One Disappointment in Hogwarts Legacy

The Wired review for Hogwarts Legacy took a lot of heat this week, and while you might be interested in my take on the review, well you won’t get that. Sorry! But there was something said in that review that people nitpicked, but that I don’t necessarily disagree with. Listen, Hogwarts Legacy is a dynamite game, and if I scored it right now I would give it a solid 9.0 / 10. However, when Wired said the characters feel very one dimensional, I realized I couldn’t agree more.

Walking around Hogwarts was almost everything I wanted it to be. The game looks phenomenal, and visiting areas I’ve seen in movies and read about in the books has been amazing. There has likely been a non-stop smile on my face as I’ve explored the school and the surrounding grounds. Flying? Beautiful. Mounts? Amazing. Interacting with other students? Sub-par.

Listen, the main characters from each house are interesting enough, at least kinda. Sabastien seems to have some major depth, and after 15 hours of play, his story was the only one I really cared to explore. The other main characters you interact with are just alright. They have some depth, but not enough to make them phenomenal NPCs.

My major disappointment, however, comes from the rest of the cast around Hogwarts. Teachers and students seem to float through the halls like nothing is happening. Every once in a while, Peeves arrives to cause some havoc, but that is it for life in the castle. Everything just feels bland and boring. I do agree with someone who joined one of my livestreams. They said, “I’d rather the students be quiet than spew the same few lines for hours on end.” I can get behind that thinking, but that doesn’t mean the castle couldn’t have more life.

What’s weird is that I can’t necessarily pinpoint what life I want to see. Students do walk around, sit on benches and talk, and gather in groups. But that is about it. I want to find the students misbehaving and sneaking around, I want to see the bully students. I want to see kids flying around outside wishing there was a quidditch season.  I want to hear NPCs talking about what’s happening in the story. But they don’t, at least not enough that I have noticed.

This is a phenomenal game, and we will have more content coming soon. Stay tuned!