Hogwarts Legacy, all the news of the Gameplay Showcase

Hogwarts Legacy

Hogwarts Legacy is coming and looks in great shape. There is no doubt that the tie-in developed by Avalanche Software is making us wait, after all until a few months ago we imagined we could play it by the end of the year, whereas the launch was postponed to February 10, 2023, but it seems that the studio is doing a really good job with this title.

This is demonstrated by the many new features of the Hogwarts Legacy Gameplay Showcase: an event that lasted forty-five minutes, in which the community manager Chandler Wood, game director Alan Tew and senior artist Boston Madsen showed some of the elements we will find in the game in action.

Character Editor

Hogwarts Legacy, the character editor Set in the 1800s , so long before the events of the Harry Potter saga, Hogwarts Legacy will see us take on the role of a student attending the fifth year courses at Hogwarts School of Magic. The first thing we will have to do in the game will be to create this protagonist via the character editor, which was presented during the Gameplay Showcase.

The first editor screen allows you to select a predefined template for to complete the creative process quickly, however it is obviously possible to go and manually adjust the various aspects to give life to the wizard we have in mind. In this sense, the tools made available appear particularly simple to use but capable of providing a great variety of options.

By scrolling through the tabs using the back buttons, we will see the numerous faces present, we will be able to change the color of the skin and possibly add a pair of glasses. We will then have the opportunity to modify the hairstyle and hair color, add scars on the face, modify eyes and eyebrows, and finally choose between a male or female voice and modulate its tone so that it sounds deeper or more shrill.

The developers explained that during the ongoing campaign it will not be possible to revolutionize the character created with the editor, but it will still be possible to make some changes to its appearance. In the village of Hogsmeade, however, there will be a barber where we can go to eventually refresh our haircut.

Interface

Hogwarts Legacy, our character in the common room Closed the parenthesis of the editor, the developers of Hogwarts Legacy showed our character inside his room, in the school dormitory, and illustrated the elements that make up the interface. On the right side of the screen it is possible to see a rhombus with four spells among the over twenty that we can learn during the adventure, and immediately above a spell that can be activated via the d-pad that probably serves to reveal any hidden objects in the scenario.

Under these icons there is the character's health bar and a second indicator for the moment shrouded in mystery, while on the left side of the screen we can see the mini-map that indicates our position within the scenario. Many of these elements can be set to be invisible during the game, thus increasing the involvement in the experience for users who prefer this approach.

Exploring Hogwarts Castle

Hogwarts Legacy, one of the rooms of the castle A substantial and important part of the presentation was dedicated to the exploration of the Hogwarts castle, the large main location of the game that we will be able to visit in its entirety, starting from the dormitories to reach the common room of the our home, where many students meet to chat and discuss, perhaps sitting on sofas in front of a large lit fireplace.

Leaving the room you find yourself inside the basement, but just go up to access the areas the most famous buildings of the building, in a fascinating intertwining of stairs, anterooms, corridors and halls able to immediately convey the feeling of being truly inside or the school of magic created by J.K. Rowling: it is no coincidence that the author's novels have been used as a basis for the creation of interiors and exteriors.

Hogwarts Legacy, the courtyard In the courtyard the view of the Hogwarts towers cannot fail to impress and the Wizarding World fans will literally feel at home, comforted by the ability to know exactly where certain areas of the scenario are and how to reach them: an extra not to be underestimated, according to what was declared by the game director Alan Tew, who focuses precisely on this factor for make the experience truly magical, being able to reconnect what is seen in films and read in books with the game.

The gameplay sequences in which the character moves inside the castle have reaffirmed the artistic depth of this production, which seems to leave nothing to chance. Sure, making the building's huge doors open a little slower could convey a better sense of "weight" and texture, but we imagine that between now and launch there will be time to adjust even these small aspects.

Interactions

Hogwarts Legacy, our character interacts with another student We are sure that Harry Potter fans could spend hours and hours just wandering through the halls of Hogwarts looking for this or that reference to the novels, but it is clear that the open world developed by Avalanche Software will provide a much more consistent and interesting experience than this. Beyond the secrets and objects that we can discover simply by exploring the scenario, we will have the opportunity to interact with other characters and thus start the quests.

The dialogues promise to be intriguing: in the demo our character meets a student who talks to him about magic keys and hidden lockers, and to which he can respond by selecting a sentence from three possible alternatives. The RPG mechanics present in the package will also allow you to give a value to these exchanges, using them to determine the alignment of our character and lead him to a different ending at the end of the campaign.

Fights

Hogwarts Legacy, a combat sequence The final part of the Gameplay Showcase was dedicated to fights, which promise a certain degree of depth thanks to the large number of spells that we will be able to access instantly, by pressing the right trigger and then acting on one of the four main buttons of the controller, or by pressing the d-pad to call up a different set: the slots will allow us to have a total of sixteen different actions.

During the most eventful clashes, when we find ourselves at face multiple opponents, we will have to cast the right spell to open the enemy's defense, based on the color of their "barrier", and at the same time keep keep our eyes open for when our character warns us of an incoming attack, which we will be able to deflect instantly so as not to take damage and indeed to score a counterattack.

Hogwarts Legacy, our character travels the Covered Bridge Although based on a uniquely "ranged" approach, the combat system of Hogwarts Legacy seems to take its cue from good old freeflow, literally a trademark for Warner Bros. productions. wide-ranging clashes without leading to chaos, indeed with the possibility of increasing the degree of challenge progressively.

To add thickness to this system there will be all the part dedicated to the enhancements of the spells, not yet shown by the developers, which will allow players to create a specific build for their needs, improving the spells that we believe are most effective to make them more quick cooldown and increase its strength.

Preliminary sensations

Hogwarts Legacy, another suggestive glimpse of the castle Difficult to hide the enthusiasm: for atmosphere and artistic sector, Hogwarts Legacy promises damn well. The game seems perfectly capable of giving the many fans of Wizarding World exactly what they want, namely a faithful and passionate transposition of the places that made the history of the Harry Potter saga, and from this point of view the project appears truly inspired and unassailable.

Clearly there are many unknowns: so far the gameplay has been shown at 30 fps but being a cross-gen title it would be unacceptable to limit the frame rate in this way on PS5 and Xbox Series X | S, while not we have the slightest idea of ​​how everything turns on the Nintendo Switch nor what the actual performance of the fights will be, which however for the moment appear interesting and well implemented.

The answers to all these questions will obviously arrive next February, when Hogwarts Legacy makes its debut on PC and consoles. Will the guys at Avalanche Software be able to complete the spell and deliver the definitive Wizarding World tie-in?

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