Highlights
- Hogwarts Legacy could improve by giving more weight and consequences to the use of dark magic, rather than trivializing it as a combat mechanic.
- Connecting dark magic to the character Sebastian Sallow in the sequel could create a meaningful narrative behind its usage, offering players a choice between good and evil paths.
- Implementing a system that locks players out of the "good" story path or makes curses unavailable until progressing in the "evil" path would add depth to the combat and enhance the role-playing experience.
Despite succeeding in many areas, Avalanche Software's Hogwarts Legacy stumbles when it comes to implementing dark magic, a key element of the Harry Potter world. With that said, there are certainly some ways that the all-but-announced Hogwarts Legacy sequel could tighten things up in this regard, making the dark arts a worthwhile inclusion.
The main issue with dark magic in Hogwarts Legacy is how the game trivializes it as a gameplay mechanic. The player can learn all three Unforgivable Curses - a title that is not arbitrarily granted, as the use of these spells is generally considered inexcusable and is portrayed as evil in every rendition of the Harry Potter universe, including Hogwarts Legacy. However, these spells are reduced to mere combat mechanics in the game, as players will experience no consequences for using the Unforgivable Curses; NPCs will still treat the player normally, the story will be virtually unchanged, and there are no gameplay downsides. This is not only a missed opportunity in Hogwarts Legacy, but it also greatly harms the role-playing experience and sense of immersion.
How The Sequel to Hogwarts Legacy Can Enhance Dark Magic
There are some ways that Avalanche can improve the implementation of dark magic in the Hogwarts Legacy sequel, although what this will look like will depend on what the premise of the game is revealed to be. Whatever route the sequel takes with its setting and narrative, it will be crucial for dark magic to play a significant, game-altering role.
If dark magic is going to be made available to the player, then there should be weight behind their decision to use it; Unforgivable Curses shouldn't be treated the same as regular spells. One possible route for the sequel could connect to fan-favorite Hogwarts Legacy character Sebastian Sallow. Sallow is the character that teaches the player dark magic in the first game, and he slowly descends into darkness throughout his quest line, ultimately destroying his ties with his family. If the Hogwarts Legacy sequel is a direct continuation of the first game, then Sallow could be a significant character who is following the path of darkness. This would be where dark magic would come in as a gameplay mechanic.
Sallow could become the gateway to an alternate story path, mimicking games like Infamous 2, where players could choose to be "good" or "evil" depending on which character they chose to side with. This would be an elegant solution to Hogwarts Legacy's elephant in the room, as there would be natural, meaningful narrative content behind using dark magic. Perhaps the player could be locked out of the "good" story path if they use Unforgivable Curses too many times, or the curses themselves could be unavailable until they progress to a certain point in the "evil" path.
This would make the use of dark magic more interesting and powerful, as the spells would have real consequences for the story and wouldn't just be super-powered attacks with no drawbacks. Implementing a system like this would also deepen the game's combat, forcing players to carefully consider their options in a tough battle. Aside from making spells more interesting in Hogwarts Legacy 2, this would allow for a more robust role-playing experience, greatly enhancing immersion and offering replay value far beyond what was seen in the first game.
There's an argument to be made that the best way Hogwarts Legacy could have treated the dark arts would be to leave them out of the game entirely, at least as a gameplay mechanic. There's no real need for the player-character to know a torture spell or an instant-killing spell, and the spells can wind up damaging the game's sense of immersion. However, the franchise can't un-ring that bell, so Avalanche Software should take steps to make dark magic more purposeful and deep in the Hogwarts Legacy sequel.
Hogwarts Legacy is out now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, with a Switch version releasing on November 14.
