Harry Potter PC was an Unreal Game (Literally) - Sorcerer's Stone Game Review

[@KaiserAfini]

No macrotransactions, no grind and a genuine intent to make a game rather than a chore. Its hard to believe EA was ever like that.

[@nicktauro1839]

Fun fact, if you collect every wizard card, you get a best ending.

[@babbygremlin]

alot of the issues brought up visually were because you used d3d11, which adds really thick post processing, ambient occlusion, bump mapping, bloom and the REALLY REALLY strong reflectiveness to literally every surface in the game for no reason. the ambient occlusion adds weird shadows to every seam on the map so alot of areas just have dark corners on every single line so a hill that looks round in unreal, suddenly is very visibly 6 faces in d3d11

[@eropandasennin13]

The only HP game that I properly played was The Philosopher's Stone on the Game Boy Color. I remember it being a neat little RPG at the time but I'm not sure if it holds up.

[@RetroSmoo]

Still a fun time waster lol I got to lvl 94

[@KaiserAfini]

I remember it, it was a better experience than the GBA ones. More spell variety, more exploration and a more meaningful bonus for collecting chocolate frog cards.

[@FloosWorld_AoE]

8:33 Soule actually started composing before John Williams did. :D

[@joeykeilholz925]

This is one of the earliest games I played probably on PC... I'm only remembering it now looking at the footage. It's so hazy but I remember it SO well at the same time. Crazy how long it's been since I even remembered that I played this There's no doubt it's the right game with the stupid minigames I always got stuck on and frustrated

[@raresmacovei8382]

It's easily among the highest end Unreal 1 games ever made. So yes, it looks extremely good for the time.

[@TheGameTunes]

The reflective surfaces are a side effect of forcing the game to use DX11.

[@AceWing905]

Really have to disagree with your take on the music The music was absolutely great and is what contributed so much to the thick, magical atmosphere that's prevalent throughout this game And that just completely wowed me when I was a kid Yes, it's copying the style of the movie's music, but the end result is something that fits better in a game rather than a movie and it works very well The rest is spot on yeah It's a game that a kid who likes Harry Potter will enjoy, and not much else

[@Pelagion98]

You absolutely have to do one on Chamber of Secrets on PC as well! That game is built on this one, and it does everything much better. Such a great game!

[@DanielScasso]

100% agree, 20+ yrs and i still remember the duels and to get better items for Quidditch and other stuff

[@raresmacovei8382]

Chamber on PC is the best HP game bar none

[@spyczech]

Iirc the Jeremy soule soundtrack was made independently so he couldn't have possibly heard it to rip it off

[@kennethgdula712]

Loved this game and all of its janky charm. I remember playing this for hours and just listening to the footsteps and grunting of Harry, didnt need to progress at all just running around Hogwarts was enough for my kid brain. Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro were also wonderful games that kept me occupied as a kid.

[@KIRKCOLLECTS]

I loved the old Spider-Man games! Chasing Venom in the sewers was terrifying.

[@Estorium]

Man I love the look of UE1. The lighting was always so vibrant and beautiful (and exaggerated), and I just love the look of the textures. It brings back so many good memories of LANing Unreal Tournament until the early hours of the morning.

[@Billy_Lenz]

This was the very fist real game I ever played aside from Kid pix and Reader Rabbit, which are just point and click games. I was only 6 years old and had never owned a computer until I got this game. So being able to control Harry Potter and walk around Hogwarts casting spells was mind-blowing. It was one of the most magical experiences of my childhood. The nostalgia I feel for this game is overwhelmingly powerful.

[@anafu-sankanashi8933]

I remember when Harry Potter was in full swing i played these games all the time. Never beat tye final boss, but great memories. Also the snails in the second game gave me PTSD

[@knallfroosch]

tbh i think the imps are the worst. for some reason they never got stunned when i first cursed them. and that's coming from someone with violent arachnophobia. i recently played cos again and the aragog thing was disgusting af but also easy.

[@randymagnum8178]

Dude you’re quickly becoming one of my favorite channels. The videos are well done all around. I’m mostly an fps player and this is how I found you I think. But all your videos are good, Really liked the system shock video even though I would never play that game myself .

[@KIRKCOLLECTS]

Thank you Randy!

[@dntnawall]

oh god that minigame for learning spells. i remember as a kid i didn't realize you had to hold the mouse down and had to ask my mom's friend for help lol

[@jstinlee]

when i was younger, played a bootleg copy of this game where all the textures were mixed up but still enjoyed it very much.

[@badkluster]

The golden era of movie tie ins. Every new film came with their PS2, XBOX and GameCube video game.

[@GrandHighGamer]

IIRC the game was made before the movie, so it's pretty likely Soule hadn't even heard William's score yet. Otherwise I imagine they'd have done what every Star Wars game did and just had the soundtrack be snippets from the movies. Wouldn't say they're copies anyway. The main theme is mostly I think piano and maybe a glockenspiel, with some string sections and a bit of choir. The Williams score is a digitised celeste with signature big brassy sound and no human voices at all. The only time you hear big brassy elements in Soule's score is in 'danger/combat' sections, but those just sound more like Soule's work on elder scrolls and company of heroes (probably down to them being recognisably the same set of VST instruments).

[@jklmnopq666]

Man, nostalgia for this game hit me like a brick to the face uahauahua Congrats on the GOG affiliation my dude 😸

[@KIRKCOLLECTS]

Thank you!

[@jeffreywaugh926]

That snitch chase looked like the mechanic in the quidditch World Cup game. I’d love to see someone review that one

[@paulhermann2956]

I absolutely adore this game! Playing it when I was still young enough to be waiting for my invitation to Hogwards its sounds and sights giving me a deeply nostalgic feeling! So, I basically was taht kid you describe in your video! ;o;

[@MidnightMedium]

I just screech laughed like a psycho when you described how the HP characters looked between Ps1 and pc XD

[@colinmartin9797]

that plot synopsis took some goddamn twists and turns I wasn't ready for

[@akimbofurry2179]

I got all three in a box set, not realizing it was not the same as the ps1 from my childhood Still need to pray the other two.

[@rdh_gaming]

11:48 teaching the kids on aim tracking

[@MidnightMedium]

Ok, this is one of my favorite review videos I've ever seen on KZbin. Big props to the humor and how much of HP you have to appreciate to be able to get it all, much less come up with it!

[@Player-10]

Nostalgia. Pure perfect gaming memories. Wish there were more of them

[@NicknineTheEagle]

You appear to be using HP1 Movement and Camera Improvement mod which is a rather important point you've omitted. This mod heavily revamps the controls and the camera so they're more like HP2 (which is a major improvement over HP1 in every aspect). Original HP1 handling is pretty janky - tank controls, stiff camera and you can't move while casting spells. This is something that needed to be mentioned in the video.

[@TheGameTunes]

Whenever I try and use the improved controls mod the game doesn't start/engine crashes with an error message. Any tips to get it working?

[@NicknineTheEagle]

@@TheGameTunes I have never used this mod myself, so no tips from me.

[@Twisted_Logic]

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one that grew up with the GameBoy Color version lol. I remember that one being hard as hell, but I don't know how much of that is how young I was and how much was it actually being difficult. Remember getting stuck on the part where you get cursed with a constant damage over time effect.

[@KIRKCOLLECTS]

That one was a turn based rpg right? I feel like those can be tricky for kids no matter what.

[@maximumFLYINGcowbell]

I remeber being really scared at a part in this game where there was a dark hallway and i didnt want to go down it

[@U.F.O_0908]

Love your channel, dude. Just clicked on this out of curiosity (and my love for early Unreal engine games). Played the first Harry Potter on PS1 as well. Fond memories. Great content, positive vibes and interesting trivia.

[@feefety1200]

My big bro played this when he was a kid, while i played the Lego one.

[@civilwarfare101]

The last HP tie in game was funny, Gears of War with wands lol.

[@KIRKCOLLECTS]

I never played it but I remember thinking that was funny too. Not a bad idea tho for those particular adaptations.

[@civilwarfare101]

@@KIRKCOLLECTS I suppose, the last few HP movies was basically a lot of action and the spells were BB guns and one attack was an actual bullet lmao.

[@GnuChanOS]

this is 2 years ago but how i can download fan made patch?

[@georgestefanou4250]

I remember this game and loving every minute of it thanks for bringing back the memories

[@jasleinei744]

Awesome review! Could you do one for Chamber of Secrets PC game?

[@Barrie96]

Man for the time this was released, the game looks and feels amazing

[@Danthehorse]

You forgot the other Unreal trait, horrible exaggerated movement of geometry and depth of field around the player POV. It's like looking through a wide angle lens.

[@MiSt3300]

This was my childhood game too... I absolutely loved it!

[@_fawkes]

I remember playing this a lot, it being one of my earliest PC games. There was no shiny surfaces though. I guess it's a compatibility issue on modern systems.

[@JohnLiuFromHK]

How about another video for chamber of secrets? ;D These two are my favourite childhood games

[@vidmasterx7]

where would someone play these games today? i dont see the on steam are they on any other service such as epics games or batlenet?

[@doriang666]

The score is different because they were literally made without knowledge of each other and no internal communication.

[@amandachiles2023]

So I mainly played the pc prisoner of Azkaban which I still have and will play again every once in a while. One of the best games ever level of difficulty was slightly more. There was this slide bit towards the end that always took me over an hour somehow haha

[@theblobconsumes4859]

Great video. The "story summary" with a slew of references, as well as the comment about the author, earned a like from me.

[@Bryan-v6s]

how do you best play this game in 2024??😅

[@ElSelcho77]

Never knew this game existed. Thank you for this nicely done review. Can't wait for the new HP Game :)

[@KIRKCOLLECTS]

Same! It's looking like the HP game we need.

[@Pyro-Moloch]

I loved the first three PC games. It's a shame nobody knows about them.

[@raresmacovei8382]

Plenty of people know about them. Not everyone had a console.

[@DanielScasso]

How did you manage to make it run on W11? or did u use a VM?

[@TheBreakingBenny]

I'm on Windows 10, just needed a cracked HP.exe file to avoid SafeDisc and shit

[@Latchfpv]

Love how this era of unreal engine games looked to be honest.. I very well may track this down on an abandonware site to poke around a bit in and see what gives.

[@KIRKCOLLECTS]

Same. Makes me nostalgic when I see them.

[@Latchfpv]

@@KIRKCOLLECTS Yeah, they sorta calls to me in a way, I don't know how to explain it, and seeing as this is one of them that slipped through the cracks as it were for me, worth answering said call.

[@doriang666]

The Chamber of Secrets was the best out of the tree epic PC games from back In the day.

[@baxterbunny4403]

This game look very good

[@emulation2369]

I loved it on Ps1...

[@N4rukami]

"Jeremy Soule´s score was... alright". Yeah, no. It is probably one of his best works, remembered by each and every child that has played this and the other titles. I wonder how long it will be before we see Hogwarts Legacy mods popping up replacing the soundtrack for this one. It´s one of the better aspects of these games. Also, Soule had never even heard John Williams' rendition of the HP ost when composing this.

[@herrvorragend391]

Bro, your story summary had me laughin with tears in my eyes. But isn't nuking LV426 from orbit considered a unforgivable curse? I'm sure you had something mixed up there... ;)

[@chronicdelight879]

Snape Snape Severus Snape! ᴰᵘᵐᵇˡᵉᵈᵒʳᵉ

[@fnoigy]

Nyhurreh Pottaaahh

[@jakeleroy3663]

Haha lol, I bought the game for 25¢ in opened

[@KIRKCOLLECTS]

Haha nice!

[@Shad0w5carab]

Deeply offended at your assessment of the soundtrack 😂 ok maybe not offended, but I do think it’s better than just okay. Maybe it’s just the nostalgia talking but I could listen to some of the tracks from this game all day and considering the developers didn’t have access to the film scores as the games were made at the same time as the first film I think Soule did a pretty incredible job of capturing the magical whimsy of the HP universe.

[@davidmcbride5357]

If I owned game I release it on android.

[@Solizeus]

It was a good game

[@mikey.morano635]

Im sorry I have to heavily disagree with you, the ps1 version is way better, maybe not graphically, but definitely in the gameplay

[@blakevictor6072]

you dont like what she said on twitter? she was on point.

[@GriminalE13]

JK on Twitter is based mate.

[@FelisImpurrator]

That's a funny way to spell "lunatic".

[@GriminalE13]

@@FelisImpurrator She's a complete nutjob like most leftists but when it comes to her beef on twitter in regards to calling a woman a woman and a man a man she's spot on. 👳🏾‍♂️

[@eropandasennin13]

No one here cares about that.

[@eropandasennin13]

@@hinglemccringleberry1255 You know, you can just call them transgenders.

[@eropandasennin13]

@@hinglemccringleberry1255 And yet my comment's still there. Maybe it was something else you said.

[@panthekirb7561]

Terf = normal feminist

[@nobodythisisstupid4888]

I loved the first two harry potter games so much. They are deeply seared into my memory since they are some of the best movie tie in games I played. Even though they are in a premade universe based on the movies, the games still have a distinct art style and the got real creative with the layout of Hogwarts.