I do have an XBox controller on my PC that allows me to play games that require a controller. But that is not my preferred way of playing. I like keyboard and mouse controls, which are "lean forward" control schemes, where you sit upright in an office or gaming chair. Controllers work better "lean backward", you slouch on a couch or armchair in front of a console. When I look at Hogwarts Legacy, it very much seems as if it requires a controller. Even the user interface on the screen shows the spells you can use in combat arranged like the buttons on your controller. As there are only 4 buttons, if you want to cast any spell not mapped to the 4 current buttons, you need to switch to a different set of buttons, there being 4 sets of 4 buttons. Typical controller scheme, quite annoying if you play on a keyboard that happens to have more than 4 keys.

Yesterday I played Against the Storm again, a game which I still enjoy from time to time, although playing it less intensive now. Against the Storm is a typical keyboard and mouse controls game. I really wouldn't want to play this using a controller (and I don't even think the option exists). And I bought the controller for the PC because there are games that don't work very well with keyboard and mouse. Still, I prefer controller games on consoles, not on PC. I have no problem playing Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on my docked Switch console. But sitting upright in my office chair with a controller in hand in front of the PC somehow isn't really comfortable, and doesn't feel right.

Related to that is that I am not a huge fan of combat systems that involve button mashing on a controller. Even for Breath of the Wild that is the part I like least and am worst at. From what I can see, Hogwarts Legacy is a lot more combat-heavy than the books and movies were. I would have hoped that they would have adapted open-world game design to the world of Hogwarts, instead of the other way around. I love Breath of the Wild because you can do a lot of things without constantly fighting, and had hoped that Hogwarts Legacy would be more like that. "Let me grind a few more goblins, so that I make another level" somehow doesn't feel like Harry Potter to me.

So, for the moment I am not buying the game yet. I need to wait for more people to play it, and hopefully get some feedback on the viability of keyboard / mouse controls. If I had a PS5, I'd buy that version, but the only current generation console I have is the Switch. The Switch release is on July 25, and I have some serious doubts about how well the game runs on that console, which is a bit underpowered compared to other consoles or a PC. So waiting for the Switch version might not be the best option either.