' curiosity for its open-world exploration, regarding the lack of dynamic writing, on how different the outcome is for each scenario/decision were given; Compare Sorting Hat to the Vigor Tester and Rorshack test by Doc Mitchell from FONV.
@@Giliver goblin, goblin with armor, goblin with crossbow. small spider that die at 1 hit, normal green spider, bigger red spider. Maybe stroger version have one additional attack but they still are the same. They could go wild with enemies variety but played safe, and that's ok but fight became boring after 15 hours of gameplay. I would love to see a fight system, when a enemy wizard cast a spell and you need to negate that with other spell, that would be great.
So, you can learn the dark arts and kill everything, or conversely be a good wizard and kill everything lol. "You're a murder hobo Harry." Harry Potter was after my time but this game looks pretty cool
@@Pat315 It's hard getting into media made for kids/teenagers whenever you're older and don't have the nostalgia factor. I like Harry Potter, but i imagine if i never saw it as a teenager, i would probably be like "get that kid shit outta here"... just like we don't like movies made for teens that are on Netflix, etc.
@@Pat315 I was in my 30s when the Harry Potter phenomenon began. So I have seen one movie with my nephew and read 0 books, because I wasn't the target audience, but this game is so well made that I don't even need to like the HP world to enjoy it. Still couldn't give 2 cents about Harry Potter movies or books.
I'm not a big fan of the movies, but I loved the books! For me this game is really showing a difference between a AAA game made just for profit and the one that's also made with heart. Little details, really good story, artstyle, fun little encounters and so on, make it a fantastic experience!
Let alone the fact that you don't have these microtransactions flying around that most games these days have. 60 bucks feels like a very fair price for the amount of fun you get out of the game too. And that's actually while the game in many ways would be perfect for microtransactions to maybe get some cool gear or certain clothing or whatever.
A good and fair review. I’ve personally spent a much longer time getting to 100% just because of spending so much time running around in the castle looking at things and really learning the layout of it. But then I don’t have a review I’m trying to get out so that would certainly make a difference. The castle itself is the real star of the game and it is absolutely beautiful. I have never seen such a tremendous structure in an open world game that is completely open and accessible without any loading screens. That plus the level of detail and everything that is moving, along with so many things to interact with make it unlike any gaming experience I’ve had to this point. The fact that it is also Hogwarts makes it that much better. I have really enjoyed everything about this experience.
A big negative for me is that I went into this expecting and looking forward to the classes. But the classes are not daily, timing of everything seems like you're not even enrolled at times. It's very odd and was off-putting for me.
I love that you just skipped the entire social media nontroversy and just made a straight up review without any mentions of that. Kudos, another great review!
Still relevant to mention though. Open worlds are my favourite genre by far, and I love castles and architecture - but I won't be buying this game. It's fine if others are enjoying it though.
@@vercoda9997 only matters to those who care, I don't see you boycotting ghost of tsushima despite the associated and well recorded history of Japanese imperialism.
Agree with this review completely You get achievements to complete during some of the combat I think the story is descent helped by the detailed environments and attention to detail It’s definitely worth progressing the story to get those talents and new abilities to access areas when exploring
By far one of the best AAA launches from the last years. First day of playing I accumulated 13 hours of gameplay 😅. There's just something about the game. Awesome value for the money
I love this game, best harry potter universe game to date and still playing it to this day despite finishing the main story weeks ago.. that being said i do wish choices mattered more in the game. I suppose the developers wanted us to have free rein and use our imaginations for most of the character stuff. Still wish perhaps the character personality was a little different depending on your house, being able to chance outcomes to certain companion quest lines.. just stuff to make it feel like our actions mattered.
The biggest flaw of this game is lack of RP elements. Vendors are at your disposal in the middle of the night, no one sleeps in beds, there is no interaction in common rooms. Also, stats and gear could be more developed. But Avalanche can always upgrade these mechanisms in a sequel. And with these sales, there definitely will be a sequel :) Overall, the game is awesome, and I sincerely can recommend it to anyone that wishes to feel some magic in their sad, muggle life :)
With the amount of pre-orders and day one sales they have made with this game I do believe this game will get a sequel. This game is great and feels like an excellent foundation for something more spectacular to come in the future provided if avalanche is able to improve upon the negatives, expand and refine the combat and add more elements if the Wizarding world like quidditch.
Probably 2 more games year 6 and 7. In year 6 there will be quidditch I hope. In year 7 we can go full even. Only some thoughts. But I'm 99.99% sure it gets dlc and sequels.
I thought the first few hours were very boring and repetitive!! I was almost getting out of even wanting to play it. But once you FINALLY break out of Hogwarts and get the broom and can fly and go over the entire map, it became very fun!! There’s so much to do, it’s almost overwhelming. There’s soooo many Merlin trials, caves, and enemy camps…. The battling is so fun casting 4 spells at once, then switching to another set all very fast. It’s very good and fun. I haven’t beat it or 100% or anything, but it is a very fun game!! If you’re a Harry Potter fan you’ll be obsessed!!
Seeing the DNA of the genre, it's an amalgamation of the open-world titles and a culmination of HP franchise, seeing the DNA of its predecessors from HP titles back from PS1-2 to Deathly Hollows (2010). Oddly, offered a broom for flight open-world traversal, no quidditch.
I only found your channel a few weeks ago but I really appreciate your review style, though I came to the channel for the RPG story breakdowns. Thanks for your work.
As a reader of the books and lover of the movies, I'm enjoying this game a lot. It's a very good game even if you are not a fan of the wizarding world. Thank you so much for this amazing review and all the effort. Hugs
Looks like a very good game. I've never been interested in the franchise, but the game world looks so beautiful and charming I think I am going to give it a try.
Yeah this is my situattion as well. I know what HP lore one can pick up by being able fogging a mirror and osmosis but only saw part of 1 movie before falling asleep and never read the books. But if the game is good and the lore is pre-generated, I'm thinking of giving it a go. Did that with Marvel games in the same scenario with mixed results. The value proposition seems a bit worse than I usually shoot for though.
Just want to say thank you for including the bit about steam deck compatibility. I think the future of handheld gaming is so exciting and now that my PC is aging, I play just about everything on steam deck. It's nice to be able to watch one review that answers all my questions about the game and it's neatly wrapped up with time stamps. Great job.
One of my biggest fears was that the house choice would be merely cosmetic and would have no actual change in the game and way it plays, and that the usage of forbidden spells carried no consequences.... It seems both came to fruition
Well if nothing else I'm happy for you that you managed to finish the game. I personally preordered deluxe and started the moment it was out - put a LOT for time into it. And then yesterday (I was at 40 hours at this point) a power outage happened while i was playing. When power came back and i started the game it was as if I just installed it for the first time - therms of agreement and all that - 40 hours of progress completely gone, just...down the drain. It is actually hard to describe how that felt... I liked the game a lot but I wont be playing it any time soon. What happened hurt me in a bad way, I felt really awful, honestly still do...Some day when they hopefully fix this BS I MIGHT start it again but...not any time soon.
This game is like a return to the perfect childhood you never had. It's magical and charming - for lack of better words. It earned its place in my top 3 favorite games list. Terrific review, as always. Cheers.
Damn that was fast but good review and the game has been fun so far... planning my Dark Wizard from Hufflepuff for the final playthrough after each house but this was fun as I have been liking others opinions or experiences
This game is so fun. I'm not a huge HP fan but it's just a good fun game for anyone. They really get the little stuff right like allowiing you to easily customize the apperance of your outfit and character at any time, from anything you have previously owned, fast travel, mounts & flying, etc. The wisps that lead you to your quest destination are amazing considering what a maze Hogwarts is. If you are a HP fan the game literally has everything you could ever want... all the classes, spells, locations, herbology, mixing potions, even collecting beasts from the fantastic beasts movies. The game looks great, plays smoothly, combat is fun, even the puzzles are fun without being too easy or too frustrating.
This has gotta be a bot.... The puzzles "aren't too easy?" They literally give you the answer to every single one. "Classes?" They're short cutscenes. As for the rest, you're just greatly overexaggerating
@@JACpotatos Keep in mind it's not easy to design a game that is fun for adults and also appropriate and not too difficult for kids. This game is rated "Teen" and you need to have reasonable expectations for a family friendly game mostly targetd at teens and kids. I like that the game gives you a little time to solve the puzzles like the keeper trials and if you are not making progress the character slowly starts to give you hints so you can get past it and move on with the story. The first time you attend each class you have interactions with teachers and classmates and learn some new game system like having a duel with Sebastian in Dark Arts class or learning what each of the combat plants do in Herbology. Then subsequent classes are more cutscenes, but you are still learning a new spell typically. What more do you want from a class?
@@GamerSerg74 I mean hundreds of people are killed throughout the game. I remember beating games with puzzles as a kid. I'm sure most people do. The puzzles here are just lazy
A fun game. I don't think it's going to blow anyone away with story or characters, which seem rather bland, but if you just want to run around and cast some spells in this setting, it's a very fun way to do so.
This game is better than I expected. I am not a big Harry Potter fan (but I am a big fantasy RPG fan) and I loved it. Excellent game and review. One minor caveat is that it is definitely geared for controllers.
The beauty of PC gaming is that you can simply plug in a controller. You can use flightsticks, racing wheels, controller, or good old keyboard and mouse. PC provides ultimate flexibility.
Ancient magic is the most jarring thing to me in this game. The "finisher" you use is random so sometimes you will transform an enemy permanently into an animal, others you will summon a lightning bolt down, and others you will painfully dematerialize them. The worst thing is that they seem terrified as their bodies turn to dust. It's so brutal- you're meant to be playing as a fifteen year old. And yet you're running around the countryside painfully and brutally killing humans only to go back to school and talk to your teenage friends like nothing happened.
Welcome to RPG? I mean there are so many games out there that involves a teenager protag. Persona ring any bells? I suggest not caring about the age of the character so much and enjoy the game for what it is instead.
@@cordeliacentauri1737 Bad comparison, the point is Hogwarts legacy goes for the "immersion" experience (with all its cosmetic choices such as wand and house) where it wants you to feel like you're part of its world and yet allows you to do things that in its world would get you thrown in jail immediately. Not to say a game can't have such things but there should at least be aknowledgment or consequences.
@@astrotecn I understand that, they don't want to limit the player and fair enough. But for a game that wants so intently for the player to be submerged in its world, no consequences for the player actions (especially for such gross transgressions), takes you out of it.
Wands were actually one of my biggest let downs...surprisingly enough. I expected it to be a core component to your offensive abilities. I would imagine that wands vary in quality (The Ollivanders mention this a lot) but in the case of Harry Potter, and in the case of the game, your character are given the "perfect" wand from the start which just seems weird...especially given that a wand is supposed to attach itself to a person but people change a lot over the years, especially the teenage years.
"I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite channel on the Citadel" Honestly though, your review is the only one I've watched. Mortym always comes in fast with all the info you want and more.
I spent 15 hours with Hogwarts legacy and my biggest issue is that there is nothing kept me motivated to continue play the game. No excitement or curiosity around what will happen next or what I will discover. Everything feels "basic" the story, the combat and the open world. The story so far is fine. No events made me feel " I wanna know more". When fighting enemies, all what I have to do is mashing my buttons. The game doesn't force me to get gud or improves my skills. The missions are kinda boring due to the amount of hints my character keep saying while exploring. "Maybe I need to move this platform" or "I should look up to find the orbs" and so on. I don't have to think or challenge myself to solve the puzzles. The game does not motivate me to get deep into its mechanics and environment. Everything feels basic and normal.
I was so excited to watch this. I just beat the game myself and man, what a time to be 30 plus and grew up on the harry potter franchise haha. Great video!!! love your thoughts and opinions
Thanks for this! You confirmed what I gathered elsewhere: it's too simplistic for me on an RPG level. Stats and gear have simplistic systems and I'd have liked a bit more depth. Consequences for actions, too. Seems to be a great game if you want to play something in the world and the setting, but less so if you're looking primarily for those other things. I'll pass on it for those reasons, myself, but have to thank you again for being the channel that has the best reviews, for the games that you do cover.
These kind of games are not really RPGs, it seems. It is just the modern labeling that changes the meaning. These RPGs now mean customizable progression action games.
@@koseorhun Yeah, I'd agree with that. These are especially simple, as compared to something like Horizon and God of War though, which are similar in nature, but have so much more depth in comparison.
@@ericsaari2901 horizon and gow are simple RPGs tho, at least compared to real rpg Games like rdr2 or elden ring or Skyrim etc, the best word for these type of simple RPG games are "cinematic RPGs", hogwarts falls in the same genre as gow and horizon but they aren't quite open enough like far cry or witcher type of RPGs, more linear in progression, levels and story.
How the world doesn't interact with you is my main problem, Most of the side quest is just mind-numbing formulatic, the random chance encounter doesn't involved you too , It's like seeing play on a stage.
Like he said, the Castle and the Village are great, and there are a few really cool things to experience in the open world but that part does get a little old by the end of the game.
I got this game for PS5 the day it came out and I dove in. I liked the game overall, especially the level of detail in the world and especially at Hogwarts. I found the combat to be very easy- especially once you learn the higher level spells. I wish there were some choices that actually made a difference. While I loved the game, I have no desire to play it again. The one thing I didn't like was the amount of collectibles. I felt like I spent half the game just trying to solve Merlin puzzles and find rings to fly through. Overall- well worth a play through for a Potter fan. The only major negative for me is that it doesn't have any replay value. I can't wait for the DLC though!
1 week in and 90% on Hard Mode and I still have not explored the whole area. 😂 Your dedication is very amazing, Sir. Kudos. P.S. It legit puts you on your toes in Hard Mode. I can easily win a battle if I'm attentive enough or lose to Mongrels if I don't concentrate for even at least 40%. Game Balance is amazing!
Coolest part of the intro: when the guy gets chomped by a dragon and suddenly you and Professor Fig can all of a sudden see thestrals pulling the destroyed carriage.
You don't have to as it is set 100 years before Harry Potter attends Hogwarts. If you are familiar with the IP, you will naturally recognise Hogwarts and Hogsmead. Likewise, spells, creatures, and ghosts 👻 will be familiar. There are also characters who are obviously ancestors of HP characters. As stated, you can only see Thestrals once see see someone killed, nice touch.
I've been going back and forth between watching some of your other reviews and playing this game the past few days. Just watched your first impressions before jumping back in for a bit. Can't believe your review is up already.
That Alaloth: champions of the 4 kingdoms game on Steam is awesome. I just grabbed it as my last impulse buy😂 on the sale. It's like a dark souls But infinity engine style. It's so wild.
I would've liked a different system for potion crafting. The system with timers is just too dull. It would've been so great, if they had combined the timer system with something like the potion crafting from Kingdom come deliverance: make it yourself without timer, or do the auto crafting with a timer. Same goes for the classes (learning spells), they chose a way to let you engage more with the game systems by doing some assignments, but I yearn for more actual classes.. Last but not least: give me more dialog options. It would make role-playing so much more fun. Still like the game though
Im not super into harry potter but so far im enjoying the game alot. Would of liked to see more landmarks from the movies like that killer tree or the changing staircases. Combat is fun and you can get pretty creative with combos and builds. Id like to see more in depth stats like crit chance or burn damage from basic casts or something like that. Overall I give it 8/10 very fun
I've just 100% completed this. The biggest thing that it lacks is consequences. Consequences of anything and everything. That said, I enjoyed it for what it was.
There are consequences. Every hour I spend playing I could have been improving myself in some way or enriching my mind. Instead I’m playing this and my brain is dying.
Yeah I've noticed that too! At this point I'm just starting to demand more payment from every quest giver whenever I can because there is literally no reason NOT to mechanically. Sure, you could roleplay a bit with it if you wanted but there is literally no reason to not ask for more when you're guaranteed it. I legit stole a Dircawl from this lady In one quest cause I didn't like her and now I have the Dircawl in my Vivarium living happily :>
The only thing I really wish they had done was Unique loot. I want to go out in the world to find some sort of legendarily powerful wand that I hear about or, some wizard artifact that unlocks some power for me. Having loot that is essentially just throw away stuff that is mostly the same but progressively better, is really lame.
The first 5-10 hours is genuinely magical in the immersion.
@@fourohsevenfishing Facts. At the start I was going to every thing, doing every quest available. By the end, I just rushed the story quest. Beating Ranrok wasn't even all that satisfying, considering the cutscene afterwards.
I HATED the first 5-10 hours. I just hate when open world games railroad you (linear, walking slow with the npc, etc.)
Once you get to Hogsmeade and get your broom, that's when the game actually gets good.
The ending was great too
except for the god awful voice acting
@@Olsenator ??? The ending was a dumpster fire. Makes 0 sense and looks awful.
Implementing a law system like RDR2, with the ministry catching you and making you serve time for using unforgivable curses would have been cool
No
Next game maybe. This game you are playting as a student.
any sort of morality system would have been nice. especially since one of the adds states that theres a price to pay for using dark arts or something like that.
@@jamineamina5429 agreed! A sense of morality helps a lot with immersion. KCD gets it right.
@@Mrpokpokza wait, in the lore you can cast those curses and be fine just for being an student?
It still amazes me how fast you can 100% game
@@AntiSocialismo50 I do software engineering as my job, doesn't mean I'm good at it
It's a technique of strategically placed saves. Also the game is like 13h long so it's not that bad.
Y'all crazy if you think he actually 100% the game. He no doubt beat the main story and dabbled in all the side stuff. Its not like he finished every challenge, got every field page and claimed the platinum trophy. Its just clickbait
@@mister-hajime they means mort can play more than most people and 100% doesn't always mean good at playing the game because at this case there are no "Finish the game at highest difficulty, with no death, etc"
@@christophermccormick5505 ua-cam.com/video/bGD7dF8HCEM/v-deo.html
Would’ve liked to see more relationship building between classmates and professors similar to a school simulator, as well as a better looting/rewarding system, since almost everything is pretty much sold right away. Besides that one of my personal favorite open world games, pure nostalgia.
The Harry Potter world would be literally perfect for a game with Persona elements. I don’t understand why developers and publishers haven’t thought of this before
@@Erick-tv8oq Couldn't agree more bro! Persona killed it when it came to relationship/confidant building and school life, hopefully they implement something like that in the next hogwarts game.
@@esahoosa That would be awesome. The thing I think AAA publishers/devs/producers don’t understand about Harry Potter is that the appeal to the series was never shooting things with a wand. Of course, that was part of it, and the magic system is really intriguing and all, but every single person I’ve ever heard talk about Harry Potter speak of how they would imagine themselves being spirited away to the world, not battling other mages in deadly duels. Happy Potter is much more about mystery solving, colorful characters and intriguing worldbuilding, which is why I am so eager to one day play a Harry Potter game that is more a choose your own adventure book than a FPS. Of course, wand combat should still be part of it, but so should potion making classes.
That aside, Hogwarts Legacy has its own merits
@@Erick-tv8oq Or, for a Western example, Bully.
Agree. One example, they could have had the dining hall, where you choose who to sit with and eventually pick a best friend and/or gf/bf. You could also ask them to accompany you, even if it was just for exploration. We can see with all the dialog and characters they have the ability. Mass Effect showed how to make a good game exceptional.
A sequel revolving around a Triwizard tournament being held in your year 6, where you could transfer over your witch/wizard SHOULD be the next step. w/ quiditch
yeah it would be awesome to see something a bit more normal like that. Not every story has to be saving the world.
Can't. It would contradict the known in-universe history of the tournament mentioned in the books. The last tournament before the one in the fourth book was stated to have been in 1792.
@Uldihaa Man they made McGonagall appear in Fantastic Beasts before she was canonically born. I dont think it'd be a big deal if they brought back the triwizard tournament for a fun game.
They could definitely make something similar to the Tri-wizard cup, but name it something else. 🤷 It'd be cool, but idk as the main plot for the game.
@@TheAmishTechSupportyeh it’s always baffled me with this. Whatever you wanna say about JK, she always used to be good at being consistent with characters and certain lore of the story. But after the 7 books it’s like she kept needing to change things or bend the rules for no real reason. Like when she came out and said she wished Harry ended up with Hermione - JK you wrote the damn story and made it clear in the books that Harry and Hermione had no romantic inclinations for each other. Like when she spoke about how much she liked deathly hallows part 1 including that dance scene with Harry and Hermione. Some way say it’s just a cute moment between two friends but no…that scene was intentionally made to show a likelihood in which Hermione and Harry possibly could have kissed in that moment. The argument is they’re depressed, sad and in a state of despair and may look to each other to fill some kind of satisfaction. Book Harry and Hermione would never get close to kissing. They didn’t see each other like that. In the book Hermione and Harry rarely spoke after Ron left. They would be alone a lot, Hermione would be crying, and Harry would often watch Ginny on the marauders map. This stuff was all removed to fuel a possible romance that does not exist in the book. I feel this is where JK started being influenced by the movies and sometimes doubting certain decisions she made and saying stuff just trying to please people.
In My Opinion there are a few things i really missed:
1.) A morale system that you can't break into everywhere and steal without being detected.
2.) It would be better if you learned more in class and also learned how to brew a certain potion within a class. For example, that you first have to find the ingredients for the lesson and then actively brew the potion in the lesson (possibly with a minigame)
3.) That there are no randomly generated items in chests you can find. Especially with more special caves, it would be cooler if there were clothes that can really only be found there.
4.) Some minigames only make sense so that you don't get in all over the place. For example, why do I need a minigame for Aloha Mora?
5.) That it matters more which house you're in, and that there's actual competition to win the house cup at the end. E.g. questions at the end of the lesson which, if answered correctly, give you points for your house
I have the feeling that some of your points will be developed in the second game (if they make one). This game reminds me of Breath of the wild, where they really developed a good base and the next games will expand on that first pilot, in context of Zelda which will be Tears of the kingdom.
Some mini games only make sense so that you don't get in all over the place bro wat
“(They) let you kill people all over the countryside… they could have at least implemented something like detention” That’s a sentence I never thought I’d hear.
Makes the nitpicky nature of the criticism really petty IMO. Game isn't grand theft avada kedavra.
Nah, I think it's part of the lore
Even if the MC is relatively young, how the hell are they supposed to stop a mf who uses an ancient form of magic noone knows anything about, while also knowing many curses including AVADA KEDAVRA. I think they just went "yeah, let em do whatever as long as they're not messing directly with the school"
@@justyouraveragehumanbeing7411 nah that's messed up. You'd think some of the teachers would try and stop a murderer from attending the next class.
@@whenallelsfails21 yeah but bro, the murderer in question is known to be able to casually pop avada kedavra on anything that is even remotely aggressive towards them
What happens in the countryside stays in the countryside.
The one thing that completely baffles me about the game is how badass you feel in a fight when you play things right. I would never have guessed that a teenager with a feeble wooden stick could feel just as cool to play as Kratos or Dante. The combat animations for the player character are impeccable, as well as the accompanying visual and sound effects.
Your character is not a typical student, they have special powers and affnity with magic that explained to be unique in the story.
Did any1 notice the thestrals appearing when the dragon killed the ministry guy in front of us
@@Soapwunnn22222 Yeah, he talked about it in the review.
@Christian Jackson when I was playing yesterday, I thought "damn did that dude just die?" And then the thestrals appeared and answered my question lmao
Yeah you just feel like a god later on. I do wish they just threw hordes more often at you outside main story missions/fights because it's the most exciting.
This game was a real surprise to me. I am not a huge Harry Potter fan, but did enjoy the movies, but this game has blown me away. The magical world they created and attention to detail is amazing. I can’t stop playing it.
would be cool that if you used a lot of unforgivable spells, the ministry of magic would catch you at the end and there would be a quest (maybe even dependent on some previous quests) that could end either by you "dying" by the dementor's kiss or escaping and becoming a villain
I think they should add like a red dead bounty system, maybe when you use curses too much some ministry wizards and dementors track you down
Doing too much
Add another few months (more like years) of development just for this one thing that most wont ever see.
It's a 15 year old kid though hahaha I get what you're saying, but that is material that no publisher would ever touch.
@@unnameddelta38 15 year old kid runing around killing people :D
God the nostalgia is real! Playing this game made me feel 15 years younger, reading the books under the covers and daydreaming what it would be like if I were whisked away to the wizarding world.
I just finished 100%. The ending scene. Got me in the nostalgia feels. What a well done game. It’s world is so good the main complaint I hear is. We want more. Feed us!!! Give us London, give us consequences, give us diagon alley, Azkaban! FEED ME MOOOOOOORE!!! OM NOM NOM
The one thing I wish is that your choices had more in game consequences! Especially for those evil playthroughs 👀
I went to hogwarts it was aiite. You have to apply yourself to really get good at wizard stuff. I only learned like two spells. One is Lacium imedium which ties your shoes and the other is bootyus Maximente which is private.
Wow, I wish I could have felt the same way. I hope their next installment is more of a student experience within Hogwarts without the empty countryside
There is a true wizarding world out there... but it is very different than what is in the books. There is just as much drama though... which is why I left my particular Mystery School and created my own curriculum and circle of friends. If you wanna know what these things are like check out the history of The Rosicrucians and how their ideas led to the creation of The Order of The Golden and Rosy Cross which created the base structure many in the future would follow. Most notably the S.R.I.A. built upon their structure and then some of their members created The Hermetic Order of The Golden Dawn which eventually broke down and led to the creation of dozens of branch offs especially after Regardie leaked the entire curriculum and all the teachings which you can now find easily in libraries or online. There are some interesting groups out there like Builders of The Adytum, Aston Argon, Society of The Inner Light, The Martinists, Elus Cohens or the more modern “Chaos“ groups like DKMU or Arcanorium College
This game has the 3rd highest peak players for a single player game of all time on steam, just behind Elden Ring. It's crazy how much it blew up.
That's because the fanbase is crazy huge. Pokémon level huge. It doesn't mean that the game is good. Imo is generic and filled with monotony.
It's a Ubisoft game with fanservice. People only need some fanservice to stop hating a formula and start loving it
@@AhbibHaald Ubisoft wouldnt even be able to make a game like that thats fucking insulting lol.
@@HardStankThe2nd this is exactly what it is lmao
@@HardStankThe2nd they did like, many time in the past, like how else do you think the AC, FC series become the iconic formula?
I'm not even a HP fan and I got this game because the open world looked fascinating. I know I'm missing some references that would probably heighten the level of enjoyment, but it's still a really fun game. The world exploration is top notch. I find myself just getting lost all the time, either in the castle, or just around the world...I just keep exploring. Every once in a while I think "wait, I have to do quests".
Likewise I unlocked some stuff later than normal because I was just caught up in roaming around.
On my first playthrough I didn't even get to my spell upgrades (that you should get at lvl 5) until lvl 20 - as I spent so much time exploring the school and world. I'm not much of a Potter fan, either (enjoyed a couple of the movies) but this game just felt so magical. They really nailed the atmosphere and gameplay. As Mort said, the only thing I wish is that it had more roleplaying elements like going to a school dance and finding a date to take with you.
@@Maehedrose Exactly! It reminded me a bit of Fable. The soundtrack, the world design, really is immersive. Also, I appreciate that it's not any kind of movie tie-in that you need to know.
When I was hours in, it just felt like any other fantasy open world RPG. Loved all the little villages around the countryside, the puzzles, it was really fun to explore.
100% in less than a week?! You're a machine
@@drunkhusband6257regards tho he was reviewing other titles in his recent post.
@@drunkhusband6257 It still is hard tho. Trying to 100% before a game even comes out is insane, more so when games have so many stupid collectables nowadays
@@drunkhusband6257 I see it as a complacent journalism work.
@@drunkhusband6257 That's what she said
@@drunkhusband6257 Ayooooo, nice name btw
I love the difficulty level in this game. They managed to make hard mode without turning every enemy in to a sponge, and in my opinion its the best way to play this game.
Def gonna go back and do a hard play through after my first run through
I tried to do hard mode but for me, instead of actually making it harder, it just made it kind of annoying. To each his own though.
Yep, I started on normal and just felt that it wasn't much of a challenge, so I bumped it up to hard. I actually feels slightly challenging at times now but without making me waste resources or continually feel like I'm bashing my head into a wall.
Normal was challenging enough. I wonder how hard would be, it would definitely get me messed up for sure..
Yea idk it felt exactly the opposite to me. Every fight was a sponge with little real difficulty. It's like playing Batman or Spiderman, press a button when you're about to be hit and you are immortal, every combat turned into CC (levitate, paralyze), damage, rinse and repeat. Use ancient magic when it comes up to use purple avada kedavra (lol killing curse is bad but exploding people into dust with ancient magic isn't I guess), or throw pots/stones/barrels. There is 0 combat diversity. It will always be the same, every single time.
Great review, they really did an amazing job making the school so detailed and in depth, been loving it so far.
I hope they make a blood and wine type dlc, new area and spells and roleplaying oppurtinities while youre already an established witch
Give me them new spells
The poachers can cast reducto dangit, lemme do it too!
The sounds for wand combat are so good, the screeches and whispers of different spells during combat are both beautiful and haunting.
Huh... You actually do reviews only after completing not only the main questlines but have thoroughly gone through side content and played around with all game mechanics.
And you do straight up thorough reviews without leaning on some kind of specific "You-Tube gimmick trope" and deliberately avoid as many spoilers as is possible to give the viewer a good idea without ruining anything overtly special. While also managing to not "fanboy bias" too much even regarding worlds that you obviously hold in high regard outside of gaming.
This combination altogether is extremely refreshing regarding gaming reviews.
I'll have a look at a few other of your reviews first just to make sure that this is the standard of your review style. But if that is the case, consider me a new subscriber. Seriously outstanding work.
Funny how you can roleplay a "good" wizard and not learn the forgivable curses, but you immediately follow it up by explaining how you can, as an alternative, transform an enemy into an explosive barrel and make him and any surrounding enemies explode 😄
Hogwarts Legacy really doesn't want you to roleplay. It wants you to play through a giant wonderful theme park with cast members putting together a little show for you. You get lots of toys to have fun with but there is no deeper philosophical meaning behind the dark magic skill tree being the strongest offensive one just some developers wanting you to go wild with it.
It's great but it could really serve as the basis for a discussion about the difference between an action adventure with rpg features and an actual rpg.
I am absolutely loving the game. I'm playing my first playthrough as my normal goodie two shoes hufflepuff self and not learning anything to do with the dark arts and being nice to everyone, but im so excited to do another playthrough on hard mode doing dark arts and learning the unforgivable curses
I finished it. It was fun. I got my money's worth. It didn't blow me away (no video game has since KCD in 2018) but I thought it was genuinely enjoyable. This is definitely a game where you don't want to overthink it. Day night transitions, everything is open all the time, NPCs standing in the same spot, there's plenty to be critical about if you want to be ... but it was still fun.
Kingdom come, RDR2 and Wittcher 3 were the last games to blow me away. Hogwarts could really,take things from games like Bully, Skyrim, RDR2, Kingdom and Witcher 3.
Don't use this spell that kills them outright. That would be evil. Turn them into a bomb and kill them like that. This is one of the things I love about video games. Sometimes, morality is as simple as which weapon you kill your enemy with.
Yeah wizard morality is weird. Avada Kadavra=A quick kill that doesn't damage the surrounding area. Incendio=Wizard firebomb, then slam them into the ground or other enemies. And it's not like Batman's magic non-lethal car or Spiderman's "oh the enemy gets automatically stuck to a wall, they survived" your character regularly says things after battle that implies the enemies are dead.
But then again in the wizarding world being proactive against threats is a great sin. They punish the students for saving people instead of dealing with threats themselves so students wouldn't even have to be junior Aurors. You can even say it to the cops face and she's like "Uh due process".
Dueling challenge: torture a burning enemy.
I just finished the main story and I really enjoy this game! I waited years for this and I’m not disappointed at all. Ofc there are a few things I wish were done different but nothing major.
Great review! Fantastic work, sir. Won't be surprised when the Quidditch DLC drops!
With live stats like 2k 😂
@@jimmyohdez you say it as a joke but they should take it seriously like that.
I'm having loads of fun, and it's mostly with exploration and finding secrets. This game basically did what ubisoft has been trying to do, having a map saturated with similar quests/collectables but actually managed to make it fun.
How is it fun to go look for a thousand pages?
I love some of the random things I've found along the way during the game. For instance, I came across a random quest marker in Hogsmead during winter. It was a house elf. They gave me a quest that turned into something like a Scarecrow sequence from an Arkham game, but with actual puzzles you had to solve, and ended with a boss fight (of a monster I haven't found elsewhere in the game yet, either), part of which had me playing upside down.
I thought it would be a quick, ten minute quest. Turned into an hour. It was awesome.
That was the playstation timed exclusive quest.
So impressed by you consistency! Absolutely my favourite source of reliable and truthful information on games. Keep it up! I'll be sure to follow along on the journey
This is the only review of the game Ive actually read/listened to.
That is a good sign. I dont have to worry about spoilers since I know you care and also use timestamps.
You have a good, and thourogh format so I know that all the key points will be covered.
So. Thank you for your continous quality content!
You must be a wizard yourselves to have 100%'ted this game so fast, great review of a beautifully crafted game, kudos!! 🙂🙂🙏🙏
@Clau Almeida or...maybe just a time turner.
you can 100% this game in 70ish hours. its not that difficult even.
@@GiblixStudio more like 100 hours
Coming off Elden Ring and Shadow Man, this game is super chill. It’s not Bully with magic, but it’s more fun than I expected.
That's the word, chill! Perfect game to relax.
Ì've played Bully. You mean it's not as good as bully?
The lack of consequences thing reminds me of the Fable series. There wasn't necessarily "punishment" for going evil I guess, but the game did change, yah know? NPCs would have new dialogue about you, both when you were just passing by or when you spoke to them directly, they'd still give you things but out of fear instead of a reward, etc. I feel like something as simple as that would have worked? They didn't need to go all out and even have the whole 6 endings thing like the Fables (considering there are SO many different stories within this game already between houses and levels and stuff). But even walking around Hogsmeade and hearing "he's/she's just as bad as Rookwood was, what's the good in that?" or people whispering insults, enemies talking about you in fear while you sneak up on them, and so on, would have been an easy and mild thing to add in that would still make you feel a little guilty about killing people, you know? 😅 Edited add on: Especially because in the game you can also demand more money, keep items for yourself, etc. it's not even just the unforgivable curses that make you "bad". So there are already mechanisms within the game that could easily make you set up to establish a "bad reputation". Which would then affect the dialogue on the following quests as you progress through the game. Usually, when you end quests and beat everyone, they're all just *gone*, so there's no "proof" you killed anyone, so it would just be rumors and that would be enough to get the villagers talking and scared of you.
3:19 loved that bit when the horse thingies became visible to us after the "near-death experience" of the dragon attack.
They become visible as you just witnessed the death of someone, this being the 3rd person in the carriage being killed by the dragon
@@ryantomos548 That then. I remembered it having something to do with death.
thestrals
Hopefully a ton of people discover your channel with this one!
Mortismal, you became my go-to game reviewer.
Your reviews are pretty thorough with all the game's aspects : gameplay, look and story... You aren't overly negative, so much so that I often am surprised when you have a strong negative stance toward a game. And last, but not least, you take the time to address some aspects and problems others talk about.
Great review. What I take away from it personally is, "wait to see the volume/quality of DLC which we all know will be coming." That gives a chance for any patches to fix/break the PC side of things. I personally really dislike it when control schemes are obviously console-optimized, so hopefully, they'll add the ability to remap things on PC at some point. Also, games like this are always cheaper when you buy the bundle including the DLC later (and I haven't even finished Wrath of the Righteous yet, so it isn't like I'm lacking for other games).
The one thing i wish they focused on a bit more(SOPILERS i guess) was the night time in hogwards, there are a couple of missions where stealth is a necessity but other than that there really aren’t any consequences for night time explorations.
Sopilers
Reminiscent of Odyssey for its open-world aspects, how it utilizes environmental interactions as world activities like Hogwarts Legacy's use of "Revelio", which activities correlate to lore for world-building, and Kingdom of Amalur's open-world scale. Great open-world game that rewards players' curiosity for its open-world exploration, regarding the lack of dynamic writing, on how different the outcome is for each scenario/decision were given; Compare Sorting Hat to the Vigor Tester and Rorshack test by Doc Mitchell from FONV.
Did I just find a One Piece fan? Thought I was the only one that enjoyed that game.
@@radaro.9682 I think he is talking about Assassins Creed
@@zinamaru oh, ok
You're insane! 100% already
Great review.
For negatives, I would add a lack of enemy types, I think there is only 5 different enemies, that's how I feel.
My pet peeve is how much irrelevant characters talk....
this and lack of consequences would really help the game
There's a lot of enemy types, they're just tied into small subcategories.
@@Giliver goblin, goblin with armor, goblin with crossbow.
small spider that die at 1 hit, normal green spider, bigger red spider.
Maybe stroger version have one additional attack but they still are the same.
They could go wild with enemies variety but played safe, and that's ok but fight became boring after 15 hours of gameplay.
I would love to see a fight system, when a enemy wizard cast a spell and you need to negate that with other spell, that would be great.
lack of enemy types, lack of parallelism to the storyline, lack of npc interaction.
basically all open world elements missing from the game.
So, you can learn the dark arts and kill everything, or conversely be a good wizard and kill everything lol. "You're a murder hobo Harry." Harry Potter was after my time but this game looks pretty cool
I have always loved the term murder hobo. So many games blatantly ignore the massive body count your character racks up.
Murder hobo?😅
@@Pat315 It's hard getting into media made for kids/teenagers whenever you're older and don't have the nostalgia factor. I like Harry Potter, but i imagine if i never saw it as a teenager, i would probably be like "get that kid shit outta here"... just like we don't like movies made for teens that are on Netflix, etc.
@@Pat315 I was in my 30s when the Harry Potter phenomenon began. So I have seen one movie with my nephew and read 0 books, because I wasn't the target audience, but this game is so well made that I don't even need to like the HP world to enjoy it. Still couldn't give 2 cents about Harry Potter movies or books.
I'm not a big fan of the movies, but I loved the books!
For me this game is really showing a difference between a AAA game made just for profit and the one that's also made with heart. Little details, really good story, artstyle, fun little encounters and so on, make it a fantastic experience!
Yes u are right about that Hogwarts has more secrets than many will see
Let alone the fact that you don't have these microtransactions flying around that most games these days have. 60 bucks feels like a very fair price for the amount of fun you get out of the game too. And that's actually while the game in many ways would be perfect for microtransactions to maybe get some cool gear or certain clothing or whatever.
A good and fair review. I’ve personally spent a much longer time getting to 100% just because of spending so much time running around in the castle looking at things and really learning the layout of it. But then I don’t have a review I’m trying to get out so that would certainly make a difference. The castle itself is the real star of the game and it is absolutely beautiful. I have never seen such a tremendous structure in an open world game that is completely open and accessible without any loading screens. That plus the level of detail and everything that is moving, along with so many things to interact with make it unlike any gaming experience I’ve had to this point. The fact that it is also Hogwarts makes it that much better. I have really enjoyed everything about this experience.
A big negative for me is that I went into this expecting and looking forward to the classes. But the classes are not daily, timing of everything seems like you're not even enrolled at times. It's very odd and was off-putting for me.
I love that you just skipped the entire social media nontroversy and just made a straight up review without any mentions of that. Kudos, another great review!
Still relevant to mention though. Open worlds are my favourite genre by far, and I love castles and architecture - but I won't be buying this game. It's fine if others are enjoying it though.
@@vercoda9997 Nah, it's really not worth mentioning, that is the entire point.
If you aren't using social media for pointless things then ofc, there's no need for controversy
@@vercoda9997 only matters to those who care, I don't see you boycotting ghost of tsushima despite the associated and well recorded history of Japanese imperialism.
This sounds like just the beginning of this universe. I hope future entries can maintain the quality and perhaps be even better.
Are you really getting proper rest? Damn, respect the grind.
Agree with this review completely You get achievements to complete during some of the combat I think the story is descent helped by the detailed environments and attention to detail It’s definitely worth progressing the story to get those talents and new abilities to access areas when exploring
By far one of the best AAA launches from the last years. First day of playing I accumulated 13 hours of gameplay 😅. There's just something about the game. Awesome value for the money
Nostalgia, customizability, looks okay even on low settings.
Fantastic review as always, keep up the great work!
I love this game, best harry potter universe game to date and still playing it to this day despite finishing the main story weeks ago.. that being said i do wish choices mattered more in the game. I suppose the developers wanted us to have free rein and use our imaginations for most of the character stuff. Still wish perhaps the character personality was a little different depending on your house, being able to chance outcomes to certain companion quest lines.. just stuff to make it feel like our actions mattered.
I personally think that the LEGO Harry Potter games are better.
Wow that was quick
(In Michael Scott 's voice) " That's what she said"
yep 2-3 days? 100% edit: regards he still review other titles.
Took me 67 hours to platinum the game.
@@funnyman695 yo cool
It’s so good and so much fun, exceeded all my expectations
The biggest flaw of this game is lack of RP elements. Vendors are at your disposal in the middle of the night, no one sleeps in beds, there is no interaction in common rooms. Also, stats and gear could be more developed. But Avalanche can always upgrade these mechanisms in a sequel. And with these sales, there definitely will be a sequel :) Overall, the game is awesome, and I sincerely can recommend it to anyone that wishes to feel some magic in their sad, muggle life :)
An absolutely fantastic review. Thanks for your hardwork!
With the amount of pre-orders and day one sales they have made with this game I do believe this game will get a sequel.
This game is great and feels like an excellent foundation for something more spectacular to come in the future provided if avalanche is able to improve upon the negatives, expand and refine the combat and add more elements if the Wizarding world like quidditch.
Probably 2 more games year 6 and 7. In year 6 there will be quidditch I hope. In year 7 we can go full even. Only some thoughts. But I'm 99.99% sure it gets dlc and sequels.
I thought the first few hours were very boring and repetitive!! I was almost getting out of even wanting to play it. But once you FINALLY break out of Hogwarts and get the broom and can fly and go over the entire map, it became very fun!! There’s so much to do, it’s almost overwhelming. There’s soooo many Merlin trials, caves, and enemy camps…. The battling is so fun casting 4 spells at once, then switching to another set all very fast. It’s very good and fun. I haven’t beat it or 100% or anything, but it is a very fun game!! If you’re a Harry Potter fan you’ll be obsessed!!
Agreed 💯
Seeing the DNA of the genre, it's an amalgamation of the open-world titles and a culmination of HP franchise, seeing the DNA of its predecessors from HP titles back from PS1-2 to Deathly Hollows (2010). Oddly, offered a broom for flight open-world traversal, no quidditch.
I only found your channel a few weeks ago but I really appreciate your review style, though I came to the channel for the RPG story breakdowns. Thanks for your work.
As a reader of the books and lover of the movies, I'm enjoying this game a lot. It's a very good game even if you are not a fan of the wizarding world. Thank you so much for this amazing review and all the effort. Hugs
all the info u provided on how u run ur channel in the 1st minute, is the reason i just subscribed, well done
Looks like a very good game. I've never been interested in the franchise, but the game world looks so beautiful and charming I think I am going to give it a try.
Yeah this is my situattion as well. I know what HP lore one can pick up by being able fogging a mirror and osmosis but only saw part of 1 movie before falling asleep and never read the books.
But if the game is good and the lore is pre-generated, I'm thinking of giving it a go. Did that with Marvel games in the same scenario with mixed results.
The value proposition seems a bit worse than I usually shoot for though.
It’s very good imo. And I’m not even a HP fan really. Nothing against it either but the game is just fun!
@@xkollx This, I am similar. Not an HP fan, but thoroughly enjoying the game.
Just want to say thank you for including the bit about steam deck compatibility. I think the future of handheld gaming is so exciting and now that my PC is aging, I play just about everything on steam deck. It's nice to be able to watch one review that answers all my questions about the game and it's neatly wrapped up with time stamps. Great job.
One of my biggest fears was that the house choice would be merely cosmetic and would have no actual change in the game and way it plays, and that the usage of forbidden spells carried no consequences....
It seems both came to fruition
yeah, the two things they confirmed since the beginning LOL
@@hua.. Source? Article? Dev statement?
Well if nothing else I'm happy for you that you managed to finish the game. I personally preordered deluxe and started the moment it was out - put a LOT for time into it. And then yesterday (I was at 40 hours at this point) a power outage happened while i was playing. When power came back and i started the game it was as if I just installed it for the first time - therms of agreement and all that - 40 hours of progress completely gone, just...down the drain. It is actually hard to describe how that felt...
I liked the game a lot but I wont be playing it any time soon. What happened hurt me in a bad way, I felt really awful, honestly still do...Some day when they hopefully fix this BS I MIGHT start it again but...not any time soon.
This game is like a return to the perfect childhood you never had. It's magical and charming - for lack of better words. It earned its place in my top 3 favorite games list. Terrific review, as always. Cheers.
Damn that was fast but good review and the game has been fun so far... planning my Dark Wizard from Hufflepuff for the final playthrough after each house but this was fun as I have been liking others opinions or experiences
This game is so fun. I'm not a huge HP fan but it's just a good fun game for anyone. They really get the little stuff right like allowiing you to easily customize the apperance of your outfit and character at any time, from anything you have previously owned, fast travel, mounts & flying, etc. The wisps that lead you to your quest destination are amazing considering what a maze Hogwarts is. If you are a HP fan the game literally has everything you could ever want... all the classes, spells, locations, herbology, mixing potions, even collecting beasts from the fantastic beasts movies. The game looks great, plays smoothly, combat is fun, even the puzzles are fun without being too easy or too frustrating.
This has gotta be a bot.... The puzzles "aren't too easy?" They literally give you the answer to every single one.
"Classes?" They're short cutscenes.
As for the rest, you're just greatly overexaggerating
@@JACpotatos Keep in mind it's not easy to design a game that is fun for adults and also appropriate and not too difficult for kids. This game is rated "Teen" and you need to have reasonable expectations for a family friendly game mostly targetd at teens and kids.
I like that the game gives you a little time to solve the puzzles like the keeper trials and if you are not making progress the character slowly starts to give you hints so you can get past it and move on with the story.
The first time you attend each class you have interactions with teachers and classmates and learn some new game system like having a duel with Sebastian in Dark Arts class or learning what each of the combat plants do in Herbology. Then subsequent classes are more cutscenes, but you are still learning a new spell typically. What more do you want from a class?
@@GamerSerg74 I mean hundreds of people are killed throughout the game. I remember beating games with puzzles as a kid. I'm sure most people do. The puzzles here are just lazy
A fun game. I don't think it's going to blow anyone away with story or characters, which seem rather bland, but if you just want to run around and cast some spells in this setting, it's a very fun way to do so.
*_Here you have it, folks! Fantastic Reviews and Where to Find Them!_*
This game is better than I expected. I am not a big Harry Potter fan (but I am a big fantasy RPG fan) and I loved it. Excellent game and review.
One minor caveat is that it is definitely geared for controllers.
good because i mainly only play games on PlayStation not pc
The beauty of PC gaming is that you can simply plug in a controller. You can use flightsticks, racing wheels, controller, or good old keyboard and mouse. PC provides ultimate flexibility.
Ancient magic is the most jarring thing to me in this game. The "finisher" you use is random so sometimes you will transform an enemy permanently into an animal, others you will summon a lightning bolt down, and others you will painfully dematerialize them. The worst thing is that they seem terrified as their bodies turn to dust.
It's so brutal- you're meant to be playing as a fifteen year old. And yet you're running around the countryside painfully and brutally killing humans only to go back to school and talk to your teenage friends like nothing happened.
Welcome to RPG? I mean there are so many games out there that involves a teenager protag. Persona ring any bells? I suggest not caring about the age of the character so much and enjoy the game for what it is instead.
literally me
@@cordeliacentauri1737 Bad comparison, the point is Hogwarts legacy goes for the "immersion" experience (with all its cosmetic choices such as wand and house) where it wants you to feel like you're part of its world and yet allows you to do things that in its world would get you thrown in jail immediately.
Not to say a game can't have such things but there should at least be aknowledgment or consequences.
@@eolendes6432 i mean the devs DID say they wanted your actions to have no consequences
@@astrotecn I understand that, they don't want to limit the player and fair enough. But for a game that wants so intently for the player to be submerged in its world, no consequences for the player actions (especially for such gross transgressions), takes you out of it.
Wands were actually one of my biggest let downs...surprisingly enough. I expected it to be a core component to your offensive abilities. I would imagine that wands vary in quality (The Ollivanders mention this a lot) but in the case of Harry Potter, and in the case of the game, your character are given the "perfect" wand from the start which just seems weird...especially given that a wand is supposed to attach itself to a person but people change a lot over the years, especially the teenage years.
"I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite channel on the Citadel"
Honestly though, your review is the only one I've watched. Mortym always comes in fast with all the info you want and more.
With the combat/talent system kicking in so late, I was wondering if there is an "endgame" after completing the story, or maybe a NG+ option ?
I am going to decorate my room of requirement and vivarium in the endgame
Harry Potter is the first book about magic I read , it still amazes me a lot, I am so happy to see that it can be played in this way.
Bro, i didn't even created my character....u 100% it 🤯
I spent 15 hours with Hogwarts legacy and my biggest issue is that there is nothing kept me motivated to continue play the game. No excitement or curiosity around what will happen next or what I will discover. Everything feels "basic" the story, the combat and the open world.
The story so far is fine. No events made me feel " I wanna know more". When fighting enemies, all what I have to do is mashing my buttons. The game doesn't force me to get gud or improves my skills. The missions are kinda boring due to the amount of hints my character keep saying while exploring. "Maybe I need to move this platform" or "I should look up to find the orbs" and so on. I don't have to think or challenge myself to solve the puzzles. The game does not motivate me to get deep into its mechanics and environment. Everything feels basic and normal.
Oh my god, you have done it again. That’s fast! I haven’t heard anyone who 100% this game yet. This really separate you from others
I was so excited to watch this. I just beat the game myself and man, what a time to be 30 plus and grew up on the harry potter franchise haha. Great video!!! love your thoughts and opinions
You completion rates are beyond impressive, seriously
If you thought spell slots on PC were bad, try using the cursor navigation in menus on console with a controller. Torturous.
Thanks for this! You confirmed what I gathered elsewhere: it's too simplistic for me on an RPG level. Stats and gear have simplistic systems and I'd have liked a bit more depth. Consequences for actions, too. Seems to be a great game if you want to play something in the world and the setting, but less so if you're looking primarily for those other things. I'll pass on it for those reasons, myself, but have to thank you again for being the channel that has the best reviews, for the games that you do cover.
These kind of games are not really RPGs, it seems. It is just the modern labeling that changes the meaning. These RPGs now mean customizable progression action games.
@@koseorhun Yeah, I'd agree with that. These are especially simple, as compared to something like Horizon and God of War though, which are similar in nature, but have so much more depth in comparison.
@@ericsaari2901 Depth lol
@@ericsaari2901 horizon and gow are simple RPGs tho, at least compared to real rpg Games like rdr2 or elden ring or Skyrim etc, the best word for these type of simple RPG games are "cinematic RPGs", hogwarts falls in the same genre as gow and horizon but they aren't quite open enough like far cry or witcher type of RPGs, more linear in progression, levels and story.
@@Hhhh22222-w To be fair, RDR 2 and Skyrim are already pretty simplistic overall. When I think deep RPG, I think Pathfinder, Elden Ring, or Divinity.
How the world doesn't interact with you is my main problem, Most of the side quest is just mind-numbing formulatic, the random chance encounter doesn't involved you too , It's like seeing play on a stage.
Loved the Hogwarts part, the outside world was fun the first hour. Then it got really stale and turned into an open world game from 15 years ago.
Like he said, the Castle and the Village are great, and there are a few really cool things to experience in the open world but that part does get a little old by the end of the game.
I got this game for PS5 the day it came out and I dove in. I liked the game overall, especially the level of detail in the world and especially at Hogwarts. I found the combat to be very easy- especially once you learn the higher level spells. I wish there were some choices that actually made a difference. While I loved the game, I have no desire to play it again. The one thing I didn't like was the amount of collectibles. I felt like I spent half the game just trying to solve Merlin puzzles and find rings to fly through.
Overall- well worth a play through for a Potter fan. The only major negative for me is that it doesn't have any replay value. I can't wait for the DLC though!
1 week in and 90% on Hard Mode and I still have not explored the whole area. 😂 Your dedication is very amazing, Sir. Kudos.
P.S.
It legit puts you on your toes in Hard Mode. I can easily win a battle if I'm attentive enough or lose to Mongrels if I don't concentrate for even at least 40%. Game Balance is amazing!
Coolest part of the intro: when the guy gets chomped by a dragon and suddenly you and Professor Fig can all of a sudden see thestrals pulling the destroyed carriage.
I have never read the books or watched any of the movies, but im amazed at how much i'm enjoying the game! Western fantasy done right.
You don't have to as it is set 100 years before Harry Potter attends Hogwarts. If you are familiar with the IP, you will naturally recognise Hogwarts and Hogsmead. Likewise, spells, creatures, and ghosts 👻 will be familiar. There are also characters who are obviously ancestors of HP characters. As stated, you can only see Thestrals once see see someone killed, nice touch.
I've been going back and forth between watching some of your other reviews and playing this game the past few days. Just watched your first impressions before jumping back in for a bit. Can't believe your review is up already.
That Alaloth: champions of the 4 kingdoms game on Steam is awesome. I just grabbed it as my last impulse buy😂 on the sale. It's like a dark souls But infinity engine style. It's so wild.
The Thestrals appearing after the dragon ate that dude was a nice touch
Already? Thank you for sacrificing your sleep and possibly physical health 😂
I would've liked a different system for potion crafting. The system with timers is just too dull. It would've been so great, if they had combined the timer system with something like the potion crafting from Kingdom come deliverance: make it yourself without timer, or do the auto crafting with a timer. Same goes for the classes (learning spells), they chose a way to let you engage more with the game systems by doing some assignments, but I yearn for more actual classes..
Last but not least: give me more dialog options. It would make role-playing so much more fun.
Still like the game though
I really didnt expect this game to be so awesome. Great video as always.
Im not super into harry potter but so far im enjoying the game alot. Would of liked to see more landmarks from the movies like that killer tree or the changing staircases. Combat is fun and you can get pretty creative with combos and builds. Id like to see more in depth stats like crit chance or burn damage from basic casts or something like that. Overall I give it 8/10 very fun
Whomping willow wasnt planted for another hundred years just fyi
They could have even just done different endings that woulda been cool
There are different endings 🙂
I hope people will mod in different spells. Having more familiar D&D-esque spells ( or FF spells) would be awesome.
mod in some guns 😅
I've just 100% completed this. The biggest thing that it lacks is consequences.
Consequences of anything and everything.
That said, I enjoyed it for what it was.
There are consequences. Every hour I spend playing I could have been improving myself in some way or enriching my mind. Instead I’m playing this and my brain is dying.
Yeah I've noticed that too! At this point I'm just starting to demand more payment from every quest giver whenever I can because there is literally no reason NOT to mechanically. Sure, you could roleplay a bit with it if you wanted but there is literally no reason to not ask for more when you're guaranteed it.
I legit stole a Dircawl from this lady In one quest cause I didn't like her and now I have the Dircawl in my Vivarium living happily :>
The only thing I really wish they had done was Unique loot. I want to go out in the world to find some sort of legendarily powerful wand that I hear about or, some wizard artifact that unlocks some power for me.
Having loot that is essentially just throw away stuff that is mostly the same but progressively better, is really lame.