Hogwarts Legacy looks fantastic on PS5 graphics-wise

The new Hogwarts Legacy RPG will make use of the PlayStation 5's graphical horsepower and bring a new level of realism and immersion to the Wizarding World.

Yesterday's State of Play revealed an incredibly in-depth look at the new Harry Potter RPG that's set for 2022. The game is called Hogwarts Legacy, and it looks to be the ultimate fan game--Avalanche, the studio that made the game, says this is what Potter fans have been waiting 20 years to play.

Hogwarts Legacy takes place in the 1800s and delves into a new all-original story that weaves history with a narrative that players unravel throughout their discoveries, and even delves deeper into areas that weren't explored throughout the books and films. Avalanche has taken this opportunity to "put their own spin" on the Harry Potter universe and lore while working closely with J.K. Rowling's estate to ensure accuracy (however Avalanche is adamant that Rowling had no part in writing the game's story).

The huge gameplay blowout left a strong impression that Avalanche has put excruciating care into this project. The world, the representations, the visuals--everything looks authentic and visually appealing to the point where it's almost magnetic. The motion capture is also exceptionally well done, with NPCs moving, blinking, and actually acting like real humans.

"Our process of development started with re-reading the books. Over development we've re-read the books many, many times. Every time we start with a new feature we dig into that and beyond we'd go into the films," said art director Jeff Bunker

There's been some talk about the frame rate, and you can notice a bit of slowdown during combat--not to mention some texture pop-in during the flying sequences.

Still, though, Hogwarts Legacy looks like it should take full advantage of the new higher-end SoCs and SSD tech featured in the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S to deliver a believable, immersive, and extremely thorough open-world Harry Potter experience.

Hogwarts Legacy releases Holiday 2022 on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

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