One of the most highly anticipated games of 2022, Hogwarts Legacy, is going to be set long before the events of the original Harry Potter series. In Hogwarts Legacy, players can look forward to exploring the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry during the late 1800s as their own character. Finally, Potterheads around the world can feel immersed within the Wizarding World.
As calendars turn and players rapidly approach the slated holiday season release, more details have come out on Hogwarts Legacy, aside from it being set during the Goblin Rebellions. There have been two other trailers since the official announcement in 2020, and within them a lot of info has been provided about the gameplay, story, and all the secrets gamers could come across within the walls of Hogwarts.
Wendelin the Weird's Portrait
A portrait of Wendelin the Weird can be seen within a hallway populated with Hogwarts students of different houses. During the movies, she was only mentioned by name and a portrait of her was never shown. However, in the Chamber of Secrets video game on the Game Boy Color, a portrait of her can be seen when players traversed the Secret Hallway heading toward Filch's storeroom.
For the uninitiated, Wendelin the Weird is a witch who lived during the Middle Ages, famous in the Wizarding World for purposely getting burnt at the stake at least 47 times because she enjoyed the warm, tickling sensation caused by the Flame Freezing Charm. Witches and wizards during that age would cast the Charm to prevent themselves from actually burning to death, although they'd still shriek to keep up the ruse.
House Points Hourglass
One of the biggest aspects of study at Hogwarts were professors rewarding students House Points for good behavior – or deducting Points for bad behavior. Within the movies, Harry and company would get House Points deducted throughout their school year, and a scene from the end of the school year would feature a moment where House Points were tallied within giant hourglasses in the Great Hall. If fans were wondering how big a mechanic House Points will be in Hogwarts Legacy, it seems like they'll be in for a treat.
During one scene in the recent Hogwarts Legacy gameplay trailer, as the player character comes down a staircase, a few hourglass-like shapes can be seen in the distance. It looks like Hogwarts Legacy will be including the House Points system within its gameplay, but how that will be implemented remains to be seen.
Fat Lady Portrait
The Hogwarts Legacy gameplay trailer revealed the Fat Lady – the 'guardian' of Gryffindor Tower, and those who wish to enter the Gryffindor's living quarters had to get through her first. The Fat Lady would require a password to be spoken before she would swing herself open to allow the speaker to enter the Tower. Within the gameplay trailers released thus far, it seems that Avalanche has kept her design true to the books – a plump, regal-looking woman in a pink dress.
Portraits in Harry Potter are still very much 'living' in a sense, and those painted within them can live their own lives in their painted worlds (and even travel between portraits). Whether her personality would be similar to those of the books or if she acted differently before the 90s school years remains to be seen. What is certain is that those who've chosen Gryffindor as their Hogwarts House would be in contact with her the most often, and it would be great to see how she evolves as the game progresses.
Prefect's Bathroom
Showcased during the official gameplay trailer, fans of the Harry Potter series can look forward to going into the Prefect's Bathroom itself during their journey in Hogwarts Legacy. The design of the room is very accurate to how JK Rowling described it within her books – multitude of taps with their own scented soaps, gorgeous mermaid artwork on the wall, and even a diving board.
Being able to see the Prefect's Bathroom during the gameplay trailer seems to hint at the player's ability to become Prefects themselves. One male and one female student would be selected in their fifth year to become Prefects, and their duties will carry on until the day they graduate. It has been confirmed that Hogwarts Legacy will bring players into their fifth year at Hogwarts, so the possibility seems strong.
Bust of Ignatia Wildsmith
While introducing some of the companions that players can have within Hogwarts Legacy, the game's camera pans around and fans can spot a female bust with the name 'Wildsmith,' with a green flame underneath her. Wildsmith most likely refers to Ignatia Wildsmith, who was the inventor of the Floo Powder back in the 13th century. Floo Powder is known to be a bright green color, and emits a flame of the same color.
Although not entirely accurate to the books, there seems to be an internal Floo Network within the grounds of Hogwarts with at least two locations with green flames seen throughout the trailers. With such a vast open-world, it makes sense to create a fast travel gameplay mechanic in Hogwarts Legacy that works within the lore. In this case, it looks to be the Floo Network.
Other Hogwarts Secrets Teased in Hogwarts Legacy
The trailers have also revealed some of the puzzles in Hogwarts Legacy, both big and small. Moving staircases are a given in Hogwarts, but Hogwarts Legacy has revealed that the staircases are very much alive within the walls of the magical castle. Not only do the moving staircases get students from A to B, sometimes they might not. And, sometimes, they may take players to some of the school's best kept secrets that are only accessible during certain times of the day.
Another little teaser given by Avalanche was the presence of some familiar, ghostly faces. One of the spirits that have been confirmed so far are History of Magic class teacher Professor Binns, who died before the events of Hogwarts Legacy. Another is the infamous Nearly-Headless Nick, who was shown accompanying the player character to someplace within school grounds. And, best of all, the mischievous and chaos-loving poltergeist Peeves will be around to cause havoc too.
Hogwarts Legacy is scheduled to release holiday 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.