Sony delights us the evening with a State of Play entirely focused on the world of the most famous wizard of the last thirty years: Hogwarts Legacy it took a long time and after almost three years from its announcement, between postponements, delays, probable cancellations, grave silences and a Warner Bros Games who seemed to have given up everything, here we finally know the truth. The doors of the most prestigious school of magic ever will open wide and they will do so in a “future past”: in fact we will live ancient years, old in a certain sense, well before the advent of the Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort and the legend of Harry Potter the boy who survived the curse Avadakedavra. Legs on our shoulders because there probably won’t be a train at platform 9 and 3/4 waiting for us at King’s Cross.
Getting to school
We are in the late 1800s and ours will be a far from common case: in fact in Hogwarts Legacy we will face school lessons as a fifteen year old, which is irregular given that wizards and witches arrive in this place as soon as they are eleven. Another immense peculiarity of the protagonist is undoubtedly his ability to manipulate the “Ancient magic”, that primal power that permeates so many things like Hogwarts itself (in the books the castle is often described as an example of perfect magic created by the union of the four founders). Using the power we are endowed with, a power that not even our professors fully understand, we will be called upon to solve puzzles, puzzles and reveal the plans of an evil Goblin named Ranrok who, allied with the Dark forces or evil wizards, is looking for a dormant power within the school; using that power, the evil Goblin claims to overwhelm the wizarding world.
In the game everything cries out for customization: it is in fact possible to create your own personal avatar enriching it with details and then face the “challenge” of the talking hat, thus being selected for one of the houses that, as I am sure you know, are Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Slytherin and Ravenclaw. The choice of home will change the development of our business as we will or will not come into contact with different characters who play in the school: many of them will prove to be precious allies who, if helped, will return the favor and will also allow us to access multiple secret areas of the castle. But beware: someone could always ambush us.
Become a magician
Every self-respecting wizard or witch has his calling: you could be war machines, always wand in hand, ready to cast curses and control spells, or talented potion mixers that can give you that extra edge (although your spells will be basic, no less effective), finally you could feel more connected to the Care of Magical Creatures and become a magician who does his utmost to safeguard and grow these beasts who, consequently, will be your allies.
The choice of what to upgrade in the course of events will be up to you, just as it will be up to you to have conversations with ghosts known as Nearly Headless Nick, eg. Talking to NPCs will also unlock unique skills and secret techniques.
No one has ever become famous at Hogwarts without a little help: this is why the Room of Requirements comes to us, which will allow us to have access to all the work surfaces, whether they are for practicing magic or mixing potions. Thanks to the house elf Deek you can also access the Vivarium, a real “place among places” that will allow you to study the magical creatures that you will capture or save in the world surrounding the school; this space is fully customizable with structures, forests and whatever it takes to live with the creatures you take. Over time, you will learn to master magic and here will begin the real clashes with the dark wizards and the bestial creatures that lurk around the castle.
Beyond the confines of the castle
As we know, beyond the gates of Hogwarts are inaccessible places (even if we don’t know how much yet): there is Forbidden Forestthere is Hogsmeade (which incidentally is entirely explorable and you can find different equipment inside)
But what is beyond? The developers of Avalanche they have given an answer to all this: taking into account that as the days go by the seasons will change too around you, the school year will flow and you will be able to visit snowy places, warm summer lakes and spring woods. On board a broomstick or riding a hippogriff you may come across countries of sorcerers, each with something to tell, items to sell and missions to assign. The world around the school is full of dungeons, abandoned towers and places full of danger, but beware: exploring too much could lead you on the wrong path e live the experience of becoming a Dark Wizard.
Some of the magical creatures we will encounter will be corrupted and sick by an evil miasma of which little is known but which, thanks to our power and the Room of Requirements, we will be able to heal and steal its secret. Basically, in Hogwarts Legacy you become a highly respected sorcerer or witchlearning the use of magic in all respects.
Take the wand
Hogwarts Legacy is brilliant: the glance is optimal, this is undeniable, but unfortunately already from this presentation video it is clear that the game has been in development for some time and that it was certainly planned for the older generation of consoles, certainly not for Sony PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Agree, what we have seen is a product still in the optimization phase and nothing prevents developers from putting their hand to a possible patch that enhances the aesthetic appearance of the game up to to make it very similar to a next gen title, but for now let’s take what we see for good. Several stealth phases have been seenmoments in which we will be able to use potions that make us invisible to eavesdrop on this or that speech, moments in which it is necessary to activate a mode that highlights the object to be touched, a kind of detective vision that is now present in almost all RPGs with a three-quarter camera. Some fights and the protagonist’s ways of reacting reminded me a lot Batman: Arkham for the modality in which the character seems to respond and counterattack on the enemy: obviously I’m talking about the modality and not the action that the protagonist performs in this case, since he strikes with magic and not with punches. The idea of being able to visit the world is very interesting surrounding the castle, the latter it could also be fertile ground for any DLC and, being a single player game, having the ability to add content is always optimal for the longevity of the title. In the trailer we could also appreciate places never seen even in books like the Hufflepuff House and this was “magical”: apparently the development team worked hard with the materials they were provided with, serving as a bridge between print and movies that people have loved for over twenty years. The risk with a game like this is that you fall into repetitiveness and the “already seen”: after all we are talking about an open world Action RPG, titles that I am sorry you remembered come out like mushrooms in a wood by now, but I am confident given the genuineness of what is seen on the screen tonight. To stay up to date about Hogwarts Legacy and all the content that will come out, I invite you to follow this link, for the rest: see you at the school of magic starting from the end of November, beginning of December 2022.
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