It's no great secret that Hogwarts Legacy was a massive success for Avalanche Software and Warner Bros., eclipsing every other major release in 2023. The bestseller will almost surely receive a sequel of some kind—the IP is simply too profitable for Warner Bros. To just abandon—but what exactly this might look like is up for interpretation.
While audiences were certainly confident in Hogwarts Legacy ahead of its release, the extent of its success was perhaps a bit less predictable. This is indicated by the fact that the game doesn't really lay the groundwork for a direct follow-up, as just about every major loose end is tied up by the time credits roll. This is a blessing and a curse, as while the future of the Hogwarts Legacy IP is more uncertain than it would have been otherwise, Avalanche Software now has a world of opportunity open to it; future Hogwarts Legacy games may not have to be shackled to the setting, tone, or narrative of the first entry. As such, Avalanche can get more experimental with the presumed Hogwarts Legacy 2, and one key takeaway from Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC could benefit this end, at least on the gameplay front.
Hogwarts Legacy 2 Has an Obvious Path It Can Take to Deepen Its Four Houses
Hogwarts Legacy 2 has loads of potential, but how it handles smaller world-building elements like Hogwarts house could be particularly pivotal.
Hogwarts Legacy 2 Should Crank Up the Difficulty, Just Like Shadow of the Erdtree Did
Higher Difficulty Could Benefit Hogwarts Legacy 2
Elden Ring was already a hard game, but Shadow of the Erdtree added an extra-thick layer of challenge. Not every player loved this DLC-enabled increase in difficulty, but now that the dust has settled on the expansion, it's not hard to see what FromSoftware was going for: Shadow of the Erdtree was designed to be an endgame challenge, something that veterans of the base game could use to test their mettle and shake them out of their comfort zone. It features more aggressive enemies, with abilities that are often unfamiliar, even to experienced players.
The fact that SoTE launched more than two years after Elden Ring's base game reinforces the notion of it being a "final challenge" of sorts: players had a long time to learn the game's combat ahead of its launch.
Hogwarts Legacy 2 could do something similar. Even on higher difficulties, the first Hogwarts Legacy is a little bit too easy, with a lot of its difficulty hinging on higher enemy damage and defense stats rather than mechanical complexity. In other words, once a player masters the Arkham-inspired combat fundamentals, Hogwarts Legacy's battles can feel somewhat trite, repetitive, and unengaging, especially in the late-game.
How Higher Difficulty Could Work in Hogwarts Legacy 2
Much like how Shadow of the Erdtree attacks the player from different angles without fundamentally changing the combat sandbox, so too should Hogwarts Legacy 2 strive to deepen what already exists, rather than reinvent itself. Greater enemy variety, faster-paced battles, and enemy layouts that feel more purposeful and multifaceted rather than random, could all help the game achieve this end. In turn, the sequel could expand the player's toolset with different attack types and build-crafting options, once again mirroring SoTE's clever evolution of Elden Ring's core design aspects.
Of course, Hogwarts Legacy 2 will almost certainly be targeting a casual audience, just like its predecessor, so accessibility should come first and foremost; precious few players are coming to Hogwarts Legacy for FromSoftware-level combat. Nevertheless, learning from the relationship between Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree could help Avalanche Software grow the Hogwarts Legacy IP into a more mechanically robust whole, appealing to more than just casual players. By focusing more on complexity and depth in combat, as opposed to a simple tweaking of enemy stats, "hard mode" in Hogwarts Legacy 2 could be far more rewarding.
Hogwarts Legacy
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 84 /100 Critics Rec: 88%
- Released
- February 10, 2023
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Use of Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- Avalanche Software
- Publisher(s)
- Warner Bros. Games
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Cross-Platform Play
- Hogwarts Legacy doesn't have crossplay or crossplatform support
- 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
WHERE TO PLAY
Hogwarts Legacy is an immersive, open-world action RPG set in the world first introduced in the Harry Potter books. For the first time, experience Hogwarts in the 1800s. Your character is a student who holds the key to an ancient secret that threatens to tear the wizarding world apart. Now you can take control of the action and be at the center of your own adventure in the wizarding world. Your legacy is what you make of it.
Explore an Open World
The wizarding world awaits you. Freely roam Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest, and the surrounding Overland area.
Be the Witch or Wizard You Want to be
Learn spells, brew potions, grow plants, and tend to magical beasts along your journey. Get sorted into your house, forge relationships, and master skills to become the witch or wizard you want to be Experience a New Wizarding World Adventure
Experience the wizarding world in an unexplored era to uncover a hidden truth from its past. Battle against trolls, Dark Wizards, goblins, and more as you face a dangerous villain threatening the fate of the wizarding world.
- Franchise
- Harry Potter
- Number of Players
- Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Verified
- PC Release Date
- February 10, 2023
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- February 10, 2023
- PS5 Release Date
- February 10, 2023
- Nintendo Switch Release Date
- November 14, 2023
- Nintendo Switch 2 Release Date
- June 5, 2025
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- How Long To Beat
- 26 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- yes
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
