Hogwarts Legacy continues to endure as a remarkable third-person RPG to this day, even despite a lack of follow-ups, DLC, or even vague hints as to what Warner Bros. has in store for the next game. That's likely because it managed to worm its way onto every platform, including, rather magically, the Nintendo Switch, despite its obvious limitations and lackluster hardware. It meant that a whole new cohort of people could play and enjoy the extraordinary experience that is Hogwarts Legacy, even with all of the necessary sacrifices needed to get it working.
However, as great as it is that Hogwarts Legacy somehow runs and, frankly, doesn't look atrocious on the Nintendo Switch, it is these aforementioned sacrifices that make it not only a completely inferior version of the game but also not even close to the intended experience. Hogwarts Legacy's compromised Switch port lacks the defining feature that made the original version so engrossing, which means that anyone who exclusively played on Switch is missing out. Fortunately, it looks like the Switch 2 version will fix that completely.
Load Times Made Hogwarts Legacy On Switch Anything But Magical
It Interrupted Exploration In A Frustrating Way
Hogwarts Legacy's worst Switch flaw is its extremely long load times between key locations and even shops. Having to load into Hogsmeade was already bad enough, but players also needed to load into each individual shop once inside the village. Attempting to open doors within Hogwarts itself would always take forever, and any other interior locations within the open world would also often require you to load into them in order to access whatever lay within.
What made this worse was the fact that it could take upwards of two minutes to load into any given location, including the aforementioned tiny shops in Hogsmeade. Considering these interiors were often stripped of a lot of the decorative assets that made them feel so special in the first place in order to accommodate the Switch's lack of power, Hogwarts Legacy's interminable load times felt incredibly unrewarding. It made visiting these iconic locations from the books and films a genuine chore, especially for those, like myself, who have also played on PS5.
Of course, we all knew we'd have to suffer through some concessions when playing Hogwarts Legacy on the Nintendo Switch, but these loading times proved to be too much for many players.
There were a number of patches that did address performance, but these were largely ineffective, reducing the load times by minor increments, rather than substantially or, preferably, altogether. Of course, we all knew we'd have to suffer through some concessions when playing Hogwarts Legacy on the Nintendo Switch, but these loading times proved to be too much for many players, especially those who didn't have an inherent fondness for the source material going in.
Switch 2's Hogwarts Legacy Is Already A Big Improvement
It Has Fixed Practically Everything About The Original
Fortunately, Hogwarts Legacy's Switch 2 edition is addressing a lot of the major issues with the original Switch version, including the aforementioned loading time woes. Specifically, it removes the need to load into exterior locations like Hogsmeade altogether, meaning that players can run from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade seamlessly. This is obviously a significant improvement over the original and something that restores the best bit about the Hogwarts Legacy experience: exploration.
Fortunately, improved loading times - or, the complete removal of them - isn't the only thing Hogwarts Legacy's Switch 2 version is fixing. The visuals have had a significant facelift that brings it more in line with the PlayStation 4 versions, at the very least. There have also been huge improvements to lighting, next-gen assets have been brought over, the framerate has been increased drastically, and population density has been increased as well. Fans can also enjoy motion controls, mouse controls, and touch-screen functionality.
Is A $10 Upgrade Worth It For Hogwarts Legacy On Switch 2?
It Changes So Much
Of course, all of this begs the question of whether it is worth the $10 upgrade fee if you already own it on the original Switch and have suffered through the awful compromises that version made. Frankly, in my opinion, especially coming from a background of having played it on both PS5 and Nintendo Switch, this upgrade is absolutely worth it. Hogwarts Legacy being riddled with loading times makes it a shell of what it could be, as exploration is so crucial to the overall experience. Removing those is enough reason to upgrade, especially for fans.
There are some minor caveats, namely the inherent issues with replaying Hogwarts Legacy. If you've already played it to death like I have, then upgrading may not seem worthwhile as you're unlikely to play it again. However, I'd argue that $10 to explore Hogwarts with better loading times and the surrounding areas seamlessly, if only for an hour or two, is actually worth it, especially if you've not had the luxury of experiencing that on any other platform.
Hogwarts Legacy 2’s Coolest Opportunity Is The One It’ll Never Take
Hogwarts Legacy 2 has the chance to take the Harry Potter franchise in a new direction, but the series' history suggests this is not going to happen.
Additionally, there are rumors that runs poorly on the Switch 2, alongside the other miracle port, Cyberpunk 2077. It may be worth waiting to see how this version is reviewed before spending $10 to upgrade. However, so long as it all goes smoothly, then I don't see any reason not to upgrade, especially as $10 is an extremely reasonable price. Hogwarts Legacy is a great game that should be experienced the intended way, and I'm glad Nintendo Switch s are finally getting that.
Hogwarts Legacy
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- Top Critic Avg: 84/100 Critics Rec: 88%
- 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
- 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 where the saved data was created
- Franchise
- Harry Potter
- Number of Players
- Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Verified
- PC Release Date
- February 10, 2023
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- February 10, 2023
- PS5 Release Date
- February 10, 2023
- Nintendo Switch Release Date
- November 14, 2023
- Nintendo Switch 2 Release Date
- June 5, 2025
- Platform(s)
- PC
- How Long To Beat
- 26 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- yes
- Metascore
- 84
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra &
- Wiki
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
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