Before I Begin, I will discuss the controversy surrounding the game: I do not support JK Rowling's views. I support trans people, and I am an ally to them. However, I did pre-purchase this game, specifically the deluxe edition. The developers of the studio have done their best to distance themselves from JK and her views, and have created a product that millions of people around the world have been waiting to experience for a very long time. They deserve every bit of credit for crafting this game and deserve to be paid. Whether this game succeeded or failed wasn't going to affect JK in the slightest, as she had no input in the game development and likely wouldn't approve of some of the decisions this team made, including adding a trans character to the game. The people who would have been hurt directly by this game being successfully boycotted would be the people who poured their time and energy into this game, the developers themselves. Being a recent graduate with a game development degree, I did not want to see them suffer because of the opinions of a singular, rich person with a terrible worldview. I believe that if you want to play the game, you should feel free to do so without worry, as JK is likely only making pennies on the dollar in royalties on this game. If you are boycotting the game because of your morals, that is okay too. You are a free person and nobody is forcing you to buy the game and play it. Just do not be the person that harasses another over their choice to buy or not buy the game. With that out of the way, let's get into the review.

In the time I have spent thus far playing this game, I have come to find that it is a fantastic experience, and a refreshing one too. In an age of always online live service games being released regularly, a single-player game that can be played offline from anywhere with a ton of content is nice to have.

As the proud owner of a Steam Deck, this game fits the bill for everything I have looked for in a game I can play solo in offline mode. I frequently take my Steam Deck to work, and many games will not work due to the restrictions of my workplace internet that the company has implemented. I have a lot of downtime during some of the shifts I work, especially on the weekend, leading to extreme boredom at times, hence why I take my Steam Deck. Say what you will about performance issues on PC (which there are), but the game's overall quality is very high. Most of the performance issues are more likely a result of Denuvo than it is the optimization of the game, as even the best of systems appear to have similar stuttering issues after playing for long periods of time.

Despite these issues, the environment of the open world is highly detailed, even on the lowest of PC settings at a mere 800p resolution, and the game manages to be reasonably smooth even at 30fps on the Steam Deck, at least until those aforementioned Denuvo-related stutters kick in. And that open world isn't bland or empty as far as I can tell, with so many diversions to keep you busy for hours on end, whether it be exploring Hogwarts castle to find every last field guide page or exploring the wide open world around the castle, running into Merlin Trials or coming across a camp of enemies.

Most NPCs are also extremely lively for an open-world game, oftentimes not just standing around, but actually doing something, walking to another location, having a conversation with another NPC, or even talking to you directly. Not only that, but many have side-quests that I am sure are to fill out a ton of time and grant you cosmetics and other important items for the game. And don't be afraid to sell your cosmetics, especially early on when you have limited Inventory space. You unlock all cosmetics permanently once you have owned one, so if you like the look of a lower-power cosmetic, just select the higher-powered item and change its appearance and sell the low-power item for some extra Galleons (the money of this world).

How could this game get better you might ask? Well, for one, the combat is fluid and simple to pick up while also providing many different gameplay styles that suit what you enjoy, and there is a complexity to the gameplay that makes it challenging to master, though that doesn't mean it is difficult unless you decide to set the difficulty of your game to a harder setting that is. And then there is replayability. In order to truly beat the game and experience everything Hogwarts Legacy has to offer, you will need to use all 4 save slots to accomplish many of the sidequests exclusive to each house. That means you essentially can play what is a 40-hour campaign 4 different times and change your decisions, though they may not affect you as much as we thought they would. We all would love to see a true villainous route that we could take on to become the bad guy and experience the game in an entirely different way than we can now.

While we do not have that, the ability to have multiple saves, one for each house, allows the player the flexibility of trying new builds by allocating talent points a different way than in another save. It also grants players access to the different house common rooms, different house fanatic rewards from the wizarding world website, and of course, we get to complete house-exclusive quests. All this content can easily give you around 200-300 hours of playtime if you are dedicated to completing most of what this game has to offer.

Despite all this praise, there are some issues that need to be resolved, First and foremost is the performance of the PC version. That's an easy fix I think, just get rid of Denuvo. Next, we need PS5 content unlocked without the need for modding our game. Thirdly, The navigation of menus on the gamepad is a bit slow, and I would love it sped up just a bit. Im not sure if it is already possible, and if it is, let me know how to do it please, I would appreciate it. Fourth, I wish it was easier to manage spells. I am unsure if there is a way to have multiple spell setups I can swap between, but it would be nice if I could set up a few spell crossbars and use the bumpers to switch between them on the fly. Last, but certainly not least, please add multiplayer, quidditch, and other minigames throughout the wizarding world. It would just be that much more immersive and make this game even better. and maybe through DLC we could visit victorian London and Diagon Alley, or capture and breed even more Fantastic Beasts. Maybe we could even meet the ancestors of the Potters, the Malfoys, and the Grangers. The possibilities, while not being completely limitless, are there to take this game to an even higher tier than what it already is, and fixing these issues and adding these suggestions would enhance the game.

This game is easily a game-of-the-year contender and a great way to start 2023, which admittedly is looking a little weak in terms of big-budget hits. The biggest competition for Hogwarts Legacy in that department, as far as we can tell, is Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, Spiderman 2, and Starfield if It launches within the time frame before The Game Awards voting begins. Hogwarts Lgacy can only improve upon its already fantastic launch, and I am eager to see what Avalanche Games does next.