Hogwarts Legacy, rather ironically, didn’t leave as lasting a legacy as one may have expected. That’s not to say it didn’t do well financially or critically, as it exceeded in both respects. Rather, as much as diehard fans thoroughly enjoyed it, Hogwarts Legacy is rarely discussed anymore, at least concerning its strengths and place in the annals of RPG legends. That’s a shame, but it is largely down to its minor and occasionally major flaws that held it back from being the truly exceptional RPG that we all know it can be, were it to get a handful of tweaks.
It felt like, for a while, that it may indeed get those tweaks via thenow-cancelledHogwarts LegacyDLC. Now, it rests on the heavy shoulders of its sequel, likely titledHogwarts Legacy 2, which Warner Bros. confirmed was happening a short while back. However, for that sequel to succeed, for it to right the wrongs of its predecessor and cement itself a legacy that can rival the likes ofSkyrimandBOTW,Hogwarts Legacy 2must avoid the same issue a controversial Nintendo game suffered from, and instead carve its own bright and bold path.
Hogwarts Legacy 2 Can’t Be Like TOTK
It Can’t Just Feel Like More Of The Same
My greatest critique ofTears of the Kingdomis that it could neverrecapture the magic ofBOTW. While it certainly tried,TOTK’smore mechanics-driven approach to exploration, rather than delving deeper into the game’s use of tone and atmosphere, made it feel like a far less interesting game, one driven by creativity, but not inquisition.Tears of the Kingdomgets a lot right, but it’s an iterative sequel that expands upon the wrong aspects while forgetting about what madeBOTW, much like howAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsfocuses too much on gameplay and not communication.
Hogwarts Legacy 2absolutely needs to avoid falling into both pitfalls.It cannot be a mechanical evolution, one that simply shoehorns more spells or combat mechanicsto make exploration feel more rewarding. It also cannot be iterative, building upon the basic ideas of its predecessor and doing little to differentiate itself. While one could argue that that is the role of a sequel,Hogwarts Legacy’smany flawsare a result of its inherently misguided game design. Iterating upon that can only lead to a more polished version of its largely disappointing experience.
This is all coming from someone who actually rather likesHogwarts Legacyand wants its sequel to succeed. However, the lack of role-playing opportunities in a game that should be packed full of them, coupled with a bad story, lackluster characters, the poor implementation of companions, and a class system that becomes redundant after the first few hours allmakeHogwarts Legacyfeel meandering and not quite in tune with its source material. The sequel has an opportunity tofixHogwarts Legacy’sgreatest weaknessesand give fans the game they’ve always wanted.
Hogwarts Legacy 2 Should Feel Like A Completely Different Game
It Should Be Everything Hogwarts Legacy Couldn’t Be
By all accounts,Hogwarts Legacy 2will be adrastically different sequelthanks to a shift in approach. However, knowing Warner Bros. and its dogmatic devotion to the failing and floundering live service model, I’m not sure that it will be the best approach. Nevertheless,I do agree that, unlikeTears of the Kingdom,Hogwarts Legacy 2needs to go in a completely different direction. Of course, I’m not convinced the multiplayer route is the way to go, although if pulled off correctly, it could end up being quite a role-playing experience.
Instead,I believeHogwarts Legacy’ssequel needs to take thePersonaapproach, putting a greater emphasis on the life sim and school sim aspects of the experience, rather than on combat and story. That’s not to say thatHogwarts Legacy 2shouldn’t have impressive combat or a good narrative, as both are absolutelyHogwarts Legacyfeatures that need improving. Rather, by implementing more life-sim and school-focused gameplay elements, players can create their own stories and ultimately live the fantasy of attending Hogwarts and being a part of its everyday life.
As much as it is antithetical to the original game’s design, it would deliver a moreHarry Potter-centric experience that no other game on the market is offering, and that is something unique and worth chasing.
More meaningful common rooms, the ability to make and hang out with friends, class-based mini-games like inBully, and more ways of interacting with Hogwarts - such as doing homework, prefects patrolling at night, and even more secrets to uncover - would go a long way in delivering this more radical and atypicalHogwarts LegacyRPG experience. As much as it is antithetical to the original game’s design,it would deliver a moreHarry Potter-centric experience that no other game on the market is offering, and that is something unique and worth chasing.
Hogwarts Legacy 2 Needs To Be Innovative, Not Iterative
It Should Change Its Entire Approach
Tears of the Kingdom’sgreatest flaw was that it tried too hard to chaseBOTW’ssuccess.Hogwarts Legacy 2shouldn’t just iterate on its predecessor; it needs to evolve and become something very different. Not only does that make the original feel special and not discredit it by simply being a better and more polished version, but it also gives fans something new and exciting to experience. While iterative sequels can and have worked,when the foundations of the first game aren’t worth iterating on, it is absolutely worth breaking the mold.
Hogwarts Legacy 2could win GOTYby drastically altering its core design principles while retaining a lot of the visuals and world from the first game.A more nuanced school-sim with a greater focus on immersing players within the wizarding world is a far more interesting premise, at least in my opinion, than yet another fetch-quest-heavy open-world RPG.Hogwarts Legacy, beyond its setting, did little to differentiate itself from the usual Ubisoft fare, which is why its sequel needs to be so much more.
I’m certain that ifHogwarts Legacy 2went down theTOTKroute and iterated on its combat and quest design, we’d get a competent and likely enjoyable open-world experience that, like the first game, we’d forget about relatively quickly. However, if it offers a more role-playing-focused experience, then it becomes an endlessly replayable experience with the potential for a multiplayer mode.Hogwarts Legacy 2could become the ultimate school-sim video game, thus creating a new and more impressive legacy, unlikeTOTK, which merely rode the coattails of its more memorable predecessor.
