Highlights

  • Hogwarts Legacy finally gives fans the Hogwarts RPG they've been craving, inspiring new Harry Potter games.
  • The game lays the foundation for a possible Wizarding World life sim, offering classes and relationships.
  • A fully-fledged life sim could fully embrace the Wizarding World concept, creating an immersive experience.

While the Wizarding World may have dominated popular culture for decades, it never really had any major video games for fans to enjoy outside its various movie tie-ins. But that all changed with the release of Hogwarts Legacy. That game finally gave fans the ultimate Hogwarts RPG they had been craving for years. Even though it will likely be getting a sequel, Hogwarts Legacy should also go on to inspire a new era of Harry Potter games.

There is a ton of stuff that the video game industry could do with the Wizarding World, as it feels tailor-made for games of all shapes and sizes. Specifically, it feels like the perfect place for a fully-fledged life sim like The Sims or Animal Crossing. Dozens of fans just want to live within its magical world, so the best way to do that would be through this hugely successful genre. And luckily, Hogwarts Legacy has already started laying those foundations.

Hogwarts Legacy 2 Shouldn't Miss The Chance to Embrace an Iconic Bethesda Feature
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Hogwarts Legacy 2 Shouldn't Miss The Chance to Embrace an Iconic Bethesda Feature

Hogwarts Legacy sought to immerse fans in the Wizarding World, and its sequel could double down by embracing an iconic Bethesda feature.

Hogwarts Legacy's RPG Framework Could Lead to a New Type of Harry Potter Game

Hogwarts Legacy Came Close to Delivering a Life Sim

At its core, Hogwarts Legacy was a classic action-adventure RPG-like game. It may not have fully embraced the RPG genre, but it had almost all the staples that one would expect from it. However, mixed in between that was what felt like the start of what could be a Harry Potter life sim. Not only could players fully create their character and explore the massive grounds of Hogwarts, but there were also features such as classes and relationships that formed the backbone of the game's progression system, which gave the game its unique Wizarding World charm.

Those features really helped make Hogwarts Legacy feel like the ultimate Hogwarts simulator, or at least the closest that fans have gotten so far. The major downside was that these classes, relationships, and exploration mechanics were not as in-depth as they could have been. Specifically, the classes and relationships were more a part of the story than they were things players could just interact with on a whim. Although the rest of the game made up for it, these elements held it back from truly embracing the concept. But a fully-fledged life sim could fix that.

The Next Wizarding World Game Should Go All in on the Concept

The Wizarding World feels like the perfect franchise for a life sim to thrive in. The main series was all about Harry Potter as he discovered the magical world, attended Hogwarts, and pushed through all sorts of trials along the way. That experience is exactly what some gamers and fans of the franchise have been craving since that very first book. And while Hogwarts Legacy sort of gave them that, a life sim is really where it could shine.

A Wizarding World life sim could see players create themselves and attend Hogwarts as if they truly lived within the world. They could start each day by going to the Great Hall with their friends, learning all there is to know about the world through a wide variety of classes, attending club meetings or Quidditch practice, and then winding down with even more food and conversation around the burning embers of their house's fireplace. Along the way, they could grow closer to other students and teachers, discover the secrets of Hogwarts, and do everything that a wizard would do.

That gameplay loop sounds like the perfect next step for the Hogwarts Legacy concept. And if it succeeds, then the studio could expand upon it even more with other wizarding schools, events like the Triwizard Tournament, and maybe even a multiplayer version. As long as it maintained the heart and charm of the core franchise, it could be a fantastic experience that fans would never want to leave.