Although it began as a series of books, Harry Potter's magical story has been adapted to other forms of media, including film, theater, and video games. After a long hiatus from the gaming world, Harry Potter is set to make a return with Hogwarts Legacy. The game is set in the 1800s, and it takes players to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where they learn to harness the power of magic. Adventures await players as they explore Hogwarts castle, the Forbidden Forest, and Hogsmeade Village.

Although gamers and fans of Harry Potter are eagerly awaiting the release of Hogwarts Legacy, there are a few hurdles the game will have to overcome. When adapting an IP from one medium to another, there are always difficulties that arise and inaccuracies that pop up. As such, it will be interesting to see how Hogwarts Legacy will handle the trickier aspects of the Harry Potter universe.

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The Layout of Hogwarts

hogwarts legacy troll

Hogwarts castle is a building with a rich history. Its walls are teeming with magic, and some of the greatest wizards and witches have passed through its halls. There are plenty of features that make Hogwarts a place of wonder. Students may stumble upon the Room of Requirements, which grants them precisely what they need at that point. They may also find themselves chatting with one of the many portraits that are not shy to spark up conversations with students, or they could have a prank played on them by a poltergeist.

In the Harry Potter book series, Hogwarts is described as a large castle with an ornate Great Hall, underground chambers, shifting rooms, and moving staircases. Although JK Rowling took great care to ensure that every aspect of her imagined world is painfully detailed, some areas are a little fuzzier than others. According to Rowling, she does not have any floor plans for Hogwarts because "it would be difficult for the most skilled architect to draw, owing to the fact that the staircases and the rooms keep moving." Hence, although most Harry Potter fans will be aware of the general layout of Hogwarts as well as the Great Lake, Forbidden Forest, and the Quidditch pitch, it would be difficult to draw an accurate map of the location without filling in some of it with imagination and speculation.

Figuring out how to depict the castle will be a difficult task for Hogwarts Legacy. The developer, Avalanche Software, could choose to implement a mostly static castle that is as faithful as possible to the source material. Alternatively, it could implement a constantly changing castle, and while this may confuse players and have them arriving late to their classes, it could be the most authentic Hogwarts experience.

Hogwarts Legacy Will Have to Carefully Balance Magic

hogwarts legacy school for wizards

Harry Potter is nothing without a good dose of magic. The pointy hats, long robes, and quills are just a backdrop for the ability to cast spells and mix potions. In Hogwarts Legacy, players will learn everything they can about magic while exploring the wizarding world in and around Hogwarts. As the book series illustrates, students get to learn quite powerful spells. These include "Petrificus Totalus," which leaves the victim as stiff and still as a piece of wood, and "Confundus," which confuses the victim.

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Understandably, players will be going into Hogwarts Legacy expecting to have fun with plenty of spells, potions, and charms. However, it is worth considering exactly how powerful magic is going to be. As students, players likely have their magic abilities stunted by the mere fact that they lack education and experience. However, even the simpler spells in the Harry Potter universe can be used to cause great mayhem should they be put to use by someone with a nefarious imagination.

Hogwarts Legacy will have to grapple with the tough task of balancing the power of magic. It needs to be powerful enough for players to not feel like they are muggles with a robe on, but it also needs to prevent players from treating Hogwarts like it is a city in Grand Theft Auto. An easy fix may be to limit the areas where players can use magic, but this may feel constricting to some. Alternatively, there could be steep consequences for using magic irresponsibly.

Dealing with Slytherin House

harry potter slytherin students

Hogwarts Legacy is an RPG, and players will have the opportunity to craft the perfect witch or wizard counterpart for themselves. As reports have revealed, customization options extend to voice and body type, among many other choices. Once their character is created, players will also be sorted into one of Hogwart's four houses - Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.

Each of the four houses represents different values, and they are loved by different people for different reasons. However, it is Slytherin that poses the biggest problem. To put it mildly, Slytherin is a house that is frequently displayed in less than flattering terms. Many dark wizards have come from Slytherin house, including Voldemort, and members of the house have a bad reputation for being cunning and conniving. Nevertheless, several fans have found themselves attracted to Slytherin house and its dark allures.

Hogwarts Legacy will have to decide how to depict Slytherin house alongside the morality system that the game is reported to include. It will be interesting to see if the game allow players sorted into Slytherin to snake their way to the top without affecting their morality system, or if Hogwarts Legacy punishes Slytherin players for doing precisely what Slytherin house members are expected to do. The depiction of Slytherin has been an issue in Harry Potter across multiple mediums, and the problem has found its way into gaming, too.

Although there have been some rumors of Hogwarts Legacy getting further delayed, developers claim that the game is still on track to release in 2022. Gamers will have to wait to see Avalanche Software's take on Hogwarts and how it deals with translating the series into an open-world RPG. If it manages to gracefully resolve the aforementioned issues, Hogwarts Legacy may be yet another success in the storied history of the Harry Potter franchise.

Hogwarts Legacy is set to release in 2022 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S.

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