Avalanche Software and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment showed off a host of new gameplay during a new Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy showcase earlier today, including the character creator, the combat, the user interface, and more.
It constituted the deepest look so far at the open-world Harry Potter game, which casts the player as a fifth-year student within Hogwarts. It revealed how the new game will bring Hogwarts to life, starting with the Hufflepuff Common Room and continuing on through various parts of the castle.
The tour included fresh details on the various quests, collectibles, and other aspects that should be familiar to fans of open-world games and RPGs. One of the main conceits is that the main character is behind other students, so they have to complete a variety of mini-quests to catch up. These quests are catalogued in the Wizard’s Field Guide, which tracks elements surrounding combat, quests, collections, and rooms of requirements.
Classes, meanwhile, will be optional sidequests, providing players an opportunity to advance their spells and learn more about the various professors.
The showcase also included a look at the character creator, which includes a variety of hairstyles, including dreadlocks and cornrows, as well as freckles and other options. The hero is shown wearing a Victorian bowtie, waistcoat, and duster. The developers confirmed that you’ll be able to change your appearance in-game by going to a barber shop in Hogsmeade.
Along the way, the developers acknowledged some of the elements the team couldn’t include, such as Quidditch, Gobstones, and Wizard’s Chess. While they weren’t able to include everything, they said, they tried to include most of these elements in the narrative in some way.
The showcase concluded with a brief look at the combat as the player battled a dummy in the dueling club, which is housed in the Hogwarts clock tower. The developers also hinted at what lies beyond the walls of Hogwarts, promising that players will be able to visit every area they can see while looking over the vast Scottish landscape below.
Warner Bros. showed comparatively little of Hogwarts Legacy’s gameplay ahead of this showcase, instead focusing on story elements like the inclusion of the Unforgivable Curses. Like the rest of the Harry Potter franchise, Hogwarts Legacy has been swept up in the controversy surrounding J.K. Rowling’s continued attacks on transgender people, which has split fans and even the cast of the movies.
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy is under development by Avalanche Software for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC. It is set to release on February 10.
Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
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