Game Reviews #7 [Hogwarts Legacy, Quantum Break, Simulacrum

since Hogwarts Legacy is a Harry Potter IP - a donation was made to a local organization that helps trans folx

Hogwarts Legacy

It should be noted I am not a Harry Potter fan. I don't hate it or anything - I read the first 3 books and have seen a handful of movies. I have no strong feelings about the franchise [great music in those films] I just lost interest. As a kid, I was an avid reader so I never really found anything in those books to be particularly mind-blowing. I am generally not a fan of "chosen one" stories and I always thought Harry was a bit of a twat. Just some context

The game itself starts very strong. I made Ekans Arbok and it was incredibly easy to make my character read non-binary. [hats off to the devs who have layered in blatantly obvious pro-trans characters and design choices]. After a few punchy story beats, I was ready to dive it! And suddenly - very fast - faster than any RPG I have ever played - the writing goes to shit. NJ commented several times on the brain-dead quality of dialogue. The amount of times I would fight my way to the center of a dungeon just to have whatever relevant NPC appear after I overcame the final challenge was laughable. It actually became quite a reliable way to break immersion. Meh, whatever - story is not why I'm here. So I embrace it as a magic witch/wizard game but, alas - the RPG elements of this game are extremely shallow. Combat starts flashy and feels cool until it becomes a repetitive slog. Many of the environments are stark and bare and while [I gather] the Hogwarts design is faithful to the films, the school is full of things you cannot interact with and students you cannot speak to. You cannot be evil in this game - you can only be kind of an asshole with the exact same results [also if you are nice you generally just don't get rewarded?? I am not sure what that is trying to say]. You can use deadly curses in front of your professors willy-nilly. And, if you pick the "bad ending" it literally has no effect on anything. No ramifications whatsoever. I usually hate critiquing a game as "unfinished" but that word describes this game perfectly. If you're a Harry Potter superfan or can pick this up for around $10-$15, I'd say go for it. Otherwise, no need. I understand the project may have been overambitious [which I usually love in my art] but sadly, this just comes off as lazy [which I'm sure is not the case, but alas]

Quantum Break

Similar to Detroit Become Human but with better actors and less impactful choices. Also, a much more gamey shoot-em-up style experience. This game features both Lance Reddick [RIP] and Aiden Gillen as major characters so fans of The Wire will enjoy seeing them on screen together. I made most of my choices based on how often I thought I could keep Lance Reddick around. There is a multimedia element [you get access to a streaming live-action video between chapters] that wasn't necessary and doesn't really bring anything to the table but it doesn't really do any damage either. I had a really hard time telling the white guys apart in this game as three of them look nearly identical. The action was really fun and relatively simple to pick up. The character of "Liam" is basically one giant eyeroll but the rest of them are passable, at worst. The last boss can be frustrating but some help from the internet can fix that. I'd recommend it to those who game at least semi-regularly. Not a great entry-level title tho.

Simulacrum

This game is awesome and anyone can play! The premise is you find a woman's phone and start going through it. I recommend playing on a small screen like a phone or Steam Deck. It is spooky and does a really good job with pacing and keeping you from getting stuck [while still making you feel clever]. The voice acting is... it's okay lol. Again, the uniqueness of the project makes those shortcomings easy to overlook for me. I will say - one of the worst delivered lines I have ever heard is one of the first you hear but it only gets better from that point lol. Inexpensive, a few hours long and well worth it. Excited to try the sequels! Highly recommend.