Yes. Especially if you like Harry Potter universe. Worth playing

When this game was announced, I was immediately excited. I am a big fan of the Harry Potter franchise, and although I'm aware this takes place in a completely different time, and is more-so a spinoff / extended universe / lore game, it still had my attention. The game was delayed a few times, but I'm okay with that if it means a more polished product. I pre-ordered it and played it for the 72 hours early access for deluxe edition pre-order buyers. I am not finished with the game after ~25 hours (I am about 55% total completion as of writing this review), but I am definitely enjoying my time and have little to no complaints. Also, figured I would mention that I am very experienced with this style of game, and have likely completed a lot more than the average person may have in those hours. I am focusing side / exploration missions first, story after.

Very Fun (and functional) Combat System
I absolutely love the combat in this game. It is intense, and there is so much going on but it doesn't overwhelm you or require you to be an expert at games. There are 'ultimates' (in a sense, they aren't actually called that in-game), and you can even interact with the environment and control some of the environment while battling enemies as well, to keep you entertained.

Free-Roam Open World Exploration
The exploration is reminiscent to that of the first 3 Harry Potter games on PC, allowing you to walk all through the castle (which is absolutely gigantic, by the way), as well as outside of Hogwarts grounds, up in the mountains and hills. Outside, you can also fly around on your broom (after a certain point early in the game), making it that much better.

Lots of Items to Collect, Side Missions to Complete, Etc.
There are lots of missions and collectables and things to unlock throughout the game. This is nothing new per se, as it is just like the Far Cry games, however I am a completionist, and love to try and finish every single thing. Some of the more mundane collectables are also useful because they can unlock extra outfit overrides and outfit perks after collecting certain amounts of them.

Entertaining Story
By all means, the story isn't a crazy, 'new' story. It follows a certain trope (that trope being you are the one person who has a special power within them that they didn't know about making them one of the most powerful wizards, yadda yadda) but it isn't annoying or horribly boring like Borderlands 3 was (for me). So it's good, but it's nothing we haven't really seen before.

Character Progression System
There are levels, skills (referred to as 'talents'), perks and stats for your clothing pieces (same idea as Cyberpunk), upgrades to the broom, upgrades to clothing, clothing rarities / qualities, etc.

Very Nice Graphics
The graphics are great! It's not groundbreaking, but definitely great to look at, inside the castle especially. It is all I ever wanted when I was a kid, but unfortunately that was not possible back then.

Some Replayability Attempts
Choosing your own House at Hogwarts does have some effect on your gameplay. Many missions and side missions are different, each house has their own common room, and things can play out slightly differently. It's no 'Detroit Become Human', but there was at least some attempt, which I like to see.

Some Cool Customization For Nerds
Choosing your wand length, wood, inner core, your house, patronus, and all that was cool to do. Even though it doesn't really affect anything, your wand you don't really often see up close, it's still fun for those who are very into the franchise.


Repetitive Side / Exploration Missions (Subjective)
As mentioned before, lots of the side missions and exploration tasks can get repetitive in nature, though they are all physically different, the idea is the same. Doesn't bother me, but could bother some. If you've played Far Cry, it's the same deal.

Sub-Par Mouth Animations
For me, I couldn't care less about this. However, I can't deny it; the mouth animations when someone is speaking is definitely a few years behind.

Miscellaneous (Minor) Bugs
You may not experience any, however I have experienced things such as falling through the world randomly, and almost getting stuck in certain areas in the highlands while trying to get into areas on my broom, but it's mostly my fault because I was trying to cheese the game. I have not encountered any softlock issues, any horrible game-breaking bugs, just some minor issues, none of which directly affected me really at all.

A Few Dumb Design Issues
As an example, in shops, where you can sell your clothing pieces (basically your armour), if you have like 20 pieces you want to sell, you can't select all, or even just click once to sell an item. They have a preventative measure in place so that you don't accidentally sell something you want to keep (because you can't buy things back), meaning I have to hold left-click on each item (could be upwards of 30 items if I have a full inventory) for about 1.5s. Not that big of a deal, but if they allowed you to buy-back or even do a sell-all or multi-select, it'd be a lot better. Another example is the character creation screen. Who in the world thought that a slider (with no images for reference) for hair colour was a good idea?! You can't simply pick a color, or have a gradient bar to see what colour you're selecting. You have to sit there and scroll through a slider bar with about 25 different colours and just try to remember which one you liked most. You can see the preview on your character but good luck remember what specific selection on the line was the one you wanted. There are a few other small issues like that, mostly based on preference and my playstyle, but in my own opinion I think there are a few overlooked UI / developer choice issues that could be made a lot better. I will say though, none of these issues really affect the game long-run, just nitpicks.

Do I recommend it? Yes! It is fun, entertaining, though nothing groundbreaking. It is a HUGE win for Harry Potter fans, as they haven't had a game in like 10 years and the last 3 entries were horrendously bad. I am a huge fan of the first 3 games, as I grew up with those, and this is like a modern take on them, and I could not be happier. The game isn't as demanding as some in terms of computer power, which is another bonus.

[h1]TL;DR[/h1] Yes. Especially if you like Harry Potter universe. Worth playing [h1]First Thoughts[/h1] When this game was announced, I was immediately excited. I am a big fan of the Harry Potter franchise, and although I'm aware this takes place in a completely different time, and is more-so a spinoff / extended universe / lore game, it still had my attention. The game was delayed a few times, but I'm okay with that if it means a more polished product. I pre-ordered it and played it for the 72 hours early access for deluxe edition pre-order buyers. I am not finished with the game after ~25 hours (I am about 55% total completion as of writing this review), but I am definitely enjoying my time and have little to no complaints. Also, figured I would mention that I am very experienced with this style of game, and have likely completed a lot more than the average person may have in those hours. I am focusing side / exploration missions first, story after. [h1]The Goods[/h1] [b]Very Fun (and functional) Combat System[/b] I absolutely love the combat in this game. It is intense, and there is so much going on but it doesn't overwhelm you or require you to be an expert at games. There are 'ultimates' (in a sense, they aren't actually called that in-game), and you can even interact with the environment and control some of the environment while battling enemies as well, to keep you entertained. [b]Free-Roam Open World Exploration[/b] The exploration is reminiscent to that of the first 3 Harry Potter games on PC, allowing you to walk all through the castle (which is absolutely gigantic, by the way), as well as outside of Hogwarts grounds, up in the mountains and hills. Outside, you can also fly around on your broom (after a certain point early in the game), making it that much better. [b]Lots of Items to Collect, Side Missions to Complete, Etc.[/b] There are lots of missions and collectables and things to unlock throughout the game. This is nothing new per se, as it is just like the Far Cry games, however I am a completionist, and love to try and finish every single thing. Some of the more mundane collectables are also useful because they can unlock extra outfit overrides and outfit perks after collecting certain amounts of them. [b]Entertaining Story[/b] By all means, the story isn't a crazy, 'new' story. It follows a certain trope ([spoiler]that trope being you are the one person who has a special power within them that they didn't know about making them one of the most powerful wizards, yadda yadda[/spoiler]) but it isn't annoying or horribly boring like Borderlands 3 was (for me). So it's good, but it's nothing we haven't [i]really[/i] seen before. [b]Character Progression System[/b] There are levels, skills (referred to as 'talents'), perks and stats for your clothing pieces (same idea as Cyberpunk), upgrades to the broom, upgrades to clothing, clothing rarities / qualities, etc. [b]Very Nice Graphics[/b] The graphics are great! It's not groundbreaking, but definitely great to look at, inside the castle especially. It is all I ever wanted when I was a kid, but unfortunately that was not possible back then. [b]Some Replayability Attempts[/b] Choosing your own House at Hogwarts does have some effect on your gameplay. Many missions and side missions are different, each house has their own common room, and things can play out slightly differently. It's no 'Detroit Become Human', but there was at least some attempt, which I like to see. [b]Some Cool Customization For Nerds[/b] Choosing your wand length, wood, inner core, your house, patronus, and all that was cool to do. Even though it doesn't really affect anything, your wand you don't really often see up close, it's still fun for those who are very into the franchise. [h1]The Bads[/h1] [b]Repetitive Side / Exploration Missions (Subjective)[/b] As mentioned before, lots of the side missions and exploration tasks can get repetitive in nature, though they are all physically different, the idea is the same. Doesn't bother me, but could bother some. If you've played Far Cry, it's the same deal. [b]Sub-Par Mouth Animations[/b] For me, I couldn't care less about this. However, I can't deny it; the mouth animations when someone is speaking is [b]definitely[/b] a few years behind. [b]Miscellaneous (Minor) Bugs[/b] You may not experience any, however I have experienced things such as falling through the world randomly, and almost getting stuck in certain areas in the highlands while trying to get into areas on my broom, but it's mostly my fault because I was trying to cheese the game. I have not encountered any softlock issues, any horrible game-breaking bugs, just some minor issues, none of which directly affected me really at all. [b]A Few Dumb Design Issues[/b] As an example, in shops, where you can sell your clothing pieces (basically your armour), if you have like 20 pieces you want to sell, you can't select all, or even just click once to sell an item. They have a preventative measure in place so that you don't accidentally sell something you want to keep (because you can't buy things back), meaning I have to hold left-click on each item (could be upwards of 30 items if I have a full inventory) for about 1.5s. Not that big of a deal, but if they allowed you to buy-back or even do a sell-all or multi-select, it'd be a lot better. Another example is the character creation screen. Who in the world thought that a slider (with no images for reference) for hair colour was a good idea?! You can't simply pick a color, or have a gradient bar to see what colour you're selecting. You have to sit there and scroll through a slider bar with about 25 different colours and just try to remember which one you liked most. You can see the preview on your character but good luck remember what specific selection on the line was the one you wanted. There are a few other small issues like that, mostly based on preference and my playstyle, but in my own opinion I think there are a few overlooked UI / developer choice issues that could be made a lot better. [u]I will say though, none of these issues really affect the game long-run, just nitpicks[/u]. [h1]Closing Thoughts[/h1] Do I recommend it? Yes! It is fun, entertaining, though nothing groundbreaking. It is a [b]HUGE[/b] win for Harry Potter fans, as they haven't had a game in like 10 years and the last 3 entries were horrendously bad. I am a huge fan of the first 3 games, as I grew up with those, and this is like a modern take on them, and I could not be happier. The game isn't as demanding as some in terms of computer power, which is another bonus.