I've been eyeing Hogwarts Legacy since its release, but the price tag was always a major deterrent. Plus, the main storyline clocks in at around 30 hours, which is way too short for my taste. I love games that can keep me hooked for months, with new discoveries around every corner.

So, I decided to treat myself to a copy for the holidays. There's nothing like unwinding on a weekend and immersing myself in a world of magic and wonder.

StorylineAs I played through the game, I found myself in the shoes of a student with rare magical abilities, who's enrolled straight into fifth year at Hogwarts. But, let's be real, I was clueless – stumbling around like a blind kitten, trying to find my way through the closed-off corridors and doors. I didn't even have a wand, and when I tried to cast a spell, I ended up messing it up royally.

But, as it turns out, Hogwarts is all about learning and growing. Every day, I'd attend classes, duel with my peers, and tackle challenges that pushed me to my limits.

The world is open, but you can only access three locations:

Hogwarts – the school of magic and wizardryThe Forbidden Forest – where all sorts of strange magical creatures roam, and you'll get in trouble if you linger too longHogsmeade – a village filled with shops catering to wizards and witchesThe game takes place in the late 19th century and follows the story of Hogwarts students. You get to choose your house and attend classes at the school of magic and wizardry, while also exploring the open world, which includes locations like the Forbidden Forest and Hogsmeade. As you play, your character learns to cast spells, brew potions, befriend magical creatures, and master combat skills.

Gameplay

From the get-go, the game reminded me of The Sims, with a character creation editor that's eerily similar. For the first 30 minutes, I was stuck tweaking my character's face, choosing eyebrows, lips, and hairstyles. I could change their hair color, skin tone, and even add scars, freckles, and acne.

But, if I could create a stunning Sim, the characters in Hogwarts Legacy all looked like awkward teenagers – I spent ages in the editor, trying to create my own Bertie Shmerter.

You can change your character's appearance multiple times throughout the game, for a small fee. I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan, so I didn't bother looking for differences in the storyline. Still, there are some familiar elements – like the sorting hat, which appears at the beginning of the game.

One of the things I loved about this game was the freedom to be a bit of a troublemaker. I mean, who wouldn't want to pull a mischievous mandrake out of its pot and watch it wreak havoc?

Having my own owl, flying on a broomstick, and all the other magical things were just the beginning. For me, the world of magic was endless and utterly enchanting.

Some of the episodes were a bit too familiar, like something straight out of Harry Potter.

The character menu is a book with a pretty hefty cover, and each point shows your progress and changes. The talents tab opens up after completing the main quest. I'm only at level 5, but I've got 15 talents unlocked so far. To be honest, I had more fun running around the Forbidden Forest than I did completing quests.

Talents, tests, inventory The equipment is nothing new - it's a familiar process that's been done in many games before. Each item has its own characteristics, and the sets are color-coded, with orange being legendary. The items don't need to be repaired, and the only magic wand is, well, a magic wand.

Equipment What's new for me is the rewards for completing certain parts of the game process. You can find them in the corresponding tab. The rewards are for searching, collecting, and completing different conditions in duels.

Gameplay For the most part, the rewards give you something from the equipment.

Rewards It's really convenient to track your tasks, and you can add multiple ones, both main and side quests.

TasksI love how the map gradually becomes colorful as you explore, with more checkpoints and lanterns popping up to help you zip around. Plus, the open world means you can always head back to any spot you want.

Map (open world)What I loved and hated about Hogwarts Legacy

My first stroll through the wizarding school was seriously captivating. The high ceilings, magical staircases, and all the little details had me hooked. And then there were the ghosts, the stunning art gallery where the stories come alive, and those talking portraits – it was like stepping into a real-life Harry Potter movie.

Each room has its own unique decor, and the grand halls are filled with everything from skeletons to full-sized suits of armor. The stained glass windows, floor-to-ceiling windows, and ancient tomes all added to the sense of wonder.

Even the bathrooms in Hogwarts are fancy, with cauldrons for brewing potions and mirrors that chat with you – it's like they're trying to make every aspect of the game feel magical.

The magical details and some of the classrooms for learning magic are truly stunning. You get completely immersed in the story, the magic, and the wizardry. I spent ages exploring the locations and didn't even want to do the story quests – Hogwarts is just so massive that you can easily get lost. And how many more secret rooms, hidden secrets, and unexpected surprises are waiting to be discovered behind those walls?

The Forbidden Forest is the second-largest location, and it's a whole different world – the weather changes, the day/night cycle happens, and there are magical and deadly creatures lurking about. At the start of the game, we're warned that it's super dangerous to stray from the path, and you need to get back to your room before nightfall. But let's be real, who's a student who's never broken the rules?

The atmosphere in this game is super immersive, and sometimes it's even a bit creepy. And then there are the adorable cat companions. I mean, I was totally smitten with them - I'd spend hours just petting them whenever I saw them. On the PS, it's especially fun, as the controller vibrates and the adorable meowing sound effects are duplicated. Crafting recipes, potions, and learning magic spells are all pretty interesting processes, especially at first. Unfortunately, the dialogue is a total snooze-fest. Not only is there no Russian voice acting, but the text is read out at a snail's pace, and I can read it way faster than they can say it. Sometimes, the dialogue can drag on for 5-7 minutes, and it's not like you can just skip it. To make matters worse, there's no real substance to the conversations, and you can breeze through the quests without even paying attention. The pacing in this game is super slow, at least for the first 5 hours. You'll be talking to one NPC, then another, then running to the other side of the map, and not deviating from the main path, all while listening to a million repetitive conversations.

Despite being a modern game, the graphics and detail aren't exactly top-notch. The "combination" of items looks weird, there are a lot of blurry textures, and sometimes, part of the character's face disappears when you change the camera angle. Graphics I've experienced a few instances of the game freezing in place. My character would just start falling into a void, and the only way to fix it was to quit the game. And, of course, when I tried to reload, everything would reset to my last save point. It's happened to me a few times while running through trees, and sometimes, it would just happen out of nowhere, even in an empty space. It's super frustrating, especially when I'm in the middle of a conversation with an NPC and suddenly, I'm flying through the air. Frozen in space There just aren't many interesting things to do in this game, and it's the same old problem with the character's facial expressions. I'll admit, the hat still looks somewhat fitting.

But what is this? These masks look like some creepy muzzle. The little hats look like the ones you'd find on a petrushka at a fair. I mean, you could probably hide all of this, but I love stylish gear, and I want everything to be done with some flair. And this game is just like a clown running around.

It's especially weird when you're in the middle of a session, and everyone's dressed normally, but she's wearing a muzzle. There's no aesthetic or fun to the picture at all. I even ended up changing her outfit a few times.

Another thing that's a bit of a problem is that when you're doing some of the main quests, you can't move around. Like, you can't even go cook a potion. And most of the time, you think you're going to get some boring quest with a lot of talking, but instead, you end up in the middle of a tough battle. And she's got no healing potions, just one on the field against 10 enemies. You can win without potions on medium difficulty, but it's not always easy to do it on the first try. If you lose, you can either go back to the last checkpoint and try again, or just give up and start over from the beginning.

As you get closer to the end of the main tasks, the game becomes more dynamic, and you've got some experience in combat, and you know a few tricks. But even then, I just couldn't get into the game. I got bored with collecting chests and flying pages really quickly. And once you get the talents, your character becomes super powerful, and a lot of things become easier, but the thing is, she's still learning how to make potions and figure out how to use them.

I spent way more time playing during the holidays, but during the week, I just couldn't find the motivation to keep going. I mean, I'll still finish it, but I wouldn't play it again 100%. Also, I realized that there aren't that many different story paths in the game, and your choice of faculty doesn't really change anything - whether you're a witch or a sorceress.