[h1]Rating: 8/10[/h1]
Another one of the old school Lego classics, it ditches most of the traditional Lego character abilities for a selection of spells that grow as you progress in the game. Probably one of the buggier Lego games I've played so far, although nothing too extreme outside of a single crash.
[h2]Puzzles:[/h2]
Puzzles are the main focus of the game, with the game taking a massive step back from combat to accommodate it. Characters can use any one seven different spells that are learnt in classes throughout the main story, and some bonus abilities specific to each character (Harry's cloak, Hermione's timeturner, dark magic, etc). These spells are used creatively for the most part, although it's rare for any given puzzle to really use more than two or three of them at a time, and they don't really have any practical use outside of puzzles. Wingardium Leviosa is the most common skill in puzzles, it's used to interact with many different Lego objects similar to how the force works in the Star Wars games, and also to move around platforms to build staircases and bridges, although the controls for the latter are finicky in this game, and later in LSW3 as well.
In addition to spells, you also make potions in cauldrons, having to collect three different ingredients in the immediate area to be able to brew the potion to solve a puzzle, the cauldrons are also used throughout the hub world as the only way to change character is via polymorph.
Personally, I think puzzles are designed well and I like them in this game, with the exception of the Mandrakes.
[h2]Level Design:[/h2]
Levels are fairly short, generally hovering around the 15-20 minute range, and heavily thematic, although a few environments are reused, one of the bathrooms in particular being a set piece of three different levels. At first, I hated how slow it felt to break everything in a level with just the wand, but I got used to it quickly (and you can rapid-fire when standing still and spellcasting). Interactions with objects is a particular high note for this game, as everything being magic makes for some fun animations for stuff breaking or otherwise being effected by magic.
The hub world is another selling point of the game, as you are able to traverse the campus of Hogwarts, which itself is pretty diverse in environment and large, but not overwhelming. Inside the hub there are also lessons that take place where you'll learn new spells and skills for the main trio, the lessons are all short, but are a nice way to break up gameplay and I rather enjoyed them.
[h2]Story:[/h2]
I've never watched or read Harry Potter, and I can say that after playing this game I know enough to generally know what happens, but not really how interactions between characters play out or anything like that (why does the school seem to hate Hagrid?). The final bonus level is a 1,000,000 stud level prologue where you play as Voldemort in his and Harry's first encounter, which I thought was cool.
[h2]Side Content:[/h2]
Levels have four parts of a crest to collect as opposed to Minikits, they don't give anything when completed asides from a gold brick. (Which are now back!) Levels also have three character unlocks since you don't unlock characters when playing though the main story for some reason, and a Student in Peril - which you can't track the location of with any extras. All side content puzzles in levels are laughably easy, most of them boiling down to using a single ability on an object and collecting something, or breaking x amount of something.
The hub is where the twenty red bricks are, and they were a joy to collect, character unlocks were also scattered and fun to get since they were numerous, and not particularly challenging. The way the hub is weaved into the story makes it feel natural to explore and collect more as you unlock new abilities, which was enjoyable for me to do. Not enjoyable, however, was having to hunt the last of the 26 Students in Peril scattered about the campus since, once again, there is no extra to track their location if you need to, and you are given no idea where they are without a guide.
