I was mesmerized by the stunning world of Hogwarts Legacy

Let me start by saying that I've always loved witches, witchcraft and the supernatural. So it's probably not a surprise I'm also into the world of Harry Potter. The game takes place way before Potter, which I think is a good thing. The developers don't run into people's expectations of the characters they already know and love.

I heard a lot of good things about the game before playing it, but oh my, the game is much better than what I expected. And I already had high expectations.

I played the game on PC with a controller. I would have gone with the PlayStation, but for some reason there is more content on the PC. Ridiculous, but what can you do. At least there is controller support on PC.

There are a lot of customization options

When you start, you get to create your own character. You get to customise their looks and even their voice.

All the gear in the game has its own unique look, and you can change the looks of the equipped items. Later in the game, you can even customise some spaces with magic.

While these kinds of options aren't necessary in a game, they can help you make the game more your own.

One of the more difficult things in the beginning was naming the character. You have to give your character their full name before you can start playing.

The world is beautiful

The visuals in the game look great. The graphics are nice in general but the scenery and the world is gorgeous.

Being able to go around Hogwarts is magical. All the familiar rooms and areas took me back to the movies and the books immediately.

There are also a lot of beasts around the world. And cats! And the best part about the cats is that you can pet them!

The story is almost addictive

The side quests brought a lot to the whole story. There were new characters that you otherwise wouldn't meet, as well as a lot of details and specifics. Each evening, I was looking forward to playing more.

You get to pick how you interact with people. You can be kind and helpful or something in the other end. I've yet to try out all the options to see if the people have different dialogues.

There are lots of different activities

There are a lot of activities. I won't list them here, so I won't spoil them. But I'd say there is probably a nice activity for everyone. There was one type of mini game I didn't know how to play, but luckily, my husband does, so he got to instruct how to get those done. It was fun to collaborate, even though the game is a single player game.

There are also things I don't like

I dislike one of the activities... flying. The controls are too loose. While it's nice to see the scenery better, trying to race is annoying. Not the worst experience, but definitely something both my husband and I found frustrating. Getting around was fine because I didn't have to do perfectly. A lot of trees and other scenery are often hit by my broom...

Flying with the controller is unpleasant, but with the mouse and keyboard, it was more difficult. It's really hard to go exactly where and how you want to. There are some activities while flying where you need to be able to hit targets. I often ended up going in multiple circles before hitting the targets.

There is replay value

I'm of course tempted to go full evil mode in the game. I didn't in the first playthrough, because being evil is just not my thing. But especially since there are achievements/trophies for all houses, there is at least one reason to play the game again. And why not see the changes a different personality might bring? I'm hoping the discussions are different if you behave like an ass.

If you love the world of Harry Potter, this is definitely a game for you.