Hogwarts Legacy fans were left speechless by Unreal Engine 5’s remake of their beloved Harry Potter game.
Although 2023 saw the release of Hogwarts Legacy, fans still hope for an exact remake of the 2000s Harry Potter games – with no sign of this happening soon enough, self-taught developers are using Unreal Engine 5 to recreate these nostalgic titles themselves.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was first released for PlayStation and PC back in 2001 as an adaptation of JK Rowling’s book series of same name, followed by multiple sequels on console, PC, handheld devices between 2001-13 with Avalanche Software eventually creating their standalone title Hogwarts Legacy for release in 2023 as an independent title.
Though not every installment was successful due to different studios attempting to develop the franchise, early 2000s Harry Potter games remain immensely popular to this day – enough so for one YouTuber, Ripper Junkie, to create an animated concept trailer of an Unreal Engine 5 remake for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone!
“So, I am an avid fan of Harry Potter videogames released during the early 2000s era,” they stated. “In particular, I especially enjoy playing through and replaying the first three Harry Potter titles and fifth one. As a game developer myself, I thought that it would be beneficial to remake some game mechanics from these titles in order to give us an idea what they may look like as remake versions. For this project I am using Unreal Engine 5 with premade assets as development aid.”
This trailer gives us just over two minutes of a 2001 Harry Potter remake game by Ripper Junkie, beginning when Harry summons his broom and ascends into the skies. From there onwards we witness Ripper Junkie’s impressive environment which maintains original game elements while offering modern improvements – eventually Harry encounters an airborne dragon!
Hogwarts Legacy quickly established itself as one of the top titles of 2023 despite not receiving any nominations at The Game Awards; and fans still want more from this long-running series – perhaps remakes of some or all original 2000s titles? It remains to be seen.
