Highlights

  • Hogwarts Legacy as an anthology series runs the risk of feeling repetitive and stale without careful handling and diverse storytelling eras.
  • The sequel would need drastic changes and a unique approach to avoid being seen as just a reskin or glorified DLC in the same wizarding world, especially since it would be likely to feature Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, and the Highlands again.

Hogwarts Legacy branching out to become a series was never in doubt since the open-world action-RPG was so monumentally successful. Still, there are a lot of pitfalls for Avalanche or any other developers to avoid while taking on a sequel, whether it’s meant to be connected to Hogwarts Legacy at all or not. Having a direct sequel would have pitfalls to navigate if it intended to feature Hogwarts Legacy’s Ancient Magic-wielding protagonist again, for example, and even if it didn’t it would need to pay tribute to the story in Hogwarts Legacy in a way that could reference that protagonist in a meaningful way.

However, the biggest drawback that a Hogwarts Legacy 2 might have is if it establishes the series as an anthology. This would suggest that every future entry will be its own story with its own characters in the same wizarding world; of course, it’s not as if this hasn’t been achieved in other gaming media, but to have back-to-back games that aren’t direct sequels in the wizarding world might uproot a pitfall that could be impossible not to fall into. In Hogwarts Legacy’s case, it would be a challenge to have an anthology set at Hogwarts that doesn’t feel repetitive or stale after a while.

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Hogwarts Legacy 2 Starting an Anthology Runs the Risk of Creative Bankruptcy

Hogwarts Legacy’s Sequels May Not Be All That Different from Each Other

At least with a direct sequel, Hogwarts Legacy 2 could be interesting as it tells a follow-up story. But with an anthology series, Hogwarts Legacy’s sequel would seemingly tell the story of yet another student attending Hogwarts and potentially going through all the same motions. If it wasn’t handled carefully, an anthological entry could seem like a recycled take on Hogwarts Legacy instead of a separate story in the same world.

Especially if the castle and its grounds aren’t diverse enough apart from Hogwarts Legacy , the sequel could easily be perceived as a reskin or a glorified DLC by anyone anticipating something more.

This might still be the case with a direct sequel, but at least it would make sense for much of the sequel to be the same as its predecessor because it could take place soon after those events had occurred. There would need to be drastic improvements to gameplay and an unmistakable overhaul in how locations look in order to make Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, and the Highlands dynamic, and an anthology entry set around the same time might not afford that.

Hogwarts Legacy as an Anthology Would Need Diverse Eras

It’s possible that an anthology series for Hogwarts Legacy could work, but it would probably need to be as unique as to feature separate eras within each installment. Hogwarts Legacy is set in the late-1800s, for instance, and while Harry Potter was a more modern perspective of the wizarding world it could be neat to see Hogwarts Legacy 2 take place somewhere between the two. The downside to this approach is that there isn’t a far extent to which Hogwarts Legacy 2 could pull from, at least not without alienating fans of wizarding world lore and having it be too far removed from the franchise’s aesthetic nostalgia.

The late-1800s worked well for Hogwarts Legacy because it gave the school a familiar yet archaic atmosphere, and a sequel probably wouldn’t want to reach back any further in history for its narrative. It seems unavoidable for Hogwarts to be featured in the next Harry Potter open-world action-RPG, particularly because the new Max Harry Potter series will be exhuming that nostalgia again, and therefore whoever has to follow Avalanche’s Hogwarts Legacy will have a full plate.