Hogwarts Legacy 2 Has an Open-World Sequel Problem

Hogwarts Legacy 2 is coming, to no one’s surprise. Indeed, the immense success of the first Hogwarts Legacy meant that a follow-up was all but guaranteed, especially in the wake of other high-profile failures from Warner Bros.’ gaming division, like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and Gotham Knights.

Warner Bros. needs Hogwarts Legacy 2 to be a smashing success akin to its predecessor, but that’s easier said than done. Of course, there are the myriad difficulties associated with making any video game, let alone one on the AAA scale, but there are a few peculiarities that make Hogwarts Legacy 2 especially tricky on a fundamental level. For one thing, expectations are already pretty high for Hogwarts Legacy 2, and unlike the first game, it won’t have the benefit of novelty on its side. In a sense, gaming audiences were starving for Harry Potter content by the time Hogwarts Legacy came out. Nested within this need for meaningful growth and improvement is a more practical concern, one that Hogwarts Legacy 2 will have to wrestle with in its capacity as an open-world game.

Hogwarts Legacy 2 Has the Complicated Task of Making Another, Better Open-World

I’ve never been shy about my thoughts regarding Hogwarts Legacy‘s quality: I think it’s a fairly average game that’s held back by a lack of innovation and creativity, perhaps as a result of the risk aversion that can accompany such a massive IP. Hogwarts itself, the in-universe school for young witches and wizards, is actually quite inspired in Hogwarts Legacy, designed with a visual and structural flair that’s hard not to appreciate. However, the game’s broader open-world, which makes up a disappointing amount of its content, is extremely dull in many respects, with waypoint-driven exploration, repetitive encounters, and a marked lack of meaningful points of interest.

In a post-Elden Ring, post-Breath of the Wild world, it’s hard not to view Hogwarts Legacy‘s map as outdated and unremarkable. But unlike a series like Zelda or the free-form, spiritual succession design philosophy of FromSoftware’s games, Hogwarts Legacy is stuck in one location. Zelda, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Assassin’s Creed, and even The Witcher can all bounce back from a disappointing or uninspired setting, pivoting to a new timeline, historical setting, or region. Hogwarts Legacy is not an IP that gets to enjoy that luxury.

It’s right there in the name, ultimately: Hogwarts Legacy is about Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, so it’s kind of locked to that setting. Sure, Avalanche Software could theoretically base Hogwarts Legacy 2 around the Ministry of Magic, putting players in the shoes of an adult in the Harry Potter mythos. But this isn’t exactly what audiences come to Harry Potter media for, and failed projects like the Fantastic Beasts series, which follows young adults instead of Hogwarts students, probably don’t inspire much confidence in a non-Hogwarts premise, from the perspective of Warner Bros.

There’s also the possibility that Avalanche will want to leverage the fantastic art and environmental design of the first Hogwarts Legacy rather than replace it with an entirely new locale. The various successes of the first Hogwarts Legacy could be another weight dragging the sequel down into restrictive territory.

How Hogwarts Legacy 2 Can Thread the Needle with Its Open-World

One of my biggest problems with Hogwarts Legacy is how by-the-numbers it is, so I don’t want to speculate too much about the nitty-gritty details of its sequel—I can only hope Hogwarts Legacy 2 is surprising where its predecessor was predictable. That said, I can think of a few broad-stroke ways that Hogwarts Legacy 2 could iterate upon its open-world and setting while staying true to its titular premise.

The most obvious solution would be to set Hogwarts Legacy 2 at a different wizarding school, such as Ilvermorny in the United States or Beauxbatons in France. This would allow Avalanche Software to once again flex its creative muscles by designing a new school and magical region, freed from the restrictions imposed by previous renditions; other magic schools have been notably under-developed in Harry Potter media. In this case, though, it might be best to still have Hogwarts as a home base of sorts. Audiences probably just won’t feel as passionate about being a Durmstrang or Beauxbatons student, for better or worse. All of the above applies to other Wizarding World settings as well, like the Ministry of Magic and Diagon Alley.

Alternatively, or additionally, Hogwarts Legacy 2 could find an interesting way to transform Hogwarts and the surrounding Scottish countryside, providing a narrative justification for a more interesting, developed map. Maybe there could be a great catastrophe that dramatically alters the landscape, or some interdimensional shenanigans that toy with the player’s navigation and perception. Of course, there’s still the established Harry Potter lore to contend with, but setting Hogwarts Legacy 2 far enough in the past—or the future—could be a valid workaround.

In many ways, Hogwarts Legacy 2 will be a proving ground for both Avalanche and the Hogwarts Legacy IP as a whole. I’ll admit that, as someone who grew up engulfed in Harry Potter media, I was immediately captivated by Hogwarts Legacy‘s stunning rendition of its source material. It was enough to make me blind to the game’s many fundamental flaws for my first several hours. Hogwarts Legacy 2 probably won’t be able to pull that same trick. The novelty of being the first real Harry Potter RPG, a million-dollar concept if there ever was one, has worn off, so Avalanche has to pull out some serious game design chops. The setting and world are crucial parts of that.

Released

February 10, 2023

ESRB

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