Guía para padres sobre Hogwarts Legacy

It's rare when something manages to evoke a genuine, childlike glee in adults and transport them to the whimsical places of their youth so effortlessly; this game's opening hours do exactly that. The beginning of Hogwarts Legacy brings the magical castle to life before the player's eyes. When you get sorted into your house and get to explore the common room for the first time, it's like jumping into the Harry Potter books. Hogwarts itself seems like a living, breathing character, with devious ghosts playing tricks on the students, potions comically blowing up in a classmate's face, and secret areas and items around every corner. In terms of making a strong first impression, few games come close to achieving what Hogwarts Legacy does.

But as the hours tick by and your journey deepens and expands beyond Hogwarts' walls, something happens. The magic that eagerly coursed through your veins fades once the illusion breaks and the game reveals its greatest act of witchcraft yet: hiding the fact that, at its core, Hogwarts Legacy is a fun but mechanically unremarkable open-world game. In many ways, Hogwarts Legacy epitomizes what it's like to return to what used to be your favorite cheap pizzeria growing up as an adult: The food doesn't quite taste as good as you remember, the animatronics are creepy rather than cool, and, as you leave, you end up asking yourself, "Why did I decide to come here of all places, when there were so many better options available?"

There's also another cost of enjoying this particular title. Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling has made hurtful, cruel comments about the transgender community that have further endangered an already targeted group. Separating art from the artist is a tricky business, and while how someone chooses to reckon with Rowling and Hogwarts Legacy is their own business, Common Sense doesn't tolerate racism, homophobia, transphobia, bigotry, or any kind of attack against historically oppressed groups.