When Hogwarts Legacy was released on the original Nintendo Switch, it was something of a surprise. Despite being announced for the system during the game's pre-launch trailers, there was some doubt that the port would be made, since the title had to have some significant cutbacks on both the Xbox One and PS4 consoles. The edits and changes made for the Switch version were expected and did make it the worst port, but it was still playable and enjoyable enough if the Switch was the only platform you had. With the release of the Switch 2, WB Games and Avalanche decided to give the game another chance on the new platform instead of relying on the system's backward compatibility, and the result is stunning.

The game is set sometime in the 1800s, roughly a decade before the events of the original novels and films. You play the role of an aspiring witch or wizard who has just been accepted to Hogwarts. What's unusual is that you're being accepted as a fifth year student, and as such, you've been given the aid of Professor Fig to help you learn the basics before starting school on an accelerated learning schedule so you don't fall behind. As you make your way to the acclaimed school, a dragon attacks your carriage, sending you on a small detour courtesy of a mysterious artifact holding a secret that has caught the attention of the leader of a goblin uprising. While you and Professor Fig make it to Hogwarts, your goal is to discover what secret the artifact was hiding and how to stop the uprising — all while trying to pass your year of schooling.

Despite having a user-created protagonist, the story feels like it runs with the basic setup of one of the earlier movies in the series. Your character is immediately known throughout the school due to your special circumstances. There's a special quest that threatens the Wizarding World, but only you and a few close companions are privy to it, and you need to keep it a secret for as long as possible. The villain is good for driving the plot, but their aspirations are simple. Not only do you end up saving the day, but you also come out far ahead of expectations. No one will call it nuanced, but it is perfect for those who are huge fans of the world created in the novels and movies.

My colleague Redmond Carolipio reviewed the original game on the PS5 in early 2023, and just about everything stated there is still applicable in this Switch 2 iteration. The spell system is easy to pick up and is used quite effectively in a variety of puzzles that make you think about light and shadow and perception. The spell combat system allows for simplicity for those who want to throw around energy, but the need to dodge and counter with other spells gives the fighting an engaging sense of depth and speed. While the story is fine, the quests associated with it are involving. The side-quests carry enough depth, especially from a character standpoint, so they rarely feel like side-quests and more like main quests.

Beyond the solid gameplay and open world loop, the most striking thing about the game is how it absolutely nails down the Hogwarts experience. The campus is chock full of the things that made it an enchanting place, from the moving portraits to the seemingly inanimate objects that move to guide you to places or restrict your access. All of the rooms and areas connect in a way that makes sense, but being able to explore and interact with so many things you've only seen in films or your imagination still leaves behind a thrill that will please fans greatly. The same can be said of Hogsmeade and the surrounding areas, which are full of character, bystanders and wildlife, so no place feels empty. You can tell that this came from a team that is knowledgeable about the Wizarding World and can bring it to life without compromises. It still stings, though, that Quidditch still isn't part of the game's overall design.

There are a few things unique to the Switch 2 version compared to the other consoles. HDR support is available, and it does a good job of making everything on screen pop when needed. Gyro aiming and touch-screen support from the original Switch version are also present, and the rumble effect has been fine-tuned to make HD rumble feel more nuanced than the standard rumble of other consoles and PC. Mouse support is the big improvement, as players who can come to grips with using the Joy-Con 2 as a mouse will find that the ability to fine-tune shots and navigate menus with relative ease. For those who have already experienced the game on the PC, the use of a mouse feels very natural.

The most striking thing about this version of the game is the lack of compromises. Go back to the original Switch version or even the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game, and you'll notice several architectural changes made to ensure that the world loads in as it should. All of that is gone, so the world is a complete match for the PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X versions. The campus feels more expansive, as you can see further into the distance instead of having a wall block out the view and make things feel cramped. More decorations are now present to make the campus and shops feel more lived in without any strange gaps. The absence of compromises in the world design means that there's a more viable way to experience the game in portable non-streaming form outside of laptops and handheld PCs.

Graphically, the Switch 2 version of the game is an overall massive leap over the original Switch version. The game is presented at a much higher resolution in both docked and portable modes, and that helps get rid of the general fuzziness in the lower resolutions of the original Switch version. Character models are much more defined and much better animated, especially the mouths, and there are only a few parts where the hair can look unintentionally frazzled. Environmental textures are cleaner, and the same can be said of the various particle effects produced by the spells you cast. The frame rate hovers around 30fps most of the time, but the fluctuations aren't great enough to produce a jarring experience that impedes the gameplay.

The sound quality differences between the versions aren't as massive as the graphics are, but it helps that the overall audio was already very good to begin with. The soundtrack matches perfectly with the score of the various films, as the tracks do a good job of establishing the grandiose wonder of the world. It gets to the point where it becomes difficult to tell what was made specifically for the game and what was lifted from the films. The voice acting is generally good, with only a few NPCs having voices that seem like they were artificially modified to sound younger. The lines for everyone else never sound awkward, even if some of the situations and lines make you shake your head in response.

A game's cost is rarely brought up in reviews nowadays, but it is worth mentioning as something positive from a publisher. By itself, the game on the Switch 2 costs $60 for the normal version and $70 for the deluxe edition. However, the game does offer a paid upgrade path of $10 for original Switch owners. Having a price for an upgrade isn't exactly something to praise, but this is a situation that feels fair, considering the significant changes made to that originally abridged copy. It is also praiseworthy since Warner Bros. Games was one of the few third-party publishers to go for an upgrade path versus a company like Sega, which required players to purchase Switch 2 versions of its game at full price if they had owned the original Switch version digitally. Based on public outcry, it seems like most publishers have gotten on board with the paid upgrade scenario and done so at a normal $10 instead of the rather high $20. It's nice to think that this game helped to make this a viable option, versus having people pay full price again for Switch 2-specific upgrades.

The Switch 2 version of Hogwarts Legacy can be ranked a step above the Xbox Series S iteration of the game. The presentation is miles above the original Switch version, and by comparison, it doesn't feel as if anything was compromised to make the port work. The presence of mouse controls gives the game more range in the gameplay department, but the base game was already strong enough that the new control scheme is more of a bonus rather than something that changes one's stance on the title. If you owned the game on the original Switch, then it feels foolish not to do the $10 upgrade. For Harry Potter fans who either want a dedicated version of the game on the go or own nothing but Nintendo consoles, this title is a must-have.

Score: 8.5/10