In a long list of impressive featuresHogwarts Legacyshipped with, the details of the game’s seasonal changes has captured the hearts of many players currently going through the story. It is no hyperbole to state that Avalanche Software built one of the finest open world experiences in recent memory. From trying to uncover the secrets of Hogwarts andbuilding out the Room of Requirement, to exploring the Scottish countryside via broom or hippogriff, these aspects ofHogwarts Legacyare all joined in perfect harmony.
With such a well-made game on their hands, and one tied to a popular franchise, the team at Avalanche has enjoyed both critical and commercial success asHogwarts Legacyhas surpassed evenElden Ringin terms of physical copies sold by 80% in its first week. Boasting an interesting cast of characters in an extremely immersive world, it meticulously evokes the experience of attending a year at Hogwarts and solving a magical mystery. One of the subtly important ways it achieves this is through the seasons changing inHogwarts Legacyas the story progresses.
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Though the playable areas are vast and bountiful enough on their own, the surroundings of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade in summer, fall, winter, or spring alter the way players experience those areas. While it’s easy to assume that the changes come with the flick of a switch, and that the playable area has four variations thatHogwarts Legacyswitches through, MyNewAccount1000 puts forward an observation on the official subreddit for the game that the seasonal changes are a lot more gradual than one might think.
The trees become ever more yellow as fall progresses, Halloween decorations become ever more prevalent, and as winter sets in Christmas decorations start to pop up across Hogwarts and the outlying hamlets, now covered in snow. WhileHogwarts Legacystill has performance issues on PC, a few clever workarounds have allowed players to enjoy the game on all platforms.
Despite J. K. Rowling and her transphobic political views, it would seem that both Avalanche and the players ofHogwarts Legacyare quite content in distancing themselves from the controversial author of theHarry Potterbooks.Hogwarts Legacyfeatures a transgender characterthat cannot be missed, and the boycott – while not particularly effective in thwarting the game’s record-setting sales – has only solidified the disconnect between the Wizarding World’s fans and Rowling herself. While talks of a sequel toHogwarts Legacymay still be early, many players believe that the potential is certainly there, and that Avalanche has more than proven itself as the right studio to tackle the IP going forward.
Hogwarts Legacyis available for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, and will release April 4 for PS4 and Xbox One, and July 25 for Nintendo Switch.
