Being announced in September 2020 and having practically no information revealed until this week,Hogwarts Legacyhas been one of the most mysterious upcoming games in quite some time. While the original trailer gave a brief overview ofHogwarts Legacy’s late-1800s setting, along with some truly fantastic beasts, actual gameplay and narrative details have been kept hidden behind closed doors for the last year and a half.
In Sony’s latest State of Play, all was revealed. Ina 14-minute longHogwarts Legacytrailer, every key aspect of gameplay was showcased, including the game’s combat, its general gameplay loop, and the overarching narrative. Though a few cinematics were shown, the vast majority of the trailer seemed to show real-time gameplay, and as some fans have noticed, not all of that gameplay looked as smooth as the developers likely wanted. Despite the game looking pretty great overall visually,Hogwarts Legacy’s animations looked like a bit of a mixed bag.
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Hogwarts Legacy’s Spell-Casting Looks Magical
A big emphasis ofHogwarts Legacy’s latest trailer was the magical combat of the game. During the trailer, fans got their first glimpse of whatHogwarts Legacy’s magical duelsare going to look like, and for many, this is easily one of the most exciting elements of the game, with buttery-smooth animations that look suitably flashy but also pretty grounded.
Throughout the trailer, the player-character is shown to fire off a variety of spells, linking them together seamlessly with fluid arm movements. For a bit of visual flair, a little twirl is added in every now and then. During a few oftheHogwarts Legacytrailer’s combat encounters, the player-character is also shown parrying enemy spells with a simple flick of the wrist, deflecting the attack straight back at the enemy with ease.
Some of the most impressive animations in the trailer are shown during one combat encounter that puts all of these fluid motions together, showing the player-character casting a range of different spells at their opponent, parrying enemies from either side before spinning around and finishing off their original target. These movements are all strung together effortlessly, with each animation seamlessly leading into the next in a realistic rhythm.
For manyHarry Potterfans, seeing these iconic spells being used so naturally is pretty impressive to see, as whilepreviousHarry Pottergamesand movies have shown duels a few times, they’ve often looked a little simplistic, with just two characters firing a single charm at their opponent in sequential order. This trailer seems to have showcased just how unique and responsiveHogwarts Legacy’s magical combat may be.
Not All of Hogwarts Legacy’s Animations Look Great
WhileHogwarts Legacy’s combat does look pretty magical, the same can’t really be said for some of the game’s other animations. Throughout the trailer,Hogwarts Legacy’s facial animationslooked a little off, with some pretty noticeable lipsynch issues and some stiff-looking mouth, eye, and eyebrow movements.
The general movements of the player-character also seemed a little stiff and awkward, with the character’s walking pace looking a little too slow and the running animation looking a tad unrealistic. The same could also be said for the trailer’s flying sections, in which the player-characterflies on a broom and hippogriff. During these segments, the player-character doesn’t move a muscle, which looks a little awkward when they’re moving at high-speed through the air. This is only made worse by the character’s cloak, which juts out of the character’s back at an unrealistically rigid angle in an attempt to simulate the wind rushing through it.
WhileHogwarts Legacyis still a ways off, these animations are pretty noticeable, and do detract from the game’s more promising aspects. Hopefully, Avalanche will be able to give all the game’s animations the same level of polish before its Holiday 2022 release date.
Hogwarts Legacyis set to release Holiday 2022 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
