Avalanche Software's Hogwarts Legacy was a love letter to a franchise, delivering on an ambitious promise of a fully realized wizarding world. Portrayals of locations from the books and movies were spot-on, but what also shone through—even in an era removed from the source material's setting—were the similar character traits and narrative themes found in Hogwarts Legacy. While the obvious comparison for the game's central protagonist is the eponymous Harry Potter, they also bare some intriguing similarities to Lord Voldemort.
Even tethered to one of the most popular IPs on the planet, skepticism remained high up until the early 2023 release of Hogwarts Legacy. Reservations surrounding its quality were put to rest with Avalanche providing a compelling game worthy of the Harry Potter brand, including a competent story, intuitive gameplay, and a serene setting. Hogwarts Legacy is not perfect by any stretch, with players citing bugs, optimization issues, and a lack of depth to some of the game's systems, but the finished product is one most would agree merits a sequel, though succeeding its protagonist may prove difficult.
Hogwarts Legacy's Main Character Has a Checkered Past
Hogwarts Legacy's immersion had to have been pinned at the top of the priority list in design. The feeling of inhabiting its world, of being a student at Hogwarts, is one that the studio had to nail for its initial entry into the franchise. While some players lament the lack of systems designed around day-to-day student living, there is a palpable sense of existing in a living environment, and as the story weaves to its conclusion, the player character has a tangible effect on that environment.
One clever design implemented in that aim was to make the protagonist as much of a blank canvas as possible. With a vague backstory and some agency in dialog decisions, the player character was meant to feel like the player, and that might make their comparison to Voldemort a bit startling.
Starting as a fifth year and a conduit for an ancient font of magic, little else is revealed about the Hogwarts Legacy's protagonist's past. Though never made explicit, context clues place them as an orphan without ties to the magical world before discovering their incredible gift. This tracks with the origin story of Voldemort, then Tom Riddle, who himself was an orphan isolated from the world of witches and wizards until his formative years uncovered his own exceptional abilities. While the ambiguous backstory in Hogwarts Legacy is meant for the player to fill in the gaps themselves, there are several indicators throughout the game that this Voldemort-esque childhood was intentional.
With Great Power Comes Great Similarity
The other natural similarity to Voldemort is the clear and imposing power wielded by both him and the protagonist of Hogwarts Legacy. Stepping into Hogwarts with a five-year deficit of knowledge and still thriving is an imposing challenge, and stacked with extracurricular feats of skill and cunning, as well as the ancient magic MacGuffin that the player character can tap into, it is not too unfounded to say that they are canonically one of the most inherently gifted students of their era, which is something that could also be said of Voldemort.
While there are parallels, the most important distinction between the main character of Hogwarts Legacy and Voldemort is the contrast in conscience. While there are decisions the player can make that bend toward evil, even the bad ending of the game has the protagonist coming off as a far more upstanding and sympathetic figure than Voldemort. The comparison invites some intriguing moral dilemmas that could arise from a potential sequel, but nothing suggests players are in for a Voldemort-level fall from grace in the future.
Hogwarts Legacy is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, with a Nintendo Switch version releasing November 14.
