The Spellbinding Twist of Hogwarts Legacy: Unleashing Magical Revolution

Highlights

By expanding on the portrayal of Hogwarts houses, the sequel to Hogwarts Legacy has the potential to elevate the characters beyond their one-dimensional nature and introduce intricate dynamics within the system.

The game currently permits players to select their house, but a potential sequel could push boundaries by challenging the predefined stereotypes and criticizing the inflexibility of the Sorting Hat's decisions.

Departing from the overly simplistic categorizations, the sequel could delve into characters who defy their predetermined characteristics, switch houses, or interpret their house's principles in unconventional manners, presenting distinctive narrative scenarios and pivotal story instances.

The sequel to Hogwarts Legacy has a unique opportunity to address a common criticism of the Wizarding World books and films and should capitalize on this chance. Taking advantage of this narrative opportunity would be relatively simple and straightforward, unlike some of the other issues present in Hogwarts Legacy.

Being set in the same world as the Harry Potter franchise, Hogwarts Legacy naturally follows in the footsteps of the original series in many aspects. The game presents an original version of Hogwarts and its surrounding areas, with the core structure remaining largely unchanged. Consequently, the lore and history of the game align with that of the other Wizarding World books and movies, along with some other elements of the story and world. One such element concerns the treatment of the various Hogwarts houses, where characters are sorted based on their distinct personality traits. Despite showcasing interesting characters from each house, the Wizarding World franchise has often struggled to provide depth within these scholastic categories.

Hogwarts Legacy's Sequel Should Make Students More Multifaceted

In the Wizarding World, characters are often defined by the personality traits of their Hogwarts house. Gryffindors are known for their bravery, Slytherins for their cunning, and so on. While this sorting system is based on natural tendencies, it can sometimes oversimplify and limit the complexity of characters. Hogwarts Legacy takes a step towards addressing this issue, but there is still potential for further improvement in its sequel.

A standout feature of Hogwarts Legacy is the opportunity to experience student life at Hogwarts through role-playing. Players have the ability to choose their own house, which allows for more nuanced characterization within the different Hogwarts Houses. For instance, players can create a Slytherin character who possesses qualities often associated with other houses, such as chivalry. However, the game still largely adheres to the traditional interpretations of the houses, treating the Sorting Hat's judgement as absolute and completely objective. While there are occasional instances where NPCs defy their house's expectations, these moments are rare occurrences.

The sequel to Hogwarts Legacy has the opportunity to break free from the confines of Hogwarts houses, adding depth to the characters and questioning the validity of the system. While the upcoming sequel may choose to play it safe, it could greatly benefit from taking risks and addressing the confusing or unrealistic aspects of the series' lore. While the Harry Potter books and movies have touched on the limitations of the Hogwarts houses, they ultimately reinforce the established rules, with the heroes in Gryffindor, villains in Slytherin, kind characters in Hufflepuff, and scholarly individuals in Ravenclaw. Though some characters may deviate from their assigned traits, it is portrayed as an exception, as if they are at odds with their own nature.

The Hogwarts Legacy sequel has the potential to tell a more compelling story by moving beyond these rigid and simplistic categories, shedding light on the drawbacks of pigeonholing children into predetermined traits that discourage personal growth and transformation during their formative years. This opens up possibilities for unique narrative situations, such as a Gryffindor character who embraces their house's teachings to become a villain, or a Ravenclaw struggling to meet the high academic expectations of their house. Characters could even be shown switching houses as their personalities evolve. By taking this approach, the Hogwarts Legacy sequel can offer surprising character arcs and story moments. Avalanche Software should seriously consider exploring this untapped potential.

Hogwarts Legacy is out now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, with a Switch version releasing on November 14.