Live Love Lego Harry Potter

As part of the 2024 “Back To Hogwarts” showcase, Warner Bros. announced that the infamous LEGO Harry Potter games would be remastered by Double Eleven and released on the 8^th October 2024. This remastered version of the collection is now available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC and boasts enhanced graphics and gameplay with “with 60 FPS, native 4K resolution, haptic feedback, and high-resolution shadow maps.” The release of a remastered version of one of my favourite childhood games calls for a look back on its history.

On the 24^th June 2010, LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 was released for Windows, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, Wii and the Xbox 360. Developed by Travellers Tales, who began their collaboration with LEGO in 2005 with the release of LEGO Star Wars, the company put a fun twist on the magic of Hogwarts. The game focussed on the first four years of Harry’s journey at Hogwarts, allowing you to experience the story from his perspective and complete challenges and minigames within the main story. The absence of speech in the story scenes are one of my favourite things about the Lego games; they are able to perfectly depict the events with visual gags and facial expressions. However, the most iconic part of the game, every Harry Potter fan’s dream come true, was the ability to explore Hogwarts freely, as you search for collectables and hidden rooms.

Upon the success of the first game, Warner Bros and Travellers Tales reunited to create LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 in 2011. The graphics on the sophomore game were considerably different, as well as the gameplay. This was not only due to the improvements in TT’s game engine but also the increasing hardware capabilities of PC’s Xbox’s and PlayStations. It’s undeniable that the second half of the instalment was the better game.

It was not long until I, too, got my hands on it. On my gold iPod Touch nonetheless. To an eight-year-old fan of the franchise, the game was everything to me. Unfortunately, being an eight-year-old had its downsides; I misinterpreted the “Years:” as an age rating of the game, and naturally, what eight-year-old would want to play a game aged at 1–4-year-olds? So of course I played the sequel first.

The ability to live in my favourite film, cast spells and explore Hogwarts was a surreal feeling. In fact, so exciting that I decided to share it with my younger brother; a decision which could have easily torn my family apart. We only had one iPod, so for many car journeys my parents had to listen to us argue over who got to fight Umbridge first, who would be the one to defeat Voldemort, or which of us would ultimately be the first to finish the game. Unfortunately for us (fortunately for my parents), LEGO Harry Potter was never updated on IOS past 2012, and soon stopped working altogether. And that was the last I would see of the game for almost a decade.

In 2016, LEGO Harry Potter Collection was released exclusively for the PlayStation 4. This combined both the games with improved graphics and gameplay, creating a smoother and more cohesive experience of the story. In 2018, this version was expanded further for the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, which was the game’s most recent update until this year.

With my purchase of the Nintendo Switch Oled a year ago came an inevitable reunion with my favourite game; and what a beautiful reunion it was. Despite my nostalgia for the original graphics and mini games (especially the potion making in Years 1-4), Warner Bros. and TT did a stunning job of keeping the best aspects of the original game while combining it with new features designed for a new age of consoles. I also (finally) completed the game to 100%, and I enjoyed every second of it. I’m now playing Hogwarts Legacy, hoping to fill the Harry Potter shaped hole in my heart, and while I am utterly obsessed with it; I’m afraid no game, Hogwarts related or not, will ever come close to my love for LEGO Harry Potter.

LEGO Harry Potter Collection: Remastered, is out now.