Amidst controversies surrounding the motives behind playing Harry Potter‘s newest game, Hogwarts Legacy, there is a particular gripe that has been bothering parents online, and no, it has nothing to do with transphobia or antisemitism.
As some users have pointed out on Reddit, Hogwarts Legacy has an ongoing technical issue that appears to have been bothersome for those playing the game with children and toddlers, resulting in parents heading to social media to find a possible solution for this faulty characteristic. According to some players, the annoying detail bothering them lies in the inability to pause the game’s cutscenes, thus making it very difficult to follow what is happening in the scenes, even if the subtitles are on. A user on Reddit also pointed out that they have never played a game where cutscenes are unable to be paused, as most videogames come with the pause option at any point in the gameplay.
While some users quickly came to rescue the despairing parent, the game developers should have considered the need to pause any part of the game, even cutscenes, prior to the game’s release. Although the Reddit user’s tip was undeniably helpful, most people seem to agree that no one should have to find the controller’s tricks to be able to access a very obvious and simple control in the video game. Opting to hit the PS button followed by heading to the home dashboard may also result in a game crash, as another user pointed out. There is just no winning.
While this may appear to be a very specific gripe or nitpick, it is most definitely a generalized complaint by parents and distracted players alike, who could all benefit from having a pause button on cutscenes, to either tend to their children or simply, “to get a pizza out of the oven.”
This specific kind of complaining does not fall into the same category as most complaints originating from boycotters regarding the most prevalent issues with Hogwarts Legacy, having this specific bothersome detail definitely does not add anything to a table already filled with controversies. Nonetheless, Hogwarts Legacy is now available for pre-access, until its release on Friday, Feb. 10.