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The magical world of Harry Potter finally lands on Nintendo Switch

Hogwarts Legacy is an action-adventure open-world RPG set in the magical world of Harry Potter. Developed by Portkey Games and Avalanche Software, this highly anticipated game finally lands on the Switch, promising to bring the best of the Potterverse to Nintendo’s hybrid console. What makes Hogwarts Legacy so special? In previous Harry Potter games we’ve been able to dive into J.K Rowling’s books, become The Boy Who Lived and defeat Lord Voldemort. But for the first time, we’ll be the stars of our own original story, full of twists and turns while we visit the most iconic locations of the franchise. Does the game deliver on all its magical promises or does the spell fizzle in its Switch port? Keep reading to find out.

What’s Hogwarts Legacy about?

Hogwarts Legacy takes us to the end of the 19th century, a time of change and magic where you’ll take the role of an aspiring witch or wizard that has been admitted to Hogwarts. Just like Harry, you won’t be a normal student there. You’ll be admitted straight into the fifth year, something very uncommon and that already foretells there’s something very unique about you. You can see Ancient Magic, an extremely rare form of spell that not many wizards in history could feel or use. Your arrival will be an eventful one as well, we don’t want to spoil the fun but we can already tell you that getting to the Sorting Hat ceremony alive will be your first adventure.

After the welcome ceremony and being sent to your house by the Sorting Hat, you'll start your adventures at Hogwarts. You’ll be able to go to class, make new friends, duel some random Malfoy or chill during the weekends at Hogsmeade sipping from a jar of refreshing butterbeer. Your time at Hogwarts is entirely yours, so feel free to have all the fun you want at your new magical home. The more you play the game, the more spells and abilities your witch or wizard will have, letting you explore more of the game’s vast open-world.

And what about the story? Is it any good? We’re thrilled to say that Hogwarts Legacy doesn’t disappoint. While exploring Hogwarts and its surrounding areas you’ll slowly unravel a plot that, following the same formula as the Harry Potter books, mixes fantasy and magic with big doses of mystery. Following the trails of Ancient Magic scattered around the game you’ll be able to discover the story behind Hogwarts’ founders and also unravel a thrilling conspiracy behind Gringotts goblins.

Gameplay: Explore a magical open-world full of adventures

One of Hogwarts Legacy’s main selling points is that it’s the first open world game based in the Harry Potter universe. From the massive Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and all its surrounding areas, to the charming town of Hogsmeade, Hogwarts Legacy lays down a massive playground full of adventures, activities and mysteries to pursue. Games such as The Witcher 3 or Red Dead Redemption 2 are still considered nowadays as the best examples of perfectly developed open-worlds. Does this magical adventure succeed in achieving such a feat? We’re delighted to say that it definitely does.

Avalanche and Portkey Games gave shape to the Potter universe in a massive map where you'll be able to walk, swim and of course fly on a fancy broom to enjoy a huge list of places well-known by all Potter fans. From Hogwarts to Azkaban, all the scenery, lore and locations from the Potterverse are easily recognizable and faithfully rendered in detail, bringing a map full of love to the source material. 

Scattered around the map you’ll find a wide array of missions, both main story related and secondary quests. You’ll also be able to make friends in Hogwarts, no matter what house you’re in. Forget about the Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry! Each of your classmates have their own story arc where you’ll learn more about them, their past, their problems as well as their motivations. Complete their missions to tighten your bond. Who said you wouldn’t make friends at school?

Become Hogwarts top student

In Hogwarts Legacy you’ll be able to  create your own witch or wizard and live your own adventures in the Harry Potter universe. The game includes a powerful character creator tool that will let you customize an avatar by choosing the hair style and color, body shape, face and more. You’ll also be able to choose between a male or a female body, which won’t be restricted to the sex of the character. This way, if you want, you can create your own trans witch or wizard. While this shouldn’t be a big deal, it’s a strong message the game developers add to the game after months of controversy due to transphobic comments that J.K Rowling shared through her Twitter account.

After creating your character and going through the main tutorial of the game, you’ll also be able to choose which one of Hogwarts' four Houses you want to be in. You can do this either by answering the Sorting Hat’s questions or directly deciding if you want to be a Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin. This choice will decide which will be your common room, uniform colors as well as who your classmates will be, so don’t choose lightly since you won’t be able to change it later.

As a good Hogwarts student, you’ll also have to go to class and learn subjects like Astronomy, beasts, potions, herbology, charms and of course, defense against dark arts. Thanks to these classes you’ll be able to learn spells, magic and get new abilities. Unlike other games based around schools  - such as Pokemon Scarlet and Purple - classes actually feel like the real deal since they all come with their cutscenes as well as assessments and homework. So get ready to wave your wand and practice classics such as Accio, Incendio,  Lumos and Wingardium Leviosa (or as Hermione would say, “Leviosaaaah”).

Learning to do these spells is very important. You’ll find combat related spells as well as action based ones or even defense and deception ones. These will be vital to advance through the game, beat enemies and bosses but also to solve all the puzzles scattered through Hogwarts Legacy map. And yes, the forbidden spells are here too, so if you ever wanted to say Avada Kedavra to someone, now’s your chance!

When will Hogwarts Legacy be released for Nintendo Switch?

After several delays, the Nintendo Switch version of Hogwarts Legacy will be released on November the 14th of 2023.

Why is Hogwarts Legacy delayed for the Switch?

Hogwarts Legacy was originally released for PS5, Xbox Series X and PC back in February and PS4 and Xbox One in May. However, the Switch version of the game has suffered several delays, making gamers wonder if it will ever launch on Nintendo's console. According to Avalanche and Portkey Games, the game is still under development for the Switch  to provide the best possible experience for players.

How will the graphics be for Hogwarts Legacy on the Switch

We still need to wait a few months to know how the graphics of Hogwarts Legacy will be on the Switch. Keeping in mind the stunning graphics the game has on PC and next-gen consoles, players and media are a bit skeptical on  how the hybrid console will pull this off. In fact, many are scared the result will be similar to The Outer Worlds’ terrible Switch port.

There are a few tricks Avalanche could use to make Hogwarts Legacy run on the Switch, such as scaling things down, decreasing the draw distance or lowering the resolution of the game’s texture. To ultimately know the results though, we’ll have to wait until November the 14th,

A must-play to any Harry Potter fan

Hogwarts Legacy is, without a doubt, a great Harry Potter game and one of the best open-world RPGs of the year. With thousands of missions, activities and hours of gameplay, Avalanche’s latest masterpiece will transport you to the magical world of The Boy Who Lived. We still don’t know how the Switch version of the game will perform but if you want to live a magical adventure on Nintendo’s hybrid console, keep an eye on November 14th. This is a game you don’t want to miss out on.

PROS

  • Great open-world experience
  • Create your own wizard or witch
  • Thrilling combats
  • Perfectly recreated Harry Potter world
  • Lots of missions and side-missions

CONS

  • Graphics and overall performance might suffer on the Switch

Also available in other platforms

Program available in other languages



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