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Hogwarts Legacy I wasn't originally planning to play this right away but I got a Scottish friend who insisted and I can see why because I had a great time with this one. It doesn't really do much that you haven't seen some variation of in other games, but it's all wrapped up in a package that's so enjoyable that I really didn't mind at all. My biggest concern going into it was the combat. I worried it would just be spamming pew pew spells the whole time like an over-the-shoulder shooter, but it really isn't. Spells are categorized into different groups, and different kinds of enemies require different kinds of spells to do damage. It starts off pretty simple and basic in the beginning, but once you start unlocking more spells and the enemy types start to increase then you'll be constantly juggling between all your various spells to keep up. As for the flow of combat, I'd call it "Arkham except ranged," which I think is a fair assessment, and I don't mean that in a bad way. The biggest star, however, is the sheer attention to detail. You not only have the entirety of Hogwarts at your disposal, but also Hogsmeade and the surrounding countryside and its various hamlets and labyrinths. Hogwarts itself is definitely the draw here. I loved just walking through the halls and seeing what weird magical stuff was happening. Sometimes students will be having mishaps with their spells, the suits of armor will salute you as you go by, the paintings talk to you, and you'll even see some of the franchise's well-known ghosts roaming the castle and making a nuisance of themselves. No pun intended, but it's all very enchanting and if you have any attachment to the setting then you'll probably find it extremely charming like I did. Of course, if you don't have any attachment to the setting then I'd probably ask why you're even playing it to begin with. I also appreciate that it lets you immerse yourself in ways it really didn't have to. For example, you can ride around on both a broom and a magical beast. There is not really any practical reason to choose one over the other, but they knew there would be people who wanted to ride on beasts so they let you do it. Hogsmeade also lets you visit iconic shops that don't really sell anything that would help you from a gameplay perspective, but you can still look around and interact with stuff. The only way to get more immersed in the setting would be to go to Universal Studios. I don't really have that much to complain about here. The story wasn't mind-blowing, I suppose, but it was presented well enough and I actually got invested in some of the side stories with your classmates. Most of the characters are at least interesting if not always likable. If I have to complain about something I suppose it's the fact that after a while most of the gear you find will be at a lower level than what you're already wearing so it's only good to sell for money. However, this is somewhat alleviated by a feature I love and think absolutely every gear based game should have. As soon as a piece of gear enters your inventory, you can always set its appearance as a cosmetic skin, even after you sell it. Found a cool looking hat but the stats are garbage? You can sell it guilt free and still set your good hat's appearance to match the cool looking one. Why doesn't every game do this? For some reason, there is no Quidditch either. Maybe it's meant for DLC or a sequel or maybe the devs just didn't think they had the time or resources to properly implement it. I dunno, but I hope it shows up in some form in the future. Aside from those two things I feel like any negatives I bring up would be nitpicking. Great game. Can't wait to play through it again as a bastardly dark wizard.