With Hogwarts Legacy 2 now officially announced, fans will have a chance to return to said school and once again immerse themselves in its hallowed halls. However, long before that happens, a brand-new title promises to offer such an experience, albeit with a touch of the PS1 Harry Potter magic sprinkled in for good measure. For those with a great affinity for the original Harry Potter video game, or those who are simply eager for yet another magic school sim, this new game could be the perfect title for you.
This New Magic School Game Is A Lot Like PS1 Harry Potter
One of the greatest Harry Potter games of all time was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on the PlayStation 1 (or PC). While by today's standards it has aged a tad mechanically, its stunning visuals, phenomenal soundtrack by Skyrim's own Jeremy Soule, and incredible atmosphere were enormously captivating, especially for anyone who was enamored with the books. It remains, as aforementioned, one of the most immersive Harry Potter video games because it truly cared about Hogwarts and making it a believable and interactive space, a feature lost in the later, more linear entries.
Since its release (and the success of its equally great sequel), we've had few games like it. While the LEGO games made Hogwarts explorable, it was limited in far too many ways to feel like a truly immersive space, and the other movie tie-in games slowly began phasing the importance of the school out in favor of linear levels and third-person shooting. Hogwarts Legacy was truly the only successor, and while there have been other indie games like PS1's Harry Potter, they are few and far between.
Fortunately, developer Frogstorm has taken it upon itself to create an experience that seems almost exactly like one would remember Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on the original PlayStation. Its upcoming wizard-focused fantasy adventure title, Hemlotrion: Broken Mirror, looks identical to the first Harry Potter game, even down to its art style, which looks more or less as one would imagine a faithful UE5 remake of the original Harry Potter game to look. Indeed, Hemlotrion: Broken Mirror is, in many ways, shaping up to be the spiritual successor of the PS1 era of Harry Potter games.
Hemlotrion: Broken Mirror Is Making Childhood Dreams Come True
One glimpse at the trailer for Hemlotrion: Broken Mirror, and you'll be instantly transported back to the golden era of Harry Potter video games. Its magical school, the titular Hemlotrion, looks almost identical to Hogwarts: its vast halls covered in moving portraits, its corridors filled with suits of armor and stone statues, its classrooms adorned with giant windows and wooden desks, and its entrance hallway sporting a split staircase and giant wooden doors. Hemlotrion certainly looks the part, which is great for those of us who have missed the PS1 Harry Potter aesthetic.
It also appears to play the part too, filled not just with an abundance of students from various Houses, but also collectible gems that look remarkably similar to Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. You'll have to learn spells, fight all manner of creatures, partake in duels and assorted minigames, and work your way to uncover the mystery at the heart of its story. For all intents and purposes, Hemlotrion really does appear to be the unofficial remake of the original Harry Potter video game, albeit with its own tweaks, improvements, and modern flourishes.
Hemlotrion: Broken Mirror is launching on Steam, although a release date has yet to be confirmed by its developers.
To be clear, this is very much a good thing. The original Harry Potter games are unplayable today, owing to their lack of current-gen ports and the scarcity of physical copies. Even should you be able to find a copy, while excellent in terms of its atmosphere, the gameplay simply hasn't aged all that well, and its limited scope can feel frustrating at times. Should Hemlotrion manage to pull off the feel of those earlier Harry Potter games, then it could end up being just as compelling and immersive as Hogwarts Legacy proved to be.
Systems
Released
February 10, 2023
ESRB
T For Teen Due To Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Use of Alcohol
Developer(s)
Avalanche Software
Publisher(s)
Warner Bros. Interactive
Engine
Unreal Engine 4
Cross-Platform Play
Hogwarts Legacy doesn't have crossplay or crossplatform support
Cross Save
you can freely use your saved data between each console as long as you are connected to the internet and signed into the same account where the saved data was created
Number of Players
Single-player
English (US) ·