2023 is setting out to be another great year for open-world role-playing games, thanks to the many games launching this year, including Avalanche Software’s long-anticipated Hogwarts Legacy. Set in the Wizarding World, the game is a dream come true for all Harry Potter fans, as it will allow them to attend the legendary school of witchcraft and wizardry and live out their virtual life as if they were Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley or any of the other iconic characters that have made the franchise one of the most popular ever.
If you are considering enrolling in Hogwarts but are still unsure about what a magical education entails, you have come to the right place. Here is everything you need to know about Hogwarts Legacy.
Release Date, Platforms, Editions
Hogwarts Legacy was originally announced during the September 2020 PlayStation 5 Showcase, but the game was already known to be in the works, as a mysterious trailer for a Harry Potter game leaked online in 2018. Originally scheduled for a 2021 release on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, the open-world RPG by Avalanche Software was first delayed to 2022 and then later to February 10th, 2023. This wasn’t the last of the delays for owners of old-generation consoles, as the game was further delayed on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One until April 4th, 2023. The Nintendo Switch version will be the last to release on July 25th, 2023.
Multiple Hogwarts Legacy editions will be available when the game launches on PC and current generation consoles on February 13th. The Standard Edition will include a copy of the game and the Onyx Hippogriff Mount as a pre-order bonus. The PlayStation 5 Standard Edition (and PlayStation 4 edition once it launches) will also include an exclusive quest, The Haunted Hogsmeade Shop quest, and the Felix Felicis potion recipe pre-order bonus.
The Hogwarts Legacy Deluxe Edition features some additional bonuses, such as 72-hours early access to the game and the Dark Arts pack featuring the Thestral Mount, the Dark Arts Battle Arena, the Dark Arts Cosmetic Set, and the Dark Arts Garrison Hat. The Dark Arts pack will also be made available for separate purchase.
The Hogwarts Legacy Collector’s Edition will feature even more goodies on top of those offered in the Deluxe Edition. The game’s ultimate edition will include a life-size figurine of a floating magic wand with a book base, a steel case, and the Kelpie Robe cosmetic DLC.
Setting, Genre, Mechanics
Hogwarts Legacy will be a single-player, open-world RPG set in the Wizarding World. Still, players shouldn’t expect to meet many familiar faces outside of ghosts like Nearly Headless Nick, Peeves, and Professor Cuthbert Binns, as the game is set in the late 1800s, 100 years before the events of the Harry Potter novels. In this original story, players will take control of their custom-created character (including transgender options) as they start their fifth year at Hogwarts after surviving a mysterious incident.
This student has been granted late admittance as they are tied to ancient magic that could help deal with the goblin rebellion led by Ranrok and the Dark wizard Victor Rookwood. Both seek magic that wizards are trying to hide, which could lead to the end of the Wizarding World if it falls into the wrong hands. Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is not directly involved in creating the game’s story, as the developer is merely using her work as a foundation.
While Harry Potter fans shouldn’t expect to meet the characters they have come to love over the years, school life in Hogwarts Legacy is sure to feel quite familiar. After creating their character, which can be customized in a variety of ways, players will be able to pick their House, attend classes to learn new spells, how to brew potions, how to defend against the Dark Arts, and so on, met fellow students and teachers and deepen their bonds with them. Getting to know students like Natsai Onai, Poppy Sweeting, and Sebastian Sallow better will come with plenty of benefits, as they will be able to teach you new spells and abilities and even follow you on your adventures as companions.
Magic spells will obviously play a major role in the Hogwarts Legacy experience. With the game featuring a major assortment of spells, players can approach the game’s many combat challenges and puzzles in different ways. Whether you want to face your enemies head-on or take them out one by one stealthily, Hogwarts Legacy will offer you plenty of powerful options, although different approaches will be required depending on the situation. And if the dark arts are more to your liking, you can go down that path, as Hogwarts Legacy grants you ample freedom in how you want your live your wizarding life. The game will also deliver a solid challenge, as all gameplay showcases released before launch were played at normal difficulty by an expert player.
Combat, however, will only be a small part of what Hogwarts Legacy will offer to up-and-coming witches and wizards. When not busy with classes and assignments, players will be able to explore not only the entirety of the school, which will feature all of the iconic locations seen in the movies, such as the Hogwarts Houses common rooms, as well as some never-seen-before ones, but also the village of Hogsmeade and other smaller villages filled with NPCs and quests to complete. With multiple travel options available, including brooms and magical beasts like hippogriffs, exploring the beautiful world of Hogwarts Legacy will be as engaging as taking down enemies and completing all sorts of puzzles using your magic spells. While broom flight and broom racing challenges are in the game, Quidditch won’t be available.
Customization options in Hogwarts Legacy won’t be limited to the main character, as the game will feature the Room of Requirement, the main living space that can be fully customized with different cosmetic options. Additionally, it will be possible to add items like a potion station, gardens, and more to make Room of Requirement more than just a fancy room to visit every now and then. Also accessible via the Room of Requirement will also be the Vivarium, a place where your character will be able to interact with rescued beasts.
PlayStation 5 Exclusive Features
Hogwarts Legacy will take full advantage of the PlayStation 5 exclusive features to offer a more immersive experience. The DualSense adaptive triggers allow for more flexibility in combat, while haptic feedback will also make each spell feel unique, isolating all of the effects to the right side of the controller to simulate the main character holding their wand in their right hand. Many other in-game activities, such as crushing ingredients for potions or flying around, will have their matching haptic feedback, further enhancing immersion. The DualSense controller light will also flash when using spells and show a glowing color of your chosen House when not in combat. These features may be available on PC as well when using a DualSense controller, as with other titles.
The PlayStation 5 version of Hogwarts Legacy will also come with two display modes, Fidelity and Performance, which will target 4K resolution and 60 frames per second gameplay, as well as support for Activity Cards and Game Help features.
PC System Requirements
While Hogwarts Legacy will run on a variety of system configurations, the system requirements, both minimum and recommended, are slightly higher than expected, considering it is a cross-gen title. While the game supports HDDs, an SSD is recommended to reduce load times and make the experience as smooth as possible. Upscaling technologies such as AMD FSR and NVIDIA DLSS will be supported, including the new DLSS 3.0, which RTX 40xx cards owners can use for even better performance.
Minimum
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 OR AMD Ryzen 5 2600
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 or AMD RX Vega 56
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 85 GB available space
- Additional Notes: SSD (Preferred), HDD (Supported), 1080p/60 fps, Low Quality Settings, Upscale Performance Setting
Recommended
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i7-8700 OR AMD Ryzen 5 3600
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 1080 Ti or AMD RX 5700 XT
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 85 GB available space
- Additional Notes: SSD, 1080p/60 fps, High Quality Settings, Upscale Quality Setting
Trailers and Gameplay Showcases
Products mentioned in this post
