Highlights

  • Hogwarts Legacy's Houses lacked impact on the storyline, missing the traditional Harry Potter experience fans wanted.
  • Exclusive House missions in the game were limited, failing to fully capture the unique traits of each House.
  • Borrowing from Fallout's faction system could enhance player choice in Hogwarts Legacy 2 by adding varied endgames.

A fully-fledged Harry Potter RPG has been a dream of the fantasy community since the books first came into prominence, and Avalanche Software's Hogwarts Legacy entry in 2023 was the first large-scale attempt that fans found acceptable. Featuring key lore points like the Sorting Hat Ceremony and homely depictions of Hogsmeade, it got lots of attention upon its release for its unique timeline and spellcasting. Despite Hogwarts Legacy's staggering sales numbers, there were a few aspects the title fell flat in, and the depiction of traditional Harry Potter houses is perhaps one of the most important. Improvements to the Hogwarts Houses are necessary for a possible Hogwarts Legacy 2 sequel, and Avalanche Software could look to Fallout's factions for inspiration.

Getting sorted into a House in the school of witchcraft and wizardry was a selling point of Hogwarts Legacy at launch, as fans of the Harry Potter franchise looked to experience the mythical world through the lens of a young wizard. While gameplay components such as puzzle challenges and combat mechanics walked the fine line between difficulty and intuitiveness beautifully, House representation remained an issue. The Sorting Hat Ceremony was just that -- ceremonial -- as the player's choice of the protagonist's House had negligible impact on Hogwarts Legacy's storyline. For any sequel, the developer has to make changes in this regard, and Avalanche Software could take a leaf out of Fallout's book to shake things up.

Harry Potter Hogwarts Legacy
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Hogwarts Legacy's Houses Need an Overhaul in the Sequel

Hogwarts Houses tend to have a specific set of traits according to the canon material, like the ambition and cunning of Slytherin and the bravery of Gryffindor. Players came into Hogwarts Legacy expecting these attributes to impact the storyline in some way, although it didn't entirely shake out that way.

Houses Lacked Flair in Hogwarts Legacy

hogwarts legacy dlc expansion pass houses quests

To the developer's credit, there were a few House-exclusive quests in the game, such as Scrope's Last Hope for Slytherin and the Hufflepuff visit to Azkaban in Prisoner of Love. These missions were built in the spirit of House traits, as Prisoner of Love embodied Hufflepuff's fair-play focus through Anne's tale.

However, aside from the exclusive missions, no other distinct differences came from house selection. Hogwarts Legacy's main storyline remained untouched despite the unique focuses of the houses in the canon material, contradicting the traditional Harry Potter experience fans are accustomed to. Ideally, being sorted into one of the four houses should have had more impact on the overall plot, but Avalanche Software opted for a uniform tale instead. As a result, the diverse feel players expected was absent in Hogwarts Legacy.

Fallout's Faction Focus Could Fix Hogwarts Legacy's Problem

Fallout 76 Free States Faction Raleigh Clay Bunker Shelter

To solve the muted House problem in Hogwarts Legacy 2, Fallout's formula seems like a viable solution for Avalanche Software to employ to give players a varied experience. For instance, beyond aesthetics and viewing experience, Fallout lets its factions impact gameplay directly. Joining The Brotherhood of Steel is one of the best ways to obtain power armor, which influences the choice of faction for many gamers. In Hogwarts Legacy, on the other hand, there are scarce few benefits to joining one House over the other, aside from Hufflepuff's exclusive Azkaban visit.

Fallout factions can also change the course of the plot with the player's support. For example, completing the Brotherhood's questline in Fallout 4 eliminates the Institute and Railroad factions from the postgame. Siding with one faction usually ends up with the extinction of at least one other, and the impact on the storyline adds an extra layer of consideration to the Fallout experience. The importance of the player choice mechanism can't be understated, and that kind of control is missing from Hogwarts Legacy. For the sequel, each house has to feature questlines that build up to unique endgames -- not just token exclusive missions. Fallout's factions are an ideal model for Avalanche Software to adopt, and with a few tweaks, Hogwarts Legacy 2 could take the Houses to the next level.