Summary
Avalanche Software’sHogwarts Legacylaunched to a fairly positive critical reception and booming financial success, with many praising the game for its faithful recreation of the Hogwarts experience as it was portrayed in theHarry Potterseries. A key part of said Hogwarts experience is the Sorting Hat ceremony and house placement, which the player has control over in the game. However, the mystery-shroudedsequel toHogwarts Legacymight be better off without this freedom of choice.
Central toHogwarts Legacy’s design is the sense of freedom within theHarry Potterworld. It’s clear that fulfilling the fantasy of being a Hogwarts student was a top priority for Avalanche, and this resulted in a good number of worthwhile features and systems in the game. At the same time, the amount of freedomHogwarts Legacygives the player can be a double-edged sword, as evidenced by inclusions like the Unforgivable Curses, which were added to the game at the cost of depth and immersion, as they can be used without consequence. This issue extends to therest ofHogwarts Legacy’s story, which can often feel emotionally distant and shallow. While it may seem counterintuitive, the game’s sequel could remedy these problems by removing a few elements of choice.
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How a Hogwarts Legacy Sequel Could Benefit from a Predetermined Hogwarts House
At first glance, house selection seems like one ofHogwarts Legacy’s most promising features. Upon selecting a house or being sorted into a recommended one, players get an exclusive house robe and access to their house’s specific, distinct dormitory. NPCs will occasionally make remarks about the player character’s house, and each house has a special robe that can be obtained later in the game.
However, aside from eachHogwarts house’s exclusive quest, there isn’t much that’s unique about each house beyond superficial details. The main story, along with almost every side quest, is the same regardless of the house a player chooses, and beyond the rare mention of the chosen house, NPCs don’t treat the player character any differently. This stands in stark contrast to other pieces ofWizarding Worldmedia, where Hogwarts houses represent deep connections to heritage and personality, with rivalries, prejudices, and even family feuds being tied to them.
InHogwarts Legacy, school houses are a much more trivial matter. The player-character can just as easily make friends with a Slytherin as they can with a Gryffindor, which winds up making the choice of house feel somewhat meaningless. Just likeHogwarts Legacy’s consequence-free dark artsoptions, giving players the choice of Hogwarts house sacrifices long-term world-building and storytelling at the altar of short-term satisfaction; the freedom to choose a Hogwarts house is great on the surface, but it ultimately makes for a less impactful and detailed role-playing experience.
A predetermined Hogwarts house in the game’s sequel would offer less freedom from the jump, but it could pave the way for better storytelling opportunities and impactful choices throughout the game. The player-character inHogwarts Legacyis designed to fit in with any house, and is thus rather bland and inoffensive. The sequel toHogwarts Legacy should take risks with its protagonist, making them more defined like Commander Shepherd fromMass Effector Geralt fromThe Witcher. This would allow for a more emotionally impactful story, as the main character could have a memorable personality that is shaped in subtle ways through player choice, rather than being a one-size-fits-all avatar.
Not only would the player-character be more interesting if they were written to be part of a specific house, but the number of meaningful choices could also be increased; by decreasing the scope of the game by removing house choice, the game could make real consequences for the decisions of the player - something that was lacking in the first game. Then again,Hogwarts Legacyhas done remarkably well, so the sequel probably won’t mess with the formula too much.
Hogwarts Legacyis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, with a Switch version releasing November 14.
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