Hogwarts Legacy

The opinions of the critics regarding the story of Hogwarts Legacy are varied, with both positive and negative aspects highlighted. Several critics praise the game for its engaging narrative, well-crafted storytelling, and the ability to capture the essence of the Harry Potter universe. Critics such as Game Informer, Pure Xbox, and Digital Chumps commend the game for its rich and well-told story, engaging campaign, and impactful three-act narrative. The writing is often praised for its attention to detail, well-woven storytelling, and the inclusion of interesting characters from the series. However, there are also critics who express disappointment with the story of Hogwarts Legacy. Some reviewers, like Digital Trends and The Enemy, criticize the story for being nonsensical, lacking depth, and feeling linear and predictable. KeenGamer and GameMAG mention that the storyline falls short of perfection, lacking compelling reasons to continue exploring the story and missing opportunities for a moral meter or reputation system. GameSpot and NME highlight the narrative's predictability, sporadic nature, and lack of emotional tension. IGN and PC Gamer mention that the plot has holes and lacks explanation, while ZTGD expresses disappointment with the handling of choices that don't end up mattering in the end. Overall, the consensus among the critics is mixed. While some critics find the story engaging, well-done, and enjoyable, others criticize it for being predictable, lacking depth, and suffering from technical issues. The positive aspects mentioned by critics include the game's ability to capture the magical feel of the Harry Potter universe, the inclusion of interesting characters, and the immersive experience provided by side quests and activities. However, the negative aspects mentioned include the story's lack of depth, predictability, and missed opportunities for more intricate storytelling. It is clear that the story of Hogwarts Legacy has both its strengths and weaknesses, leaving players with a mixed impression.

The gameplay of Hogwarts Legacy has received mostly positive reviews from critics. Many reviewers praised the combat system, highlighting its variety of spells and strategic elements. Critics such as AusGamers, Everyeye.it, and GGRecon commended the combat for being enjoyable, satisfying, and exciting, with the ability to create spell combos and engage in strategic battles. The game offers a wide range of spells and abilities, allowing players to experiment and find their preferred playstyle. The combat is described as challenging and captivating, with IGN and NPR noting the creative combos and diverse array of spells. The combat system is considered one of the strongest aspects of the gameplay experience, providing depth and excitement. However, there were some criticisms regarding certain aspects of the gameplay. Some critics, like Digital Trends and DualShockers, mentioned issues with clunky controls and frustrations in navigating the map and equipping spells. The combat system, while praised overall, was noted to become fiddly and unresponsive at times, especially when facing multiple enemies, as mentioned by Telegraph and Guardian. The repetition of boss battles was also mentioned as a negative aspect by PC Gamer and Game Rant. Additionally, some critics, such as Riot Pixels and Telegraph, criticized the abundance of repetitive tasks and the lack of motivation for exploration, which they felt limited the overall gameplay experience. Overall, the majority of critics found the gameplay of Hogwarts Legacy to be very good. The positive aspects of the combat system, including its variety of spells and strategic depth, were highlighted by multiple reviewers. The immersive and expansive environment of Hogwarts, along with various activities and tasks, were praised by SECTOR.sk and Press Start Australia. The game's open-world nature, RPG elements, and the ability to freely explore and complete missions were also mentioned positively by JeuxActu and GameSpew. While there were some criticisms regarding clunky controls, repetitive tasks, and limited exploration motivation, the overall consensus among critics is that the gameplay of Hogwarts Legacy is enjoyable, engaging, and offers a variety of activities and challenges for players to experience.

The majority of the critics praised the graphics and visual design of Hogwarts Legacy, considering it to be very good. They commended the attention to detail and the faithful recreation of the Harry Potter universe, particularly in the depiction of Hogwarts Castle and its surroundings. Critics like IGN, NPR, and God is a Geek highlighted the stunning level of detail in the castle, with animated paintings, interactive elements, and a plethora of nooks and crannies to explore. The world-building and level of craftsmanship were also highly appreciated, with GamePro Germany mentioning the meticulously designed clothing and equipment options. The game successfully captured the magical atmosphere of the Harry Potter universe, as noted by PLAY! Zine and Worth Playing. However, there were some negatives mentioned by a few critics. Technical issues were a common concern, with IGN Brasil, Game Revolution, and Xbox Achievements mentioning inconsistent FPS, long loading times, graphical bugs, and visual glitches. SECTOR.sk and Eurogamer Poland also pointed out flaws in facial animations and character models. Texture pop-in, character animations, and miscellaneous open-world jank were mentioned by Game Revolution as detracting from the visual experience. PCGamesN criticized the dull or outrageous attire options and clipping issues with long hair and neckwear. Overall, the consensus among the critics is that Hogwarts Legacy has impressive graphics and visual design, capturing the essence of the Wizarding World. The meticulous attention to detail in recreating Hogwarts and familiar locations within the school was highly praised. The game's visuals were described as stunning, enchanting, vibrant, and immersive by critics such as GameGrin, Screen Rant, and Noisy Pixel. The recreation of the enchanting world of Hogwarts, the intricate design of each environment, and the overall sense of scale were highlighted as the game's most impressive feats. Despite some technical issues and occasional flaws in character models, the graphics and visual design of Hogwarts Legacy were widely regarded as a major strength of the game.

The majority of the critics praised the sound design and music of Hogwarts Legacy, with many considering it to be very good. They highlighted the immersive and nostalgic experience created by the music, which combines iconic Harry Potter themes with original compositions. App Trigger commends the incredible music, mentioning the special 3 vinyl set that sold out in less than a day. Atomix describes the music as a mix of iconic Harry Potter themes and original compositions, while Attack of the Fanboy states that it accurately captures the source material while expanding on it. BaziCenter appreciates the diverse and well-suited music, with nods to the iconic Hedwig's Theme, and COGconnected describes the score as stunning and authentic to the films, curated to fit each scenario immaculately. However, there were a few critics who had some negative feedback regarding the sound design and music. KeenGamer mentions that some environmental sounds, like honking daffodils, were inconsistently balanced, sometimes overpowering character dialogue. GamePro Germany criticizes the lack of emotion and artificial feel in the German voice acting. Vandal points out flaws in the Spanish dubbing and sound positioning. Pure Xbox criticizes the rough voice acting at times, particularly for the main male character. Xbox Tavern criticizes the use of the same voice pitched up or down for different characters, resulting in peculiar inflections and autotuned voices. Overall, the consensus among the critics is that the sound design and music of Hogwarts Legacy are very good. The majority of the critics appreciate the immersive and nostalgic experience created by the music, which captures the essence of the Harry Potter universe. They praise the use of iconic themes and original compositions, as well as the diverse and well-suited music that fits each scenario perfectly. The voice acting is also highly regarded by many critics, with top-notch performances that bring the characters to life. While there are some criticisms regarding certain aspects of the sound design and voice acting, they do not overshadow the overall positive reception of the sound design and music in Hogwarts Legacy.

The overall sentiment towards the voice acting in Hogwarts Legacy is largely positive, with many critics praising the performances and the ability of the voice actors to bring the characters to life. Attack of the Fanboy commends the voice acting for making the characters charming and believable, while BaziCenter highlights the quality of the voice acting and its ability to bring humor to the game. GGRecon also praises the top-notch voice acting and the engaging and well-developed characters. Game Informer describes the dialogue and voice acting as uniformly excellent, and Softpedia considers the voice acting to be outstanding and complementary to the game's universe. However, there are some criticisms regarding the voice acting in Hogwarts Legacy. Eurogamer Poland criticizes the dialogue and character animation, mentioning static and unnatural conversations and poor facial expressions. They also criticize the voice acting of the protagonist. Finger Guns mentions that some voice pitch changes may sound robotic, and Pocket-lint describes the voice acting as detached with poor accents. VGC notes inconsistencies and stiffness in the voice acting, with older actors giving great performances while some younger actors feel inexperienced. Push Square specifically mentions the protagonist's voice acting as boring and robotic. Overall, the consensus among the critics is that the voice acting in Hogwarts Legacy is generally good, with some standout performances and well-developed characters. The positive aspects of the voice acting include the ability to bring charm and believability to the characters, as mentioned by Attack of the Fanboy. The high quality and humorous nature of the voice acting, as highlighted by BaziCenter, also contribute to the positive reception. The immersive experience and captivating narrative, aided by excellent voice acting, are mentioned by MeuPlayStation and PlayStation Universe. However, there are criticisms regarding aspects such as dialogue, character animation, and accents, as mentioned by Eurogamer Poland and Pocket-lint. The overall sentiment leans towards the positive, with many critics praising the voice acting for its contribution to the game's atmosphere and character development.

In terms of the technical performance on Xbox Series X, there were some positive aspects highlighted by the critics. Game Tavern mentioned that the game runs smoothly on Xbox Series X and Series S, with quick and smooth loading times. Pure Xbox also praised the performance on Xbox Series X, stating that the game offers a great balance of impressive visuals and a near 60FPS lock in the standard "Performance" mode. However, there were also negative aspects mentioned by the critics. GameMAG criticized the game for its dampness, unfinished elements, optimization issues, and bugs. They specifically mentioned issues such as impassable quests, character texture glitches, and missing cave entrances. Jeuxvideo.com mentioned occasional animation rigidity, loading times, collision bugs, and texture display issues. Despite these issues, the overall consensus for Xbox Series X is that the game runs smoothly with few frame rate drops and offers a good performance experience. Moving on to the PlayStation 5 platform, there were both positive and negative opinions regarding the technical performance. Games.cz compared the game to Cyberpunk and stated that Hogwarts Legacy is even more broken, mentioning frequent loading times, frame rate drops, glitches, crashes, and character clipping through textures. The Enemy also highlighted technical issues such as bugs and robotic character expressions, as well as slow running and frame rate drops. On the other hand, Atomix praised the technical performance on PS5, stating that the game has stable frame rates and minimal bugs or glitches. Hey Poor Player also mentioned flawless performance on PlayStation 5 with ultrafast load times and various graphical modes. Despite the mixed opinions, it can be concluded that there were some technical issues on the PlayStation 5 platform, but the game still provided a satisfactory performance overall. For the PC platform, there were both positive and negative aspects mentioned by the critics. Merlin'in Kazanı noted optimization issues, with FPS drop problems even when using a high-end graphics card. They mentioned that despite the availability of DLSS and FSR support, the optimization problem still needs to be addressed. Gamepressure mentioned that the game runs smoothly in Performance mode but may stutter in Fidelity mode, and loading times can be longer than expected. However, Wccftech stated that overall, the technical performance on PC is good. They mentioned some performance issues, especially after downloading the update, but considered the technical performance to be satisfactory. It can be concluded that while there were some optimization issues on PC, the game still provided a decent technical performance. In terms of the overall consensus of the critics, it is evident that there were mixed opinions regarding the technical performance of Hogwarts Legacy. While some critics praised the smooth performance and minimal bugs, others highlighted issues such as optimization problems, frame rate drops, glitches, and long loading times. The game received criticism for its unfinished elements, character texture glitches, and occasional animation rigidity. However, it is important to note that some critics mentioned that these technical issues did not significantly detract from the overall experience. It can be concluded that while Hogwarts Legacy had its fair share of technical issues across different gaming platforms, the overall sentiment suggests that the game still provided an enjoyable experience for fans eagerly waiting for it.

The opinions of the critics regarding the replay value of Hogwarts Legacy are quite varied. Many critics praise the game for its abundance of content and activities, such as side quests, collectibles, and customization options. They mention that the game offers a vast open world with numerous points of interest and optional tasks, providing players with plenty of opportunities to explore and engage in different activities (Gamepressure, LevelUp, Twinfinite). The inclusion of meaningful side quests and stories is also highlighted, adding depth and immersion to the overall experience (TierraGamer, GameSpew). The game's progression system, which revolves around completing challenges and collecting items, is seen as a positive aspect, as it adds to the replayability factor (Everyeye.it, TrueAchievements). On the other hand, some critics express concerns about certain aspects of the replay value. They mention that while the game offers a significant amount of content, it can sometimes feel repetitive and tedious (GameOver.gr, KeenGamer). The lack of diversity and depth in challenges, puzzles, and dungeons is also noted, which may impact the overall replayability for some players (KeenGamer). Additionally, the rewards for completing tasks are seen as having little influence on gameplay, which may diminish the motivation for replaying certain activities (KeenGamer). The absence of certain elements, such as Quidditch, is also mentioned as a drawback (Games.cz, Ragequit.gr). Overall, the critics' opinions on the replay value of Hogwarts Legacy are mixed. While some critics emphasize the game's abundance of content, engaging side quests, and customization options, others express concerns about repetitive gameplay and lack of diversity in certain aspects. However, the majority of critics seem to agree that the game offers enough content and activities to keep players engaged for a significant amount of time, making it worth replaying (Hobby Consolas, Xbox Tavern, INVEN). The captivating setting and art direction, as well as the immersive experience provided for fans of the Harry Potter series, are also mentioned as positive aspects that contribute to the overall replay value (Everyeye.it, Impulsegamer, IGN Italia).