Finally, a video game that’s actually good that’s set in the Wizarding World of “Harry Potter.”

The excitement for the “Hogwarts Legacy” game was through the roof since it was announced at Sony’s PlayStation 5 showcase in September 2020. The game was released on Feb. 10 by Portkey Games and has lived up to its hype.

The studio has made the game based on what Harry Potter fans have been craving for years by exhibiting an open world game set in Hogwarts. Players can create and customize their own student with their own journey.

The open world shines with how interactive it is. It’s amusing to wander around the school and see chess pieces playing a game of chess on their own against each other or walk by gargoyles with them saying a word or two to you.

It feels as if you can interact with almost everything in the game, as it’s easy to get lost and wander off the main story quest with hours of fun exploring the world.

The combat is different and thoughtfully designed as the game gives players a wide variety of ways to defeat opponents from casting spells, drinking potions and throwing magical plants. It’s fun how the game gives players different options to win battles and this keeps the combat fresh without going stale hours into the game.

Another entertaining aspect about the combat is how players are able to fight as a good wizard by using innocent spells or be completely evil by using the three infamous “unforgivable curses” of the dark arts.

The story lacks by having similar themes to the “Harry Potter” films with being the “chosen one” and trying to defeat the big evil figure trying to take over the world as we’ve seen this story before.

It gets the job done by having a fun adventure set for your character with fascinating sets to explore. It just isn’t the main driving factor to keep on playing such as the exploration of the world and combat.

What would’ve elevated the story of the game is if the story around your character was personalized based on how you fight and how you interact with other characters. You can be a good soul and a hero like Harry Potter or be the evilest wizard like Lord Voldemort and yet nothing differs between the storylines, ultimately creating a disconnect between the player and the story.

The in-game soundtrack is amazing as it nails the atmosphere by adding emotion and excitement to whatever players are doing from something simple as walking around the school and talking to other students to flying on a broom high in the sky.

The game does cost over $70 to get, but it’s well worth it as the gaming experience is unlike any other game.

The high expectations didn’t bring the game down in the end as the game lived up to it, leaving Harry Potter fans and myself having the time of our lives that we never thought we were going to get.