#HOGWARTS LEGACY CROSS PLATFORM HOW TO#
#HOGWARTS LEGACY CROSS PLATFORM SOFTWARE#
#HOGWARTS LEGACY CROSS PLATFORM SERIES#

Midway through the story, I learn that the Goblins have a chip on their shoulder because Wizards have decided to hoard magic to themselves, leaving the race to suffer. Image used with permission by copyright holderĪs a newcomer, one passing scene did manage to snag my attention. Any empathy gets buried in a sea of historical worldbuilding dumped out of lifeless NPCs. Their motives are barely fleshed out, and they’re largely there to populate combat encounters.

Rowling’s tasteless depiction, the Goblins of Hogwarts Legacy may as well be orcs visiting from Middle-earth. Perhaps careful to steer clear of author J. In reality, there’s not much to get heated about the story and its characters are too thin to warrant a fuss. The greedy, “hook-nosed” creatures have long been called out as a crass Jewish caricature and the idea of squashing their attempt at independence seemed like a tone-deaf decision on paper. Prior to launch, the Goblin storyline was subject to tremendous scrutiny. The story outside of Hogwarts has its own struggles with creativity. Though, to its credit, they certainly feel about as fun to complete as homework. Rather than putting its own unique stamp on the idea, Hogwarts Legacy simply uses its premise as a means to pepper in a dozen quests. Even Pokémon Scarlet and Violet gets clever with an independent study setup that shakes up an old series’ formula. Fire Emblem: Three Houses uses classes to motivate its RPG hooks, giving players a narrative justification for why their troops grow smarter and stronger through the tactics game.

#HOGWARTS LEGACY CROSS PLATFORM SERIES#

The Persona series uses daily routines to emulate the experience of studying for midterms by day and tormenting perverts by night. There are no shortage of ways to think outside the box when crafting a “school” premise.

#HOGWARTS LEGACY CROSS PLATFORM HOW TO#

It’s the first clue that Hogwarts Legacy doesn’t have a lot of ideas about how to make Harry Potter feel special in a video game. Image used with permission by copyright holder There’s not much depth to the education aspect here as “classes” only play out as 12 checklist-driven subquests, each of which rewards a new spell for completing some challenges while out in the world. That perfect premise is the first area where some expectation setting becomes necessary. Set in the 1800s, the story focuses on a generic fifth-year student who’s tasked with taking down a brewing Goblin rebellion in-between their school duties. If you’ve ever found yourself fantasizing about being whisked away to Wizard school as a kid, Hogwarts Legacy grants that wish. The only unique aspect it brings to the open-world genre is franchise branding, making for a shallow experience that doesn’t offer much more than wish fulfillment for fans unable to let go of a dream. Despite having access to an entire universe of possibilities, its sole trick is using magic to cover up tired video game clichés that feel entirely disconnected from the vibrant source material it’s adapting. Hogwarts Legacy delivers a perfectly competent adventure, but its most unforgivable curse is its lack of imagination. Strip away all those aesthetic trappings like wallpaper from your childhood bedroom and you’ll find something cold and clinical cleverly disguised by warm nostalgia.

#HOGWARTS LEGACY CROSS PLATFORM SOFTWARE#

Looking in as an outsider, though, I can’t help but feel like developer Avalanche Software has cast an effective illusory spell. Every corner of it is stuffed with some visual reference or lore tidbit for fans to pore over as they finally get their chance to role-play as a Hogwarts student. The glitzy open-world adventure game goes to painstaking lengths to bring the franchise to life. For some of the series’ most die-hard loyalists, I’m sure Hogwarts Legacy will be a dream come true.

Hogwarts legacy cross platform