It’s the biggest release of the year so far, with the wizarding world coming to life in video game form.
Hogwarts Legacy is already breaking records, with a peak viewership on Twitch of 1.28 million at launch.
While the lucky group who pre-ordered the deluxe edition of Hogwarts Legacy have been playing for close to a week now, those with the standard PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions are only just getting their hands on it.
Here at Quest Daily, we’ve played over 50 hours of Hogwarts Legacy and we’re happy to share it’s everything we wanted it to be and more.
Navigating the world
Hogwarts Legacy features a sprawling open world, with renowned Harry Potter landmarks and plenty of new and exciting areas to explore. I don’t think we ever anticipated the game’s world to be this big.
Everything looks incredible.
The entire Hogwarts castle is at your fingertips, as well as the wizarding town of Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest, and various magical villages, caves and ancient ruins.
Getting around the world is made simple thanks to the Floo network, which works similarly to books and films, but its access points are scattered all across the map.
You can travel to Floo locations anytime by heading to the map. Locations you’ve unlocked are marked with a green flame.
The map, while overwhelming at first, is your best tool for getting around.
There’s a lot of detail to sort through, from active quests to fast travel locations, important landmarks, and challenges.
Flying
You can’t simply grab a broom and fly around, you have to earn it.
Once you’ve had your first broomstick flying class, a specialty flying store in Hogsmeade will open its doors.
Here you can buy one of five broom designs for 600 galleons (I personally went for the ember model).
Your broom will be your best friend for navigating the world.
In a sticky situation? You can jump on your broomstick and fly away mid-fight, area permitting.
Your broom may feel slower than you’d hoped from the first flight, but rest assured there are a few broomstick upgrades available.
And it’s not just brooms, players can also hop on the back of a magical creature, Hippogriff or Thestral, to see the sights.
On PlayStation 5, the DualSense controller shines brighter than Lumos. You can feel the thrust of your broomstick and the power of each spell through the adaptive triggers.
My cat was triggered after hearing purring coming from the controller while petting in-game cats.
Casting spells and combat
There’s no shortage of spells in Hogwarts Legacy.
Whether battling dark wizards and witches, taking out a group of nasty goblins or solving an ancient puzzle, there’s a spell for everything.
There are more than 30 in the game, including classics such as Wingardium Leviosa, Lumos, and Incendio.
Tip: If you fall from a cliff or a tall building, you can whip out your broom mid-fall to prevent yourself from getting hurt. (Image: Quest Daily)
You can learn some spells by going to classes, but most of them will be taught by teachers or students as part of assignments and quests.
Combat is fluid, fast-paced and feels incredible.
Some enemies have spell-type-specific shields, meaning you’re forced to utilise different kinds of spells in order to beat them.
If you’re heading down the dark path there are, of course, a few “unforgivable curses” for you to learn along the way – if fact, there’s an entire quest line dedicated to them.
Unforgivable curses
You’re first able to learn Crucio, the torture spell that inflicts excruciating pain on your enemy.
The next is Imperio, which takes control of the enemy’s mind and has them switch to your team for the fight.
Then finally you can learn the instant killing curse, responsible for the death of Harry Potter’s parents and his infamous scar, Avada Kedavra.
You won’t learn Avada Kedavra until late in the game, but it lives up to its name – this spell can take out most bosses in one hit.
Tip: You can unlock more than one spell wheel, enabling you to set custom button maps and quickly switch between your favourite spell sets.
In the latest TikTok trend, many aspiring dark wizards and witches say they plan to go on a Voldemort-style rampage across Hogwarts on day one, but we’re sorry to say that’s not an option.
Friendly fire isn’t a thing in Hogwarts Legacy – and it’s probably for the best.
Quests and story
Hogwarts Legacy is set in 1890, 100 years before the story of Harry Potter.
Spoilers aside, your character is admitted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry quite late and you start your Hogwarts journey in the fifth year.
To catch up, you must perform a series of extra assignments set by the school’s professors.
It’s a basic storyline to suit most player styles – although I did find my character to be a bit too chirpy and friendly at times, especially when I had maxed out the Dark Arts skill tree and killed hundreds of Ashwinders and Poachers.
Many quests will require you to tick certain boxes before proceeding, which can be managed from your quest log.
You can find new quests by speaking to characters across the world but some will come to you.
I found questing very similar to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. You’ll find yourself being flooded with quests and you’ll slowly pick them off as you go.
You’ll have to wait if you arrive too early for a quest or class, but there’s a quest marker that you can interactive with to speed this along.
There’s no time of day indicator (other than the sun and moon).
This also means you pretty much never have to sleep. You could wander around the world for days without a care in the world.
Tip: Shopkeepers are also open at all times, so you’ll never have to worry about the time of day.
Owl Post acts as your in-game communicator, with characters reaching out and offering new quests for you while you explore the world.
Hogwarts Legacy has five game difficulties; Story, Easy, Normal, Hard and Very Hard.
For the seasoned gamer, someone who laughs in the face of Elden Ring, I’d say Normal is baby mode.
Tip: Some tasks require it to be either night or day. You can adjust time by accessing the map and pressing the right thumbstick.
Tip: If you find yourself running out of space – sell your gear. All gear items you find will be added to your appearance library. (Image: Quest Daily)
Character customisation
The game is full of magical customisation options.
From your wand and clothing, down to the finer details inside your own depiction of the Room of Requirement.
Your character’s face shape, skin tone, voice pitch, and hairstyle can all be set when you first launch the game.
For me, the most exciting thing was creating my wand. Everything can be customised – the type of wood, design, length, all the way down to the core.
Tip: Every piece of gear can have a custom appearance. Once you find or unlock a type of clothing it appears in your gear library. Hover over the gear slot you want to change and press Square or X to change the look and keep the perks. (Image: Quest Daily)
It seems the controversy surrounding the creator of the Harry Potter universe, JK Rowling, hasn’t deterred the majority from playing the game.
Avalanche Software, the team behind Hogwarts Legacy, has created something incredible and should be commended for that.
Hogwarts Legacy is nostalgic and personable, it offers freedom and possibility, along with a Firebolt of action and adventure.
It’s the game I dreamed of as a child and that’s where my love for this game and the Harry Potter world stems from.
Hogwarts Legacy is out now on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One gamers have to wait until April 4, while Nintendo Switch gamers will need to wait until July 25.
Quest Daily scores Hogwarts Legacy:
9/10
Quest Daily was supplied early access to Hogwarts Legacy by the game’s publisher.
