Being honest I never really got into the wizarding world of Harry Potter either through the books or the big screen films. I have watched the films over the years so know the story of the boy who could not be killed, but that is about as far I looked into that world. But that is where my fondness for the TT Games LEGO Series comes into play and finally, after quite a long wait, the LEGO Harry Potter Collection has finally come to Xbox One and what better way of immersing myself into this world of magic then with the magic of LEGO.
When I say it has been a long wait I was not kidding. It has been over two years since the LEGO Harry Potter Collection was released originally as a PS4 exclusive, so for Xbox fans to finally get the chance to play this new remastered collection of LEGO games is long overdue and great timing with both Christmas coming up as well as the release of the sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them now in cinemas. This collection brings together both LEGO Harry Potter games in Years 1-4 and 5-7 for the first time including all DLC character packs and levels for both games into one offering which is a staggering amount of Potter to have in a game.
It is quite hard to think that the original Harry Potter LEGO titles came out back in 2010 and 2011 and featured all eight Harry Potter Films, which was understandably too much for a single game to do justice to and so was split into two games. It also harks back to a very different style in LEGO games story telling though some of the gameplay is naturally very familiar. This was back when LEGOese was the language in the games, way before the games started actually voicing the characters or used actual dialogue from the films themselves so it is a bit strange but also a little heart warming to hear the mumbling of characters in cutscenes which do their best to take a ten minute film scene and turn it into a short cutscene for the game.
Starting with Potter Years 1-4 and the game beautifully takes fans back to when Harry, Hermione and Ron first came to Hogwarts and begin to learn magical spells and start on their epic journeys to being Wizards. Even back on the game’s original release, it was a big game changer for how LEGO games were with the first use of real hub world areas which allowed for free roaming activities outside of standard levels which here enabled players to freely explore Hogwarts. The moment players get to leave the Gryffindor house dormitory and step into Hogwarts you are hit by everything amazing about Hogwarts just by freely walking around from other pupils practising magic to the living paintings on the walls. With the iconic musical score fans will know and love from the films playing as well, players are instantaneously put into the world of Harry Potter so effortlessly right from the off.
It continues into the levels themselves as you follow the same path of each of the films so you have; Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The roster includes characters from all of these films which are unlocked by playing the game levels and solving puzzles in the hub world areas and much like LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, the levels reflect key moments in the films all given an extra level of loveliness thanks to how TT Games have animated the cutscenes to help position the gameplay in the levels. Even as someone who is aware of the films but not a heavy fan in the series, through this collection I am smiling at all the recreated moments and locations because TT Games are so brilliant at the smallest of details that fans will love and remember.
Gameplay is very traditional with the usual smashing of blocks to collect LEGO pegs but what is still genius and timeless is how magic spells are used by characters to solve puzzles and in a way is the very early form of how the super powers of characters in the DC and MARVEL LEGO titles would come to use later but here it has added strength in how you actually have to attend a class in order to learn that spell to be able to use it going forward which has such charm you cannot help but smile every time you use a spell to solve a puzzle either in the levels themselves or in the hub areas, such as saving Students in Peril who have gotten themselves in trouble allowing for the player to use magic in order to save them.
Whilst you select which of the original games you can play at any time in this collection by going to the main game launcher, I do recommend playing the games in order even if you are familiar with the original LEGO Harry Potter games as the flow and tone of the games change just as they did in the films. For example, when you fire up Years 5-7 there is a distinct darker tone to the music and even the main menu which reflect the final three films in the Harry Potter film series of: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
Gameplay becomes more action based just as the final three films feature but there is still the wonderful TT Games humour injected throughout the cut-scenes to offer some levity into the darkness of the films. I do think it is a shame however that the two games are still separated, for example again with LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga merged both its games into one for the Complete Saga which came before the Harry Potter games so it is a shame that the same was not done here.
The visuals and animations benefit from the remaster hugely by looking sharper than ever and having just played and reviewed LEGO DC Super Villains, it is great to go back and revisit the more classic style of LEGO gameplay with this collection. The split screen co-op works incredibly well as always and getting to pick who you want to be in the free play mode of the levels is always the highlight in playing LEGO games. The use of the same musical score and audio effects of the films gives extra immersion to the gameplay but feels strange not to hear the characters actually speak but that is only because of the evolution of LEGO games in the eight years since the Harry Potter Games release.
My only real issue with this collection comes in the bugs that are still annoyingly present even though they have been remastered and this collection is actually two years old now by the time it has reached Xbox One. The game did hard crash on me quite a few times which is really frustrating when I was half way through a level and at times, I had to even reload the game because the Hud actually vanished on me and characters became frozen and could not move. This is a shame considering the opportunity to tidy things up even further in the time this collection has been out there but then, no LEGO game has ever been completely free of bugs but it is shame none the less.
As always fans of Harry Potter will have a enhanced appreciation for LEGO The Harry Potter Collection, and all the small details and little in jokes will go down even greater for them but even as a casual fan in myself, I was able to get many of the jokes from the humour and recognised iconic moments from the films in the levels of both games that make up this collection. If you have player or even still own the original versions of the games then outside of having all the DLC included here, it is just the same as you have played just visually improved. But if you have never played these games and in the time since their original release there is a real chance of a new generation of LEGO games and Harry Potter fans who may not have, this is something really worthwhile having especially with the price point already at the £20 or less mark for the physical edition, making this a great stocking filler for Christmas coming up or just to immerse yourself in the original Harry Potter world.
LEGO Harry Potter: The Collection maintains all the charm of the original game and it was actually quite nice to revisit the more classic style of LEGO titles after playing the most recent title to see just how far the series has evolved over the years. But the same humour, passion for the source material and just sheer loveliness make this collection very playable and enjoyable.
