The wizarding world ofHarry Potteroften asks what people would do when given incredible power.In theHarry Potterworld, every wizard is expected to attend a wizarding school and learn to master their innate magical abilities. Whether they use those powers for good or wield magic for their own gain is another question. Fans looking forward toHarry Potter: Hogwarts Legacywant to know if they’ll get to answer this question for themselves. It only seems right that a game centered on students at Hogwarts would also let players decide if their custom characters will choose to rein in their own magic or dabble in dark techniques.
AHogwarts Legacytrailer heavily suggests that the game involves a morality system. If that’s the case, it follows that players' moral choices will lead to them either becoming a good wizard or a dark wizard. A Reddit poll recently found that quite a few fans are interested in playing as dark wizards, so one wonders if Avalanche Software is aware of this side of the fandom and intends to incorporate dark wizardry intoHogwarts Legacy.While it seems likely that dark techniques will appear inHogwarts Legacy,odds are that players won’t have the ability to become the megalomaniacal, absurdly powerful type of dark wizard that often serves as aHarry Potterantagonist.
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Balancing Good and Evil in Hogwarts Legacy
Elements of the Wizarding World’s dark side will crop up inHogwarts Legacy.Aside from the obvious inclusion of dark wizards as antagonists, Hogwarts itself doesn’t have a spotless past. Salazar Slytherin’s influence on Hogwarts often results in sinister parts of the castle where students might discover terrible secrets or items of power that drive them toward darkness. Places likethe Hogwarts library’s Restricted Sectionhouse information about the Dark Arts that could tantalize students who are drawn to the notion of power.
However, none of these things seem likely to result intheHogwarts Legacyprotagonist becoming a true villain. After all, that protagonist is clearly still meant to be the hero of the story.Hogwarts Legacytrailers make it clear that players will contend with dark wizards, whether the protagonist is good or not. If there’s a witch or wizard serving asHogwarts Legacy’s main villain, it would be impractical for Avalanche Software to let players create a character that’s even more malicious and villainous than whatever force they’ll be pitted against.
Additionally,Hogwarts Legacyis about young students above all. AlthoughTom Riddle was a malevolent forceeven in his adolescence, he is an outlier in the world ofHarry Potter.Hogwarts Legacytakes place at a time where player characters are still meant to be figuring out their place in the world. It’s unlikely that they’d have any Machiavellian scheme for greatness via the Dark Arts in the same way that Tom Riddle did. Instead,Hogwarts Legacyseems intent on guiding player characters through their wizarding education and letting players begin to chart their character’s future, rather than putting a concrete evil destiny in place.
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Hogwarts Legacy Can Still Offer Darkness
Of course, there’s still room forHogwarts Legacyto offer players a taste of the Dark Arts and tempt them with power and prestige. TheHarry Potterfranchise already offers a perfect template for such a character arc. Draco Malfoy famously inherited a lot of knowledge aboutLord Voldemort and the Dark Artsfrom his father, the powerful dark wizard Lucius Malfoy. The wealth and privilege of the Malfoy family, alongside connections to the Dark Arts, enabled Draco to become an important minor antagonist for much of theHarry Potterseries.
InHogwarts Legacy,a dark witch or wizard might lead a school life much like Draco’s. Rather than building an empire on magical power, players might be able to build a network at Hogwarts based on social power. A dark character inHogwarts Legacycould bully other students into submission or compliance, intimidating them with the Dark Arts and gaining certain tools or resources thanks to this kind of networking and extortion. Much like howDraco harassed his fellow studentswith the help of several cronies, a Dark player character could rule at least a portion of Hogwarts inHogwarts Legacy,even if they can’t try to take over the Wizarding World.
That version of a dark wizard opens plenty of doorways. For instance, one imagines that building relationships with Hogwarts' teachers will be an important part ofHogwarts Legacy.With a dark character, players might be in contention with teachers that want to shut down a student and punish them for their behavior. Similarly,students from other Housesmight start groups that can rival the players, creatingBully-esque factions inHogwarts Legacythat enable all kinds of social dynamics throughout Hogwarts. Dark wizards and witches might have to fight to protect their power - and good characters might have to thwart students drawn toward the Dark Arts.
The Dark Arts Define the Wizarding World
It’s possible that Avalanche Studios ultimately chooses to keep the Dark Artsout of the hands ofHogwarts Legacyplayers, but that’d be a shame. There’s some fantastic storytelling options available toHogwarts Legacyplayers enabled by the presence of dark magic.Hogwarts Legacyhas a lot to do with uncovering secrets and lost knowledge, so it only seems right that players uncover parts of the Dark Arts in the process. Tons of character development opportunities lie in the player deciding what to do with knowledge of the Dark Arts.
Fans' questions about the Dark Arts indicate how much remains to be revealed aboutHogwarts Legacy.In spite of a solid trailer explaining the themes of the game, Avalanche hasn’t revealed much. Even so, fans of theHarry PotterIP know it’s in good hands, based on the developers' careful attention to the timeline whendesigning the grounds of Hogwarts. If Avalanche is so aware of the geographical components ofHarry Potter,then ideally it’s aware of the magical components as well. AlthoughHogwarts Legacyplayers may not get to become dark lords of the Wizarding World, there’s plenty of room for dark characters inHogwarts Legacy.
Hogwarts Legacyis in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
