An open-world role-playing game set in J.K. Rowling’s wizarding school of Hogwarts has been on the top of many gamer’s wishlists since the books and films were first released. The idea of freely exploring the school’s halls, participating in classes, and interacting with classmates in the upcoming Hogwarts Legacy has captured the imagination of the gaming industry, putting an incredible amount of pressure on developer Avalanche Software. Possibly due to this weight of expectation, the game has been pushed back to 2022; there haven’t been too many complaints about this delay, however, likely due to the underwhelming release of Cyberpunk 2077 still fresh in the mind.
Although the delay is almost certainly a good thing in the long term, it will be leaving some players without an idea of what to play in 2021. Thankfully, there are tons of other excellent games that take place in and around school grounds that will hopefully fill the void until Hogwarts Legacy is released next year.
10 Corpse Party
Kicking this list off on a dark note, Corpse Party is a survival horror game that tasks players with escaping a haunted school. The story-driven game has five separate chapters, each featuring different endings depending on the player’s decisions throughout each adventure.
The Corpse Party IP certainly isn’t just confined to one video game, as numerous sequels, spin-offs, mangas, and films have been released over the years. The original Corpse Party is a great place to start with the franchise, especially because the once Japanese exclusive is now available on Steam.
9 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Unsurprisingly, Hogwarts Legacy is far from being the first Harry Potter video game, as each of the wizarding books and films has been given the video game treatment. Movie tie-ins have a bad reputation today for often being low-effort cash-grabs and granted, a few of the Harry Potter games are indicative of this, but Chamber of Secrets certainly isn’t one of them.
Chamber of Secrets offers players a fantastic level of freedom, especially for the time of its release, as players are free to explore the castle grounds early into the game to find the numerous secrets hidden around the school.
8 Detention
Red Candle Games’ Detention is a survival horror RPG set in Taiwan during the 1960s. The 2017 release was well-received by fans and critics alike, particularly for its immersive atmosphere, exemplified by the game’s Metascore of 83 and All Reviews mark of Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam.
Red Candle Games are best known today for their game Devotion, which quickly became the source of controversy in China for its criticisms of Xi Jinping. The game also caused problems between gamers and GOG when the site controversially U-turned on an announcement that Devotion would be coming to their store.
7 Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
There aren’t many franchises that can compare to the success of the Harry Potter franchise, but Star Wars is certainly one of them. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy was released in 2003 and takes a leaf out of the wizarding world’s book by taking players to a fantasy school.
Although lightsaber combat is Jedi Academy‘s most beloved feature, the game is also fondly remembered for its encapsulating story that uses the academy to give the player a natural sense of rising through the Jedi ranks, as well as offering new insight into the Star Wars universe.
6 Life is Strange
Life is Strange is a story-driven game that offers a modern interpretation of the graphic adventures that dominated PC gaming in the 80s and 90s. The game was separated into five separate episodes that were released sporadically throughout 2015.
Dontnod Entertainment’s game received tons of praise from fans and critics for its narrative, which won numerous awards upon release. Accolades for the story included Excellence and Innovation in Digital Storytelling from the Peabody-Facebook Futures of Media Awards and Use of Narrative from the Develop Industry Excellence Awards.
5 Academagia: The Making of Mages
Academagia: The Making of Mages is certainly not the most critically acclaimed game on this list, but Black Chicken Studios’ game is worth including nonetheless for being bearing many similarities to the Harry Potter franchise.
Academagia takes players to an ancient wizarding school and lets them attend classes, interact with fellow students, explore the campus, and embark on numerous adventures. The game has a tough learning curve, but it can be a thoroughly enjoyable fantasy life simulator once players get into the swing of it.
4 LEGO Harry Potter Collection
The second and final Harry Potter game to appear on this list, LEGO Harry Potter Collection is a great value for money package that includes all of the wizarding films in LEGO form.
LEGO Harry Potter Collection offers players the collectathon gameplay that the LEGO games have become synonymous with while differentiating it from other LEGO titles with the implementation of magic in both combat and puzzle-solving. The game also offers a fantastic rendition of Hogwarts castle, with tons of secrets to discover as the player unlocks new characters and spells.
3 Doki Doki Literature Club!
Team Salvato’s Doki Doki Literature Club! may appear to simply be an anime dating simulator judging by the game’s cover art, and the first few hours of gameplay won’t do much to sway this viewpoint.
The game will soon delve into a completely different direction, however, as it becomes clear that Doki Doki Literature Club! is in fact an unsettling and often terrifying horror game. The sudden shift in tone isn’t just a gimmick, as Team Salvato’s game acts as a thought providing satire of the dating simulator and visual novel genres.
2 Persona 5 Royal
The latest entry into the iconic Japanese-role-playing series, P-Studio’s Persona 5 Royal was released exclusively on the PlayStation 4 in 2020 to an eye-watering Metascore of 95. The game was also nominated for Best Role-Playing at The Game Awards 2020 but ultimately lost out to Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Persona 5 Royal is an enhanced edition of Persona 5, which initially hit stores in 2016. Among the game’s numerous enhancements was the inclusion of new Phantom Thief member Kasumi Yoshizawa, as well as a playable third semester.
1 Bully
Despite being a bit rough around the edges, Bully is today perceived as being one of Rockstar’s best releases. The game offers an incredibly charismatic and memorable cast of characters both in the game’s cutscenes and wandering around, causing havoc in the game-world.
One of Bully‘s best qualities is the variety in its gameplay. Not only do the main missions have a great range of playstyles and objectives on offer, but there are also numerous classes to complete like Art, English, and Gym, as well as side activities like Go-Karting.
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