Avalanche Studios finally shed some light on its highly anticipated Harry Potter title, Hogwarts Legacy. Fans of the franchise will finally be able to live out their dreams of attending Hogwarts and learning how to be a wizard, telling their own stories in this popular fantasy world - despite its controversial creator. However, Harry Potter is not the only franchise that could benefit from allowing players to tell their own stories. The Witcher would also be a perfect fit for this concept.
Most fantasy fans know about The Witcher and its iconic characters. It began as a popular fantasy book series by Andrzej Sapkowski and was made into a successful video game franchise by CD Projekt Red, which just confirmed that a fourth title is on the way. More recently, Netflix adapted the series into a TV show starring Henry Cavill, and it has crafted an animated film called The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf as well as a spin-off series called The Witcher: Blood Origin. The world of The Witcher has been expanded greatly, and a game similar to Hogwarts Legacy could expand it even more.
The Story of The Witcher
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The story of The Witcher takes place in a fantasy world known as The Continent. This continent is divided into four different regions filled with all sorts of races and kingdoms. Sapkowski has not created an official map of The Continent, but many fans have developed their own versions that have been described as accurate by the author. Throughout the world are a group of beast hunters known as Witchers who have developed supernatural abilities to battle monsters.
The Witcher follows the adventures of Geralt of Rivia and his destiny, Ciri. Along with them comes iconic characters like Yennefer, Triss, and Dandelion; also known as Jaskier. These characters journey throughout The Continent and battle anything that threatens life. It is a story told over 15 short stories and six novels, and as mentioned it has been adapted into other mediums like TV and video games.
A Hogwarts Legacy-style Witcher Game Could Be Fun
Hogwarts Legacy will allow fans of Harry Potter to tell their own stories as the create their own character to attend Hogwarts and battle dark wizards. Previous Harry Potter games have followed Harry and his journey to defeat Voldemort, much like how the games based on The Witcher have all dealt with Geralt of Rivia's story and the events surrounding Ciri. Fans of The Witcher have not yet been able to tell their own story on The Continent, and a game in the same style as Hogwarts Legacy could be just what fans of the franchise want to see.
A Hogwarts Legacy-style game set on The Continent could allow players to create their own personal Witcher, tasking them with defending people from the monsters that seek to do harm. The game could begin in Kaer Morhen, the home of the Witchers, and have the player train before selecting a Witcher school to join. This could be used as a tutorial of sorts, and then they could venture out across a fully explorable version of The Continent to accept bounties and kill monsters. The main story arc could be set during a time when Geralt was just a boy, or before he was even born, like how The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf is set before Geralt was a full-fledged Witcher.
Allowing fans of popular franchises like Harry Potter and The Witcher a way to tell their own stories in these established universes could easily lead to dream games. Anticipation is high for Hogwarts Legacy, and that type of game should not be relegated to just Harry Potter. Developers should take note and craft a similar title in other franchises, with that same level of customizability in The Witcher universe being a perfect fit.