Hogwarts Legacy 2 Should Be Smaller, Not Bigger - And The First Game Proves It (2024)

Hogwarts Legacy finally gave Harry Potter fans the gorgeous open-world RPG they'd been wishing for since they first got a taste of exploring Hogwarts in the original Philosopher's Stone video game. Exploring the enormous school interior and doing a spot of shopping in Hogsmeade simply never gets old. The open world, or at least part of it, is what makes Hogwarts Legacy such a compelling RPG in the first place.

Of course, with the sequel now in production and on its way, fans are speculating on what sort of changes it could bring to the formula and world established in the first game. While many may want to see its open world expanded, there's a good reason why the opposite is true. Avalanche software needs to scale back on its ambitions showcased in the first game in order to not only deliver a more compelling experience but also ensure that Hogwarts Legacy 2 isn't rushed and ends up feeling like a more hollow game overall.

Hogwarts Legacy 2 Should Ditch The Open World

It Should Be A More Linear Experience

A lot of the time, Hogwarts Legacy's open world can feel more like busy work than a genuinely enjoyable place to explore. There are plenty of things to do or mysteries to uncover in Hogwarts Legacy's world, but it never quite feels as engaging as exploring the castle or Hogsmeade. That's largely because, outside a few aspects, it never feels particularly magical or unique, merely being a beautiful rendition of the Scottish Highlands. It is gorgeous to look at but often arduous to actually explore.

It also adopts a lot of gameplay philosophies that were popular in the 2010s but have since gone out of fashion thanks to the likes of Breath of the Wild and Elden Ring revolutionizing open-world design. The incessant map markers, basic quests, and mindless activities such as the awful Merlin Trials detract from what is an otherwise magical RPG. Of course, one could easily ignore a lot of these aspects, but much of Hogwarts Legacy's main story takes place in the open world, forcing the player to visit these areas anyway.

As perhaps bizarre as it may sound, Hogwarts Legacy 2 needs to ditch this open-world model almost entirely, while introducing a slew of much-needed features and mechanics. The vastness of the open world can make the overall experience feel bloated while not actually adding much value. It takes players away from the more remarkable areas while offering little in return. A handful of hamlets outside of Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, and the Forbidden Forest would have been fine, but there are far too many of them scattered around the countless goblin camps.

Hogwarts Legacy 2 Needs To Add More Unique Locations

Players Should Get To Explore Famous Locations From The Wizarding World

Ditching the open-world design would actually significantly benefit Hogwarts Legacy 2 beyond simply removing the bloat and tightening the overall experience. It could allow for more instanced areas to be added, thus helping to flesh out the wizarding world and all of its more interesting locations. There are plenty of great locations that could help expand upon Hogwarts Legacy 2's setting, including Azkaban, Diagon Alley, and even the Ministry of Magic.

Hogwarts Legacy 2 shrinking its open world to simply the school, Hogsmeade, and the nearby surrounding areas and then adding a handful of handcrafted story locations would not only make it a tighter, more narratively-focused experience but would also allow the talented developers at Avalanche Software to show off their Harry Potter knowledge and expand upon the enticing lore. There is a lot that Hogwarts Legacy 2 should borrow from other games, but chief among them is a more nuanced open world genuinely filled with captivating things to do, such as in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

This would be far more accomplishable if the scale of Hogwarts Legacy 2 was stripped back rather than expanded upon like a lot of sequels traditionally do. It seems counterintuitive, but it would make Hogwarts Legacy a far better role-playing experience, as the developer could spend more time fleshing out the more intricate and important locations rather than attempting to create unique content across a much larger area.

Hogwarts Legacy 2 Should Be A Celebration Of The Wizarding World

It Shouldn't Just Be Lots Of Empty Countryside

While Hogwarts Legacy is a great game, it can at times lack the immersion that a wizarding RPG promises. In hindsight, it feels like Hogwarts Legacy should never have been a truly open world, at least not in the traditional sense. While it is incredible that players can wander the hallowed halls of Hogwarts before seamlessly leaving and heading into the jovial streets of Hogsmeade, the rest of the lavish hollow countryside doesn't quite fit into the fantasy that fans have fallen in love with.

Frankly, the expanded area south of the castle often feels completely unnecessary and exists purely to facilitate the dull side activities that, were they removed, would not be missed. Hogwarts Legacy 2 doesn't need to worry itself with needless side content, as what makes a Harry Potter game so special is the feeling of being a student. The first Hogwarts Legacy game sacrificed that in favor of more open-world activities, when, in reality, including famous locations from the books and films and putting a greater emphasis on the life of a student would have been a much more faithful experience.

What Hogwarts Legacy 2 needs to be more than anything is a celebration of the wonderful world that inspired so many people to fall deeply in love with the Harry Potter series in the first place. What it absolutely doesn't need to be is yet another open world packed with meaningless content. Including fun minigames from the franchise - such as Wizards Chess or Gobstones - or allowing players to visit iconic locations without it being a tiny mission tied to a specific house is absolutely a step in the right direction.

Hogwarts Legacy 2 can accomplish all of this and more by scaling back the parts that don't matter, and frankly, the admittedly beautiful Scottish Highlands fall into that category. The only part of the game that genuinely benefits from the open world is the creature collection aspect, which, while fun, never felt as truly fleshed out as it could have been. Of course, this could still be included, even on a smaller map. Ultimately, Hogwarts Legacy 2 will likely follow in its predecessor's footsteps, but it will hopefully do so having learned plenty of open-world design lessons in the process.

Source: PlayStation/YouTube

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Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy

Action

RPG

Systems

OpenCritic Reviews

Top Critic Rating:84/100 Critics Recommend:89%

Franchise

Harry Potter

Platform(s)

PC , Switch , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series S , Xbox Series X

Released

February 10, 2023

Developer(s)

Avalanche Software

Publisher(s)

Warner Bros. Interactive

Engine

Unreal Engine 4

ESRB

T For Teen Due To Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Use of Alcohol

How Long To Beat

26 Hours

X|S Optimized

yes

Metascore

84

PS Plus Availability

N/A

Steam Deck Compatibility

Yes, Hogwarts Legacy is Verified on Steam Deck

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

Cross Save

you can freely use your saved data between each console as long as you are connected to the internet and signed into the same account where the saved data was created

Cross-Platform Play

Hogwarts Legacy doesn't have crossplay or crossplatform support