Hogwarts Legacy sequel needs to be less witchy, more Witcher

Anyone who donned their robes and sat underneath the sorting hat back in February 2023 was left spellbound by Hogwarts Legacy. The biggest head-loss since Nick de Mimsy-Porpington.

The castle, the grounds, Hogsmeade, and the Forbidden Forest, the exploration was one of the most surreal experiences we’ve had since opening that first page and reading about how ordinary toff Vernon Dudley has become plagued by the boy who lived.

Every Harry Potter fan has always dreamt of spending their school days with a quill in hand and exploring every nook and cranny of the wizarding hub of all fantasy novels, and Hogwarts Legacy delivered in spades. Buckets even. It was probably the best 20 hours of a game ever.

20 hours.

After the beauty of the castle and its enchanting quirks, riding thestrals and breeding unicorns, the gameplay quickly hits a wall, and following the end of the main quest line, there really wasn’t much else to do - don’t get started on the Merlin Trials…

That’s why a Hogwarts Legacy sequel needs to be very, very different, and needs to be less witchy, and a whole lot more Witcher.

Magic can only carry a Hogwarts Legacy sequel so far

If Hogwarts Legacy 2 rumours are to be believed, it’s expected that we’ll be falling harder than Ron’s love potion for new areas. Diagon Alley (and Gringotts), Privet Drive, and the Chamber of Secrets are all set to continue the exploration and leave franchise fans marvelling.

Avalanche Software

But having already fallen head-over-fizzing-whizzbees for the castle in the original title, the extra areas will have a hard time keeping the awe enchantment alive for very long.

Instead, Hogwarts Legacy 2 needs to put its energy into the main storyline and side quests, and a whole lot more action.

This is not to say that the main Hogwarts Legacy quest isn't good - there are some issues with the wizards versus goblins rivalry that we shouldn't really unpack now, but for the most part it was adequate and ended with a satisfying bang.

Even the four House-oriented side quests were a lot of fun, understanding the lore behind each Hogwarts faction and the motifs that they all cherish.

Yet, there's a lot left to be desired outside of these five adventures, and that's where Hogwarts Legacy 2 will need to learn from the great RPGs of the world.

A perfect example is just a few letters away

For the wizards and witches around the world who will be desperate to continue their journey through the school years - increasingly so amid the rebooted TV series coming this year - the magic of Hogwarts will be spread far and wide, to the point where the castle’s charm will be diluted.

It's a good job there’s already a winning platform that can be learned from: The Witcher.

As a similar fantasy world deep with lore and adapted from novels, The Witcher games share a lot of similarities with Hogwarts Legacy, especially as semi-canon titles that derive from the source material but aren't 'direct' sequels or prequels.

Instead, the licensed work goes out on a whim to create new characters and storylines within the same world, but does so much more than rely on the fact that it's Geralt and Ciri slaying monsters in Toussaint.

The way The Witcher, especially The Wild Hunt (the third game in the trilogy), handles its quests and DLCs is the reason that it is considered one of the best games of all time.

Using returning Characters like Kira Metz, Triss, and so many more, each familiar face comes with its own questline to the point where you can have ten outstanding missions, an abundance of monster contracts, and even Gwent collectables on the go at one time.

In Hogwarts Legacy, you're hard-pressed for a memorable side-quest outside of the main storyline and the four house-oriented ones - it's a shame a world this vast can't have more lore-abiding names and characters that open the map up beyond your wildest dreams.

Avalanche Software

There are also morals and combat to add layers to The Witcher. Aside from picking your house, there's seldom a chance to influence the script in Hogwarts Legacy, and the sequel would open the chance to stand on a moral high ground against Slytherin, or prove a Ravenclaw wrong that knowledge isn't the only way to success when packing a mandrake in your pocket. Upset people. Save people. Have consequences. Otherwise, a sequel falls into the same scripted gameplay that offers little deviation.

And, you might not realise it, but the main protagonist racks up hundreds of kills - that's quite a scary figure for a school kid, let alone an Auror or even the darkest of wizards.

The Combat system gives you the Avada Kedavra spell towards the end, and hey, why not? We'd all be asking for it if not, but using it should have dire consequences.

A sequel would work best if these Wizards weren't killing machines, but used their magic to stun without fatalities, and allow a team of Aurors to come and clean up the mess at the end.

The Witcher allows for slaying, but what it also does best is allow life to breathe. Sometimes Geralt spares a life, stays clear of politics at the detriment of his friends, and Hogwarts Legacy 2 could use that emotional battle to its benefit.

A world of endless possibilities

There's also a massive wealth of untapped magic to be unlocked in the wider wizarding world that could expand on what we've seen so far.

There's the Tri-Wizard Cup, bringing a plethora of new characters (each with their own issues to sort out around the castle) from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons.

There's Fantastic Beasts, your very own Newt Scamander prequel adventure that could take the Vivarium and give you a much greater sense of purpose to save rare species from extinction.

Avalanche Software

There's sport, building on what Quidditch Champions started and embedding it into the wider Potter-verse.

And that's the thoughts of a Potter-maniac writer, there are clearly more avenues than ever before for the magical world to enchant us with.

If Hogwarts Legacy wants to become a franchise that can really stand up there with the best RPGs, or even just above its bitter film franchise rivals Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings, it really does need to be more than just the simple world exploration game that the original was.