HL's strength is definitely the world itself - the Hogwarts and Hogsmeade areas in particular are both incredibly well done and very faithful to the source material. The other areas are just alright.

I'd say HL's weaknesses become most apparent if you're a completionist. Things can get very repetitive if you're going for 100%. I did, and I honestly think you'll like it a lot more if you just don't.

It's still lots of fun though. Zelda was my most played game in 2023 and HL was kind of far behind, and everything else combined would still probably be a distant third.

I absolutely agree with the other people saying HL is generic and propped up by the IP. But for me that was enough.

[–] winety@lemmy.zip 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The story of HL is also one of its weaknesses. It's a generic chosen one story with unmemorable characters.

[–] jacksilver@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I'm really confused by all of the story comments in this thread. It's fair to criticise HL's story, but at least there is a story and characters. What story does TOTK even have? What characters have more than a line or two? While Zelda has never been big on complex narratives, at least previous entries (before BOTW and TOTK) could develop a story since they could have a linear progression. A couple of flashback scenes really doesn't tell a great or compelling narrative and really disconnects the gameplay from the events going on.

[–] winety@lemmy.zip 2 points 9 months ago

Disclaimer: I haven’t played TOTK. I only played a bit of BOTW.

It’s all about expectations. I never thought of Zelda as a game with a story, so BOTW not having one doesn’t bother me. Harry Potter, on the other hand, I’ve always associated with memorable characters and a bonkers world. HL translates this bonkers world into a game quite well, but its story doesn’t (in my opinion) fit that world nor does it have memorable characters. (Some of the characters look and feel like Lidl versions of the characters from the original books.)