Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy looks as though it could be the game that series fans have been waiting for for a very long time. Promising players the ability to make their very own wizarding characters and attend the iconic school, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy has an undeniable amount of potential. There is a lot that players hope to be able to do in the game, like being assigned to different houses, playing Quidditch, and attending a variety of different classes.
Not very much about Hogwarts Legacy has been officially revealed, although its official description does give fans some insight into what they may be able to expect from the game. The description sets up the story, saying that players take control of a late admission to Hogwarts in the 1800s that has a unique ability to call upon ancient magic. Somehow, this all ties into a great secret that has the potential to overturn the entire wizarding world as Harry Potter fans know it. Throughout the story, players will be able to make a variety of choices, including being able to align themselves with either the forces of good or evil. This particular feature could add a lot to Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy, and the game should take some cues from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed on how its morality system functions.
How The Force Unleashed Handled Its Morality System
In Star Wars: The Force Unleashed players control Starkiller, the secret apprentice of Darth Vader and an incredibly powerful Sith. Despite being a Sith, however, players are given multiple opportunities to shape Starkiller's path. Players can choose to embrace either side of the force through decisions in the game's story, as well as what powers and abilities they use while playing. Ultimately, the player's decisions culminate in the decision of whether to kill the Emperor or kill Darth Vader and become the Emperor's apprentice. Obviously, the game's plot makes it difficult for The Force Unleashed to ever be considered canon, but it does give the player some great choices throughout.
Perhaps the strongest aspect of The Force Unleashed's morality system is how it impacts its gameplay. Players gain access to different powers and abilities depending on which side of the force they are aligned with, which help them better play out that role throughout the game. A player's connection with the force also impacts things like Starkiller's appearance, which also helps make the game feel different if players play through it to experience each alignment. Of course, force alignment is not a new feature for Star Wars games, but it is one that has been used to great effect throughout the franchise. Hopefully, upcoming Star Wars games use it as well as The Force Unleashed did so many years ago.
Why Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy Should Include a Morality System
A similar morality system would also feel right at home in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy. Of course, the world of Harry Potter is largely defined by its big villains like Voldemort and Grindelwald. Magic has a dark side to it that is touched on throughout the series, but has never been fully explored in a way that is accessible for fans. Hogwarts Legacy could provide the perfect opportunity to explore that darker side by letting players do it for themselves throughout the game, while also allowing the player's actions to impact both their character and the game's world itself. Being set in the 1800s will see Hogwarts being very different from what fans know, and a morality system could let players impact Hogwarts in Hogwarts Legacy to change it further around their actions.
A morality system also makes sense for Hogwarts Legacy because of the player's character having access to ancient magic. Having this access is undoubtedly a lot for a child still in school to take in, especially at such a formative age. This leaves the door wide open for Hogwarts Legacy to include multiple factions vying for influence over the player's character to access the ancient power. This will be especially true if players can be sorted into any of the Hogwarts houses in Hogwarts Legacy, with each house potentially having their own characters and motivations for the player to deal with.
What a Morality System in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy Could Look Like
The possibilities of a morality system in Hogwarts Legacy is pretty exciting, and there are quite a few ways that it could impact the game's design as well, especially if it drew inspiration from The Force Unleashed. The impact that would make the most sense is allowing the player to access different spells or magical abilities. Having a variety of different attacks or abilities tied to the player's alignment would greatly open up the game's leveling systems, and it could allow for two playthroughs to give players a range of different experiences. With Hogwarts Legacy featuring magic, there are even more possible options than the developers had access to in The Force Unleashed. Of course, this system could also tie in the player's house, with characters in houses like Slytherin in Hogwarts Legacy having access to a different skill tree than characters in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw.
Hogwarts Legacy could also take notes from how alignment impacts the story in The Force Unleashed. The Force Unleashed not taking a canon approach to its story may have been disappointing for some fans who wanted to see the Star Wars universe expanded, but it did allow the game to have some really incredible moments for players to experience. Hogwarts Legacy's position in the series could allow it to take a similar approach to great effect. Of course, it would be fantastic if the game's morality system impacted the story with players being able to interact with different characters to meaningfully change Hogwarts over the course of the story. However, the game could also let players have some interesting interactions with other characters in the series through their alignment.
Allowing players to run into or even influence young versions of characters like Grindelwald or Dumbledore would be great story moments that would be a treat for fans and make one's morality really matter. There are a lot of exciting directions a morality system could go, and it will be fun to see how Hogwarts Legacy turns out. Thankfully, fans who can't wait to get their hands on it have plenty of other games to play while they wait for Hogwarts Legacy.
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy is currently in development.