A Fantastical Place (Hogwarts Legacy Review)

Hogwarts Legacy is by far one of my favourite games that I have played this year. I remember when it was first announced, and I lost my mind. We have never seen an RPG Harry Potter game since the Play Station games. When I had the money, the first thing I did was pre-order the game at the end of February. When the game came out for the last-gen XBOX, I was playing this game for days on end. 

Overview

Hogwarts Legacy is about a 5th year student who goes to Hogwarts and discovers a secret about ancient magic. There are many foes and an unexpected twist of Goblins being the main villain of this game.  Of course, there were dark wizards, but to have a goblin be the main villain took me by surprise. I remember playing the game and I was astounded by the fact there were two deaths in 10 minutes. I also remember getting full-body chills as the title card came onto the screen. The way they introduced this game was brilliant.  

My Favourite Quests

Secrets of The Restricted Section was one of my favourites as it felt like I was in one of the Harry Potter movies as you sneak around the Library with Simon to get into the restricted section. Having to use the disillusionment spell to sneak past the Prefects and the Librarian was a little stressful, but I really enjoyed it.  

Jackdaw’s Rest was another favorite of mine. Despite the terrifying thought of giant spiders and everything I hate about spiders; I did enjoy this quest a lot. It had that horror element of uneasiness that made this quest quite interesting to play, especially when you’re trying to help this ghost who was foolish enough to travel to a spider’s den to find something so you as the player help him.  

The High Keep is another favorite. When I first played this quest, the only thing on my mind was to save the Hippogriffs. The objective is to expose Rookwood’s plans with Natsai. During this quest, you are to save two Hippogriffs, one of which is Highwing, a Hippogriff you meet earlier in the game. After rescuing them, you are to fly the Hippogriffs back to Hogwarts. After that you get the Hippogriff mount which allows you to ride Highwing to different destinations. I have been flying Highwing everywhere ever since I saved her. It was a bucket load of nostalgia when I rode Highwing over Hogwarts Lake. I was tearing up. 

Niamh Fitzgerald’s Trial was my other favorite quest. This was the most unique trial in this game as everything is in black and white and looks like it’s been drawn down with charcoal. In this trial you are to use all three Deathly Hallows to escape Death. This quest was nerve wrecking, but I also really enjoyed it because it referenced something from the original books and movies, and because of its uniqueness to the rest of the trial quests.  

Pros

• Hours of game play

• Expansive Map

• Easy controls

• Every single detail added to Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, and everywhere else on the map

Cons

• Things glitch sometimes so I can’t complete treasure vaults sometimes

• I have fallen through the map riding the Hippogriff Mount before

• The game lags if I’m going too fast

• I will sometimes get lost in Hogwarts trying to find my way around

With hours of game play, if you love RPG and adventure games, then Hogwarts Legacy is the game for you.  

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Hello! My name is Kaela and I’m 20 years old. I have been playing video games for as long as I can remember. I remember my dad playing video games such as Halo or Mortal Combat IX around the age of 7. To this day I’m still playing video games. I love games ranging from horror, fantasy, RPG, open-world, dystopian, platformer games, and racing games. I hope you enjoy the blogs that are to come.

Two Sides of One Coin (Hades Review)

Hades is a unique roguelike that has a unique animation and art style. This is a good game for you to play if you like Greek mythology and roguelike dungeon games. While fighting your way to the overworld, you are a prince who resents being who he is and has issues with his father, hence the name of the game.  

Overview

As the son of Hades, who resents being who they are, they make an attempt to escape to the Overworld. This game does not take only one time to escape. It takes many tries to escape to the Underworld and defeat Hades. I first discovered this game from a YouTuber I watched. His name is Jacksepticeye. I was watching him stream a game on Twitch and when I found out what it was, I fell in love with it immediately. That’s when I decided to play the game myself and I fell in love with the game even more.  

The Bosses

There are many bosses in this game. In Tartarus, there are three bosses that will randomize each time you get to the final chamber. These three bosses are the Fury sisters, Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera. They are relatively easy to defeat if you know how to avoid their attacks.  

In Asphodel, the boss is the three-headed bone hydra. There are three different bone hydras that you can encounter that have different attacks. This boss is a little more difficult to defeat but can be easily passable if you know what you’re doing.  

In Elysium, there are two bosses you have to battle at the same time. They are Theseus and Asterius (The Minotaur). Fighting both at full health is extremely difficult and that is why I find meeting Asterius halfway and battling him before the main fight is the best way to approach the start of this boss battle.  

In Styx, there are no boss battles, but if you’re unlucky you will come across the Rat King who is one of the most annoying bosses in the game as his acid attacks deal quite a lot of damage to you.  

The final boss you have to defeat is Hades. He is one of the most difficult bosses in the game. You need to be tactical to defeat him, otherwise, you will take heavy damage and be defeated by Hades.

The Infernal Arms

The first weapon is Stygius or the Stygian Blade. This is the default weapon of the game. I personally like this one the most as it’s close combat. I prefer to strike while dashing as it deals lots of damage. Like every weapon, the Stygian Blade has hidden aspects you can unlock later in the game with Titan Blood. This weapon once belonged to Poseidon.

The second weapon is Vartha or the Eternal Spear. This weapon can be unlocked with 4 Chthonic Keys. I also like this weapon as it’s close range and gives me a chance to dash around and slay the enemies around me quickly. This weapon once belonged to Hades.

The third weapon is Aegis or the Shield of Chaos. This can be unlocked with 3 Chthonic Keys. I like this weapon when in close combat. I love how you can bounce the shield off multiple enemies like you’re a hellish version of Captain America. This weapon once belonged to Athena and Zeus.

The fourth weapon is Coronatch or the Heart-Seeking Bow. This can be unlocked with 1 Chthonic Key. I don’t like this weapon much as it’s long distance range. I often panic when there are too many enemies around me when I have the bow with me. This weapon once belonged to Hera.

The fifth weapon is Malphon or the Twin Fists of Malphon. This can be unlocked with 8 Chthonic Keys. I like this weapon a lot as it really packs a punch. It deals lots of damage in a short amount of time as long as you dodge out of enemies way in time. This weapon once belonged to Demeter.

The sixth weapon is Exagryph or the Adamant Rail. This can be unlocked with 8 Chthonic Keys. I haven’t used this weapon much as I prefer using the other weapons. The reason I hardly use this weapon is because it’s basically a gun and I feel like it throws off the theme of the other weapons. This weapon once belonged to Hestia.

Pros

• Unique story

• Controls are easy to learn

• There is hours of content in the game

• You get the true ending after escaping 10 times

• The randomisation of bosses keeps you on your toes

• The story

• The unique art style and animation

• The soundtracks

• You can defy death 3-4 times

Cons

• The game is repetitive at times

• It can be frustrating to escape at times

• Bosses like Theseus and Asterius are tedious and difficult opponents

• Hades is a nightmare to defeat

• The Rat King is an annoying opponent to defeat as he sprays acid from the pores in his body and the vermin that accompany spray acid and poison out of their pores which can be deadly if you’re not careful

• Too much of the same enemy can be irritating

As the 2020 Game of The Year, this is a great game with hours of explored content. No matter how many times it takes you to escape there will always be something new to discover.  

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Hello! My name is Kaela and I’m 20 years old. I have been playing video games for as long as I can remember. I remember my dad playing video games such as Halo or Mortal Combat IX around the age of 7. To this day I’m still playing video games. I love games ranging from horror, fantasy, RPG, open-world, dystopian, platformer games, and racing games. I hope you enjoy the blogs that are to come.

Fight or Flight (Alien: Isolation Review)

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Alien: Isolation is one of the best horror games of all time. Released in 2014, this game changed the horror genre. Alien: Isolation is the first game to feature such a unique AI. The game is about Amanda Ripley fighting for survival as she searches to uncover the truth about her mother Ellen Ripley. She is headstrong and keeps fighting. She is violent, but she will protect herself if she needs to.

Overview

When I first played this game, I knew I was in for a wild ride. No horror game has ever made me feel so tense and on edge constantly, or had me feel like I was there in the situations that Amanda finds herself in. I haven’t finished the game, but so far, I’m intrigued. I’m playing on Novice difficulty, and I still find the game difficult, although it’s still fun.  

I remember when I first encountered the Xenomorph, I was terrified. I was frozen in my spot, but I was excited as it was my first game in the Alien franchise that I played. When the developers designed the AI programming of the Xenomorph, they really had it live up to its name just like how the Xenomorph first appeared in Alien (1979).

There are other antagonists on the ship aside from the Xenomorph and that can make this game even more frustrating. Hostile people who are trying to survive will try and kill you because they can’t trust the player. Working Joes will also try to kill you since their programming tends to corrupt.  

The AI

No other horror game has created an AI for the antagonist like Alien: Isolation has. The developers created the AI of the Xenomorph to be unpredictable and be able to adapt to the player’s game style. This makes the game difficult, but interesting to play. If you hide for too long, the Xenomorph will eventually find you. One moment you think the Xenomorph is gone, but then it comes back charging at you without you knowing. It’s terrifying, just how the Xenomorph should be.

Pros

• The story and characters are fleshed out

  The map is detailed and isn’t confusing

• The Xenomorph

• The way the story is told connects to the movies and comic books of the series

Cons

• Save points are far apart

• The Working Joes feel overpowered even though that’s how they are portrayed in the lore

• Traversing the ships can be confusing at times

• Playing in Novice Mode can be challenging at times

• The Xenomorph seems inescapable sometimes

• Occasionally the game crashes

No horror game can come close to how terrifying this game is. A tense and suspenseful sneak-based game that any horror or sci-fi fan will love. This game is worth playing if you have the patience to play a difficult game. 

Hello! My name is Kaela and I’m 20 years old. I have been playing video games for as long as I can remember. I remember my dad playing video games such as Halo or Mortal Combat IX around the age of 7. To this day I’m still playing video games. I love games ranging from horror, fantasy, RPG, open-world, dystopian, platformer games, and racing games. I hope you enjoy the blogs that are to come.