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[TheUsual]

I finally beat HL this morning. About 39 hours total and got a good chunk of things done.

Main story was average...nothing special but I guess they played it safe with the plot.

The soundtrack was spectacular. If this game deserves to win any award, this definitely should be the area for it.

Gameplay was solid. Figuring out spell combinations was real fun even if flipping between your spell sets midfight was cumbersome at times. My only complaint is that the game took quite a while for everything to open up gameplay wise. If your are new to this game, seriously read what to mainline to maximize your experience.

The game's open world size should have been smaller in scope. The southeastern coastal area could have been completely removed and nothing would have been missed.

I'm not the biggest HP fan and I loved the world in the game. Hogwarts and Hogsmeade especially with all the little details.

If you have open world fatigue, I'd wait until you're recharged.

Overall, I would recommend.

Sebastian's quest line was great with it's overall theme of how far is too far to help someone you care for. If they do another game of this scope, I would like to see the theme of this questline incorporated into your mainline character's story.

 

[Giallo Corsa]

OK, this is on sale right now (37 Eurodollars ) and :

- I loved Days Gone
- I hated Horizon forbidden west
- I found Ghost of Tsushima super tedious and very Ubisoft-like
- I HATE Ubisoft OCD collect-athon, soulless, repetitive tripe.

Should I get this ? I'm asking 'cause I've read some topics on steam forums and reddit that this is - by all accounts - an Ubisoft game in all but name (i.e : repetitive, copy-paste, boring etc).

Any truth to that ?

I want an atmospheric, cozy, chill game with fairy-tale qualities (you know, weird trees with distorted branches, old British cottage architecture, gloomy cemeteries etc), does this fit the bill ?

Cheers

 

[analog_future]

OK, this is on sale right now (37 Eurodollars ) and :

- I loved Days Gone
- I hated Horizon forbidden west
- I found Ghost of Tsushima super tedious and very Ubisoft-like
- I HATE Ubisoft OCD collect-athon, soulless, repetitive tripe.

Should I get this ? I'm asking 'cause I've read some topics on steam forums and reddit that this is - by all accounts - an Ubisoft game in all but name (i.e : repetitive, copy-paste, boring etc).

Any truth to that ?

I want an atmospheric, cozy, chill game with fairy-tale qualities (you know, weird trees with distorted branches, old British cottage architecture, gloomy cemeteries etc), does this fit the bill ?

Cheers

Kind of a tough one to answer, tbh.

Hogwarts Legacy can definitely be kind of Ubisoft-like/collect-athonish. But at the same time, I would never call it soulless as the world feels so thought out, lived in, and magical. It really comes across that the devs put their heart and soul into paying respect to the IP down to every little detail.

And as for you wanting an atmospheric, cozy, chill game with fairy-tale qualities... Yeah, this is absolutely 100% that.


If you're a fan of Harry Potter, it's an absolute no-brainer, yes. If not, it's less of a guarantee for you, but it still sounds like it'll offer a lot of what you're looking for.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

I want an atmospheric, cozy, chill game with fairy-tale qualities (you know, weird trees with distorted branches, old British cottage architecture, gloomy cemeteries etc), does this fit the bill ?

yes

 

[rofif]

OK, this is on sale right now (37 Eurodollars ) and :

- I loved Days Gone
- I hated Horizon forbidden west
- I found Ghost of Tsushima super tedious and very Ubisoft-like
- I HATE Ubisoft OCD collect-athon, soulless, repetitive tripe.

Should I get this ? I'm asking 'cause I've read some topics on steam forums and reddit that this is - by all accounts - an Ubisoft game in all but name (i.e : repetitive, copy-paste, boring etc).

Any truth to that ?

I want an atmospheric, cozy, chill game with fairy-tale qualities (you know, weird trees with distorted branches, old British cottage architecture, gloomy cemeteries etc), does this fit the bill ?

Cheers

Hell yes it's amazing, chill but also the combat is no joke

 

[Giallo Corsa]

Kind of a tough one to answer, tbh.

Hogwarts Legacy can definitely be kind of Ubisoft-like/collect-athonish. But at the same time, I would never call it soulless as the world feels so thought out, lived in, and magical. It really comes across that the devs put their heart and soul into paying respect to the IP down to every little detail.

And as for you wanting an atmospheric, cozy, chill game with fairy-tale qualities... Yeah, this is absolutely 100% that.


If you're a fan of Harry Potter, it's an absolute no-brainer, yes. If not, it's less of a guarantee for you, but it still sounds like it'll offer a lot of what you're looking for.

yes

Hell yes it's amazing, chill but also the combat is no joke

Thanks guys, appreciate it !

Not a HP fan but the Fable/fairy tale-esque esthetics are up my alley (plus, Xmas is coming), I'm worrying about the repetitiveness though, let's take Ghost of Tsushi for example, a game with simple, yet fun combat system/mechanics (the standoff one especially never got old) but... everything else was fuhggin' Ubisoft levels of boring in that it had the usual point of interest sites, camps to clear, mat grinding etc etc...
By the time I heard the 1000th "HuehUeeHue" from a nearby fox den I was just done with it.
Finished it (the final hours were a slog) and started the Iki island DLC, played about 2 hours and I just put it down thinking "no one is paying me to do this shit", I was THAT bored by the end (clocked about 65hours).

That's in stark contrast with something like Days Gone which starts boring but really, really picks up the pace after a couple of hours, plus, it wasn't littered with a gazillion icons/missions on the map like most of the games of its type.
In fact, out of all of Sony's open-world games, Days gone is the one that I enjoyed the most, Horizon FW and Ghost of Tsushi felt way too bloated and Ubi-like.

So, is Hogwarts more like Horizon /Ghost of Tsushi/usual Ubi tripe or is it more like Days Gone (in that it's not as repetitive and/or bloated) ?

It's either this or Alan wake 2 for Xmas.

Cheers

 

[rofif]

Thanks guys, appreciate it !

Not a HP fan but the Fable/fairy tale-esque esthetics are up my alley (plus, Xmas is coming), I'm worrying about the repetitiveness though, let's take Ghost of Tsushi for example, a game with simple, yet fun combat system/mechanics (the standoff one especially never got old) but... everything else was fuhggin' Ubisoft levels of boring in that it had the usual point of interest sites, camps to clear, mat grinding etc etc...
By the time I heard the 1000th "HuehUeeHue" from a nearby fox den I was just done with it.
Finished it (the final hours were a slog) and started the Iki island DLC, played about 2 hours and I just put it down thinking "no one is paying me to do this shit", I was THAT bored by the end (clocked about 65hours).

That's in stark contrast with something like Days Gone which starts boring but really, really picks up the pace after a couple of hours, plus, it wasn't littered with a gazillion icons/missions on the map like most of the games of its type.
In fact, out of all of Sony's open-world games, Days gone is the one that I enjoyed the most, Horizon FW and Ghost of Tsushi felt way too bloated and Ubi-like.

So, is Hogwarts more like Horizon /Ghost of Tsushi/usual Ubi tripe or is it more like Days Gone (in that it's not as repetitive and/or bloated) ?

It's either this or Alan wake 2 for Xmas.

Cheers

AW2 is barely a video game.
It's a story in which you pretend to solve murder case.... and I didn't like the story, it's deliver and the ending. And it sucks technically on consoles. It's a high end pc game that they slapped on ps5 with bad performance, shimmering graphics and no fallback for RT at all. No reflections. Just very grainy ssr.
But all that aside - it's just slow and you don't do almost anything except listening to talking heads.

Hogwarts runs and looks bountiful on ps5. All modes are good. 40fps mode ftw.
It has a TON of open world activities but you don't have to do anything. I only did some stuff along the way but for example you collect pages and I got addicted and collected all of them.
It's an open world game that can be played rather linearly if you want. But yes - there is a crazy ton of stuff to do if you want too.
But the game is still rather simplistic and they held back with a ton of stuff so it's not overbearing. I am afraid hogwarts 2 will be ass creeded too much

Main story is just ok but some side quests are great if you are into that.

I was not HP fan too but I am now
You just need to know what you are getting into. If You are masculine "fuck these gay wizards" dude, the game is not for you.
It's a game for 35yo men who started liking rgb and white peripherals. Who loosen up lol

 

[Rentahamster]

So, is Hogwarts more like Horizon /Ghost of Tsushi/usual Ubi tripe or is it more like Days Gone (in that it's not as repetitive and/or bloated) ?

I haven't played any of those other games you referenced, but for what it's worth, HL has a decently large world that has charm. It does most things relatively decently, and it's enjoyable as long as you don't look under the hood too much. It does have collectables, but you don't necessarily have to engage in that unless you want to. The only ones that really felt "necessary" were the Merlin Trials that increases your inventory space.

let's take Ghost of Tsushi for example, a game with simple, yet fun combat system/mechanics (the standoff one especially never got old) but... everything else was fuhggin' Ubisoft levels of boring in that it had the usual point of interest sites, camps to clear, mat grinding etc etc...

Combat in HL is cool, especially when you get into comboing spells with each other. It's very rewarding if you experiment with it, but I've noticed other players who can't really evolve more than spamming basic attack and basic one off spells and thus don't get a rich experience. There are point of interest sites, and they can get a little same-y. Mob diversity isn't a very strong suit with this game, but there are a lot of variant types. Mat grinding isn't too egregious. You can get what you want/need fairly easily.

That's in stark contrast with something like Days Gone which starts boring but really, really picks up the pace after a couple of hours, plus, it wasn't littered with a gazillion icons/missions on the map like most of the games of its type.
In fact, out of all of Sony's open-world games, Days gone is the one that I enjoyed the most, Horizon FW and Ghost of Tsushi felt way too bloated and Ubi-like.

So, is Hogwarts more like Horizon /Ghost of Tsushi/usual Ubi tripe or is it more like Days Gone (in that it's not as repetitive and/or bloated) ?

Having played none of those games, I'm going to assume HL leans towards the more "Ubi-like" aspects of open world gameplay, but throughout my playthough I didn't feel like it was forced on me. You should watch the first couple of hours of someone's playthrough on Youtube and see for yourself.

 

[Zathalus]

Thanks guys, appreciate it !

Not a HP fan but the Fable/fairy tale-esque esthetics are up my alley (plus, Xmas is coming), I'm worrying about the repetitiveness though, let's take Ghost of Tsushi for example, a game with simple, yet fun combat system/mechanics (the standoff one especially never got old) but... everything else was fuhggin' Ubisoft levels of boring in that it had the usual point of interest sites, camps to clear, mat grinding etc etc...
By the time I heard the 1000th "HuehUeeHue" from a nearby fox den I was just done with it.
Finished it (the final hours were a slog) and started the Iki island DLC, played about 2 hours and I just put it down thinking "no one is paying me to do this shit", I was THAT bored by the end (clocked about 65hours).

That's in stark contrast with something like Days Gone which starts boring but really, really picks up the pace after a couple of hours, plus, it wasn't littered with a gazillion icons/missions on the map like most of the games of its type.
In fact, out of all of Sony's open-world games, Days gone is the one that I enjoyed the most, Horizon FW and Ghost of Tsushi felt way too bloated and Ubi-like.

So, is Hogwarts more like Horizon /Ghost of Tsushi/usual Ubi tripe or is it more like Days Gone (in that it's not as repetitive and/or bloated) ?

It's either this or Alan wake 2 for Xmas.

Cheers

Honestly if you are not much of a HP fan and really hate the open world ubi formula then this might not be for you.

Alan Wake 2... Did you enjoy the first one? How about the presentation in Control? If you answered yes to both you would likely enjoy it. Dead Space Remake is great as well if you want horror.

Otherwise I can highly recommend BG3 or Warhammer: Rogue Trader if you don't mind turn based games.

 

[rofif]

Honestly if you are not much of a HP fan and really hate the open world ubi formula then this might not be for you.

Alan Wake 2... Did you enjoy the first one? How about the presentation in Control? If you answered yes to both you would likely enjoy it. Dead Space Remake is great as well if you want horror.

Otherwise I can highly recommend BG3 or Warhammer: Rogue Trader if you don't mind turn based games.

about AW2 and your comparisons.
It's nothing like the first game
It's nothing like Control.... control at least played great.

yeah Dead Space is good

 

[Dazraell]

So... purple forum has started their own GOTY thread and they brought the topic of voting for Hogwarts. They haven't disappointed lol

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

Let's not derail this shit with talking about whether or not AW2 is good or not.

So, is Hogwarts more like Horizon /Ghost of Tsushi/usual Ubi tripe or is it more like Days Gone (in that it's not as repetitive and/or bloated) ?

There's activities yes, but you don't really have to do them, the only ones of note are the merlin trials and the broom racing, both of which are fun imo.

 

[semiconscious]

It's either this or Alan wake 2 for Xmas.

Cheers

get hogwarts legacy. & don't, under any circumstances other than maybe a super sale, ever get alan wake 2! ever!...

cheers!...

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

Was it ever stated when the sony bonus items would be released to the other platforms?

 

[Dazraell]

Was it ever stated when the sony bonus items would be released to the other platforms?

Yeah, they will be available one year after release, so in February 2024

 

[Rentahamster]

Was it ever stated when the sony bonus items would be released to the other platforms?

It's a shame that was locked content. I played it on a friend's PS5, and it was one of my favorite side quests.

 

[DarthPutin]

Not a HP fan but the Fable/fairy tale-esque esthetics are up my alley (plus, Xmas is coming), I'm worrying about the repetitiveness though, let's take Ghost of Tsushi for example, a game with simple, yet fun combat system/mechanics (the standoff one especially never got old) but... everything else was fuhggin' Ubisoft levels of boring in that it had the usual point of interest sites, camps to clear, mat grinding etc etc...

It's very lovely and artsy and atmospheric, but I would say the world itself doesn't rise to the level of Ubisoft even (and i don't think Ubisoft worlds are soulless, just too big and repetitive). I love fantasy open worlds and so I really enjoy it, but in your place I'd get it on deep discount and not try to necessarily finish it. You'll get your money worth streamlining it, doing main quests as some are very decent, exploring castle itself and Hogsmeade and Forbidden Forest, because it has tons of little details and looks great, especially in Winter.

You don't need to grind, so get the broom, explore a little, concentrate on these two locations and drop it if you get too bored. I loved flying so much I spent way too much time trying to squeeze something out of the open world

 

[Giallo Corsa]

Honestly if you are not much of a HP fan and really hate the open world ubi formula then this might not be for you.

Alan Wake 2... Did you enjoy the first one? How about the presentation in Control? If you answered yes to both you would likely enjoy it. Dead Space Remake is great as well if you want horror.

Otherwise I can highly recommend BG3 or Warhammer: Rogue Trader if you don't mind turn based games.

Enjoyed the first AW, absolutely loved Control, one of the most atmospheric games i've ever played (big X-files fan btw).Loved everything about it.
Finished DS Remake 2 weeks ago brother
Thanks

get hogwarts legacy. & don't, under any circumstances other than maybe a super sale, ever get alan wake 2! ever!...

cheers!...

Hot dayum, you'd think that AW2 stepped on people's toes or something
Enjoyed the 1st one btw but i liked Control way, way more.
Seems like AW2 is divisive for some reason - maybe the gameplay to cutscene/dialogue ratio is not that well balanced ? Don't know , just making assumptions from the little i've been reading.
Thanks !


EDIT : I've been meaning to ask, is anyone in here that loathes Ubisoft games but actually loved Hogwart's Legacy ? I'd be really interested in hearing their opinion

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

Also Giallo Corsa , if you do wind up getting it, try playing it with quest map markers turned off; there's an in-game way of reaching your next objective and it's much more immersive than just staring at the map for the marker, it also allows you to actually learn the layout of the castle.

 

[semiconscious]

Hot dayum, you'd think that AW2 stepped on people's toes or something
Enjoyed the 1st one btw but i liked Control way, way more.
Seems like AW2 is divisive for some reason - maybe the gameplay to cutscene/dialogue ratio is not that well balanced ? Don't know , just making assumptions from the little i've been reading.
Thanks !

same. aw2? as 'up-its-own-butt exercise in self-indulgence' of a game as i ever seen...

hogwarts legacy? i'm no potter fan, but just the experience of meandering round hogwarts itself is easily worth the price of admission. very obviously, a labor of love by a group of amazing over-achieving developers, & a unique & enjoyable accomplishment...

 

[Raven117]

OK, this is on sale right now (37 Eurodollars ) and :

- I loved Days Gone
- I hated Horizon forbidden west
- I found Ghost of Tsushima super tedious and very Ubisoft-like
- I HATE Ubisoft OCD collect-athon, soulless, repetitive tripe.

Should I get this ? I'm asking 'cause I've read some topics on steam forums and reddit that this is - by all accounts - an Ubisoft game in all but name (i.e : repetitive, copy-paste, boring etc).

Any truth to that ?

I want an atmospheric, cozy, chill game with fairy-tale qualities (you know, weird trees with distorted branches, old British cottage architecture, gloomy cemeteries etc), does this fit the bill ?

Cheers

Other people have answered, but I'll throw in my two cents.

No question that the standard open world formula is alive and well. If that is flat out something you can't stomach under any circumstance, then this is not for you.

That said, the game is very atmospheric, cozy, and chill with fairy-tale qualities. I'm not even much of an HP fan, and I really enjoyed the game. Some quests are better than others. The combat is definitely serviceable. I rather liked it. Music is outstanding.

I just fired it up yesterday to fly around on the broom a bit, and listen to some of the soundtrack. They really nailed the vibe of HP. One of the few games I'm very much looking forward to some story DLC. I think its a great holiday game.

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

I just fired it up yesterday to fly around on the broom a bit, and listen to some of the soundtrack.

The music team did a great job on the soundtrack.

 

[Rentahamster]

 

[Giallo Corsa]

Well, I found a 50€ PSN network card for 40€ online, applied a 5€ discount from PS rewards so I couldn't resist and I grabbed it

Will fire it up later today and post some impressions.

Thanks for chiming in gents, appreciate it !

 

[Fbh]

Got this during the recent sale.
Really enjoying it so far, the intro was fun and visually it's great, love all the nice little details.

That said can anyone tell me if there's a way to change your voice later on?
I think I fucked up going with the lowest pitch male voice, it sounded decent in the character creator but it sounds terrible during most cutscenes, very robotic and cheaply done. I don't want to replay the entire intro just to change the voice though

 

[Dazraell]

Got this during the recent sale.
Really enjoying it so far, the intro was fun and visually it's great, love all the nice little details.

That said can anyone tell me if there's a way to change your voice later on?
I think I fucked up going with the lowest pitch male voice, it sounded decent in the character creator but it sounds terrible during most cutscenes, very robotic and cheaply done. I don't want to replay the entire intro just to change the voice though

I haven't played it in a while, but if I remember correctly I believe you can change the pitch on audio settings

 

[Fbh]

I haven't played it in a while, but if I remember correctly I believe you can change the pitch on audio settings

thx. Will check it out when I get home

 

[Exentryk]

Started this as my Christmas game, and I've been really surprised at the quality of the game overall. Cutscenes and NPCs are well done, the environments are gorgeous and full of detail, and the gameplay just keeps expanding. You can tell the developers poured their love into this. I'm not very into HP lore or anything (have watched all movies, no books), but I'm really enjoying this so far.

 

[rofif]

Started this as my Christmas game, and I've been really surprised at the quality of the game overall. Cutscenes and NPCs are well done, the environments are gorgeous and full of detail, and the gameplay just keeps expanding. You can tell the developers poured their love into this. I'm not very into HP lore or anything (have watched all movies, no books), but I'm really enjoying this so far.

Remember. No mention on tga. One of best games this year and industry shunned it. That’s why we gotta test this stuff ourselves
Glad to hear you like it!

 

[Fbh]

I haven't played it in a while, but if I remember correctly I believe you can change the pitch on audio settings

Some stuff came up but I had time to play a bit this morning and there is indeed an option to change the pitch in the audio settings.
Thanks! The cutscenes are way more enjoyable now.

 

[ManaByte]

Started this as my Christmas game, and I've been really surprised at the quality of the game overall. Cutscenes and NPCs are well done, the environments are gorgeous and full of detail, and the gameplay just keeps expanding. You can tell the developers poured their love into this. I'm not very into HP lore or anything (have watched all movies, no books), but I'm really enjoying this so far.

The game deserved to be nominated for GOTY.

 

[Exentryk]

The game world is quite beautiful. Even the below SDR screenshots aren't doing it justice because the game in HDR is really something.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Great game, with the OLED HDR display in the new Steam Deck I double dipped on it (already had the PS5 release and the Switch version, while impressive, is actually a few notches behind the Steam Deck visually… it would have been a closer call with the Deck LCD vs Switch’s OLED screen, but OLED on both…).

 

[F3112006]

To the people comparing this and AW2…wow, AW2 is by far the better game. HP is a is 6-7/10 game in a 10/10 world (till you leave hogwarts and then it plummets.

 

[Exentryk]

 

[Grildon Tundy]

This game was so much better than it needed to be, and it makes me happy that it happened.

 

[Agent_4Seven]

It's time to give this game a second chance after all updates on PC.

 

[RoboFu]

just like to add that I reinstalled it yesterday and having played it at launch the PC version has greatly improved in performance since then.

 

[Beer Baelly]

Wrong thread, still need to give this game a go too

 

[Exentryk]

 

[Exentryk]

 

[Exentryk]

Finished the game. Thoughts below:

Pros:
- Fantastically realized world of Hogwarts and beyond
- That feeling of using magic, not just in combat, but also in the world in general with revealing, repairing, lighting, etc.
- Graphics
- Music
- Love and Detail
- NPC designs
- Cutscenes
- Variety in gameplay
- Broom flying
- UI in general.
---Control schemes for magic (multiple spell sets). Most games would just give you one set of 4 spells and ask you keep changing things. But they gave you 4 quick switch sets allowing quick access to 16 different spells. Brilliant!
---Loved how you could just collect loot from your broom, and even go from water to broom to water instantly.

Neutral:
- Combat is fine. It can get messy with lots of enemies and mix of yellow and red attacks, which can lead you to getting hit even if you dodge properly. But it's fun enough for wand based ranged combat.
- Story. It's okay.

Cons:
- The created character just made the game a little worse for me. I prefer pre-determined characters like say Geralt, Cloud, etc. But I can understand that people would want this to be their own journey into Hogwarts. At least the character isn't a silent character.
- No quick save button (even on PC). Need to go into menus to save.
- No hide hud toggle. Had to use a mod for this.
- No screenshot mode

Overall, it was pretty great holiday game. It can definitely improve in terms of story, characters, and RPG mechanics, but it's an amazing effort from this mostly unknown developer. Looking forward to more from this developer for sure.

 

[Kindela]

Are most of the interesting side quests added automatically in your quest log? E.g. they appear in your quest log at some point (usually after finishing a main quest), or you receive an owl message for them.
Are quests discovered when roaming Hogwarts also worth it?

 

[Rentahamster]

Are most of the interesting side quests added automatically in your quest log? E.g. they appear in your quest log at some point (usually after finishing a main quest), or you receive an owl message for them.
Are quests discovered when roaming Hogwarts also worth it?

It depends what you mean by "worth it".

All side quests are added to your quest log when you start them. The rewards for the vast majority of the quests is mainly EXP, transmogs, and lore. If you like those things, great. If you don't, well, do something else. The ones from professors in the early to mid game will give you spells, so those are worth it for gameplay-centered rewards, and the Sebastian side quests are the ones that let you learn the dark arts curses.

 

[Kindela]

It depends what you mean by "worth it".

All side quests are added to your quest log when you start them. The rewards for the vast majority of the quests is mainly EXP, transmogs, and lore. If you like those things, great. If you don't, well, do something else. The ones from professors in the early to mid game will give you spells, so those are worth it for gameplay-centered rewards, and the Sebastian side quests are the ones that let you learn the dark arts curses.

Worth it as in is there at least some story attached to them, conversations, new areas, puzzles etc.
Good example is Deek's quest about finding his friend Tobbs. It's not too short, there's some combat, some story told through notes and a few conversations.

And I believe that quest is automatically added to your log. You don't have to find it on a map to add it in there. So I've guessed that those side quests are richer/deeper than the ones you see on Hogwarts map, but which aren't added to your quest log immediately.

 

[Rentahamster]

Worth it as in is there at least some story attached to them, conversations, new areas, puzzles etc.

In that case, yes, there's always a little of some or all of that.

 

[cormack12]

Do we know if the devs are adding in a season change mode.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

It's been one year since release, but it looks like we'll have to wait a bit longer for the PS exclusive content, and other updates: