{"id":64975,"date":"2023-01-26T15:36:06","date_gmt":"2023-01-26T14:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.joypad.ch\/?p=64975"},"modified":"2023-01-26T15:36:06","modified_gmt":"2023-01-26T14:36:06","slug":"hogwarts-legacy-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.joypad.ch\/en\/hogwarts-legacy-anteprima\/","title":{"rendered":"Hogwarts Legacy: Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

It's always better when you expect little. That's how we felt when we were first invited to Hamburg's Mehr! Theater, where the most successful modern-day sorcerer's apprentice musical is usually staged, to get our hands on Warner's \u201cHogwarts Legacy,\u201d which is being released on February 10th, for the first time.<\/p>\n

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\nAnother Harry Potter game? Frankly, we weren't expecting it. The good thing, though, is that Harry Potter himself isn't in it at all. Hermione and Ron aren't either, because they hadn't even been born at the time of the plot. Now everyone who never managed to identify with the original characters or who thinks the literary originals are hopelessly overexposed after all the film adaptations, radio plays, stage plays, musicals, and theme parks have a chance.<\/p>\n

If it were the first Harry Potter game...
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Characters from the Harry Potter universe received almost a dozen titles from Electronic Arts (in close cooperation with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment) between 2001 and 2011. They are said to have sold 50 million units, which can be considered a respectable success. The games were simple, rather child-oriented, and aimed at casual gamers. None of them redefined the action-adventure genre, which was probably not expected by anyone. They belong to the large mass of licensed products that try to satisfy fans, do not take incalculable risks, and do no harm to anyone. Of course, the LEGO spin-offs, which were received much more favorably by critics, should also be mentioned. LEGO and Harry Potter, moreover, work very well in the world of bricks. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, which tells Harry's early story (curiously for Android and iOS), and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, an AR game similar to Pok\u00e9mon GO that Warner Games San Francisco launched in collaboration with Niantic in 2019, are also set in the Wizarding World. Seriously, did anyone play that? Apparently not many, because Wizards Unite has been offline for a year now.<\/p>\n

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New study, new approach<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Now the Salt Lake City studio Avalanche Software, with no prior experience in the industry, is set to bring the Potter franchise into the open-world era. Their track record isn't exactly stellar: they were recently responsible for the playful implementation of various Disney brands such as Bolt, Toy Story, and Cars. With the games Disney Infinity, which are hardly talked about anymore, they at least gained open-world experience. Cars 3: Driven to Win, released about five years ago and with a Metascore of 72, isn't exactly a crowning achievement either. But it at least shows that the developers, who have been active in the industry since 1995, know their craft. Hogwarts Legacy attempts to turn us into apprentice wizards and send us into an open-world environment to live out our adventures. Consequently, the journey begins with a character editor. It offers everything you'd expect from a character editor, at least as far as appearance is concerned. In any case, the self-made heroines and heroes are excellent and serve their purpose exactly: they are the first step towards the illusion of immersing ourselves in the world of Hogwarts and identifying with the characters we've created ourselves, instead of simply acting out the plot of a book.<\/p>\n

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Welcome to Hogwarts!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In this game, we step into the shoes of a novice wizard or witch and are transported to the Scottish Highlands in a flying carriage. During the process, we learn we are allowed to skip the first four semesters. Talent and all that. The long and arduous road to becoming a master of magic would have been beyond the scope of the film, and frankly, we're quite happy to get started right away. After a few minutes of cutscenes, a tragic accident occurs, throwing us into our first trial, in the truest sense of the word. We won't tell you more, because it's always best to know as little as possible about the story. This much only regarding the setting: the year is 1890, and at this point, no one has ever heard of a boy named Harry, which makes \u201cHogwarts Legacy\u201d a kind of prequel to the famous books. A clever move, because this way you can set aside the entire Potter canon and have a clear head for your own magical career.<\/p>\n

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So let's jump to Hogwarts, where we'll first take a little flight around the humble estate. Because flying on broomsticks is probably part of a fifth-grader's basic magical equipment, and therefore everything runs smoothly, including takeoff and landing via the PS5\u2019s circle button. Everything is there: the lake, the Shrieking Shack, and the Forbidden Forest are visible in the distance and immediately make you want to explore them. Although there's also a Quidditch arena \u2013 the developers already made that clear in advance \u2013 there won't be an option to play the sport in the finished game. Well, the topic is perhaps a bit exhausted by now, right? After all, we're here to fight and save the wizarding world, not to chase a ball. Of course, there's also a well-recreated Hogsmeade a short distance away, and we hope we'll get to visit the legendary tavern sooner or later. However, the hands-on in Hamburg didn't yield any insights, because the kind Warner employees were forced to call us back as soon as we strayed too far from the paths laid out by the preview guidelines.<\/p>\n

Awkward Familiarization: First Steps with the Combat System<\/strong><\/h2>\n

At some point, we\u2019re allowed inside, but even there we\u2019re denied the right to explore freely. That\u2019s not how things are done when you arrive somewhere as a newcomer. The library, however, is open; it looks magnificent and gives us the impression that there will be plenty to discover and gather on the ground. So far, most of our companions have remained silent, like the young woman with the thundercloud above her head. Even the living portraits, which line the walls of digital Hogwarts, have nothing to say to us for the moment. But they can move. In the original, they are something akin to a magical communication system, capable of accepting orders and transmitting information. If something like that were to appear in the finished game, it would truly be a wonderful idea, for which we would immediately award a few extra points! With nothing else to do, we head off for combat training. Leading the session is our youngest classmate, Lucan Brattleby, who, with his slightly pompous attitude, can only belong to Gryffindor (and we hope we haven\u2019t offended anyone!!!). He\u2019s also a member of the \u2019Crossed Wands\u201c dueling club, which we join right away, of course. You can\u2019t start making friends at a new school early enough. Hey, who just shouted \u201dDamn opportunists!\u201c? In our first match, we make fools of ourselves because we\u2019re missing a key piece of information. By holding down the R2 trigger, we use the symbol buttons to select a special spell: in this case, the triangle button to break through the enemies\u201d protective shield. Spells take a little while to recharge. Until then, you can target the enemy with R2 using a standard attack, which we finally managed on our fourth or fifth try. Where is the Warner staff when you need them?! Additionally, you can lock onto an opponent with R3 and switch between opponents using the left stick. Overall, it feels like you\u2019re in a third-person shooter. It suits us.<\/p>\n

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Freedom for the dragons! ... aka our first mission<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Now we can put our newly acquired skills into practice, meaning in the first mission. It takes us to the Forbidden Forest, which is a bit ironic, given that it's the only area outside of Hogwarts that wasn't forbidden to us during the exhibition. In the menu, we deal with equipment and take a look at the map. There's the \u2019Owl Post\u201c for news, a progress bar which, naturally, is still sparsely filled in our case, and the Collections area, which confirms our previously expressed hope of collecting assignments. For the next mission, \u201dProfessor Onai's Assignment,\u201c we are equipped with additional spells via cheats and catapulted into the middle of a poacher storyline and a \u201dtroll attack,\u201c which naturally still lacks a bit of context. Accompanying her on the mission is a Hufflepuff companion named Poppy Sweeting. The centaurs give a small taste of the local fauna and seem quite impressive. Collecting ingredients for anything, following clues, and searching for hints for plot progression \u2013 all of this has been seen before, but here it seems very well-rounded and coherent overall and is brought to life by the excellently animated and flawlessly voiced characters. And the game world looks pretty good too, doesn't it?<\/p>\n

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Good DualSense integration<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Shortly thereafter, we learn in a rather painful way that stealth elements are also part of the game and that it is definitely advantageous to go invisible in advance by casting a spell. So that it doesn't get boring, we can't use it to move completely unnoticed. Enemies can still hear us and it's better not to get too close. Finally, we stumble upon an illegal dragon fighting arena, where we have to free a captured flying lizard. Before this, we have to free a dragon egg from a cage and have no idea how the locking mechanism is supposed to work. The \u201csecret\u201d is: with the right and left stick we move the inner and outer ring. The DualSense controller's vibrations tell us where they need to be moved. We are curious to see how this will be implemented in the PC version. This small interlude also does not reinvent the puzzle wheel, but offers a welcome change, which we would like to see more of in the finished game.<\/p>\n

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Learning from failure: don't forget the powerful special attack!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

And so you enter the fray, during which the combat system proves more versatile than it first appears. The core of the matter is that you can switch from one set of spells to another using the D-pad. Since we didn't get the chance to figure out how the different spells work during our one-hour play session, the only thing that helps us is learning by dying. The key to success is the awareness that a powerful special attack can be unleashed with L1 and R1 as soon as we've filled the combo bar in the bottom right. Deflecting attacks with the square button, dodging, and occasionally lobbing a healing potion with the D-pad are also part of the recipe for success, which in this case leads to the liberation of the poor dragoness.<\/p>\n

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Previews: We're ready to go!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A good hour was enough to enchant us \u2013 forgive the all-too-obvious pun \u2013 and to look hopefully towards February 10th, when Hogwarts Legacy will be released for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. In other words, we are positively surprised and can't wait to explore the charming fantasy world. During the hands-on, however, we were still kept on a leash. But what we were able to see, we liked very much, without exception. There are no truly surprising gameplay elements, but that's not always the case if the essential aspects are well implemented. With regard to the magic and combat system, it will depend primarily on how well the \u201chundreds of spells\u201d promised by the developers are integrated into the overall concept, how imaginative they are, and whether they actually differ from each other in a relevant way. In any case, we are in a good mood and have already packed our bags so we can finally head to Hogwarts.<\/p>\n