PLEASE NOTE: This article contains MINOR Spoilers for Hogwarts Legacy. Proceed at your own risk.The Harry Potter movie series is memorable for a plethora of great reasons, from its core cast of charismatic actors, to its realization of magic, to its big spectacle action sequences, but there's one scene that stands out for all the right reasons. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 isn't a great movie, with much of it feeling like a preamble before the big climactic finale of the series, but its Deathly Hallows storybook sequence is one of the most memorable moments in the entire franchise, and Hogwarts Legacy features its very own version of the tale.
For the most part, Hogwarts Legacy's story is a fairly paint-by-numbers fantasy narrative, but every once in a while, the main story can go off the beaten path a little, and that's when it's at its most exciting. About three-quarters of the way into Hogwarts Legacy's main story, the player will enter the memories of a long-dead character, and unlike the Pensieve sequences that have come before it, this one borrows a few narrative and visual elements from the Deathly Hallows story.
Hogwarts Legacy's Third Trial Captures the Storybook Essence of Deathly Hallows
Hogwarts Legacy's main plot revolves around a goblin named Ranrok, and his crusade to wage war against wizardkind with some mysterious kind of dark magic. During the course of the story, players will discover that this dark energy is actually a form of ancient magic, and to keep this ancient magic safe, four long-dead witches and wizards have locked its true power away, only to be opened by someone powerful and wise enough to complete four distinct trials. While the first two trials are similar sequences that just see the player complete a series of puzzles and combat arenas, the third trial drops players directly into the Deathly Hallows narrative, even letting them wield each mythical item.
When players first drop into the third trial, they're likely to get the immediate feeling that something is different about this trial. Rather than appear in the same crystallized hallways as the last few trials, players find themselves in a stark white world, with objects, structures, and character models all having black outlines. Everything looks as though it was drawn by hand with a pencil, as if this was an illustration for a child's storybook.
After a few moments of exploration, the trial truly begins, with a gigantic personification of Death appearing above a town. For long-time fans of Harry Potter, this is likely going to be the first real clue of what's about to come. The player is then tasked with sneaking around the village with a disillusionment charm, avoiding Death's minions along the way. Eventually, they come to a pedestal, with the Invisibility Cloak on top of it. As players continue through the level, they'll be given the Elder Wand and finally the Resurrection Stone, marking a complete set of the Deathly Hallows.
While the player can't take any of these Deathly Hallows with them on their return to the real world, this sequence still acts an excellent interpretation of the Deathly Hallows story, both from a gameplay and atmospheric standpoint. Gameplay-wise, this mission has two distinct sequences, the first being sneaking through the town and the second being a few lengthy combat sequences. While players will have done both of these activities countless times already in Hogwarts Legacy, the addition of the Invisibility Cloak and the Elder Wand give new meaning to the sequences, fueling the player with more power. This mission also nails the tone of the Deathly Hallows sequence from the movie, with storybook-like visuals alongside some surprisingly dark and foreboding imagery.
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 July 25, 2023.
