Summary
Hogwarts Legacythrew all its eggs in one basket when it released earlier this year, taking players to the titular school and having them fight enemies in between attending classes and running errands for fellow students. It was right to do so, as the Avalanche-developed project has proven to bethe bestHarry Potterouting in games, though there’s room for improvement.
Looking to the future, the decision to come out swinging will have to be counterbalanced by the next game, which will somehow have to find a way to better the original while finding a new location to set the story. Variety is the spice of life and could be the savior ofHogwarts Legacyif it is to be a successful franchise moving forward.
Sending players back to Hogwarts as it exists inHogwarts Legacycould feel repetitive, but changing it too much in pursuit of diversity may compromise the game’s continuity.
Hogwarts is Big, But Already Charted and Explored
Avalanche had a tough task when it set out to craft an all-new experience in theHarry Potteruniverse, so it had to rely on conventions for it to succeed. That meant bringing infamiliar spells like Expelliarmus and Confringo, but that familiarity extended to the setting. The walls of Hogwarts are packed with subtle secrets and impressive world-building that do well to convey a great deal of history.
Whereasfilms that have succeededHarry PotterlikeFantastic Beastshave the luxury of exploring new places,Hogwarts Legacyis breaking ground in the gaming space and had to be conservative. The result was astronomical sales, so the sequel now has the freedom, and difficult feat, of going in different directions, both narratively and geographically. Sending players back to Hogwarts as it exists inHogwarts Legacycould feel repetitive, but changing it too much in pursuit of diversity may compromise the game’s continuity.
Harry Potter Has Plenty of Other Iconic Places
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft of Wizardry and its surrounding area including Hagrid’s Hut and Hogsmeade are well-known toHarry Potterfansas they’re where the majority of the story takes place. The castle and its grounds are large and ripe for great narratives, but more places could be explored in the nextHogwarts Legacyouting. Be it fictional areas like Diagon Alley or the Ministry of Magic that are as immersive and magical as the school, to real-life locations like King’s Cross station in London (which is an essential breadcrumb in theHarry Pottertale), taking advantage of new pastures could be the break from Hogwarts Avalanche needs to add some diversity.
Open-World Games Need to Evolve
Non-linearity has been the flavor of gaming over the last couple of decades, with open-world offerings becoming greater and more ambitious with each passing year. Now,games likeThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the KingdomandHorizon Forbidden Westlead the charge by showing off densely-packed, but sprawling maps that the player can explore at their own pace.Hogwarts Legacydoes the same (though perhaps not on as large of a scale) and as the aforementioned games are follow-ups to popular projects,Hogwarts Legacyneeds to take cues from their philosophies.
Tears of the Kingdomis an advancement ofBreath of the Wild, offering the sky islands and the Depths as a means to complement a familiar Hyrule in between.Horizon Forbidden Westgoes to a different part of the United States for its story but retains artistic flourishes that make it feel in keeping with what the first game achieved.Hogwarts Legacy’s sequelwill have to capture the same magic but in a world that is unique enough to not feel like a rehash of what came before. The iconic castle has been fleshed out wonderfully in the 2023 game and the task now is to one-up it elsewhere.
