Credit: Warner Bros.We’ve all heard the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But in the case of open-world Harry Potter RPG, Hogwarts Legacy (2023), there are definitely some improvements to be made.
Hogwarts Legacy has been a truly enormous hit. To say that an open-world Harry Potter game was unprecedented would be a lie (and one mustn’t tell lies), but it did follow a whirlwind of controversy, with many fans boycotting the game due to its connections with JK Rowling.
Now, it has been reported that the game, which drops players into a sprawling and stunning wizarding world, has sold over 22M copies worldwide, with Warner Bros. proudly hinting at future installments, which likely include the rumored Hogwarts Legacy 2.
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But should Hogwarts Legacy 2 be on the cards (let’s face it, 22M copies is practically another way of saying “inevitable”), there are some major improvements to be made, so Avalanche Software and Warner Bros. best start practising some repairing spells.
We’re not going to discuss any of the bugs or glitches players have experienced over the past year (which can all be explained away with magic anyway, right?), but there are seven key things Hogwarts Legacy 2 needs to do to improve upon the current game.
1. Take Place During the Post-Harry Potter Era
The idea of a Wizarding World story taking place long before the Harry Potter era was, at one point, rather appealing. But three boring Fantastic Beasts films later and the novelty has already worn off. Fans weren’t overly thrilled at the prospect of Hogwarts Legacy taking place in the 1800s, and though as a result the final product does have quite a bit of charm, ultimately, the 19th-century setting holds the game back from its true potential.
It’s clear that Warner Bros. opted for the pre-Harry Potter era to avoid stepping on any canonical toes. Pushing the game’s narrative this deep into the past meant avoiding inevitable inconsistencies and storytelling discrepancies, while also unburdening the game from all the heavy lore established in the seven Harry Potter stories. Of course, Hogwarts Legacy also needed its own identity, so making it a prequel made enough sense.
On the other hand, it all feels like a bit of a copout. Not only that, but a lot of fans have quickly grown bored of the pre-Harry Potter era and are eager to get up to speed on what’s going on in the Wizarding World now. Not during the ’90s when the Harry Potter stories take place, but here in the present year; the most modern the modern-day world can get. In fact, this apparent avoidance of the modern-day Wizarding World seems a little odd.
It’s not like we haven’t already seen what’s beyond Deathly Hallows, as the epilogue drops us on Platform 9¾ 19 years later. The stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016) also picks up where Deathly Hallows left off, but it needn’t be the only story that’s the most contemporary in the franchise. Hogwarts Legacy 2 could unshackle the series from the 1800s by allowing fans to finally see what life is like in a post-Cursed Child Wizarding World.
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2. Allow Access to the Muggle World
Another problem with Hogwarts Legacy is the absence of the Muggle world. Though you always get a flavor of what the Muggle world is like from the Wizarding World no matter the century, it’s not quite the same thing. Despite the fact the wizard and witch-inhabited lands are technically more advanced than ours given all the magic on tap, our human world — which looks more advanced — would break things up a little, even if it’s pretty boring.
The Harry Potter books/films are a testament to this. Can you imagine they were all set exclusively in the Wizarding World? The Muggle world, by contrast, makes the likes of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Diagon Alley, and Hogsmeade Village, even more magical. Besides, who wouldn’t want to take to the skies above London on their broom? Or camp out in the Great British countryside and see all the wonderful sights?
Of course, there’s plenty to see in the Wizarding World, but why not give players the chance to experience the thrill of performing magic on — er, in front of — Muggles?
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3. Have NPCs That Actually Work
Okay, so here’s everyone’s biggest gripe with Hogwarts Legacy. The NPCs (non-playable characters) are absolutely horrendous. The likes of the Hogwarts’ professors, the students that quests require you to interact with, and the odd enemy out in the Wizarding World here and there are decent-enough, but all the other inhabitants, from the rest of the student population to the locals at Hogsmeade Village, are nothing short of embarrassing.
Open-world games are supposed to immerse players into a living and breathing world. Sure, they can’t all be Grand Theft Auto V (2013) or Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018), but it’s almost like the developers just didn’t care when it came to creating people you could interact and engage with in Hogwarts Legacy. Not only are there only a handful of faces to spare between all the NPCs throughout the game, but they don’t even react to you at all.
Want to perform a spell on or near someone who isn’t an enemy or a magical creature? Well, they don’t care, because you won’t even hear the words “Students aren’t allowed to perform magic outside of Hogwarts!” Or maybe you just want to say “Hello” to a fellow witch or wizard — the game doesn’t even give you the option to speak as you wander around, so good luck with that.
Overall, Hogwarts Legacy is a decent open-world game with a fair sprinkling of magic, but the NPC problem is the most unforgivable aspect, as it renders what should feel like a living and breathing world completely soulless and devoid of life.
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4. Feature the Hogwarts Express
Imagine visiting The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios or The Making of Harry Potter studio tour in London and not getting to experience the magic of the Hogwarts Express, the cozy train whose sole purpose is to transport students to and from the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Not only are you forced to bypass the experience of traveling to Hogwarts for the first time aboard the iconic red steam train in Hogwarts Legacy, you don’t even get a chance to board it at any point during the game. You can watch it arrive and depart from Hogsmeade Station, but you’re forced to do so through watery eyes; a similar feeling you get when you have to pass the out-of-use Quidditch pitch. So close, yet so far. It’s borderline criminal.
But at least there’s a reason the sporting grounds aren’t available — Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions (TBA) is currently in development. But what about the Hogwarts Express? Sitting in one of its cozy cabins and watching the Wizarding World countryside roll by is a signature Harry Potter experience, so unless Warner Bros. is also dedicating an entire game to that, this is something Hogwarts Legacy 2 needs to include.
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5. Forget About Hogwarts/Move on From Harry Potter
This is one improvement we’d bet our bottom Knut on never happening in Hogwarts Legacy 2 or any other sequel down the line. Hogwarts Legacy is now its own identifiable brand, alongside Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts, and a sequel will only further cement this.
That said, if you don’t ask, you don’t get, so let’s get into it. If there’s one thing holding the game back from its true potential, it’s the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry itself. This might sound outrageous, but the long-standing castle is starting to feel like a bit of an anchor.
What’s the point in attending school in the game anyway? Classes are nothing more than mini quests in disguise (well done — you’ve wiggled the joystick a few times so you now know how to uproot a Mandrake or brew a dangerous potion), and it’s not like you ever start your day in your common room, either. It all just feels like smoke and mirrors.
We’d much rather be an adult witch or wizard working somewhere like the Ministry of Magic, where you have to access secret departments, retrieve certain artefacts, and so on. A game inspired by the Ministry of Magic infiltration in Deathly Hallows Part 1 would be most welcome.
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6. Have a More Inclusive Character Customization
The character customization suite in Hogwarts Legacy isn’t the worst (have you played Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed? Yikes), but it still leaves a lot to be desired.
You can choose things like your gender, the shape of your face, skin color, eye color, hairstyle, and even some scars that make your character look like they have an interesting backstory like Harry Potter himself, but there are no options to alter your size, whether you want to go bigger, smaller, shorter, taller.
Though you can indulge in things such as hairstyles, hair color, and your wizarding wardrobe throughout the game, ultimately, the lack of variation in sizes practically makes everyone in the Wizarding World look identical, which isn’t very inclusive.
And no, Polyjuice potion doesn’t count.
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Despite its many problems, following the recent announcement by Warner Bros., Hogwarts Legacy still marks the beginning of a new era within the Harry Potter franchise.
Hogwarts Legacy 2 will undoubtedly feature many improvements over the original game — it’s really the whole point in sequels no matter which medium they’re in — but it will probably stick to its pre-Harry Potter timeline. But to say that the days of Harry Potter are long gone would be untrue, as there’s a television series in development.
Check out the official cinematic trailer for Hogwarts Legacy below:
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Per the official Hogwarts Legacy website, here’s the synopsis for the game:
Hogwarts Legacy is an immersive, open-world action RPG set in the world first introduced in the Harry Potter books. For the first time, experience Hogwarts in the 1800s. Your character is a student who holds the key to an ancient secret that threatens to tear the wizarding world apart. Now you can take control of the action and be at the center of your own adventure in the wizarding world. Your legacy is what you make of it.
Hogwarts Legacy is now available on all major consoles.
What do you want to see in Hogwarts Legacy 2? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!