Something to look forward to: The Harry Potter universe is one of the most well-known entertainment franchises in the world — it even has its own park at Disney World. However, it’s been a long time since we got a half-decent game set in everyone’s favorite wizarding school. Fortunately, that seems to be changing now: Hogwarts Legacy is currently in development and just got its first proper extended gameplay demo yesterday at Sony’s latest “State of Play” event.
In short, the game looks excellent and seems to be surpassing the expectations of many (understandably) skeptical gamers on social media. The game will be a third-person RPG in which you create your own Hogwarts student from scratch, who will enter the school for the first time as a fifth-year (in the House of your choice).
What’s especially surprising about this title is the sheer variety of gameplay opportunities the developers have included. You can attend classes, explore a fully-realized Hogwarts interior and exterior, brew potions, grow plants, meet and care for magical creatures, befriend fellow students (who can then act as companions), customize your outfit, craft magical gear, learn new spells, charms, and hexes and… Well, you get the idea.
This is a big game, and not just in terms of gameplay. The world itself seems massive, too. In addition to featuring Hogwarts and its immediate surroundings, Legacy players will be able to visit the wizarding village of Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest, and various wizard “hamlets” dotted around the world. To reach these locations, you can use a broomstick or seemingly take to the skies on the back of a noble Hippogriff.
Hogwarts Legacy isn’t merely a magical school simulator, of course: there is a deeper story at play. The goblins of the world seem to be plotting with dark wizards to overthrow wizarding kind and establish a new world order, so to speak. Naturally, you — as the protagonist — will have an interest in uncovering and foiling those plans, which seems to be the crux of the main story.
Frankly, we can’t do the game justice with a brief summary in this article, so we encourage you to watch the official gameplay demo for yourself. Hogwarts Legacy is set to release sometime during the holidays this year, and it will not feature any microtransactions whatsoever. It will release on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PC, and Nintendo Switch.