When it came to game releases in 2023, there really wasn’t another as controversial as Avalanche Software’s own, Hogwarts Legacy. Whilst the game had many an issue because of some creative choices from the developer behind the game, the majority of it came from the fact that the author of the wizarding world, J.K. Rowling would be benefitting from its sales.
The game has recently been released on the Nintendo Switch, giving the game another breath of life for new and even returning players. Now, if you want to get into the drama and controversies about Rowling, there are plentiful articles to read about elsewhere. As a transgender woman, I have nothing but apathy for what J.K. thinks about me or any other trans person.
For a while, I didn’t even want to have anything to do with the Harry Potter fandom because of my distaste for the bigoted feelings that she has for people like me. But, I’d rather continue to enjoy the wizarding world as a trans person, in spite of what she thinks of my existence. Because we exist. I exist. I am a woman. And I want to do witchy stuff.
So, as always, I’ll be reviewing this port fairly, since she didn’t make the game or port it to Switch either. If you’re looking for a full-detailed review of HL, then check out our original review from when the game was released. This lite review of sorts is really just going to touch on some of the more technical parts of how the game played. So, let’s see if the Switch port is anything to write home about.
Gameplay
I was pleasantly surprised at just how well HL plays on the Switch. Because of its third-person shooter combat, I was expecting it to be kind of difficult to get used to. Luckily, the controls fit really well with the positioning of the Switch’s design. I found it really enjoyable to discover things around the castle grounds and skip around the corridors I grew up seeing in the films.
As far as how well the game runs, it’s pretty great. I rarely experienced any loss of frames or any real glitches. I expected this game to be a bit more finicky and glitchy, but it actually seems as if Avalanche put time and effort into making this a proper port, in a technical sense. I’m also a fan of the fact that this game requires no online connection to play.
More and more modern games on the Switch are requiring an internet stream in order to play, which means that accessibility to them is harder. I was happy that HL, like The Witcher 3, went for a more user-friendly approach that gives the game a longer shelf-life.
Audio and Visuals
Honestly, the audio and visuals are the weakest part of this port. The audio is the least memorable of the two, as it just sounds very compressed. I’m not sure if it’s a mixing issue or what, but it really isn’t that great sounding.
Visuals are pretty hit or miss honestly. Though you can tell that some detail was kept from the original version, the game is pretty harsh-looking at times. That low-resolution look doesn’t really bother me though.
What does bother me is the fact that the game has that smear look that I hate in Switch ports. I don’t know if it’s a texture-smoothing trick that devs are trying to use, but it always looks like crap. The game also looks very pixelated in areas that I would call “seams”. Like where the roof of a building meets the walls, it appears jagged and really jarring to see.
Feedback
My feedback on this game is that they did a lot of great things in terms of porting this over but they really could’ve done more with audio. I’m not sure if anything more could’ve been done for visuals, but the game can sound a bit muddy at times.
Conclusion
The port of HL on Switch really only has one audience; gamers that solely own a Switch. If you own this title on another platform or have the chance to purchase it on another, avoid it here. But if you only have a Switch or really want to play HL whilst on the go, then this is a pretty good buy. Though it isn’t the best Switch game all-round out there, it’s still a fun game nonetheless.
