Summary
- Flying on a broom in Hogwarts Legacy is a magical experience, but the game needs to allow players to land anywhere they wish.
- Broom exploration limits get frustrating, as important areas are cordoned off, leading to time-consuming landings and reloads.
- Hogwarts Legacy 2 should improve flight mechanics by introducing broom wear and tear or animals needing rest, along with other features, to add more realism.
Flying on a broom in Hogwarts Legacy is the best form of exploration present, trumped perhaps only by flying beasts like the Thestral or the Hippogriff. Whether it's taking to the skies and watching the sunrise over the grand castle in Hogwarts Legacy or even just getting in and out of the Forbidden Forest, flying around is a key aspect of the magical experience. And despite its many great advantages, there is a critical flaw present that Avalanche Software needs to address in the sequel.
It is imperative that Hogwarts Legacy 2 allows fans to land a broom anywhere they wish. This is the critical flaw that has invited many frustrated sighs and rage-quits. While there are many other things that the sequel will need to address, like Quidditch, freeing players from the arbitrary exploration limits is one of the big ones.
Why Hogwarts Legacy 2 Needs to Fix Broom Exploration Limits
Now that Hogwarts Legacy is all but officially confirmed, community discussion has renewed about how the sequel should improve upon the first experience. One of the key places is that broom exploration should be made more fun and lenient. Players should be allowed to take to the skies from anywhere they want, and land wherever they want, be it the top of the Astronomy Tower, the stands in the Quidditch Stadium, or on top of The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade.
Currently, players can neither take off from Hogsmeade nor from Hogwarts' open-room classes, such as in the Astronomy Tower, but that is just one part of the rub. The part that garners more frustration is that great chunks of important areas on the map are cordoned off from broom exploration. Hogsmeade cannot be entered if players are in the air, and there are many other Hogwarts Legacy locations with important quests and other interactive areas that require players to approach on foot or via the Floo Network and leave the same way. Not only does this entail greater travel time due to walking, but players also have to land in a “safe” area beforehand.
There is currently no fixed point that designates areas as such, or where they are in the first place, other than perhaps the ground being level. So, if players are caught outside such cordoned off areas, like the entire area of Hogsmeade in Hogwarts Legacy, they have to spend a good chunk of time flying low on the ground and spamming the button to see where they can land. In several instances, gamers have been known to load from the last save point because they couldn’t find a proper spot despite looking around for more than 10 minutes. Overall, it is imperative that the developers streamline broom exploration in Hogwarts Legacy 2. Traveling via Thestral or Hippogriff and such follow the same mechanics, so there’s no respite whatsoever at the moment.
How Hogwarts Legacy 2 Should Approach Flight Mechanics
Exploration is crucial to immersing oneself in the Wizarding World. Walking around the castle or taking the fire-based Floo Network to far off lands is great, but Hogwarts Legacy 2 needs to improve on broom exploration's flight mechanics from the first game. For starters, players should be able to take off from or land anywhere. Following that, natural evolution begets that different brooms have different strengths, and upgrades should affect them differently as well. This will allow for a more varied selection for fans to choose from.
To add to the realism of the experience, perhaps the developers could include a mechanic where players need to rest every so often. Even with cushioning charms, broom travel can’t be that comfortable. If students have to use their polishing kits every so often to sustain their brooms’ peak condition, that may help flesh out the experience even more. Bundling all these things, hopefully with the fan-favorite game Quidditch as well, will make Hogwarts Legacy 2’s broom exploration and flying mechanics stand head and shoulders above its predecessor.
Hogwarts Legacy
- Released
- February 10, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
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.
Explore an Open World
The wizarding world awaits you. Freely roam Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest, and the surrounding Overland area.
Be the Witch or Wizard You Want to be
Learn spells, brew potions, grow plants, and tend to magical beasts along your journey. Get sorted into your house, forge relationships, and master skills to become the witch or wizard you want to be Experience a New Wizarding World Adventure
Experience the wizarding world in an unexplored era to uncover a hidden truth from its past. Battle against trolls, Dark Wizards, goblins, and more as you face a dangerous villain threatening the fate of the wizarding world.
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Use of Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- Avalanche Software
- Publisher(s)
- Warner Bros. Games
- Franchise
- Harry Potter
- 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
- Metascore
- 84
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
