2023 may well be the moment of confirmation for Warner Games and Avalanche Software. We tell you everything about Hogwarts Legacy, their new open-world in the world of Harry Potter.
[Mis à jour le 2 février 2023 à 15h26] The biggest game of the year is coming in less than a week. Hogwarts Legacy, the open-world role-playing game set in the Harry Potter universe, is on track to break sales records, as fan expectations are immense. It must be said that the wizarding world has been waiting for a game of this ambition for a while, after nearly ten years without a major video game release. However, Avalanche Software seems to have concocted one of the most impressive games of recent years. Release date, gameplay, trailers and essential information, we tell you everything about Hogwarts Legacy just below.
It’s a new trailer that lands on social networks a little less than a week before the game’s release. Between gameplay sequences and cinematics in computer graphics, everything is successful in creating excitement among fans. We find landscapes that are both familiar and new, characters that seem far from the generic NPCs that can be found in some open-worlds, and quest previews that seem well-crafted. Add to that a soundtrack that brings a little epic layer to this new adventure and you have the typical cocktail of a successful announcement trailer.
Probably the most unmissable event of this beginning of the year, Hogwarts Legacy is planned for the February 10, 2023 (February 7 for Early Access holders). After many postponements, the creation of Avalanche Software and Warner Games has definitely settled on the middle of February, an ideal period for video game releases. Gamers around the world are eagerly waiting to roam the halls and classrooms of Hogwarts, but unfortunately for PS4, Xbox One gamers, the game’s release on older generation consoles has been postponed until 4 avril 2023and at July 25 sur Nintendo Switch.
You have probably understood by reading the few lines above, Hogwarts Legacy will have two very distinct releases next February; the official release on February 10and the early access release on February 7. Indeed, as is now common in the industry, some players will be able to play Hogwarts Legacy 72 hours before its release, on one condition: pre-order its Deluxe version or its Collector’s version. Since the Collector’s version is highly sought after by collectors, we recommend that you opt for the Deluxe version if you want to play Hogwarts Legacy in early access (only on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series).
If you are still wondering about the nature of the gameplay of Hogwarts Legacy, know that Avalanche Software and Warner Games have decided to offer us an action-RPG in the open world. A new entry in a genre that’s hugely popular for the amount of freedom it offers the player, but which has also seen some pretty clumsy attempts at adaptation in recent years. We can notably mention in the list of dunces the very last Sonic Frontiers, the behemoth Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and the embarrassing Gotham Knights, which prove to us that the open-world RPG is not a guarantee of success far from it.
Regarding the gameplay sequences presented by Avalanche Software, the game does not hide its graphic ambition, offering breathtaking landscapes and changing environments according to the seasons. One can’t help but notice that the open world of Hogwarts Legacy feels authentic, greatly respecting its time and geographic setting with hamlets and villages straight out of 19th century England and Scotland. The player will have the opportunity to explore this universe at will using different means of transport, such as the first magic broomsticks or a hippogriff.
But that’s not all, Avalanche Software also focused on the nature of the fights, and there is something to comment on these few sequences. The game is based on real-time confrontations that can possibly think of The Witcher 3 combat, without the swords. Your character can use a combination of ranged spells while having the option to dodge enemy attacks. Like Geralt, you will have to adapt your gameplay according to the enemy you encounter. You will also have the opportunity to train in a black magic arena, in order to refine your casting of deadly spells.
You can also customize your character in depth, as well as the Room of Requirement. Indeed, the latter will act in game as a base from which you can plan your various adventures. From the architecture to the various pieces of furniture, this magical little bedroom is totally yours, recreating the feeling of an almost conscious room found in the Harry Potter books. It can accommodate different trophies from your adventures.
Hogwarts Legacy took pleasure in teasing fans by detailing certain elements of its fight. The game will have 26 spells in its arsenal. What offer different builds adaptable to all situations. So no, the game does not come close to Elden Ring in terms of magic, the latter having 170 spells and incantations, but still intends to expand the universe of Wizards and its small fifteen spells revealed in the books and the Harry Potter movies. We will find there the great classics, but also the unforgivable spells that it will be possible to use according to your good will.
Hogwarts Legacy in no way intends to resume or continue the plot of the Harry Potter books and films, but rather to offer us a completely new experience. The game is set at the end of the 19th century, in a wizarding world still quite different from the one presented to us by JK Rowling in her works, and takes you into a story taken directly from the studios of Avalanche Software and Warner Bros Games. . You will play as a young Hogwarts student spotted on the eve of his sixteenth birthday for his affinity with magic. Your first year in the famous Scottish castle will therefore be in the sixth year, and you will be confronted there with all the activities traditionally encountered by a student of Hogwarts; magic and potions lessons, practical activities, Quidditch matches, Hogsmeade outings… But also to mysterious events linked to the goblin revolt that shook the wizarding world during this period.
To cut short in our answer to this legitimate question: no Hogwarts Legacy will not have a multiplayer mode. At least that’s what Warner Bros. claimed. Games and Avalanche Software although many fans have asked for this feature in-game. A completely logical decision when you consider the scale of the game’s technical ambition, in particular its open-world RPG format, which is difficult to adapt to the multiplayer mode.
If you were planning to discover the universe of Hogwarts Legacy on PC, you will still need to arm yourself with a foolproof configuration. To tell the truth, the recommended specifications are of an unprecedented requirement, advising you to have no less than 32 GB of RAM to enjoy the game at 60 fps in 1440p, and no less than an RTX 3090Ti (1300 € each). same) if you want to reach 60 fps in 4K. What to blush Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring and honestly all the games ever released to date.
Minimum : 720p / 30 fps
- Intel Core i5 6600 (3.3 GHz) ou AMD Ryzen 5 1400
- 16 Go to RAM
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 or AMD Radeon RX 470
Recommended: 1080p / 60 fps
- Intel Core i7 8700 (3.2 GHz) ou AMD Ryzen 5 3600
- 16 Go to RAM
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 5700
Ultra : 1440p / 60 fps
- Intel Core i7 10700K (3.80 GHz) ou AMD Ryzen 5 5800
- 32 Go to RAM
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080Ti ou AMD Radeon RX 6800
Ultra 4K : 4K / 60 fps
- Intel Core i7 10700K (3.80 GHz) ou AMD Ryzen 5 5800
- 32 Go to RAM
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090Ti ou AMD Radeon RX 7900
As is often the case with new triple A releases, Hogwarts Legacy will be available in 3 editions upon release. The Standard Edition includes the base game as well as some cosmetics if you skip the pre-order step, the Deluxe Edition includes a cosmetic pack of black magic, as well as access to the game 72 hours before its release (only for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series players), and Playstation players will be able to enjoy a quest exclusive to their in-game platform. , a Steelbook, and other cosmetic perks.