The Exciting Twist in Hogwarts Legacy's Sequel: A Surprising New House!

Highlights

The freedom of choice in Hogwarts Legacy can be a two-edged sword, as it compromises depth and immersion to prioritize player freedom, evident by the inclusion of consequence-free Unforgivable Curses.

The lack of meaningful impact in house selection in the game diminishes the significance of choice, since the main story and side quests remain unchanged regardless of the chosen house. As a result, the decision feels inconsequential and lacks value.

In order to enhance the role-playing experience and create impactful choices, implementing a predetermined Hogwarts house in the sequel would provide better opportunities for storytelling. This would also allow for a more interesting and well-defined protagonist, adding depth to the overall gameplay.

Avalanche Software's Hogwarts Legacy received positive reviews and achieved financial success due to its faithful recreation of the Hogwarts experience. One important aspect of this experience is the Sorting Hat ceremony and house placement, which players have control over in the game. However, it might be beneficial for the mysterious sequel to Hogwarts Legacy to remove this freedom of choice.

Central to Hogwarts Legacy's design is the sense of freedom within the Harry Potter world. Avalanche prioritized fulfilling the fantasy of being a Hogwarts student, resulting in various features and systems in the game. However, the high level of player freedom can have drawbacks. For example, the inclusion of Unforgivable Curses, which can be used without consequence, sacrifices depth and immersion. This issue also applies to the overall story of Hogwarts Legacy, often leaving players emotionally distant and the narrative feeling shallow. Paradoxically, removing some elements of choice in the game's sequel could address these problems.

How a Hogwarts Legacy Sequel Could Benefit from a Predetermined Hogwarts House

Starting with the house selection, Hogwarts Legacy presents a promising feature. Upon choosing or being sorted into a house, players are rewarded with an exclusive robe and granted access to their house's distinct dormitory. Moreover, NPCs occasionally make remarks about the player's chosen house, and each house offers a unique robe that can be acquired later in the game.

However, aside from the exclusive quests associated with each Hogwarts house, there exists a lack of distinctiveness among them. The main storyline, as well as nearly all side quests, remain the same regardless of the player's chosen house. Furthermore, NPCs do not treat the player character differently, apart from occasional mentions of their chosen house. This starkly contrasts with other aspects of the Wizarding World, where Hogwarts houses symbolize profound connections to heritage and personality, often intertwined with rivalries, prejudices, and even family feuds.

In Hogwarts Legacy, the significance of school houses is undermined as the player-character can easily form friendships with individuals from different houses. This diminishes the meaningfulness of choosing a house. The option to select a Hogwarts house, similar to the consequence-free dark arts choices, sacrifices long-term world-building and storytelling in exchange for short-term satisfaction. While the freedom to choose a house may seem appealing on the surface, it ultimately detracts from the immersive and detailed role-playing experience.

In the sequel to Hogwarts Legacy, a predetermined house for the player-character would limit initial freedom. However, it would open up opportunities for more compelling storytelling and impactful decision-making throughout the game. The player-character in Hogwarts Legacy is designed to seamlessly fit into any house, resulting in a rather unremarkable and uninteresting character. To enhance the game's emotional impact, the sequel should take risks by creating a protagonist with a more defined personality, akin to Commander Shepherd from Mass Effect or Geralt from The Witcher. This would allow for a more memorable and nuanced narrative, where the main character's personality is subtly shaped through player choices rather than being a generic and interchangeable avatar.

By incorporating the player-character into a specific house, not only would they become more captivating, but it would also open up the possibility for a greater number of significant choices. By narrowing down the game's scope and eliminating the option to choose a house, the game could introduce substantial consequences for the player's decisions - something that was lacking in the first installment. However, considering the success of Hogwarts Legacy, it is unlikely that the sequel will drastically deviate from the established formula.

Hogwarts Legacy is currently available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, with a Switch version set to be released on November 14.