Developer: TT Games
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Platform: Xbox One, Switch
Tested on: Xbox One
LEGO Harry Potter Collection – Review
Now that Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald has hit the theatres, Warner Bros. decided to launch a remastered version of the Harry Potter LEGO games as the LEGO Harry Potter Collection. Maybe they are right in doing so, and there might be a market for this collection, but as the LEGO games have made a huge step forward since the first release of these games, especially in the sound department, we were a bit skeptical.
Story
LEGO Harry Potter Collection consists out of two parts, being Years 1-4 and Years 5-7. Since these games are based on the Harry Potter books and films, they follow the same story, more or less. Everything is a bit simplified though, as it would simply get too complicated. In newer LEGO games, everything is fully voiced, which makes it quite easy to follow, even if you haven’t seen anything of the franchise before. The Harry Potter games come from an era where there was no voice acting in the games, only a bit of murmur here and there. This means that it is a lot more difficult to follow the story if you haven’t seen the films of read the books before.
In the first game, you’ll see how Harry leaves home to start his education at Hogwarts, he’ll meet his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, and Hagrid as well. As this game is where it all starts, the story is easier to follow. If you choose to begin with Years 5-7, it will become a whole lot more difficult if you’re not a real Harry Potter fan, as the story has been going on for quite a while when you jump in, and without voice acting, you will have a hard time to follow what’s going on. Nonetheless, even without fully understanding what’s going on, the game has its charm.
Graphics
The LEGO games have come a long way, and while these games are often multi-platform, the graphical prowess seems to increase with each iteration. The Harry Potter games originally released in 2010 and 2011, and while they looked great for the time, especially with their picturesque backgrounds, they look somewhat dated now. Warner did their best to give these two games (Years 1-4 and Years 5-7) a new lick of paint, and for the most part they succeeded in their effort. The environments look crisp and some of the views are spectacular. Nonetheless, the characters and some of the other items in the environments look a bit more dated than the modern releases. That being said, if you played the original, you’ll certainly see an increase in the graphical quality, if you haven’t, but play all the recent releases, this might feel like a small step back.
Sound
If you’re fond of the new LEGO games, then you’ll probably hate the sound design of this title. Don’t get us wrong, the music is great and really puts you in a Harry Potter-type of mood. The voice acting however, is just like the old games. You’ll have to make do with some horrible mumble-sounds that really take away the charm of the game. It’s actually quite odd that the original LEGO games did so well with such atrocious sound design, especially now that all the games are voiced, with a decent cast, or lines from the actual cast/movies they are based on.
Gameplay
As all LEGO games, both games in the Harry Potter Collection are action adventure games, with a lot of puzzle solving thrown into the mix. Here too, if you’re used to playing the newer games, you’ll have to adapt to the old way of working. Nowadays, the games have levels, and an open world you can explore next to that, if you feel more like roaming around instead of playing a lengthy level. In Harry Potter, you can still roam around Hogwarts if you like, but if you want to follow the story, you’ll have to follow the ghost. He takes you to classes, so you can learn new spells, and he takes you to other places as well, and before you know it, you’ve entered a level and there’s no going back. In se there’s nothing wrong with this approach, it’s just a bit annoying when you’re used to the newer games.
While roaming around Hogwarts, you can cast a spell on nearly anything or anyone you encounter. It often won’t do much, but it’s fun that there’s so much interaction possible with the surroundings. Most of the time, you’ll just earn coins, but LEGO wouldn’t be LEGO if there weren’t some small quests added as well, for which you can earn a gold brick when completing. A minor annoyance is that Harry and his friends can cast spells, but can’t just smash things to pieces. You simply can’t go bananas like you can with other LEGO games for this reason, which we somehow found less satisfying.
As always, you’ll never complete a level entirely from the first time. There’s always extra things to unlock once you’ve finished the level for the first time, which gives LEGO games a lot of replay value.
Conclusion
It’s nice that Warner Bros. decided to come out with the LEGO Harry Potter Collection, as they are certainly fun games, but to be completely honest with you, we don’t really see why they did it. It’s a nice idea, but the games still look and feel dated, compared to the recent LEGO games on the market. Certainly the fact that there is no voice acting at all, is something that might get annoying. Overall, you do still get a good LEGO experience, so for enthusiasts, this is certainly a fun addition to the collection.
LEGO Harry Potter Collection - Review,
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