Hogwarts Legacyis far from being a perfect game, but when it comes to capturing the wondrous sense of magic from the books and movies, it does just about everything right. From the visual look of spells, to the nostalgic music cues, to the overall design and scale of the titular castle,Hogwarts Legacyabsolutely nails its magical, otherworldly atmosphere, and the game’sPlayStation DualSense supportadds a surprising amount of depth to the experience.
One of the best parts of owning a PlayStation 5 is its DualSense controller. Decked out with haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and a slew of other features, the DualSense controller is one of the best in gaming history, and the best PS5 games ensure that they take advantage of at least a few of its features.Hogwarts Legacymakes use of every one ofthe DualSense’s core features, and every one of them adds to the magical atmosphere of the game.
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Hogwarts Legacy’s DualSense Support Adds a Lot to the Experience
At the bare minimum, a AAA PlayStation 5 game should have solid haptic feedback support, and thankfully,Hogwarts Legacygoes above and beyond in this regard. Every single spell has its own unique rumble pattern on the DualSense controller, matching each swoosh of the wand, each spark, and each bolt of magic energy. While spells like Accio make the haptic feedback simulate pulling towards the player,spells like Depulsoperfectly imitate pushing something away with extreme force. This haptic feedback can be felt all throughout the player’s adventure, and it’s especially noticeable during flight. When on a broomstick, the DualSense mimics the wind brushing past the player’s character, while the rumble of the broom below can also be felt, and when riding a Hippogriff through the air, its beating wings can be felt through the controller, all adding an even deeper sense of immersion.
The DualSense’s built-in speaker is a bit of a double-edged sword when it comes to its implementation in modern games, but thankfully it only serves to further the player’s immersion inHogwarts Legacy’s world. Explosive spells like Confringo sound suitably devastating, while quieter spells like Levioso have that subtle ethereal sound. Spells with iconic sounds like Lumos also capture the essence oftheHarry Pottermoviesperfectly, with the trademark humming sound effect emanating subtly out of the DualSense while the spell is in use.
One of the more subtle features of the DualSense controller is its two light bars, located either side of the touchpad. In most games, these lights remain whatever color the player has set it to, with the default color being blue. The most implementation fans can usually expect is a change from green to red to indicate a drop in the player’s health.Hogwarts Legacy, again, goes above and beyond here. The light bars are in a constant state of flux while playingHogwarts Legacy, with each spell cast causing the bars to shift gradually between different colors, often based on the type of spell used. It’s an incredibly subtle detail that will pass by most players completely undetected, but once it’s noticed, it becomes pretty mesmerizing to watch.
WhileHogwarts Legacy’s DualSense support adds an incredible amount of immersion to the overall experience, it isn’t all perfect.Hogwarts Legacy’s adaptive trigger implementation is pretty rough. Whilethe best PS5 gamesfine-tune the adaptive triggers to work differently with each weapon and vehicle,Hogwarts Legacyhas just one default setting, where the right trigger has some resistance at all times. This actually harms the experience quite a bit, as players will constantly be tapping the right trigger to fire off simple offensive spells, and repeatedly pressing in on a high-resistance trigger can be quite painful after long sessions.
Hogwarts Legacyis available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X, and will release April 4 for PS4 and Xbox One, and July 25 for Nintendo Switch.
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