Rowling, whose comments about transgender people in recent years have left a sour taste in the mouths of many current and former Potter fans, both at IGN and in the world at large. The elephant in the room with Hogwarts Legacy is Harry Potter’s creator, J.K. Most are memorable and instantly endearing, like Sebastian the cocky and morally pliable Slytherin, or Natsai the clever and unflappable Gryffindor, and spending time with them and improving your social links through their relationship questlines made my stay at Hogwarts all the more enjoyable. The characters you’ll spend most of your time with are the classmates who will befriend you on campus, accompany you on certain quests, and help you hone your abilities as a magic user. It may not be the most impressive technical achievement and it is certainly cursed with a lack of enemy variety, but none of Hogwarts Legacy’s issues can cast a Descendo charm on this triumphant visit to the Wizarding World. Its open world map absolutely nails the vibe of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it has spellcasting combat that’s stupefyingly good, the characters that inhabit it are charming and unforgettable, and it is positively brimming with countless diversions to soak up dozens of hours of your time. With Hogwarts Legacy, I’m happy to say that we finally got a Harry Potter game that captures some of that magic. But none of these has come close to fulfilling that fantasy of receiving a Hogwarts admission letter that opens the door to a secret world.

In that time, we’ve gotten some respectable LEGO Potter games, an underwhelming EA Sports Quidditch game for some reason, and even suffered through the fevered nightmare that is Harry Potter Kinect. Like many, I’ve been waiting for a truly excellent Harry Potter game since I was in the third grade.

Hogwart legacy pc