One Hogwarts Legacy Afterthought Should Be The Sequel’s Main Focus

Hogwarts Legacy, despite its flaws, manages to present a captivating and charming rendition of the Wizarding World—one that stands out amidst other pieces of Harry Potter media. More importantly, Hogwarts Legacy lays the groundwork for a sequel that could be even better.

But for Avalanche to meaningfully improve with Hogwarts Legacy 2, it will have to first identify the most important elements of the first game. For many Harry Potter fans, Hogwarts Legacy is a dream come true, allowing them to put themselves in the shoes of an average Hogwarts student and explore the hallowed halls of pop culture’s most iconic school. At the same time, the Hogwarts Legacy experience can snag on superfluous aspects, like copy-paste free-roam activities and half-baked RPG systems. This can make the game feel confused and underwhelming at times, especially as it continues to stray from its most promising element: Hogwarts itself.

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Focusing On the House Cup Could Make Hogwarts Legacy 2 a Massive Improvement

Hogwarts Takes a Back Seat In Hogwarts Legacy

Despite being the game’s namesake, Hogwarts feels underutilized. Much of Hogwarts Legacy‘s side content leads players away from the titular school and into the Scottish Highlands, which, while beautifully realized, isn’t exactly unique when it comes to open-world design. Ultimately, stunning cliff faces, rolling hills, and charming woodlands are nice, but they aren’t what make Harry Potter special. Rather, the magic and mystery of Hogwarts sits at the heart of the franchise’s allure.

Many expected Hogwarts Legacy to have a heavy emphasis on student life, perhaps drawing inspiration from classic titles like Bully or the Persona series. But instead of social sim mechanics and interactive, impactful classroom systems, the academic aspects of Hogwarts Legacy feel superficial: classes boil down to a few cutscenes with straightforward rewards, and there is a noticeable lack of interactive NPCs, random events, and mini-games in the school itself. This design approach is exemplified by the House Cup, which is arbitrarily given to the player’s chosen house at the end of the game, and no in-game choices or behaviors have any bearing on this result.

The House Cup Could Game-ify Student Life in Hogwarts Legacy 2

The next game wouldn’t have to delete the beautiful world of Hogwarts Legacy, but it could certainly benefit from a greater focus on academic slice-of-life elements. After all, the Harry Potter fantasy is more about the low-stakes, whimsical appeal of being a Hogwarts student than about fighting massive monsters or saving all of wizardkind. The sequel could double down on classes, leaning into the school simulation side of the equation, and House Points could serve as a logical and natural incentive to participate in these classroom activities. Much like Bully, perhaps classes in Hogwarts Legacy 2 could involve minigames of some sort, and performing well in these minigames could earn House Points. Completing side activities or making certain story choices could also result in the accumulation of said points.

These changes would be in service of an experience that is more Hogwarts-centric, shifting the focus away from the standard fantasy fare offered by Hogwarts Legacy‘s main story. Classic Harry Potter games strike a good balance between high-stakes adventure and the more quaint aspects of magical student life (partially because they were direct adaptations), so Hogwarts Legacy‘s sequel should be able to do the same. Making this extra effort with the House Cup would help it achieve this end.

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy

$43 $70 Save $27

Hogwarts Legacy is a game that allows players to explore an open world, including locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest, and the surrounding Overland area. Players can create their unique witch or wizard character, learn spells, brew potions, grow plants, and tend to magical beasts during their journey. Sorting into a Hogwarts house and forging relationships with other characters enable players to master various skills and shape their characters’ development.

The game features an original wizarding world adventure set in an unexplored era, where players uncover a hidden truth from the past. Challenging encounters await, such as battles against trolls, Dark Wizards, goblins, and a dangerous villain who poses a threat to the fate of the world.

Franchise

Harry Potter

Released

February 10, 2023

ESRB

T For Teen Due To Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Use of Alcohol

How Long To Beat

26 Hours

Metascore

84

PS Plus Availability

N/A