For the most part, Hogwarts Legacy is faithful both to the Harry Potter books and the films, more so to the movies since it has an atmosphere to sustain and visual references to follow. At times, it's hard not to recognize some of the landscapes and rooms in Hogwarts castle. The only thing missing are the characters.
So, the longing player community in Hogwarts Legacy took it upon themselves to create character skins, presets, and other mods to make the game feel more nostalgic. Fans of the Harry Potter movies might want to install these in their game files, especially if they solemnly swear that they're up to no good.
10 NPC Schedule Enhanced (Better AI)
NPC Schedule Enhanced is not a character replacement mod per se, but it implements a rather important fix to make all the NPC characters in Hogwarts feel more alive and busy. Think of it as an overall character improvement mod, making Hogwarts inhabitants behave how they did in the films.
With this mod, players will see students attending classes and professors patrolling the castle grounds at night. Some students will also go to Hogsmeade in their free time among many other human activities. They also follow tighter schedules now, so as to not wander around and die the most painful death.
9 Better Slytherins (Sebastian & Ominis Appearance Overhaul)
The Slytherin duo Sebastian and Ominis offer one of the most compelling questlines in the game, though some players thought they didn't look "slithery" enough. One might even mistake Sebastian for a Weasley at first glance, especially with that red hair and hand-me-down freckles.
So, some players created the Better Slytherins mod and gave both Sebastian and Ominis an ominous appearance with sharper features, literally making Ominis more Gaunt and Sebastian with less shallow cheekbones. Now, they look like proper slick brats.
8 Daniel Radcliffe
The default pitch for the male character in Hogwarts Legacy already sounds like a Daniel Radcliffe clone, so all that's missing is that Chosen One jawline and lightning scar. This was what the Daniel Radcliffe mod set out to achieve.
It's a preset mod that's modeled after Harry's in-game appearance in the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince video game adaptation, so it's pretty accurate. The only thing missing is a more prominent cleft chin and brighter eyes. This Harry looks notably more stressed; that's what a lack of Quidditch does to a teenager.
7 Emma Watson
As expected, there's an Emma Watson or Hermoine Granger character preset mod. It would appear that the modder even took great lengths to ensure that it's a proper 1:1 recreation of a 3D mold of Emma Watson's face so players looking to roleplay as a Gryffindor-Ravenclaw hybrid character will find delight in this mod.
The hair isn't custom, however, so players will have to use the in-game hairstyles, though a lot of them are homages to the film's hairstyles anyway. Particularly the first-year and final-year hairstyles for Hermoine which are decent as is in the game.
6 Voldemort - Character
As far as Heirs of Slytherin go in Hogwarts Legacy, it's only Ominis Gaunt and the notion is wholly underutilized in the game. So players ought to just bring along the most slithery of Slytherins, Voldemort himself in case there's not enough Dark Arts presence in Hogwarts.
The mod is actually one of the most impressive character presets in the game, complete with the glowing eyes and the slit snake nose. The modder even paid careful attention to Voldy's scalp varicose veins. Just mute the main character and read his lines with Ralph Fiennes' voice to keep immersion intact.
5 Voldemort - Avada Kedavra
Speaking of Ralph Fiennes' voice, there's no utterance of the killing curse more memorable than his "Avada Kedavra!" bellow when he killed Harry in the final film. Yep, that exact line, which is now a meme. It's also worth noting that the default "Avada Kedavra" lacked ferocity and conviction. It's almost as if the main character is just whispering it.
So a voice change will make the curse a lot more palpable and dramatic. The mod author even included a French version of the voice change mod, in case they find "Ugh-vada Kedavra" a little too harsh on the throat.
4 Hogwarts Legacy Expelliarmus Severus Snape
While on the topic of voice changes for spells, Professor Snape also had his own dramatic examples, particularly his Expelliarmus during his duel with Gilderoy Lockhart back in The Chamber of Secrets. There was a certain weight to his pronunciation, owing to the fact that Snape knew that Lockhart was a charlatan.
In any case, no other "Expelliarmus" in the film carried more confidence than Snape's. And seeing as it's such a useful spell, particularly against trolls and executioners, players will see a long mileage for this mod.
3 Luna Lovegood Spectrespecs
Luna Lovegood is another fan-favorite due to her eccentric personality and floaty intonations. Sadly, it seems a 1:1 preset isn't available yet so players will have to make do with her Spectrespecs. They're Luna's exceptionally odd eyeglasses.
Now, players can look like a demented, multicolor owl and the good news is that Luna's appearance is easy enough to imitate in the character creator. While they're at it, players can also grab Luna's Raddish Earrings mod to complete the look.
2 Cedric Diggory Face
No Hufflepuff playthrough in Hogwarts Legacy is perfect without this mod. The Cedric Diggory Face is a hauntingly close recreation of Robert Pattinson's razor cheekbones and anvil jawline. At times, it even looks a bit exaggerated. Seems more like Edward Cullen than Cedric Diggory.
Regardless, if players don't want to spend too much time getting that sunken cheek pout correct, then this mod will make character creation a breeze. One could also consider it lore-friendly, seeing as Cedric Diggory was a fifth-year student at Hogwarts.
1 Cedric Diggory Broom
There's no doubt Cedric was the perfect friend and comrade since he also carried Harry in the Triwizard Tournament. Well, players can also let Cedric carry their characters too by turning him into a broom. Except, the broom swap was modeled after Cedric's appearance in the fifth Harry Potter film onwards.
It's one of the more creative broom model swaps in the game, albeit a little too dark, but still perfect for a Dark Arts playthrough. There's even a "my boy!" sound effect when the broom is equipped, adding to the zany, twisted nature of the mod.
Hogwarts Legacy is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. PS4 and Xbox One ports are scheduled to release on April 4. The Nintendo Switch version is arriving on July 25, 2023.