Hogwarts Legacy? More like Ubisoft Legacy

[ZXQuincy]

Let me set this straight before I get in into big whining. I’m writing this post as a huge Potterhead and I was hyping this game up right after they've announced it and continued hyping this game up when I first started playing. And as a big Harry Potter fan, I am immensely dissapointed by how Avalanche treated that super ambitious and important for all the fans project.

Turns out Hogwarts Legacy is no different from any Ubisoft game you have played in the last 15 years. The game is boggled with meaningless side quests, the story is lackluster and the mini games are a joke. My guess as to why this happened is because they tried to fit open world aspect in what should solely be a story-driven game, but we will get to that part later.

Being a huge Harry Potter fan, what were my hopes and expectation about this game? Well, I wanted to feel like I am a student in that castle I've been knowing since childhood. I wanted to immerse myself in studies, classes, learning spells, atmosphere, ability to interact with that castle, interact with students, make friends, discover secrets, be a bad or a good wizard of witch. I wanted to feel that my choices in this game affect the world somehow, hell, if not the world, I wanted to feel how my choices affect ME. And what did I get? Absolute barebones. The main draw of the game, Hogwarts, is both a blessing and a curse. The architecture is mindblowing. The animations of the stairs building, ghosts popping in and out, and the joyful music playing are probably the best parts of the game. That's all there is to it however, It just looks good. You cannot interact with any of the students. You attend classes but the classes themselves are a cutscene with a simple childish QTE puzzle and that's it. Brewing potions are also QTE but after you attend first potions class, you just click one button in order to brew it, no immersion whatsoever. You can't sit on any of the benches in school, you can't sit in The Great Hall, you can't even sleep in your House's dormitory. You learn Unforgivable Curses, the inglorious spells from the original books. And they do not mean sh-it. They do not affect you in any way, no one reacts to it, you can AK all the poachers and remain a good, kind wizard off screen.

My point is, they should've focused on the actual school part and making us feel like we are legit Hogwarts students. What we have now is an amusement park attraction. The only option is to walk around, observe, and eat an apple. The only other game I played set in an environment like this was Bully, and that game offered way more freedom than the developers here have allowed. It's hard to immerse yourself when you're pretty much watching a movie about your character, rather than actually playing as them. And Bully feels like you are actually in a boarding school.

Why this have happened you might ask? Here we go to the point I've mentioned earlier, the open world aspect. We have that HUGE area that's around Hogwarts. For what reason, I want to ask them? Just so you can fill this world with Ubisoft-type missions? That area still feels absolutely lifeless and dead, nothing you do have any meaning besides filling your Field Guide and achieving that 100% completion.

Before starting working on this game, they had to choose the path they wanted to take. If they wanted to go down the path of an open world game, they should've focus on exploration bit, filling this world with interesting content, making moral choices in the game that would affect the state of this world, the state of the characters. There should be side quests that have actual story rather than braindead "bring me this or that" ones. Not just filling huge open space voids with meaningless content.

And if they wanted to appease the Harry Potter fanbase, they shouldn't have made an open world in the game at all. It should've been a linear, story and atmopshere driven game, with heavy lean to the actual school part, part of being a student, studying, activities around the castle etc etc. And the open world had to be cut in half or even three times, leaving only Hogwarts and outskirts, Hogsmeade and Forbidden Forest. A much crammier space but with A LOT more attention to details and quality. It needs to be Bully but in Wizarding World. And they tried to fit everything at once and did not succeed in anything.

Hogwarts Legacy brings nothing new to the table. The graphics and the architecture of Hogwarts are the best part of the game, everything else is a either a weird gameplay decision, or a mechanic jacked from another game, yet done far worse. I would say this game is alright if you have no idea about Harry Potter, you might find it as yet another average open world game with more or less decent storyline. And for all the huge HP fans, this game is way overpriced for what it offers, and you may get bored easily once the initial honeymoon phase wears off around a few hours.

[Nonomori]

I have the same exact feeling with Hogwarts Legacy as you do. Everything about it is shallow. I don't know why developers don't get it. Open world rpgs need meaningful stories & content and weight to decisions to make the world fully come to life. The alternative, but that still needs at least decent stories, is a very motivating progression system such as in Skyrim. The Witcher 3 perfected meaningful stories and that made it so great, even though its progression and loot system was only above average. Skyrim had decent stories but a very good progression and loot system.

Even AC Valhalla had more weight and meaning to it than Hogwarts Legacy. At least the characters felt somewhat relevant and you had to work for some special items. And that's with Ubisoft inventing the formula of quantity over quality.

I wouldn't even mind all the stupid mini games in Hogwarts Legacy because most of them actually fit quite well with Harry Potter lore. But at least make the quests, incl. the side quests, and its characters meaningful. All the side quests are about picking up some stupid stuff for irrelevant characters or doing some random errands. As you did, I am nodding off during dialogue and can't cope with this game for more than 2 hours. Also, you get overwhelmed with meaningless loot. Everything is just meaningless in this game.

So sad. It could have been so much more with a decent main quest and interesting little adventures (side quests) to go through, just like the ones Harry and friends experience in the first few Harry Potter books.

[Jynn]

I wouldn't have bought this game if it was a Bully rip off school simulation lol

[ZXQuincy]

Originally posted by Jynn:

I wouldn't have bought this game if it was a Bully rip off school simulation lol

Then you might as well not be a Potterhead, because becoming a part of that school is what I believe a majority of the fanbase wanted. Can't speak for everyone I guess.

[Jynn]

Originally posted by ZXQuincy:

Originally posted by Jynn:

I wouldn't have bought this game if it was a Bully rip off school simulation lol

Then you might as well not be a Potterhead, because becoming a part of that school is what I believe a majority of the fanbase wanted. Can't speak for everyone I guess.

You can be a potterhead AND want to do cool wizard stuff like Harry did lol

There's more to being a Harry Potter fan than wanting a school simulation where you sit in classes and press buttons to levitate things

In every single harry potter book, Harry goes on adventures. Book one he fights a troll, he goes into the forbidden forest, he goes through the MIrror gauntlet. Book two he fights the Basilisk, he fights Sirius Black and dementors in book 3, he does the triwizard tournament in book 4, he goes outside the school on adventures in books five and six

A lot of Harry potter is the school, but it is ALSO adventures.

I just do not find the idea of video game about sitting in classes that exciting. That doesn't make me any less of a fan than you are, even if YOU would be content with a game that never leaves the castle or allows you to use any magic outside basic level, student friendly spells

I for one am HAPPY to see unicorns, to go to the forest, to explore the hamlets, to solve puzzles and ride around on a hippogriff, as well as explore the castle

[margalus]

Originally posted by ZXQuincy:

Originally posted by Jynn:

I wouldn't have bought this game if it was a Bully rip off school simulation lol

Then you might as well not be a Potterhead, because becoming a part of that school is what I believe a majority of the fanbase wanted. Can't speak for everyone I guess.

Nobody want's to spend hundreds of hours in a classroom just to learn a spell. This is a game, people want to have fun

[ZXQuincy]

Originally posted by margalus:

Originally posted by ZXQuincy:

Then you might as well not be a Potterhead, because becoming a part of that school is what I believe a majority of the fanbase wanted. Can't speak for everyone I guess.

Nobody want's to spend hundreds of hours in a classroom just to learn a spell. This is a game, people want to have fun

Yeah, well, I mean... If exploring vast, lifeless expanses, doing stupid minigames, picking up stuff for irrelevant characters and fighting four enemy types all over the game is what defines "fun" for you then this game is exactly for you. As for me, I find that approach shallow and incomplete and I am deeply saddened because of all the wasted opportunities in such an ambitious project.

[Frostrager]

you say it yourself. 'hyping up the game' is where you went wrong.
Expecting to much of it for years.

I expected not much, I was thinking along the lines of harry potter: the walking simulator (official hp5 and 6 games) which had a pretty castle but not so much to do within it.

If you compare it to those games it's absolutely a gem but you are talking to a guy who plays more old games than newly released games so my standards might be a bit low from your perspective.

[Rommel]

Originally posted by ZXQuincy:

Let me set this straight before I get in into big whining. I’m writing this post as a huge Potterhead and I was hyping this game up right after they've announced it and continued hyping this game up when I first started playing. And as a big Harry Potter fan, I am immensely dissapointed by how Avalanche treated that super ambitious and important for all the fans project.

Turns out Hogwarts Legacy is no different from any Ubisoft game you have played in the last 15 years. The game is boggled with meaningless side quests, the story is lackluster and the mini games are a joke. My guess as to why this happened is because they tried to fit open world aspect in what should solely be a story-driven game, but we will get to that part later.

Being a huge Harry Potter fan, what were my hopes and expectation about this game? Well, I wanted to feel like I am a student in that castle I've been knowing since childhood. I wanted to immerse myself in studies, classes, learning spells, atmosphere, ability to interact with that castle, interact with students, make friends, discover secrets, be a bad or a good wizard of witch. I wanted to feel that my choices in this game affect the world somehow, hell, if not the world, I wanted to feel how my choices affect ME. And what did I get? Absolute barebones. The main draw of the game, Hogwarts, is both a blessing and a curse. The architecture is mindblowing. The animations of the stairs building, ghosts popping in and out, and the joyful music playing are probably the best parts of the game. That's all there is to it however, It just looks good. You cannot interact with any of the students. You attend classes but the classes themselves are a cutscene with a simple childish QTE puzzle and that's it. Brewing potions are also QTE but after you attend first potions class, you just click one button in order to brew it, no immersion whatsoever. You can't sit on any of the benches in school, you can't sit in The Great Hall, you can't even sleep in your House's dormitory. You learn Unforgivable Curses, the inglorious spells from the original books. And they do not mean sh-it. They do not affect you in any way, no one reacts to it, you can AK all the poachers and remain a good, kind wizard off screen.

My point is, they should've focused on the actual school part and making us feel like we are legit Hogwarts students. What we have now is an amusement park attraction. The only option is to walk around, observe, and eat an apple. The only other game I played set in an environment like this was Bully, and that game offered way more freedom than the developers here have allowed. It's hard to immerse yourself when you're pretty much watching a movie about your character, rather than actually playing as them. And Bully feels like you are actually in a boarding school.

Why this have happened you might ask? Here we go to the point I've mentioned earlier, the open world aspect. We have that HUGE area that's around Hogwarts. For what reason, I want to ask them? Just so you can fill this world with Ubisoft-type missions? That area still feels absolutely lifeless and dead, nothing you do have any meaning besides filling your Field Guide and achieving that 100% completion.

Before starting working on this game, they had to choose the path they wanted to take. If they wanted to go down the path of an open world game, they should've focus on exploration bit, filling this world with interesting content, making moral choices in the game that would affect the state of this world, the state of the characters. There should be side quests that have actual story rather than braindead "bring me this or that" ones. Not just filling huge open space voids with meaningless content.

And if they wanted to appease the Harry Potter fanbase, they shouldn't have made an open world in the game at all. It should've been a linear, story and atmopshere driven game, with heavy lean to the actual school part, part of being a student, studying, activities around the castle etc etc. And the open world had to be cut in half or even three times, leaving only Hogwarts and outskirts, Hogsmeade and Forbidden Forest. A much crammier space but with A LOT more attention to details and quality. It needs to be Bully but in Wizarding World. And they tried to fit everything at once and did not succeed in anything.

Hogwarts Legacy brings nothing new to the table. The graphics and the architecture of Hogwarts are the best part of the game, everything else is a either a weird gameplay decision, or a mechanic jacked from another game, yet done far worse. I would say this game is alright if you have no idea about Harry Potter, you might find it as yet another average open world game with more or less decent storyline. And for all the huge HP fans, this game is way overpriced for what it offers, and you may get bored easily once the initial honeymoon phase wears off around a few hours.

Whatever dude the game sold big time so nobody really cares.
Many have enjoyed it and you're not gonna change that lol!

[BonPadre]

First, let me start with the fact I applaud the fact you took time to write all that. Finally a thread worth reading and responding. So please don't take what follow as an attack, but more as something to keep somewhere in your mind for the next time you want to hype for something.

Originally posted by ZXQuincy:

I’m writing this post as a huge Potterhead and I was hyping this game up right after they've announced it and continued hyping this game up when I first started playing.

Snip - snip

Being a huge Harry Potter fan, what were my hopes and expectation about this game?

Here are the 2 sentences that totally sum up what ride you SET YOURSELF UP FOR (caps for emphasis, not shouting)

Let me start with this : I'm NOT a Harry Potter fan. I never touched any of the books, I never immersed into this world, I only watched a part of the movies (I say that because I'm not even sure I've seen them all, and my probably guess is no). I was probably already too old when first movie came out, so it was just an "OK'ish" movie probably felt already a bit childish to me (just as much as in this game btw), I was absolutely not reading that kind of books at the time.

As such I had freaking ZERO expectations for the game. I couldn't care less, only besides it gives me content for the price I pay.

The issue with today's gaming is : gamers EXPECTATIONS.
There are as many expectations as there are gamers. I could litterally take any of your points and tell you why an other fan would be disappointed on any of your takes, apart a few.

Now the ones I agree, indeed the "outer" world is vast, and indeed very shallow, And to me the school is also very annoying as it's way more complex than it needs to be to be enjoyable to my playstyle, but I guess it stick to what it should be.

There are many shortcut scenes when you progress through classes that makes it feel totally anti-climax like, very empty as you don't get to have any interactions etc, etc.
So I'm 100% with you on that.

Now setting the game aside, the only REAL life tip I can give you, should it be gaming or any IRL life topic :
Keep dreaming, dreams are nice and are that, dreams (not goals, not expectations, just dreams)
Keep your expectations low, always, no matter the topic, because by doing so, you will most likely enjoy life (or games) more often than not, and be amused by small details.
Any high expectations, and you will get thrown rocks after rocks at your face seing only the shortcommings of your expectations, making this life and game experience absolutely not funny ever.

(coming from someone who at some past time had expectations, until life took them away from him, being 50y.o I know a bit at how life can hurt you at any point)

Anyway, I had fun playing the game, will probably play a bit more, seems that many are having fun times due to steam steam charts.
GOTY ? Probably nope, unless everyone else just launch broken games in 2023 or no good game at all. (As I don't hype, I don't even know what good games are supposed to be released this year)

Finally, what mesmerize me the most is the very small amount of peeps having actually finished the main story and plots. at just above 2% it's ridiculously low.

[ZXQuincy]

Originally posted by BonPadre:

First, let me start with the fact I applaud the fact you took time to write all that. Finally a thread worth reading and responding. So please don't take what follow as an attack, but more as something to keep somewhere in your mind for the next time you want to hype for something.

Originally posted by ZXQuincy:

I’m writing this post as a huge Potterhead and I was hyping this game up right after they've announced it and continued hyping this game up when I first started playing.

Snip - snip

Being a huge Harry Potter fan, what were my hopes and expectation about this game?

Here are the 2 sentences that totally sum up what ride you SET YOURSELF UP FOR (caps for emphasis, not shouting)

Let me start with this : I'm NOT a Harry Potter fan. I never touched any of the books, I never immersed into this world, I only watched a part of the movies (I say that because I'm not even sure I've seen them all, and my probably guess is no). I was probably already too old when first movie came out, so it was just an "OK'ish" movie probably felt already a bit childish to me (just as much as in this game btw), I was absolutely not reading that kind of books at the time.

As such I had freaking ZERO expectations for the game. I couldn't care less, only besides it gives me content for the price I pay.

The issue with today's gaming is : gamers EXPECTATIONS.
There are as many expectations as there are gamers. I could litterally take any of your points and tell you why an other fan would be disappointed on any of your takes, apart a few.

Now the ones I agree, indeed the "outer" world is vast, and indeed very shallow, And to me the school is also very annoying as it's way more complex than it needs to be to be enjoyable to my playstyle, but I guess it stick to what it should be.

There are many shortcut scenes when you progress through classes that makes it feel totally anti-climax like, very empty as you don't get to have any interactions etc, etc.
So I'm 100% with you on that.

Now setting the game aside, the only REAL life tip I can give you, should it be gaming or any IRL life topic :
Keep dreaming, dreams are nice and are that, dreams (not goals, not expectations, just dreams)
Keep your expectations low, always, no matter the topic, because by doing so, you will most likely enjoy life (or games) more often than not, and be amused by small details.
Any high expectations, and you will get thrown rocks after rocks at your face seing only the shortcommings of your expectations, making this life and game experience absolutely not funny ever.

(coming from someone who at some past time had expectations, until life took them away from him, being 50y.o I know a bit at how life can hurt you at any point)

Anyway, I had fun playing the game, will probably play a bit more, seems that many are having fun times due to steam steam charts.
GOTY ? Probably nope, unless everyone else just launch broken games in 2023 or no good game at all. (As I don't hype, I don't even know what good games are supposed to be released this year)

Finally, what mesmerize me the most is the very small amount of peeps having actually finished the main story and plots. at just above 2% it's ridiculously low.

Thanks for such a well-thought comment, something you don't really expect in this community hub.

Yeah, gamers expectations can indeed be a bit overkill. Different people like different things and even within a fanbase people might like something that you don't. I really tried to be as objective as possible and tried to think of what an average Potterhead would want of the game like this. And in every attempt I came to the conclusion that it's certainly not what Avalance has given us. I could be wrong of course but that's how it felt like.

[Warrior at the Edge of Time]

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[Charming Cthulhu]

A game called "Hogwarts Legacy" is doing everything in its power to keep you out of Hogwarts.

I was blown away when I explored Hogwarts for the first time. I was blown away when I walked to Hogsmeade for the first time. I haven't really seen anything other than trees, ruins and Merlin challenges ever since. I don't feel like a student. I buy potion recipes in shops instead of learning them in class.

They should've just copied the Bully formula and limited the overworld map to the outskirts of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. I didn't enjoy any of the overworld beyond this area and I actually uninstalled the game when I reached the huge empty map in the South East.

[Harris]

Thank you for this post ZXQuincy. You did well to sum up a pretty common sentiment that is being voiced at this forums in one way or another.

Originally posted by ZXQuincy:

If they wanted to go down the path of an open world game, they should've focus on exploration bit, filling this world with interesting content, making moral choices in the game that would affect the state of this world, the state of the characters. There should be side quests that have actual story rather than braindead "bring me this or that" ones. Not just filling huge open space voids with meaningless content.

And if they wanted to appease the Harry Potter fanbase, they shouldn't have made an open world in the game at all. It should've been a linear, story and atmopshere driven game, with heavy lean to the actual school part, part of being a student, studying, activities around the castle etc etc. And the open world had to be cut in half or even three times, leaving only Hogwarts and outskirts, Hogsmeade and Forbidden Forest. A much crammier space but with A LOT more attention to details and quality. It needs to be Bully but in Wizarding World. And they tried to fit everything at once and did not succeed in anything.

HL is a classic example of biting off more than you can chew, and of going nowhere in particular.

It is not a great HP game, because it does not deliver on what's expected of a good HP game. It also not a great open-world RPG, because it does not deliver on what's expected of a good RPG. For every individual aspect of HL one can think of a game in the last 20 years that done it better. As a result, HL turned out an all-round mediocrity.

It was likely an outcome of a desire to attract and appease the widest possible audience at the same time - something they, not gonna lie, succeeded at. As for me, I'd gladly trade away 75% of the map for more unique secrets, house points, quidditch, enviroinment interactions and romance.

[UncivilS3rvant]

Originally posted by ZXQuincy:

Thanks for such a well-thought comment, something you don't really expect in this community hub.

Yeah, gamers expectations can indeed be a bit overkill. Different people like different things and even within a fanbase people might like something that you don't. I really tried to be as objective as possible and tried to think of what an average Potterhead would want of the game like this. And in every attempt I came to the conclusion that it's certainly not what Avalance has given us. I could be wrong of course but that's how it felt like.

I'm not going to say to much as BonPadre pretty much summed up what I would've said.

I get your expectations, but personally I feel that would be catering to a very niche audience of possibly one, but not necessarily. No one gamer has exactly the same views and there are plenty of people already complaining about lack of endgame whilst others are complaining about too many side quests and 'busy' activities.

I'm not a fan, also in my 50's so missed both the books and the films, but this game as it stands captured my attention just prior to launch with some neat game play footage whereas I was completely ambivalent towards it previously.

I understand your disappointment but just remember that the success of this game makes it more likely that there will be another one and if you have the time and patience for it, you could feed your ideas to Avalanche for inclusion within any sequel or spin-off...

[Heavenstake]

i wish there was more focus on the school and more story driven on that part, you're a student with no background story and come to save the planet... a few fun quests at hogwarts and the rest is just collect this item, kill this npc etc etc