Something that might have seemed charming to many players at first but can quickly become annoying is the consistent character talking in Hogwarts Legacy. While it is expected for your character to talk a bunch during cutscenes and story missions, it isn’t expected for your character to ramble on as you explore the game world. From having to spam spells over and over to entering Hogsmeade for your 50th time, your character always has little quips to say that eventually stop being cute.
Does It Get Any More Cozy Than Hogsmeade?
The classic lines your character utters every time you walk into the hub hamlet of Hogsmead are meant to remind you that the time is quite small and lively. While it may be nice to hear on your first visit of a play session, you’re forced to bear with the same one of two lines each and every time you walk or travel into Hogsmeade.
It almost seems like Avalanche Studios is trying to reassure me that Hogsmeade is a super safe and quaint town only for it to turn into some sort of warzone later in the game. I don’t need to be asked if I know of anywhere more cozy than Hogsmeade, I just want to sell our extra gear at a premium and pick up some potion supplies.
Walking into any iconic area from the franchise game seems to prompt the protagonist to spout some line about it, just to remind you that this area is from the movies in case you forgot. The main issue with all of these lines is that they don’t seem to stop. It doesn’t matter how many times I walk into Hogsmeade, my character just has to say something about it.
And there is no way to turn them off separately, that is, without turning off all dialogue in the game. Normally a game that has this much talking will allow you to set passive chatter to a specific degree, but not Hogwarts Legacy and it is tragically missing.
Just Let Me Think About How To Solve The Puzzle For a Second
It seems to be a common trend in games to have the character think aloud about how to solve a puzzle if the player is stuck rather than slapping a big popup window in your face telling you what to do. Hogwarts Legacy also takes this approach but doesn’t really give the player enough time to fully take in the room before your character “hints” you toward the answer.
Normally, a game will wait a few minutes and let the player attempt a solution or two before having a character comment on their observation. But not Hogwarts Legacy.
Even in rooms where I can solve the puzzle right away, the protagonist always seems obligated to interject. “Maybe I need to move the platforms through these portals,” they’ll say, while I am in the middle of doing just that. At least give me a chance to mess around!
I get that giving advice is needed in any game that includes puzzles. There have even been times when the protagonist genuinely helps. I just want Hogwarts Legacy to give let me make the attempt before my character starts butting.
Published: Feb 22, 2023 03:06 pm