Hogwarts Legacy has already been shown to feature a plethora of magical creatures from throughout the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts mythologies. Graphorns, Trolls, Inferi, Dementors, and more will all be present as potential enemies players face, while creatures such as Hippogriffs, Thestrals, and Mooncalves will belong to the friendlier fauna of Hogwarts Legacy’s lore.
Hogwarts Legacy's recently announced release date came as bittersweet news due to its delay, though fans are surely pleased to finally have a date assigned to it, and only a couple of months from when it had originally been planned to release anyhow. Further, it was announced not long ago that Hogwarts Legacy will share an exclusive new look at Gamescom, which airs on August 23. However, it has now been revealed that Hogwarts Legacy’s appearance at Gamescom may be particularly troubling for arachnophobes.
Foreboding what is to come, Hogwarts Legacy has shared an image of a tall tree trunk in the middle of a dark forest that has many wooden signs plastered onto it and are illuminated by lanterns. These signs share a clear warning to students that spiders and death await them in the forest ahead, with strands of webbing attached to the tree for added effect. This suggests that Hogwarts Legacy will have a gameplay sequence to share at Gamescom that features the Forbidden Forest and perhaps an encounter with its aforementioned spiders.
In Harry Potter, the Forbidden Forest is home to a number of fearsome and horrifying creatures such as the Acromantula, which is another name for these giant spiders. Glimpses of the forest have already been offered in previous trailers such as Hogwarts Legacy’s PlayStation State of Play gameplay presentation, and provided a look at an encounter with Centaurs.
The game’s key art revealed that Acromantulas would in fact be included in Hogwarts Legacy’s bestiary. This particular spider is well-hidden within the artwork on a mountainside, teasing fans with what may lie in the darkest corners of the Forbidden Forest and other explorable areas.
In terms of facing spiders in combat, players may need to first learn the Arania Exumai charm to knock them back, though other spells will likely be effective too. Perhaps Hogwarts Legacy’s exclusive new look at Gamescom will educate players on how to prepare for spiders, let alone offer a look at what other horrors they may stumble upon if they recklessly choose to wade out into the darkness of the Forbidden Forest.
Hogwarts Legacy launches on February 10 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, with a Switch version also in development.
