If you could have any superpower, what would you choose? It feels like just about everybody has asked, or been asked, this question at some point in their life — especially now that we live in the golden age of superhero movies. Maybe you’re someone who says invisibility or mind-reading. Maybe you choose teleportation because you love to travel — except the actual traveling part. But let’s be honest: the most common superpower people choose is the ability to fly.
Hogwarts Legacy fulfils many fantasies when it comes to magic, heroism (and just being able to have a good experience in school for, once), but one of the most fun parts of the game is being able to hop on a broom or flight-capable creature, and soar across the entire open world. And even though some of us think that the accessibility of flight so early on ruins the game in some ways, there’s no denying how cool it is to fly over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest and gaze at the spires of Hogwarts in the distance.
If flying was super clunky, like an old Superman game, it probably wouldn’t be so enjoyable. There’s a great balance of speed and maneuverability, but it isn’t so simple that you can just point your broom in a random direction and make it there without at least pressing a few buttons. The flying is good enough that I’m still holding fast hope that Professor Black will let me join the Ravenclaw Quidditch team at some point. I’ve always thought I could be a good Chaser.
As you fly around the Hogwarts highlands, you’ll find yourself dropping to the ground and getting in some intense fights against monstrous spiders, or fiendish outlaws. This flow gave me unexpected flashbacks to a game many have forgotten, but one that’s always been dear to me: BioWare’s epic failure of a service game, Anthem.
So I decided to revisit Anthem without all the noise of social media, and I have to say, I had a blast playing it. Flying around Anthem’s world is actually even better than in Hogwarts Legacy. Putting on a javelin and going for a flight makes you feel like Iron Man, but in a hostile and beautiful world with some serious Avatar vibes.
Anthem’s flight mechanics challenge you by having you pay attention to your environment, and fly through water so your jets don’t overheat. When the game first launched, I remember people complaining about this feature endlessly, but I think it’s a unique touch that makes the experience more fun.
And when it comes to those moments where it’s time to drop to the jungle floor and battle monstrous spiders or fiendish outlaws? Well, it turns out Anthem’s combat is stellar. It makes you feel super-powered as you blast enemies with powerful weapons, and combo your abilities into explosive mayhem. I’m still not really a fan of the health system in Anthem, but there’s no denying that the combat is a lot of fun.
Anthem was a different breed to the familiar territory that Hogwarts Legacy explores. In true BioWare fashion, the world was built from the ground up. But unlike other BioWare universes, like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, it was hard to feel truly immersed in Anthem’s universe. Games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age allow you to continuously interact with the characters, cultures, and places that make up those worlds, and have a real impact upon them. Those worlds encourage you to understand how they work and your place in them.
But Anthem’s lore felt disjointed and clumsy with how it was integrated. The story is largely dumped on you in the boring hub area, and when you’re actually experiencing the great flying and combat, it’s hard to keep track of the story at all.
This is one aspect of Anthem’s game structure that really turned people off, but another was the fact that it really wanted to be a Destiny-like multiplayer game, and limited its players as a result. It would have been incredible if it were structured as a single-player RPG that let you explore the open world and complete quests without ever getting a post-game report.
After revisiting Anthem, though, I really think it deserves another chance, especially if you never played it at launch. Ignore all the clunky multiplayer fluff, just play through the story mode the way you played Hogwarts Legacy, and you’ll find that the traversal and the combat give old Hoggerz a run for its money.
And the next time someone asks you what superpower you’d choose, you’ll think back to your time in Anthem, soaring through waterfalls and treetops like Iron Man, before replying, “Flying, obviously.”
