Summary
TheHarry Potterfranchisehas made tens of billions of dollars over the last two decades through movie ticket and book sales, video games, collectibles, and theme parks. Being a franchise with such a long history, its games have covered five different generations of consoles without missing one. This is very impressive, as it’s something only a handful of franchises have been able to accomplish.
While consoles like the PS1 and the original Xbox limited the open-world possibilities for earlyHarry Pottergames, developers still made an effort to make them as free-roam as possible. And, luckily, with newer technology came better games with broader exploration features,withHogwarts Legacybeing the latest, most complete addition to the franchise’s video game collection. To recap some of the most wonderful titles in this magical world, here are thebest open-worldHarry Pottergames.
Harry Potter and the Half-BloodPrinceisn’t the strongest movie in the saga, and sadly, the game isn’t any different. Now, this isn’t to say that the game is bad. It has a lot of entertaining moments, new spells, and heart-racing events that will keep Potterheads happy and alert. It’s just that, compared to other games in its category, it doesn’t have as many interesting elements to make it further on this list.
It’s important to mention that this isn’t a fully open-world game. In fact,except forHogwarts Legacy, none of the titles on this list are. While playingHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, players can roam freely around Hogwarts and its surroundings without following a specific questline, unless they want to. Progressing through the main story does become a bit linear, but compared with the first games in the franchise, there’s certainly a lot more space to roam than there used to be.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenixexplored the depths of the creation of Dumbledore’s Army, and how it helped shape the defense against the dark arts and Voldemort. This game is a bit better than its sequel for various reasons, including the fact that there appear to be more locations to explore outside Hogwarts' halls. The combat in this installment feels more complete than in previous games, and the missions, for the most part, tend to last longer and aren’t as linear.
Like other games in this universe,Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenixisn’t a fully open-world experience, but it allows players to roam inside and outside Hogwarts to discover every nook and cranny of the castle, obtaining items and collectibles required to 100% complete the game.
2001 through 2005 was the golden era for anyone who fell in love with the Wizarding World ofHarry Potter, as it not only had some of the best movies in the franchise, but the games released along with them were high-quality timeless classics that are still a blast to play today. Not that later releases were rated for adults or anything of the sort, but it’s quite clear that, at least for the first three movies and games of the franchise, these were meant for young children — which makes perfect sense, as the target audience was exactly that.Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabanhas tons of fun, lighthearted missions that aren’t too challenging, but at the same time, aren’t simple enough to be boring.
Being able to ride Buckbeak through different time challenges andsoar through the skiesabove Hogwarts' stone walls was an experience that every child who grew up with the series likely still remembers fondly. As with otherHarry Pottertitles, players can roam around freely within the castle and part of the grounds, but not with the same extent of freedom a true open-world game would provide.
Harry Potter and the Chamberof Secretsimproved upon many of the flaws its predecessorHarry Potterand the Sorcerer’s Stonehad. Considering that the latter was already a masterpiece in its own right, that says even more about the quality of the former.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secretsintroduced new and improved challenges, including platforming levels, spell battles, and various puzzles that had players scratching their heads.
The final battle against the Basilisk remains, to this day, a little underwhelming, especially due to the creature’s size in the game, which is but a fraction of what moviegoers saw on the big screen. This, however, can be forgiven considering how limited consoles were at the time. Just like the rest of the titles already mentioned on this list,Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secretslets players roam with a certain degree of freedom, but can’t be considered a true open-world title.
Hogwarts Legacyredefined what aHarry Pottergame could be, making everything better — so much better. In the years before the game was released, Potterheads had only been fed a few games here and there, most of them under the LEGO brand. While those games are really entertaining and great to play with friends and family, fans needed more, andHogwarts Legacydelivered. The game is the first fully open-world game in theHarry Potterfranchise, allowing players to explore inside Hogwarts, around the castle grounds, and then travel to Hogsmeade and even the dangerous corners of the world — all while being able tocustomize their character’s outfit, broom, and stats.
While the game doesn’t offer Quidditch, being able to fly around the world riding a fast magic broom is an extremely enjoyable experience. It’s also worth mentioning that the character/enemy design is superb, the voice acting is excellent, and as if that wasn’t enough, there are considerably more spells than in earlier franchise installments,even if they’re not all great. Overall,Hogwarts Legacybreaks free from the restraints that held back its older gaming peers, and utilizes modern hardware to give players a visually stunning experience with great game mechanics.
