This past week I spent far too much time playing the new game Hogwarts Legacy on my PlayStation 5. We really couldn’t afford to buy a new game, and yet we bought two copies: one for my husband, and then one for me. Video games have always been my release from the stress of everyday life. To escape into a world where you can be a hero, or an assassin, or even just a Sim who is successful at life. Gaming is expensive, so I try to limit new game purchases to ones that are just too good to miss. Hogwarts Legacy is one such game.
I have continued my usual job searches and applications—numbers that have dwindled over the past few months as I have run out of jobs to which to apply. You can only apply to the same jobs so many times before you just feel worthless, unless that’s just me. I don’t have much to do with my days anymore as my depression makes it hard to find motivation to do anything, so I often enter the world of gaming, if not just to prevent excessive sleeping. I had returned to the world of Red Dead Redemption 2 for awhile, hunting and working on the 100 percent completion trophy. I had no intention of getting Hogwarts Legacy, but my husband is a bad influence.
I first read the Harry Potter books back when I worked at Naylor Wine Shoppe. The store was not usually busy and we were allowed to read or do other non-disruptive things, which, later, would include my Nintendo DS and reconnecting with the Pokémon world through Pokémon Diamond. That job was where I first enjoyed reading Shakespeare and read many Edgar Allen Poe stories I had never read before. Then, after the outrage from Christians about the Harry Potter series with the release of the fifth book, I finally decided to check out this so-called “evil” world and rented the first movie. After that, I read the books—I couldn’t put them down! Like so many others, I was hooked on the magic that is the Harry Potter universe.
I became best friends with one of the girls who worked in the store beside that wine shop and we eventually made costumes to prepare for the sixth book release. She dressed as a Gryffindor and I was a Slytherin—my personality is textbook Slytherin, right down to wanting to rule the world. She ended up being in Disneyland when the book came out, but we went to Borders’ midnight release for the last book in our house robes, attended one of the movie midnight releases in Quidditch attire, and went to a Harry Potter symphony concert in one of the two costumes (I cannot remember which, but I think it was our Quidditch robes). She and I remain good friends to this day.
Hogwarts Legacy has lived up to the excitement before its release. My husband bought the deluxe edition at my insistence—it was only ten dollars more and had several extras, including 72-hour early access. I played for maybe two hours while he was at work, then gave in and bought it for myself. We really couldn’t afford either, but life is tough enough without the little joys we get from video games. Everyone has their weakness, usually something that costs money, and gaming is ours. I figured what does it matter if we owe a bit more on our Best Buy credit card.
It has been a long time since I enjoyed a game like this one. I think the last one was Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018, which I had been waiting on since falling in love with its predecessor back in 2010. There are so many things to do and so many places to explore in Hogwarts Legacy (though not as much as Red Dead Redemption 2). The Hogwarts castle alone provides hours of exploration through its numerous hallways and staircases. Eventually I return to the real world, but it is a nice distraction from an otherwise depressing existence.
Isn’t that what gaming is about when you become an adult? Escaping to a fun world to de-stress from everyday life. It certainly is for me.
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