Hogwarts Legacy is far from perfect, but it nails a few key aspects of the Hogwarts school-life fantasy; the rustic and timeless appeal of the Harry Potter books and films is translated to the game rather nicely, despite its role-playing and narrative shortcomings. As Hogwarts Legacy grows into a full-blown franchise, however, there are a number of ways that Avalanche Software can improve upon its solid foundations.
Much ink has been spilled about Hogwarts Legacy's biggest areas for improvement, including the lack of player agency, no real school-life features, and the bizarre implementation of the Unforgivable Curses. These are all crucial points to consider for Hogwarts Legacy 2, but other smaller and easier-to-implement changes could make the sequel a bit more enjoyable as well. Among these changes is a more robust and multifaceted character customization suite, which would allow Avalanche to lean into the more over-the-top elements of the Harry Potter mythos—a great focus, given the freedom the studio has compared to the original film adaptations.
Hogwarts Legacy 2 Could Use Some Crazier Outfit Concepts
Building On Hogwarts Legacy's Strangest Cosmetics
Hogwarts Legacy cosmetics like the Legendary Mask are certainly over the top, and can even feel a bit out of place when the character is meant to be a "regular" high school student. Rather, these sorts of accessories, aside from often being paired with desirable stats, can reinforce the sense of player freedom within this magical and alien world in an arguably much less immersion-breaking way than the sense of freedom provided by, say, the lack of consequences for using Unforgivable Curses.
The player-character of Hogwarts Legacy is a standard Hogwarts student, but they are also something of a "chosen one" tasked with stopping a destructive sect of Goblins and given a pivotal role in what is essentially a small-scale war. Considering this level of unorthodox importance, coupled with their inexplicable freedom to do whatever they please during the school year, it makes sense for them to have some more intense, intimidating costumes to wear. Additionally, the fact that the game is set in a world defined by magic and adventure shouldn't be forgotten when it comes to character cosmetics; there are a lot of opportunities for less conventional character apparel.
How Hogwarts Legacy 2 Could Expand the First Game's Wacky Wardrobe
There are a lot of cool outfits in Hogwarts Legacy, but the overwhelming majority of them are variations of school uniforms. This makes sense, given the setting, but it can sometimes feel like an odd restriction. Assuming that the sequel continues to favor large-scale adventure over quaint academia, the arrival of more out-there cosmetics like the Spider Slayer Armor or Legendary Armored Attire would certainly be welcome.
It would be a bit more ambitious, but altered NPC behavior based on how out-of-place the protagonist's outfit is would be a nice way to lampshade the absurdity of certain cosmetics.
If Hogwarts Legacy 2 offers players a change of scenery, perhaps taking place at rival schools like Durmstrang or Beauxbatons, then the potential for novel cosmetics could be even greater. They could aid in the next game's storytelling, giving a glimpse into more granular or often overlooked aspects of the magical culture of these communities. Perhaps the history of such communities, beyond their academic side, could be represented through lore-accurate apparel or accessories. This way, personalization could be an enjoyable and interactive narrative tool.
Hogwarts Legacy
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 84 /100 Critics Rec: 88%
- Released
- February 10, 2023
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Use of Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- Avalanche Software
- Publisher(s)
- Warner Bros. Games
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Cross-Platform Play
- Hogwarts Legacy doesn't have crossplay or crossplatform support
- Cross Save
- you can freely use your saved data between each console as long as you are connected to the internet and signed into the same account where the saved data was created
WHERE TO PLAY
- Franchise
- Harry Potter
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Verified
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC
- How Long To Beat
- 26 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- yes
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
