Hogwarts Legacy is the Harry Potter game I've always wanted to play. It frees itself from the shackles of the main series by setting itself 100 years before the events of the books, and in doing so becomes something much greater than previous HP games. Not merely a movie tie-in or a licensed game of old, Hogwarts Legacy is a full-fledged, deep RPG absolutely dripping with tiny things that have drawn so many people to the franchise.

Paintings are animated, statues talk and move, and the castle of Hogwarts itself is an absolute joy - and a mess- to navigate. 

I'm about 6 hours in, and the game is really starting to open up. You can definitely see the skin of the new Assassin's Creed games here - there's a large map, tons of collectibles, and little activities to do. Ordinarily I'd have some fatigue here, but the atmosphere and passion on display here makes these little puzzles and exploration bits charming and interesting instead of tiresome.

Combat is another high point. There are about 2 dozen spells to pick from, with 4 equipped at any one time. You can make clever use of combos and mixing up spell types to get a nice rhythm going. The game makes great use of the PS5 controller's haptic feedback and trigger features, and spellcasting is really weighty and satisfying. I haven't really gotten into a ton of combat so far, but what I have done is really fun.

Hogwarts is already in the running for best game of 2023 for me, and it's jumped right to the top of my list to play. I have limited time to play games, only an hour or so on weekdays and some more on weekends, so it may take me a few weeks or a month to get through this one. But as it stands now I really can't see myself wanting to put Hogwarts Legacy down to focus on any other game.

Verdict: Keep Playing/Must Play

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