I recently unlocked (lol) Alohomora and the broom so my exploration opportunities have greatly increased. Wow this world is big and exciting! I stumbled upon a couple of river trolls the other day. The combat is unique from any other game and very fun.
Take this with a grain of salt since I’ve dropped out of playing most games with any rigor: I created my character and played through about two missions until I could explore hogwarts some more. I was hoping the game would let me explore till my hearts content but quickly realized most doors and paths would be blocked off by spells or level restrictions. Stopped playing the following day.
I’m sure it was a blast if you’re a hardcore fan of the series. I would consider myself a pretty distant observer at best.