A Skeptical Review of 'Hogwarts Legacy'

[@LukeStephensTV]

Join me on Stream: www.youtube.com/@LukeStephensLive

[@paulmuaddip5727]

Morbin Puzzles?? Merlin!

[@paulmuaddip5727]

Just caught up with the fact you were doing it on purpose. I have been baited well. Well played sir, well played.

[@JButterZJ]

a skeptical review after ur last video was like its very good, after ur 10 videos before that also were skeptical videos about hogwarts? dude stop milking and make actual different content and dont tell us something for the 6th time.

[@optimumpride7057]

W8 you still havent touch the room of requirement? Well no wonder that your review regarding the weakness and strengths about item composition

[@XxWolfxWaRioRxX]

I'm assuming you played on normal because on hard the AI isn't bad at all, in fact they are extremely fast and relentless so it's not an issue trust me as I've almost finished it on hard I just wish they had more enemy types and made them require different spells to exploit their weaknesses because I haven't changed my main 4 starter spells once lol

[@CoreyisBarackObama]

My favourite part was when John Hogwarts turned to the camera and said; "Maybe, the real Hogwarts Legacy is the friends we made along the way".

[@bazah23]

Ikr it was so emotional

[@neocrimsoncloud]

That was great but my favorite part is when Salazar Slytherin kicks down the door and says "It's Slytherin time" and slythers all over the place. Game of the year for sure.

[@bazah23]

@@NocturneJester sorry I do

[@itsrush2728]

Bro you spoiled it 😡

[@Spider10v]

@@NocturneJester it's an eh for me

[@DetectiveStablerSVU]

This is one of the few games that I get happily wrapped up in side quests and random stuff instead of sprinting for the main quests.

[@R3TR0J4N]

BASED openworld enjoyer.

[@EgotisticalObserver]

Same. They did a good job of making the world feel alive and complex, whereas a lot of open world games feel pretty empty

[@lights_utopia1130]

@@EgotisticalObserver The only thing I don't like is the npcs seem lifeless like they would have in a 2010 game.

[@wingsoficarus1139]

I sow videos and it just feels like a fetching simulator so far. Of course, this is nothing new and I can just ignore those quests but the combat literally looks like spamming some spells, roll, repeat.

[@skylerfreeman1173]

@Wings of Icarus The combat CAN be more , for instance each enemy has specific vulnerabilities: to get dungtongues you have to lift it up specifically when it's attacking and then cut its tongue (both actions taking specific separate spells) . That's just an example, it's deeper if you Want it to be but nothing overcomplicated.

[@jrayyy4147]

The game skeptic in me says this game is a 7.5 out of 10. The Harry Potter fan in me says this is a 20/10, this feels like an absolute love letter to the fans. I got spoiled and I don't even care, just being able to play this is a dream come true. I realize after some comments I believe I held my love for this game back to negate my bias for the Wizarding World at large. This game is a solid 9 with the only issue being a hand holdy and long tutorial

[@svenr.3803]

that is pretty much spot on. Pretty solid, even good Action RPG. But as a Potterworld game it is fucking outstandingly bonkers amazing, jeeez. I am goosebumping out every corner since I started

[@cruzanassassin]

Agreed... I'm not a potter fan... I watched maybe the first 2 movies, and read none of the books... But I love the world and the game captures the tone and world well... It's not perfect... I have some criticisms, but nothing significant

[@zoso279]

I've only seen most of the movies once when it first came out and never read the books but I'm excited to buy it myself. I saw a friend play it and even if I miss the easter eggs and background lore stuff I really like the look of the castle. Glad to see the big list of spells and not all of them being used directly for combat so feel like a wizard trying to use all these different spells for utility. He'd come across some puzzle or out of reach collectable and we'd be putting our heads together trying to think of how to approach it.

[@flipcats]

Totally accurate lmaoo, I can rate this game 100/10 as a Harry Potter fan. It checks everything i've ever wanted on a HP game and i'm so glad it went out great

[@R3TR0J4N]

well said, exactly its like "hey what are other HP titles that would deliver me the same overall experience" and it cost 45$ why not since its an AA title

[@JoeEver123]

Not a Harry Potter fan at all but the amount of details and inspiration in the castle is just unreal. Every painting feel like they have story to tell. Every statue, pillar, wall feel like it have been build from the ground and not just pixel code made a dev. I cant imagine how HP feel rn.

[@TheForbidden_1ne]

I'm a super casual HP fan and was in complete awe of the first sequence and the castle. I'm only 3 hours in and can't wait to dig back into this gem

[@theoutsiderjess1869]

Just ashame we cant go to class offline

[@Ganderlow]

I have put 33 hours into the game so far and I just finished my first trial at level 25. Most people will have sped through the main story, but I intend to take my sweet time and fully explore every possible side plot. There is so much to do even without the main storyline and I get lost exploring or decorating the room of requirement.

[@willallclasses8585]

I am right there with you, did the trial a little earlier but yeah, enjoying the ride.

[@Zeikid]

I figured I wanted to leave some exploration for the other seasons, so I jumped back into the main story to progress

[@fatboygrows]

Lol im level 29 just finished trial 2, 30hrs in

[@bakedstreetyt]

@@fatboygrows CONGRATS HERE IS YOUR COOKIE

[@beastking-zk1yk]

Same here best Harry potter game I'm beat this game. 200 times my game of year

[@Fazeshyft]

The Müeller puzzles joke was pure gold. I was expecting typo fixes to pop up on screen as legitimate errors in recording.

[@SfoglinoNASA]

Marston puzzles lol

[@sonjateresa]

I thought I was having a stroke

[@Odinsings]

I know it’s different but they also made Toy Story 3 the game and it has a toy box semi-open world mode where you customize your toy town and solve puzzles and it’s been one of favorite gaming experiences 13 years later. So I was actually excited when I saw they were on this because of that

[@jakemagulick7006]

That Toy Box mode was a lot of fun.

[@Hersendood]

Oh that was dope!

[@IIconikk]

That game had no business being that good

[@3DInnovations70]

That game is one of the most repayable games ever

[@DancyHercules3]

Oh shit didn't know they made that Toy Story game. That game was amazing.

[@dzlfuryrs]

This game is great, but the potential is INSANE. It's crazy how many small tweaks that they could make to make the game really good

[@SeaNBlack]

Hopefully this game would have a ton of mods for PC

[@divius98]

I had some ideas. Such as a morality system and house cup events

[@joelhess1436]

I hope they make a trilogy

[@jaccimacduff2478]

There is definitely more than enough room for potential. In fact In game they told us no quidditch, and maybe I’m just too hopeful, so I feel like that’s the next big thing they’ll do

[@carontorliak2760]

It seems like they can really make a 10/10 sequal if they follow through with some tweaks while keeping the same vibe. Hell, i think this could be done with some updates and really interesting DLC.

[@C1TRU5]

The Morbius puzzles should have been focused within the castle, there's plenty of space

[@jeremybrown9611]

@LTNetjak lol

[@brandillio16]

the fact this meme is so old and dead makes this even funnier to me for some reason

[@kingtobey7260]

@@brandillio16 It's never dead, trust me. Like never ever

[@RobTheDoodler]

I thought it was Murderin puzzles, or is it Marston puzzles?

[@McSquiddington]

Eh, I thought the Marvin the Martian puzzles were alright. Just whip out your disintegrator and bam. Martin Puzzle's reduced to a crater.

[@lordkorto9173]

This game has nailed the HP lore and getting absolutely lost in the massive world is a Potterheads dream come true. I'm about 20 hours in and loving every second of it.

[@Skylancer727]

Even taught me a rule in Harry Potty I didn't know if till now. Apparently male students are magically blocked from entering the girls dorms and restrooms, however, female students can actually go wherever they want without such. If you play as a male character accessing the women's dorm stairs will result in them turning into a slide or knight statues blocking you while playing female you don't have any restrictions. Kinda funny.

[@alanjames2889]

@@Skylancer727 I remember Ron once complaining about this to Hermione. I believe she stated the reason straight from Hogwarts: A History

[@ihazotherchannel]

Professor fig dies and there’s nothing you can do to stop it also Rookwood is the one who cursed Anne and framed the goblins

[@lordkorto9173]

@@ihazotherchannel Excellent! I'll add great storytelling to that list which makes this a great game!

[@jimmydean1831]

@@Skylancer727 Damn, transgenders BTFO

[@mix1ro]

I'm glad Harry Potter fans finally got a game that did the world justice. it's not for me but I can totally see why people love it. if they made a lord of the rings game like this I would lose my shit

[@warriorredeemed215]

For me it'd be STAR WARS!!!

[@VanHallen52]

@WarriorRedeemed are you excited for Jedi Survivor? I'm so excited for that game.

[@warriorredeemed215]

@VanHallen52 yes! And no....I loved Jedi Fallen Order but my only gripe was that it was a Soulslike. As a Jedi Padawan I wanna feel super OP loool.

[@R3TR0J4N]

same thoughts, also a LOTR game like this would definitelyoffer more gameplay variety and content as how big the lore is

[@R3TR0J4N]

wait.. Shadow of Mordor exist

[@diordru]

I freakin lost it at "*morbin puzzles*" thanks Luke great stuff!

[@theInsaneDoctor]

Its not perfect but its better than I thought. I'm having a lot of fun playing the game and as soon as I stop i just want to go back and play more. Most of the issues I have with the game are ones that could very well be fixed with a patch. The foundation of the game they nailed it and its something they can build upon. Performance issues and lack of enemies can be fixed in future patch and dlc

[@suchalad]

couldn't have they built upon it during the years when they developed the game? why can't games be good on release? and no i don't care that reviewers slap 9/10's on this thing. The story sucks the combat lacks variety and its buggy. It's not a good game. It's exactly what you'd expect. Except it didn't lauch as a disaster like cyberpunk, quick give it a gold medal. you people are so easy

[@iguiste23]

@@suchalad If you got anymore salty you'd ruin the chips.

[@kenjikune2565]

I dunno about you but the father south I went the denser enemies became. I have to TRY to not accidentally stumble on something trying to kill me every couple minutes.

[@suchalad]

​@@iguiste23haha nice parody npc reply. a little subtle but still

[@ihazotherchannel]

Professor fig dies and there’s nothing you can do to stop it also Rookwood is the one who cursed Anne and framed the goblins

[@zoso279]

Didn't know all that stuff about the developer's history. With a studio who made Disney movie licensed games and Tango Gameworks making horror games that were a bit niche it's pretty fantastic for gaming that these two studios could start the year off with power houses like Hogwarts Legacy and Hi Fi Rush. Both having single player, cosmetics earned in game through player feats, and no battle passes/loot boxes it feels like stepping back in time a few generations to where you could just plug a game in and have fun. Will be very interesting to see the future of these two studios for certain.

[@kam2840]

I am in love with the pure attention to detail and care that went into everything lore related in this game. There are so many hidden easter eggs and references to the books and films. It’s such a fun factor for a HP fan.

[@RJ_Last]

Some idiot messaged a bunch of spoilers after I posted a question on reddit asking if the game is worth buying. I'm want to buy it for a friend and have no interest in playing the game. Ended up wasting 20 min of his life and pissing him off because I kept asking dumb questions and referred to Dumbledore as Gandalf a bunch of times. Turns out he is a diehard fan of HP but wants to ruin the game for others. Sad life.

[@MrOmabeast]

The fact the game came out day 1 looking and feeling great is a good sign. They’ll make some updates and I’m sure the game will be even more polished a few months from now

[@1.21gigawatts2]

I don't understand how a game with a lore as extensive as Harry Potter can have such a low enemy variety. There's even a book called "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them".

[@ianpeck3410]

It would be so sick if it had online duels

[@GerardoTostado]

I’d have to disagree at the stealth being problematic. It’s great and useful.

[@mat3714]

It's basically a cheat mode. It ruins any difficulty level you're on, use it if you want but there's plenty of evidence in other games and this one definitely have the same symptoms.

[@red0death1]

Problematic? Na, super overpowered absolutely. I'm just avoiding using it but i could see using it rushing through some content on another play-through.

[@aziandomination16]

reminds me of skyrim stealth if you upgrade your sneak talent max you pretty much become invisible even for enemies right in your face but i have more fun not sneaking around

[@rinas6550]

I agree I also love the stealth in this game. It’s very rare that you can take out a whole encounter with it but I think it’s a good balance.

[@Tattooniac]

Yea he lied about you can walk in front of the enemies. Don’t know where he got them at from. I get caught when I’m in stealth. Love this game.

[@hhattonaom9729]

the lack of enemy variety is seriously a major dropped ball...that's why it's so important to get a control group of player feedback while the game is in development imo. Well hopefully, they can remedy that with a DLC.

[@AlexanderSnow23]

I mean God of war 2018 had the same problem. It was fixed with next game and in the end it was ok because everything else they did was perfect. This game built an amazing base they can expand upon.

[@TwistedSecrets777]

the game was just released and seeing that this game is 100 years pre harry potter and Dumbledore is a 9 year old kid they have sooo many different Directions to put this game into....btw the enemies do respawn ive been killing enemies all day that I killed for the last 21 hours so is isn't that bad

[@TwistedSecrets777]

and as for that DLC even if the fucking thing is $100 im getting that shit I love this game....fuck the haters

[@Foogi9000]

I'm not really buy this game for the combat and more so for Hogwarts itself. *GOOODDAMN* finally a good magic academy

[@themoviecritic1092]

Yeah, but I think people really just want to play it for the feel of being in the Wizarding World

[@ellenripley4837]

Using my broom to drop from above of the poacher camps secretly and becoming invisible before starting an attack is really cool. Having the high ground advantage makes me feel like my character is a badass.

[@gugomkrtchyan1927]

Amazing game, only thing I wish the same puzzles weren’t over and over, but the detail in game is 👌

[@eraycer]

My first 3 days I did not see any of these things, but now that I have the day one patch the grass now turns to snow when you run through it. I enjoyed the video and its funny how we see things so differently.

[@ToKiniAndy]

"First 5 hours" - 10 hours in and I'm still in the "prologue" exploring the castle and side quests. haha

[@BetarayBillLover]

I was actually on the opposite end of what you described I hated the movies and didn’t read the books but I think that really help me enjoy this game and it ended up really winning me over

[@Mr-Geist-Bong]

if you like HP at all you'll love the game. It's so nice to have a magical take on the open world genre. Usually I hate collectables. But I actually spent more time doing side content than the main story. Never knew seeing the stairs form at my feet would be better than just running up some static staircase. So much attention to detail and interesting animations that make the world feel alive. I'm much more of a yakuza dense open world enjoyer to a ubisoft large open world, map icon simulator enjoyer. And remember how in cyberpunk if you want to have good stats you're going to look like a clown, but here we can change all gear to look like anything we've already found or unlocked. I never even had inventory problems, I would always sell anything that I wasn't using and no matter how many times I found myself in Hogsmeade, it never got old or boring.

[@Voeris1]

Appreciate the very honest review... you being able to set aside your HP fan bias, being able to see it and grade it with the "fan filter" on and off.. being objective without it. Good job.

[@aaronf4275]

This is the sort of review I wanted. The other reviewers I watched didn’t even mention that enemy variety was badly lacking nor did I hear them mention the poor AI. To me those are important if I am going to last in a long game. Great review bro.

[@kkammei]

I'm 30 hours in, playing on hard, and I don't personally find the AI or enemy variety lacking that much. I think they limited the enemy variety simply because you don't have that many spells to begin with so there'd be a lot more repeated motifs throughout the designs anyways. The AI seems to be fine too. It mainly their attack patterns that are lacking, not the AI; they typically will spam the same spells in the same order. Bosses are the same way too and since those are typically one-on-one, they end up being way easier than any group fights since you only have to deal with a single pattern rather than multiple.

[@jaccimacduff2478]

And keep in mind that the game launched two hours ago, so there’s buckets of potential for bugs and poor gameplay aspects

[@kkammei]

@@jaccimacduff2478 I haven't ran into many bugs and ones that I have ran into aren't game breaking. PC performance though is terrible. Gameplay, that's really up to the person. I'm liking it a lot but the spell pool is limited and enemies have lacking patterns.

[@angeloftheuchiha.4810]

@@kkammei every spell you see in the movies is in the games, except for the ones wizards make later on. Take the small magic pool up with jk, it's not a game development problem.

[@skylerfreeman1173]

Variety may be lacking but there's specific interactions with each enemy that's there, for instance : you can instant kill spiders by doing a Force spell before they dig. Or steal a crossbow shot from midair , or lift an attacking creature by its tongue then slice it for its material. Some dark wixards also have different animations depending on when you interrupt them. Now you don't HAVE to use any of these but it's neat they're there. Having more variety would help tho. I think this game is largely a Test for that system imo 🤔

[@colereeder5653]

The "Fidelity and Raytracing" setting is absolutely insane and rarely dips below 30fps (XSX) unless you're sprinting throughout the castle, and seems to run fairly smoothly outside in the open world. Definitely at least worth a try, especially within Hogwarts, because it makes the interior look twice as good.

[@svenr.3803]

How anyone could choose performance in a game were small framerate drops have zero consequences but muddled graphics and harsh dynamic downscaling resolution breaks the immersion and magic of the world is beyond me. Actually baffles me how much of framerate wh***s people can actually be to deny themselves the constant beauty of the game...

[@colereeder5653]

@@svenr.3803 Performance is so much smoother, but it's just up to preference.

[@Kvs-vf9nt]

Balanced on ps5 is the best. 👌

[@svenr.3803]

@@colereeder5653 its barely any smoother, but it takes away so much beauty. Typical framerate wh***s everywhere, I pity them. Having to sacrifice constant visual immersion for their fps boner

[@stifledmind]

My biggest issue with the game so far has been targeting. The Dueling Championship on Hard took me a few attempts because I kept targeting the wrong person. I watch my wife play on Normal and although she encounters the same issue, it doesn't feel as punishing (which makes it less noticeable).

[@ZachIsHungry1]

So it auto targets but if you click R3 it'll lovk onto one target you choose and you will only switch(pretty sure I don't use it though) if you move the stick again left or right.

[@liszt646]

You can free aim with L2 or target lock with R3

[@kkammei]

I find that it autolocks enemies standing behind the one that I actually want to target. Kinda obnoxious when there's an enemy when a shield standing in front of you and you waste your spell on the wrong person.

[@stifledmind]

@@ZachIsHungry1 my issue is I would try to move the camera to "center my field of view" so I could see everything going on, but that would cause me to swap targets. It was just weird that the joystick movement to adjust the camera was also the one to tab through the targets. Personally, I would've preferred having to press R3 to tab between targets so I could freely move the camera around without cycling through targets. So far it only felt really bad during the first championship duel. In the open world, where I don't feel confined, I can move my character around with LS to "adjust the camera" and that elevates the issue.

[@R3TR0J4N]

same expeirence, it was tolerable. i guess, it aint a culmination if it didn't had the same probs as the predecessors (deathly hollows 2011) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@WillHellmm]

I hope they keep updating the game to expand upon the enemies since that appears to be the biggest gripe from all the reviews I have seen

[@jasongreen6826]

A sequel to this game will go insanely hard, I feel like they specifically left those things out like quidditch just for it because one thing that will be sick in a sequel I think is broom combat also

[@dr.eldontyrell-rosen926]

All of this needs to run on last gen, the game is held back by yesterday's technology. Hope v2 abandons obsolete platforms.

[@esportsfan2118]

The inventory space is not really an issue because of the transmog system. simply fast travel to any shop and sell everything besides what the gear with the stats you want. you can replicate the look of every item you got with the transmog. but i do agree, there is no harm in simply increasing the base inventory space.

[@MisterK-YT]

Yeah I definitely had to prioritize knocking out some Mervin puzzles cuz the tiny inventory was so frustrating

[@martymcfly88mph35]

After finishing the game, I feel reviewers went too easy on this game. It really wasn't anything that special, besides Hogwarts itself. Which you don't spend enough time in by default.

[@darkshadowsaver]

I agree with that inventory space at first it felt like I wasn't picking up enough stuff now I know that these marven puzzles increase inventory space ive literally got a broom and just started hashing them off the list before continuing the story. Sad to say I really wished they gave us a bigger inventory at the start and give 5 slots every expansion

[@YourDadYoda]

I really believe with a sequel and an increased budget, a lot of these problems can be fixed. I trust this team.

[@YourDadYoda]

@@pmbbmp what about it?

[@AlexMcNulty0]

Yes another 79.99 release and 5 years of development it'll be perfect

[@YourDadYoda]

@@pmbbmp Of course it’s technically *enough* but you’d be lying if you say a bigger budget wouldn’t allow for more possibilities and, maybe, polish. Now that WB sees how much of a success it is, I don’t see why they wouldn’t want to pump more money into it.

[@Guzioo]

@@pmbbmp You have no idea about game development so who are you to say it is enough? Of course it is NOT enough, and there can be so much more money put into and get better by that dummy. And that is exactly what will happen with a sequel, more budget, bigger team.

[@SgtHeartmann.]

Waited for ur review and after I saw it I gave it a chance. I’m a 40 years gamer,and I truly played a bunch of games since I was 7. This is a true masterpiece,thx for your content. Keep it up

[@lilfern3466]

I think this proves smaller studios, indie devs included, are capable of more than people give them credit for.

[@jacobwebb5371]

WB? lol

[@SnowDreamFlake]

@@jacobwebb5371 no, the devs avalanche Software he means.

[@Robb_99]

@@SnowDreamFlake They're funded by WB. A 5-devs-indie-studio couldn't have pulled this off. They're simply not independent 'cause they, well, depend on WB. Impressive nonetheless, a big step for the studio. But they're not indie.

[@lilfern3466]

@@Robb_99 I didn't say they were indie. I said "smaller studios, indie devs included". And though they are funded by a large company, that does not determine the final quality of a product. There are projects with millions more in funding compared to this game and have all either flopped or simply provided a product that didn't meet what the community wanted. What I meant in the sense of 'small' is exactly what Luke was saying. This is a studio that has never tackled a project at Hogwarts Legacy's scale, and as their first attempt, they really did deliver beyond what most people expected.

[@Robb_99]

@@lilfern3466 I get what you mean and those are some very true words. I still think that you should remain skeptical beforehand in a case like this, 'cause this game had all the chances to disappoint. You can fake a lot in marketing and just because one studio did pull it off doesn't mean the next one will, too. Remember No man's sky's launch? Yeah. A big name also doesn't guarantee a hit or a masterpiece. Just don't hype. That's all. Be fans of the games - not the studios.

[@EmilSua133]

Awesome review Luke! Thanks for the thoughtful points youve made on the game. Im glad it turned out well. Side note: you usually mention Cyberpunk and Fallout 4 when it comes to taking the story seriously taking away from the game, but you almost never mention that Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild does the same thing -- the story in that game encourages you to skip exploration altogether since they constantly make it seem like the Gannon is about to break free of Zelda's spell at any given time if you don't hurry.

[@Robb_99]

The game also tells you that you should get stronger before facing gannondorf. So it ties in, imo

[@purposly]

It's been a good few years of small studios releasing bangers way above their belt. Always nice to see,

[@mattsen4297]

Easily in my top 10 games of all time. A HP fans dream come true.

[@GradietPanda12345]

Top 10 is wild. I’ll take your word for it though

[@notBrocker]

Top 3 for me

[@mattsen4297]

@@GradietPanda12345 I'm sure there's lots of games in my top 10 that you wouldn't agree with 🤣 nothing wrong with that

[@liszt646]

When it comes to open world games this is one of the funniest I've ever played, of course it's not as amazing as The Witcher, Skyrim or Elden Ring (for me), but it's way better than other open world games in terms of exploration, puzzle solving etc. It's a 9/10 for me (as a HP fan)

[@R3TR0J4N]

​@@liszt646 seeing the dna of the genre, its an amalgmation of the openworld titles, gave me the same experience as Odyssey when it comes to one of the openworld aspect being utilize w/ environmental interactions as world activities like the use Hogwarts Legacy's "Revelio"

[@NCore_._]

The biggest thing I was sad about was not being able to play Quidditch... And maybe having like the year end with declaring which House won the House Cup since many a time in the quests the Professors give your House, points for your excellence... Tbh having more things being influenced/dependent on which House we belong would've been so nice, instead of just influencing what coloured dress we wear and what common rooms we get access to...

[@jaccimacduff2478]

Yeah I was a little dejected too, but honestly I think they might do updates later cuz you have to remember it officially launched two hours ago, so the idea of future big updates isn’t far fetched. It may be years(maybe even months if we’re lucky) but I think there’ll implement it

[@jaccimacduff2478]

Also idk but them actually telling you no quidditch makes me wonder if maybe the next update is quidditch themed.

[@fantasyconnect]

​@jaccimacduff2478 Quidditch just... didn't exist at this point in time AFAIK.

[@tykamen5588]

I'm not too big on Quidditch. But I can see how people would be upset that it's not in the game but maybe they'll release it as DLC.

[@alexandrarosu6176]

There is a secret cutcene where it SHOWS youre house wins but you Unlockit by finishing all quests(sorry for bad english)

[@attilla.777]

Already have 20 hours.. And I don't even feel like I've scratched the surface yet..

[@enyajungle]

Jesus christ son

[@Billuhhanks]

Idk I think you’ve definitely scratched the surface

[@vetrais7965]

Great review. My one thing I don't agree with is the inventory size tweak. As you pointed out, the equipment system really gives no value to holding on to equipment any longer than it takes to equip the new item (and maybe change the appearance if you don't like it). As soon as I my inventory is close to filling up, I fast travel to a couple feet from a merchant and sell off the lower level equipment. The Merlin/Morbin/Morlok puzzles just give you slightly longer until you have to take a 1 minute break to sell it all off. To me, that's no different than my experience with Skyrim where I'd loot a dungeon, then go sell off all my stuff. I would absolutely love if there was a reason to hold onto more equipment to make a reason to need more inventory space.

[@Nickdvorak1993]

Intentionally calling merlin puzzles by the wrong name is top tier comedy right there my man. I needed this.

[@Patrick462]

Great review - love how your overall positive impression don't stop you from detailing the problems with the game.

[@USDS_TikTok_Mike]

I think the fact that the game is just so massive in scope and scale on top of the fact that there's just so much to do and see.. the fact that there are no major or game-breaking bugs just shows how hard the devs worked on polishing this and because of that, I'm perfectly fine with a few pop-ins or a little long distance blur on performance mode. Overall it's just fun to play and get lost in the world they've created and I'm so happy the game lived up to the hype. There's never been a moment playing the game where I wasn't having fun or enjoying whatever task I was on. And for people who were saying the side quests were just a bunch of fetch quests idk where they got that from because that's not the feeling I get from it at all. They all seem to be introduced in a way to connect certain dots or introduce new mechanics or spells to you in a way that feels natural. And yes being a massive Harry Potter fan does add a few extra points and for me, the game thus far has been an easy 9/10. That 1 point is from just a few issues and things I wished the game had that it doesn't. But the lack of those things is pretty grandly made up for with all of the other activities and mischief you can get into in this game. And one final thought is that I will say I'm absolutely shocked that at no point did I feel like the world was "empty" or boring. Every location is spaced out in a way with scenes and locations in between them that you never really FEEL like you're just in a pointless area that was only added to increase map size. Every location is rich in detail and intrigue. I could go on and on about this game. No, it's not perfect but it's a DAMNED good first attempt at a game like this and I'm really looking forward and excited to see where they take the franchise next in the video game medium.

[@Skylancer727]

Well I will say I have had one major bug. My one side quest requires me to go back to my professor to be taught a new spell, except she's not there even though my map tells me I arrived at my quest location. Likely requires a patch. Or hopefully doing some mainline quests will fix it.

[@Hyrden89]

@@Skylancer727 The npcs wander around the place, they aint always in fixed spots

[@Skylancer727]

@@Hyrden89 the professors usually don't, and again, my quest list says I arrived at my destination. Usually the quest givers don't move. Plus waiting day or night doesn't make her appear. I do know you can actually watch your classmates walk to your next class from cross wands (you can actually follow them all the way there) but as I said, the quest givers tend to stay where they were.

[@悪臭-p9p]

Your teacher dies at the end of hogwarts legacy and can't be saved. Also Rookwood is the one who cursed Anne.

[@Skylancer727]

@@悪臭-p9p I know, it's a better story than any of the books ever had. Also enjoy being banned my friend. 👍

[@sicurr1]

Hey buddy, you're very much becoming my favorite youtuber with your reviews and just general positivity. Even when discussing seemingly negative topics, you keep it lighthearted and fair. Even when you have a bias you try to be as skeptical as possible and I thank you for all of that. I shall continue to enjoy your content and hope you never take a downward spin towards mediocrity.

[@justsomemincedgarlic]

We need this same style game made for Lord of the Rings now.

[@mr.b89]

Shadow of mordor?

[@Xsopit24631]

Not even a big harry potter fan. But this game has taken me back to my bully playthrough days, the sense of wonder is amazing here

[@Red_Rebel]

I’m at my 9hr of gameplay, and I didn’t expect this game would be that great! It even look better than in the recent gameplay previews. The experience is amazing here, especially the amount of stuff you can do with your magic. This was worth the long wait, we finally got a decent probably the best RPG game ever created for a while. It had some details only true fans can recreate. Avalanche did that! Definitely one of my top 5s

[@悪臭-p9p]

Your teacher dies at the end of hogwarts legacy and can't be saved. Also Rookwood is the one who cursed Anne.

[@Red_Rebel]

@@悪臭-p9p thank you for playing it!

[@悪臭-p9p]

@@Red_Rebel pirated it👍saved a lotta money. 7/10

[@garbearfar1394]

@@悪臭-p9p I was so shocked at that point! Came outta nowhere so glad I bought the game for Xbox ps and pc since I plan to do multiple play throughs. Can’t wait for my pc play through

[@petroszagarelos5463]

So agree on that about the gear. Was never excited for an item because they were always ugly. I would many times use just the basic ones that looked good

[@jaydunna2645]

I'm loving this game! its been a while since i played a good western fantasy game, and this is scratching every itch.

[@maineman5757]

Why is no one talking about why WB patented the nemesis system to only not use it in their games.

[@Luke101]

This game is seriously impressive. They really thought of everything. They truly brought the wizarding world to life. It’s actually fucking crazy

[@DavidVideoRecords]

Yeah, so impressive and thought of everything that you can cast avada kedavra and nothing happen to the character, and that there is not a single choice in an RPG game!

[@jebalitabb8228]

@@DavidVideoRecords still impressive considering the game they made before this one was CARS. It’s only uphill from here, unlike a studio like CDPR which went from the Witcher 3 to Cyberpunk LMAO

[@AdolisYT]

Well didn't this comment age gloriously. CDPR dropped Cyberpunk and got hate trained into eternity for it, but guess what? They came right back. Cyberpunks new DLC skyrocketed it's popularity and brought it back into the spotlight as an actual good game, and it also won the Best Ongoing Game Award for 2023. Which awards did Hogwarts Legacy get again? Both games are great but you're ignorant beyond belief if you think Cyberpunk is still a failed title today.@@jebalitabb8228

[@doriandesilva31]

Snape kills Dumbledore

[@helljumper_]

gotta agree on the gearing system and how the Morphin puzzles are placed in the world, it's kinda dumb. I often had to TP back to town to sell items i don't need cause I just ran out of space so fast while exploring. that being said I enjoyed the Marvin puzzles themselves, they were kinda cool. this game is great, it has some minor design flaws though, but it was still a joy to explore the world.

[@johnathanera5863]

It's a 7/10 game. But it's nails the Harry Potter feeling. Aka if you're a fan of Harry Potter, great game. If you're not, it's a meh. Nothing at all you have not seen.

[@dowork002]

I like the final fantasy reference with being able to pet cats. Can tell they were definitely an inspiration for this game.

[@jare8021]

As far as combat variety goes I believe there is more to it than you said when you are trying to optimize each encounter. For example, when there’s a big enemy like trolls or giant spiders it’s best to use imperio to mind control them and then just let them kill all the other enemies for you and when they’re the last one left then the game allows you to sneak attack freeze them because mud controlled enemies see you as invisible, for evil wizards it’s best to use crucio and it’s talent upgrades to spread the cursed effect to far opponents and then use the avada kadavra talent upgrade to one shot them all. For small troll enemies it’s slightly harder to spread curse easily because they tend to surround you and attack more in your face, so it’s better to use non curse spells and their talent upgrades to do aoe attacks since the small trolls are usually closer together than the evil wizards with their attack distance differences.

[@andreespina9747]

I think what it boils down to is that you can approach combat a variety of ways but the game doesnt reward or even encourage you as much to use those systems in the first place. Like I saw a guy take down a troll simply by dodging and normal attacking which is fine but shows that the game doesn't challenge players enough to think creatively about their spells or combos or potions and plants

[@rinas6550]

I’ve played just about every big fantasy open world rpg out there. I’m very critical of the games I play and I will give up if I hit 8 hours and it doesn’t inspire me. Recently I completed The Witcher 3 and its DLCs for the first time, and it now ranks among my favourite games ever, along with Breath of the Wild. This game very much feels like a mix of both of those games, with a nostalgic coat of paint over top. I love that the world is not too big, so there’s something to do almost everywhere you go. I love the environmental challenges and field guide secrets (it took me ages to realize I had to leviosa those statue dudes!) I love the story. I love that they slowly deliver all of the gameplay systems throughout the game so that you only come to things as you would benefit from them, and it doesn’t overwhelm you. ( tho getting the broom sooner would be a nice) I also have to say as a trans woman, I think Sirona Ryan is one of the best examples of trans representation we’ve ever had in gaming. She’s respected, badass, and actually a part of the main story instead of some Easter egg tucked away in an obscure side quest for ally points. And she’s actually voiced by a trans woman. Which is very important to me. I have to say I don’t agree with your comments on performance? For me on PS5 the game has performed exceedingly well. I actually prefer to play on Fidelity mode without RT because it’s a super smooth experience and I don’t find that this game needs 60fps at all. 30fps also looks better to me because of the cinematic styling of the visuals. Witcher 3 on PS5’s fidelity mode runs like dog shit and that game is from 2015… so I find hogwarts legacy’s performance really impressive. I do agree that much of this game feels last gen, especially the character animations and the sound mixing. Which I would say is… bad. The characters sound like they’re in a studio most of the time, not in the hallways of hogwarts. The levels of the speech volume are just all over the place. If I had one major complaint for the game it’s that. There are other issues like yes, the gear and inventory systems could be a lot better. Yes, almost all the gear is very, very ugly. I also find it annoying that if I put my hood up my characters bangs get removed? Why?? 😂 there are definitely a lot of things they can work on for the sequel or dlc.

[@DrownedLamp]

"The third-floor corridor is out of bounds to anyone who does not wish to die a most painful death." So if we're fine with it then it's back in bounds?

[@coffeefox5703]

A future 2-3 hour video on Hogwarts Legacy? Yes please!

[@LuvU2x]

I have never been a Harry Potter fan. I don’t hate it, I just never got into it. However, with this game I had an absolute blast going through the quests. I honestly don’t think this game crutches or is dependent on your previous thoughts of Harry Potter.

[@RGB2060]

This is the first game i pre-ordered since Titanfall 2 and just like the former it did not disappoint me in the slightest. No sense of regret, no "I should have waited for better performance", no "this game feels half assed and they'll complete it later". Absolutely worth every cent. A nice full, complete, working game with no mtx. And if you were always a fan of the Wizarding world this game is pretty much a constant full on orgasm.

[@offtheshtz]

Get a life geek

[@nicholaspearson6770]

I always find your videos super helpful when feeling out new games, truly your calling in life.

[@mikedelgrande5296]

I agree with most of this. But despite its problems this game is incredibly fun. I’ll sit down to play it on my day off and before I know it 14 hours has passed by and it’s 5am. Been waiting 20 years for this game

[@yoshighomi]

Wow... I love the honest review... this definitely helped in my decision. I was trying to decide on which game I should jump into Elden Ring vs Hogwarts. I think for now, ill jump into Elden ring, and pick this up after I've finished. Thanks again man... Great review! Hoping you do a follow up review on the updates.

[@jshklt]

Absolute no-brainer, Elden Ring is WAY better. This one is still fun though.

[@yoshighomi]

@@jshklt Awesome.. then my path has been chosen. Do you happen to know if he did a review? Ive been trying to find it. I'd like to get your intake.

[@waitbalthy6342]

@@yoshighomi Elden Ring is a straight up masterpiece, any objective reviewer will tell you that. I'm not a souls guy, and put the game down the first time I tried it but damn... I'm a 100 hours deep nowand I've had some of the best and most memorable gaming moments in my life playing it. Go for it dude, look at some guides if you need to, especially starting out to give you a sense of direction. Explore EVERYTHING. It's difficult, but everyone can do it. Hogwarts is awesome as a HP fan, but its a bit of a generic open world game. Still great, but a lot of stuff we've seen before. ER is a once in a generation game (like when witcher 3 first came out). I'd play Elden Ring first that way you can go into Hogwarts legacy once it's been patched a bit. Enjoy !

[@yoshighomi]

@@waitbalthy6342 I appreciate this genuine feedback. I'm definitely excited for this. I'm finishing up Forbidden west and was trying to see where i can go. But coming off of my Bloodbourne/DS3/Demons Souls kick, I think i will go for Elden Ring. Thanks you very much for the advice.

[@bvvillz1]

I like the part where he talks about the megatron trials. The mermaid trials were indeed fun.

[@sydhamelin1265]

Spoiled for me on Facebook. Just writing this for when people can start reading comments again. And THANK YOU for that warning, very heads up and nice of you.

[@PrettyAight]

Nailed the Merlin bit, Luke. Great review!

[@XxWolfxWaRioRxX]

Hogwarts legacy just reminds of Guerilla's success with Horizon they had never done that genre before and absolutely nailed it huge praise to the devs it can only go up from here with DLC and future games, it's a solid 8/10 and has earned its good reception hands down

[@suchalad]

bland boring story, lacks enemy variety, buggy and bad ai. But i'm a loser so 8/10!

[@XxWolfxWaRioRxX]

@@suchalad you're upset at someone's opinion and you're hiding your face alongside a bot name but yeah I'm a loser... Get a life you man child :)

[@OogTheCyclops]

@@suchalad 🤓

[@Jayyy667]

Lolz

[@zerotodona1495]

Too bad guerilla failed in HZD 2.

[@OddboxGames]

I thought I was gaving a stroke until I realised that your 'Merlin Puzzles' bit was you just having fun 😂

[@OdinArrow28]

The fact you said Merlin all the different ways like you said you should do, I couldn’t stop giggling because you didn’t break at all 😂

[@tuttutteddy8889]

I’m absolutely loving this game! The added stories, the seemingly endless side quests and how they kept the law eg. The killing curse is one hit and no micro transactions! I find one Xbox series s there are a fair amount of graphic glitches, mainly rendering but nothing game breaking or too bad. Not even close to finishing, and don’t want to. Hoping they’ll be expansions in the future.

[@robertmercer6656]

Honestly, my Series X really isn’t struggling. Yes, I’ve had a couple of loading symbols for the castle doors, but it’s been pretty good. I truly am enjoying this game, it’s quite unique. The combat makes me wants to keep fighting, and keeps me out of the castle. Honestly, it makes me do side quest JUST FOR COMBAT and spells. Man, this game has blown me away.

[@snooglers]

I agree across the board and only five hours in lol, but looking forward to getting further. Particularly, your mention on gear I noticed very quickly and was sad to hear the numbers are relatively meaningless. Also jarring was even with minimal to moderate exploration, I had 3 green, two blue, a purple, to then sell extra gear to buy an orange piece for the tutorial to pop up with less impact than the Microsoft paper clip…. I’m just about to get Incendio for context. Hooked by the hype, sold by the fact most reviews are saying it was solid (literally got half way through your first skeptic review, paused it, and bought it), staying for the fan in me loving the world, Hogwarts and all.

[@MatticusFinch1820]

Didn't even know this game existed let alone did I have any inclination to look into it or play it at all until the screeching online started and then I had to buy it. I know absolutely nothing about Harry Potter never was a fan of the series and didn't even plan on giving this game a look but I'm 20 hours into it now and it's absolutely one of the best games I've ever played definitely the best game I've played since Elden ring.

[@TheForbidden_1ne]

I'm kinda glad that there's a silver lining to come from the hissing cockroahes making so much noise online. The game really lived up to the hype and is an absolute blast to play

[@heyoted8910]

Luke, this is such a great review. It's also so nice to see a reviewer in studio. I really hope I can get my hands on this game in the near future!

[@Ashaira]

It's clear they had a limited budget for this games. And honestly i feel they spent it well. I would not trade a single detail from the castle for more enemies or dungeons. It feels they put enough effort in the enemies and puzzles to keep you engaged and spent the rest into the world and characters. I can see this being a great base for a truly open world BOTW style HP game in the future. I would pay for a game of this quality that lets you go through all 7 years of study at Hogwarts.

[@jeroekoe]

Good you mention the optimization issues, because i see many people with the latest gpu systems that have frame drops and stutters. Including myself 3060ti system 32gb Ram. Cant run smooth at medium. I really hope they going to fix this

[@damionval]

Your review was one I was really looking forward to. Thank you for an honest and open review without the BS surrounding the game. I'll be getting it, happily!

[@b_hak]

It isn't BS? People unalive themselves because of hateful rhetoric touted by JKR.

[@Lance_Lionroar]

There's no BS surrounding the game. Let's just ignore the angry little group of "oppressed" lefties.

[@unknownunknown-cd7rx]

@@b_hak JKR dosnt "hate" people, im assuming you don't even know how the "controversy" happened if you think JKR hates people

[@silverhost9782]

@@b_hak Oh no! Anyway

[@ElijsDima]

@@b_hak Clearly the solution is more hateful rhetoric in return.

[@jonomozzy2169]

In a game set in a universe where where magic is commonplace and vastly sized vivariums are carried around in a knapsack... How is limited inventory space even a thing... I suspect there was more to the merlin puzzles, and for lack of time or creativity they just lazily tied it into expanding a pathetically sized inventory. They didnt even make the effort to assign items weight or even a basic size-based slot requirement.. boots 1 slot, gear 2 to 4 slots, ur broom 6 slots, and so on. As frustrating as this is, i think we can all give them kudos for the transmog system, and saving of designs... as tbh this would be the main reason we would hang on to old gear... aside from the being broke AF for a while, and cringing everytime u have to destroy something, when vendor is nowhere in sight

[@dylan6208]

Spoiling achieves very little to aid trans rights, but I'd argue it isn't being done by "distasteful" people... I think the huge issue is miscommunication - buying a game does not inherently make you transphobic (obviously), but you're still sending the message that you're okay with the possibility of your money trickling down into JK Rowling's wallet where she'll inevitably put it towards anti-trans causes. One tree doesn't make a forest, and I'll likely eventually play the game too, but don't try to frame the people upset about the game as "trolls" and "distasteful". Do what makes you happy! But still just try to be aware of what you're doing

[@nealeTH]

I completely identify with your observations. I cannot understand the glowing reviews this game is getting. AC, Cyberpunk and the like get crucified for a glitch, yet HL,has been given a free pass. HL not only is full of technical problems, but the fundamentals (tech, design, visuals, mechanics, game construction) are, at best, last gen. I was wondering why my impression was at odds with virtually every mainstream review site and comment - am I play a different game to everyone else?

[@oldgamer1299]

My score is 9.5/10 it's simply amazing, game of the year for me. 44hrs in and having a blast!

[@noahpauley]

The game sucks ass and so does the franchise

[@karpalolonkero9067]

@@noahpauley Based

[@oldgamer1299]

@@noahpauley

[@悪臭-p9p]

In the good ending of Hogwarts Legacy, players will struggle alongside Fig to contain the magic as the room crumbles around them, eventually being successful in sealing it away forever.

[@karpalolonkero9067]

@@悪臭-p9p That's not even a spoiler bud

[@dirtrock2261]

I really appreciate your review. I do want to clarify something about Cars 3. It was part of the remaining contract after WB bought the studio from Disney. Basically a loose end to tie off after the sale. I would call the Infinity series their last true game. I will say though, those two series of games are way better than they had any right to be. Highly recommend giving Cars 3 a try just for the hell of it. Another game series from Avalanche worth a look is Tak

[@dandimock6447]

Thank you for reviewing this game instead of giving into the idiots who are harassing other game reviewers 💯

[@TheOhrenberger]

Not a good look that Luke is seemingly more concerned about dumb spoilers than he is about trans people. He could have easily also quickly talked about how JK Rowling is a bigot, but instead the only controversy he talked about was dumb fucking spoilers. Really shows where he falls on the spectrum. You all say you don’t care about politics but that’s not true. Luke showed his political leanings very clearly here.

[@alexbarth7708]

@@TheOhrenberger you sir, are a special human being. 🤦‍♂

[@user-fr5hs4vj4d]

Hay Peter, there is no controversy with jk Rowling. Men can’t be women and women can’t be men and yes there are only 2 genders. Get bent fool.

[@TheHeadincharge]

@@TheOhrenbergerI care a lot about politics, but I don’t think it needs to be in every video

[@avekrso285]

@Peter explain how she is a "bigot" please. Because if stating a basic objective fact is bigotry to you then you're reaching religious levels of ridiculous.

[@fearlessgamedev]

I loved the Murder puzzle mispronunciation joke. Greqt vid!

[@rewmeister]

the Cars 3 balloons look awfully similar to the ones in Legacy.

[@Naustix]

This was a great and VERY fair review, thank you for this information

[@lucasm4790]

Those people spoiling really are spiteful. I got spoiled on a fanart of Pikamee, because she was excited to play the game, this added to the fact she got a lot of hate on her stream chat and didn't stream the game... this is the kind of thing that really get to me

[@Billuhhanks]

I read some too and I don’t care. Spoilers don’t bother me I’m still gonna enjoy the game. These morons thought the game was gonna flop and now that it’s exceeding the hype they’re spoiling it out of spite

[@R3TR0J4N]

wait for real? well shit, felt sorry for her.

[@悪臭-p9p]

players will reach the Repository and come face to face with Ranrok. After a brief confrontation, the goblin will absorb the Repository's power in full and transform into a dragon-like creature who serves as the final boss battle. The events that occur after this fight are where Hogwarts Legacy's endings differ. In the good ending of Hogwarts Legacy, players will struggle alongside Fig to contain the magic as the room crumbles around them, eventually being successful in sealing it away forever.

[@crashboredom2]

Marstin, mervin, Morman, morbin, marvin.....so glad you included that. I was cracking up!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@eja35oz]

Love the amount of options we have in combat. So many spells to use and combos to mix together. I prefer having so many ways to fight easier enemies then to have a have limited options with tougher Ai.

[@prezzeruk4054]

Iam surprised how good the gameplay is! Spellcraft and combat is very impressive, once u get used to changing spells, its quite intuitive! The flying is really well done! About 8ish hours in and loving it

[@悪臭-p9p]

Your teacher dies at the end of hogwarts legacy and can't be saved. Also Rookwood is the one who cursed Anne.

[@robinbernardinis]

Player: *gets broom* Also player: "It's morbin' time"

[@gotshmoked1764]

pretty boring. really sucks when you’re walking around the castle and you don’t even realize it’s night time until all the NPC’s start to vanish… isn’t exploring suppose to be off limits at night? so you’re suppose to move around avoiding professors and having a complete different feel at night? total missed opportunity

[@Miasaint10]

Exactly my thoughts. There should have been a whole night system where you have to avoid the prefects or teachers or the caretaker. Missed opportunity.