Hogwarts Legacy players praise 'truly immersive' open world

It’s one day to go until Hogwarts Legacy leaves early access, but plenty of fans have already been getting stuck in and thoroughly enjoying everything that the Wizarding World RPG has to offer.

Although some are choosing to boycott the game to avoid supporting Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who has been criticised for sharing harmful comments about the transgender community, it’s undeniable that the title is proving to be popular. The game broke Twitch’s concurrent viewer record for a single-player game, with 1.3 million people tuning in at the same time to watch streamers play. Over on Reddit, fans have been praising the title’s vast open world, noting how detailed everything is.

Take a look around Hogsmeade in Hogwarts Legacy below.

“Open world games have been around for a long time now and my biggest gripe with them has always been that the exteriors are incredible but the interiors are utterly lacking,” one said. "Many games have plenty doors that can’t be opened at all and the buildings you can go into are cookie cutter designs and lacklustre."

“HL is the opposite. You can go into nearly every building you come across and each one is hand designed and unique even if there’s no actual need to enter it,” they continued. “I spent so much time yesterday just exploring and being blown away by everything I came across. I’d go up to a door in Hogsmeade and think, 'Well there’s no way I can go into this one', and lo and behold I could and the inside was BEAUTIFUL.”

Others feel the same way: “Going into any building, even if there wasn't much in there, has always been a dream for me. I'm so used to not being able to that every time a door actually opens and leads somewhere I'm completely surprised,” one user replied. “The ability to flush any toilet makes it the most immersive world to date,” added another.

Hogwarts Legacy will release for everyone on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC tomorrow (10 February). If you’re on PS4 or Xbox One, it’ll be arriving on 4 April, and if you’re waiting for it to come to Nintendo Switch, you’ll have to hang on until 25 July.