To say that Hogwarts Legacy was a success would be an understatement. This Harry Potter game has completely outdone itself in more ways than one, but that doesn't mean that it has everything. There are certain features or ideas that are referenced within the dialogue and gameplay that are never truly realized, leading many to believe that there was actually a lot of cut content. Developer Avalanche Software has not outright confirmed whether these things are truly cut content, but there's definitely a strong case to be made for it.
Hogwarts Legacy takes players on a stunning adventure through the titular school and beyond. Players will learn spells, tame magical beasts, fight dark wizards, and ultimately save the wizarding world as a whole in spectacular fashion. While the game does a lot to capture the fantastical feel of the world of Harry Potter, there are some key features missing from the game that could have pushed it to the next level. What's more, it isn't just that these features are missing, but that there are relics left within the game hinting that they were initially intended to be implemented.
Hogwarts Legacy's Possible Cut Companion System
One of the most obvious potential bits of cut content is a companion system. As players progress through the game, they will frequently go on adventures with Hogwarts Legacy's Sebastian Sallow, Natty Onai, or Poppy Sweeting. Each of these characters has AI that allows them to assist the player in combat but only do so during quests specific to their character. It really feels as though players should be able to take these characters (and possibly others) with them as they explore and fight. The main character will even make comments when entering enemy camps that they are alone without their friends that seem to be telling the player to go get a companion.
Perhaps one of the most direct pieces of evidence in favor of a cut companion system is that Hogwarts Legacy NPCs have unique dialogue for quests that they aren't normally involved in. Through the use of mods, savvy players have added a companion system of their own. What they found is that characters like Sebastian, Natty, Poppy, Amit, and even Imelda Reyes all will make comments as players complete side quests and explore the world. This has caused many fans to question why these lines would have been recorded unless there were initially plans for a companion system.
Hogwarts Legacy's Possible Cut Friendship Quest Line
This is more speculation than anything, but it's also very possible that Hogwarts Legacy cut an entire friendship questline from the game. Sebastian, Natty, and Poppy each have a friendship questline that lets players spend more time with those characters and learn about their backstories. Sebastian is a Slytherin, Natty is a Gryffindor, and Poppy is a Hufflepuff, but there is no friendship quest for a Ravenclaw NPC. Of all the Ravenclaw characters in the game, Amit has the biggest role, leading many players to suspect that Amit's friendship questline was cut from Hogwarts Legacy.
Amit does have a few moments to shine in the story of Hogwarts Legacy, particularly when he introduces the player to Astronomy and gives them his telescope. He also uses his rudimentary knowledge of Gobbledegook to help the player and Lodgok to learn more about Ranrok's plans. Still, his aspirations as an Astronomer and Magic Historian could have been expanded on to create an entirely new friendship quest that delves into a different side of the wizarding world. Otherwise, Hogwarts Legacy's Goblin controversy could have been addressed through another lens in an Amit questline.
Hogwarts Legacy's Possible Cut Crime System
In many instances, Hogwarts Legacy players are expected to simply accept that certain things in the game don't make sense. Between a fifth-year student taking on entire castles full of adult dark wizards or killing people with fiery explosions somehow being as socially acceptable as granting them instant death via the killing curse, fans are usually willing to roll with this. That said, one thing that many find odd is Hogwarts Legacy's main character's tendency to break into homes and steal everything an NPC owns with no consequences.
At no point in the game does anyone question why the protagonist is using Alohomora to open locks in Hogwarts Legacy, enter private property, and loot every chest in sight. There's also no consequence for players if they choose to use Unforgivable Curses like the killing curse. The only evidence that a crime system was ever intended for Hogwarts Legacy comes in the form of unused game files found by modders. Even these aren't solid evidence, as there's no telling if these ideas ever made it past the drawing board.
Hogwarts Legacy's Possible Cut Stealth Systems and Restricted Areas
Perhaps unsurprisingly, players will frequently find themselves breaking established rules at Hogwarts. Whether that's being out of bed at night or even something so bold as breaking into the Restricted Section of the library in Hogwarts Legacy, no one but Sebastian seems to ever get in trouble for this kind of thing. The only time that the player is held to the same standard is during the first times they enter the Restricted Section and the Faculty Tower. During these missions, players are required to use the Disillusionment Charm to avoid detection from teachers and prefects, and it's one of the few times that violence is not an option.
If players return to the Restricted Section or to the Faculty Tower, they are inexplicably able to walk about freely without fear of getting caught. This may have been done simply for the sake of convenience, but one line of dialogue, in particular, implies that there were originally meant to be more restricted areas and times of day when players would need to sneak about. During Gladwin Moon's quest, he explicitly reminds the player to use the Disillusionment Charm while collecting Demiguise Moons in Hogwarts Legacy since they only appear at night and students aren't allowed to be out of their beds at this time.
Ultimately this is all speculation, and unless Avalanche Software or Portkey Games comes out with a public statement about cut content, players may never know for certain what was originally intended to be in the game. That said, all of this does paint a bright picture for the future of Hogwarts Legacy as a franchise, as this potentially cut content could be included in future installments.
