A few months ago, Portkey Games released the trailer for their latest project, the ultimate, open world RPG that will finally be your letter from Hogwarts. That’s right — in collaboration with Warner Bros. Games, Avalanche and Wizarding World, the company will release “Hogwarts Legacy” on multiple game systems.
The video game will fully immerse Harry Potter fans and gamers alike into the Harry Potter universe with a big twist.
The story is set in the 1800s, taking you through both familiar and new locations as you’re able to, according to their website, “explore and discover fantastic beasts, customize your character and craft potions, master spell casting, upgrade talents and become the wizard you want to be.”
The keyword here is “you.” Hogwarts Legacy is designed to give gamers the power to control their character and their fate, both interwoven in a captivating storyline. You are a student with a key to an ancient secret, one that puts the fate of the wizarding world in your hands. You soon discover that you’re able to master Ancient magic, unlike your fellow wizarding students.
It’s up to you to decide whether you protect the secret and save the world, or give into dark magic and exploit it. You’re able to make allies and battle enemy Dark wizards, and as you play, you decide the fate of the fictional world you grew up with.
The initial trailer is utterly fantastic. The graphics and music present a colorful, enchanting tone that compliments the magic and the mystery. Characters appear well drawn out and extremely mobile, and the creatures are unique and interactive. Don’t even get me started on the architectural design.
With the release of the trailer, a developer blog was also dropped by Avalanche for fans to receive updates on the game’s progress. The PS5 has a cool update in its controllers called haptic feedback, meaning the player can feel the environment and different sensations of action in their fingers.
The game is currently “Rating Pending,” but this will likely be updated closer to the release date. Due to its familiarity and usual audience of children, there’s a good chance it will be rated for teen playing.
Newly introduced features include Polyjuice potion crafting, house elves, goblins, the Forbidden Forest, Nearly-Headless Nick and Olivander’s. The creation team is doing whatever they can to create an authentic wizarding world experience, but admit they may not be able to include everything.
Regardless, the game is projected to be a fantastic and beautiful entrance into the wizarding world. J.K. Rowling is not directly involved in the game’s creation, but the story is based heavily on the foundation of her earlier writings. Portkey Games is a recent addition to the Warner Bros games franchise, and since 2017, their goal is to bring interactive gaming experiences to the Harry Potter Franchise.
Their name is based on the portkey, a fictional object that lets characters travel to different places in their universe, similar to Portkey Games’ main objective for real world audiences. Most of their games were created for Android/IOS, and this is their first big project on multiple platforms.
“Hogwarts Legacy” is scheduled for release in 2021 with no further specifics. While other games connected to the Harry Potter series have focused on the books’ storyline, this will be one of the first multiplatform installments that allows you to have your own experience in the universe.
If you’re looking for a game to explore a new world and relive your childhood, be sure to keep your eye on “Hogwarts Legacy,” where “your legacy is what you make of it.”
