Highlights

  • Hogwarts Legacy offers the best Wizarding World combat, with stylish animations, a variety of spells, and challenging encounters.
  • Combat was a core strength of the game, allowing players to experiment with different spell combinations and enjoy intricate mechanics.
  • A sequel should focus on improving combat further with new spells, enemy types, and a posture system to keep players engaged.

Combat is something that the Harry Potter games have always struggled with. Back in Harry Potter's very first PS1 outing in 2001, players spent more time throwing explosive firecrackers than they did casting spells, and though its sequels would put more of a focus on combat, most encounters often resulted in just spamming the same attacks over and over again, requiring very little strategy on the player's part. Harry Potter games have never really been able to strike the right balance between spectacle and game-feel - that is, until last year's Hogwarts Legacy.

Generally speaking, Hogwarts Legacy features the best iteration of Wizarding World combat ever seen in a video game, and arguably, the wider Harry Potter franchise. Hogwarts Legacy's combat features stylish animations, flashy visuals, and a wide variety of spells to experiment with, and most encounters offer a satisfying level of challenge. Combat was a core pillar of Hogwarts Legacy, and when its inevitable sequel arrives, it shouldn't forget that.

Witcher 4 x Hogwarts Legacy
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Hogwarts Legacy 2 Should Keep the Original's Focus on Combat

Hogwarts Legacy's Combat Was One of its Biggest Strengths

Hogwarts Legacy had a lot of strengths. Exploring Hogwarts Castle and its surrounding area was an absolute treat for fans of the franchise, the game's presentation both in terms of visuals and sound design was excellent, and a plethora of engaging side activities and quests kept players invested long after the main story had wrapped up. But it was combat that really kept players coming back to Hogwarts Legacy time and time again.

Unlike the few decades of Harry Potter games before it, Hogwarts Legacy managed to deliver a genuinely satisfying combat system, with plenty of intricate, overlapping mechanics that slowly evolved the system during the course of the game. With a basic attack cast and an arsenal of color-coded spells that each came with their own unique effect, Hogwarts Legacy players found a lot of enjoyment in experimenting with different spell combinations, and the addition of a responsive parry mechanic reinforced this feeling of being a powerful witch or wizard, something that past Harry Potter games just couldn't quite achieve.

Hogwarts Legacy's satisfying combat mechanics also went hand in hand with the game's high level of enemy variety. Every humanoid enemy faction in Hogwarts Legacy had a variety of unique units that each had distinct abilities and weaknesses, and every magical enemy creature would also present a distinct challenge to the player. Battles that saw all of these enemy types come together were some of the most challenging, yet rewarding encounters in all of Hogwarts Legacy, requiring the player to really put everything they've learned into practice.

Hogwarts Legacy 2 Should Double Down on Combat

With Hogwarts Legacy being the best-selling game of 2023, it seems inevitable that a sequel will eventually see the light of day, and when it does, it should make sure that combat is still the game's strongest pillar. While Hogwarts Legacy's combat is already great, improvements are expected from a sequel, and there is no shortage of additions and tweaks that a Hogwarts Legacy 2 could make in this department. For instance, Hogwarts Legacy 2 could add a new branch of color-coded spells, adding even more complexity to its shield-breaking mechanic. New enemy types are also a must for a Hogwarts Legacy sequel. The sequel could even add a posture system similar to Sekiro's, encouraging players to parry and break an enemy's guard to deliver a more powerful finisher attack. No matter what is added, though, a focus on combat should remain.