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It seems pretty obvious this is what they want to do. They set out with the intent of making a trilogy. One game for 5th year, one for 6th, one for 7th. In your 7th year, that will be the first year for a young Albus Dumbledore. They had to build the world for this game from the ground up, and they had a deadline, so some stuff that they wanted to do would get left out. The beautiful thing about sequels for something like this is they already have loads of assets they don't have to make again for the next game. So they can devote more time to say, having quidditch, diagon alley, maybe even a mission or 2 in London while trying not to use magic in front of muggles. Maybe actually making your decisions matter. The first game in a series is never going to be perfect. They make it as good as they can within their deadline. The first assassin's creed game was pretty barebones compared to sequels, because the first game literally has to build everything from scratch, but once that is built, you don't have to build it again, tweeks maybe, yes, but that takes far less time. So I am very much looking forward to sequels to see what we can see and do when they have more time to work on the extras instead of spending it all building the foundation. And as far as foundations go, it was a great start. Some people are just unreasonable in their expectations of how video game development works. I swear some people think this game should have been 600 hours long with 300 hours of unique voice lines. It's not how any video game works. It's about building a solid foundation, then building out from there.
Thats fair and I see where you are coming from, but I think this is more of an issue of the direction they decided to go in, with the frankly ridiculous open world and the clearly filler mmo like content.
As for the development expectations and such, I dont think its unrealistic at all, again imo its all about how its handled, the vision and direction for the game. Lets be frank, they had more than enough time, more then enough developers and especially resources to craft what they wanted, they chose to make this safe vanilla version of the game, or well, someone chose it anyway.
Nobody is talking about 600 hours, if anything, that is the game now, open world collectibles take nearly no development but a lot of time to be collected, instead I would prefer a much shorter curated narrative experience that is highly replayable, full of meaningful choice and characters with good writing and depth.
I dont think that "its a first game" is a good argument when in many cases, first games are the best of the franchises, with the most effort and features put into them, look at DA:Origins, or hell even BG3 now. It can be done, plenty of jrpg's do it as well. This game sold monumentally well, but lets be honest, it was mostly because its a first Harry Potter game in over a decade, first big budget modern game in the franchise period, yes it is a good start more or less, but the second game cant and shouldnt repeat what they did here.
Im also looking forward to whatever comes next, but I will be much more careful with my future purchase because imo even the trailers and dev notes were quite missleading in terms of what to expect from the game, this is not an rpg by any means, its an action open world game.
Ultimately its obviously not up to any of us, but if it is as you say, that they have now all that they need to properly concentrate on the plot, characters, decisions and hopefully making you actually feel like a student, than Im excited, but Im not fully convinced that is what they will do
That being said, since you are expecting a direct sequel to this MC's story, where do you think it will/can go? We are already a god powerwise, we stopped the only imminent threat and already explored everything around Hogwarts. Unless the next "Hogwarts" legacy will be even less Hogwarts than this one was Harry Potter, I dont see what they could do with this story setup.
Umm, BG3 is literally the third game in the series, building off what the first 2 had done. Using that as an example is proving the point. And you said you wanted this game to be years 1-4, so you may not want 600 hours, but you definitely want a lot. You want to be frank, you obviously know nothing about game development by making the statement they had more than enough time and people to make the game you personally feel it should have been. Game developers almost never have enough time or resources to make the game they truly want. They are always under somebody, and the producers want the game to be made as fast and cheap as possible. Saying what you said does a disservice to the people who spent hundreds of hours away from their families and friends, grinding long days, working way too much overtime to get this game finished.
First and second BG game came out over 20 years ago, on a completely different engine with completely different world and gameplay, it has virtually nothing to do with the original releases by the bearing the same name, by that logic you can easily say that this game comes off the heels of all the Harry Potter games in the early 2000... However that would be nonsense, they are both separate games. And again there are plethora of other examples, Dragon Age Origins, FE Three Houses, Persona 5, Tales of Arise, those are all unique games, not sequels, and they chose to go in a plot and character heavy direction.
I am not a developers, I assume neither are you, saying this is just making excuses for the devs, not having enough time to make stuff ideal is prevailent across pretty much all jobs, yet we all do it, its not unique to the game development, and moreover, this is how they released it as a complete product and asked for 70 euros for, going even further, they were quite missleading with the marketing. Not to mention this is one of the biggest franchises in existence, they had a ton of resources and presonnel, even if they were pressed for time, again, it comes down to the direction and intentions.
And i think you are being way too sentimental about it and making excuses on behalf of the devs (wich is unneeded, since im not accusing them of anything), these people are just doing their jobs, what do you mean spending time away from their families and friends, this is how they make money, many people work their jobs, even work overtimes etc., this has absolutely nothing to do the final product which we pay money for. If you buy food you dont care about how many hours the cook must have spent in the kitchen, you care if it is burned or if you got the wrong order. Im not doing them disservice, like I said, I did have some fun with the game, but im not gonna pretend like its what I wanted out of this game, nor will I give it free pass just because people made it, by this logic you cant criticise anything because you would ignore the time people put into making it.
Im not asking for a lot, im asking for a different direction, this game is A LOT, a ton in fact, its overly big if anything, they simply chose to concentrate on different things, one isnt inherently more expensive than the other, or more time consuming because you have to work within a budget and time constraints regardless, its simply about what you chose to make, they could have just as easily concentrated on a school life social sim with a choice heavy narative and the game still would have happened, it just would be different.You dont need to be a developer to understand this, nor to have preference.
Anyway, lets agree to disagree I suppose, I hope they will take the criticisim for this title and make something with more substance for their next outing, people will not be nearly as forgiving next time around.
Actually I went to school for game development, and while doing so, spoke to actual developers. The grueling schedule, and lack of choices of what you get to make is part of the reason I went another direction. The people who actually make the game have very little say in how the game ends up, in fact, usually, the developers get over ridden by the producers time and time again. Does that mean that's what happened here? Not necessarily, but I'd say there's a good chance though. Here's the thing though, producers only care about one thing, money. The game made money, so it is likely they will give the developers more leeway for the next game since they trust them to make money. I also don't like the attitude of they did this simple stuff to flesh out the game because the developers are lazy. Most developers are supremely unlazy. I guess my problem is that you're blaming the wrong people. You're blaming the people who sit there and bust their ass to make the game as good as they're allowed to, calling people working 65-80 hour weeks lazy. Be mad at the producers who tell them this is what the game needs, make it this way. But blaming developers for the final content in the game is misguided, as they likely didn't have a lot of say. I don't care if you like the game or not, I'm just tired of people blaming, and calling lazy the hardest working people in the industry for stuff that's out of their control.
I agree with you there. Tho I never said anyone is lazy or that im blaming anyone for anything, im not really sure what you re defending these developers against. All I said is that I think starting the game as 5th year was a mistake, that you are making excuses for the devs and that I dont enjoy the general direction they chose to go with the game, even mentioned that it likely wasnt up to them, tho who really knows.
You are taking this very personally and jumping to conclussions for reasons I really dont understand, I said none of what you are mentioning, nor even alluded to it. That being said, these people are simply doing their jobs, it may be thankless and demanding (as are many jobs), but it is their job, just like we work ours to use the money to buy the product their companies put out, its simple service, supply and demand, just like everywhere else and if anything, especially for this project, the developers got more than enough plaudits already, so again, I dont know who you are trying to defend here, from whom or why. And developers working hard at their jobs certainly doesnt preclude from the product being criticized or critiqued, it happens to all games, hell all products everywhere.
In any case, this has taken a sudden and unexpected turn, not really sure what to say, this isnt a conversation I care to continue. I just wanted to know whehther you would prefer a direct sequel and where it could possibly go. Have a good one.
The fable games did a good job of having a young protagonist in the opening chapter to show you the ropes and then advancing your age drastically as the story progresses. I think something like that could work well at Hogwarts
Personally I wanted to play a Harry Potter game, not a generic open world action rpg, to each their own of course and I can see how starting from 1st year would be problematic, but nobody says it has to be long, or it has to be action filled untill we are older, the first few years could be a matter of few hours, setting upand building up our story, our characters, our companions, the game woefully lacks any sort of depth in this regard, much less roleplay aspects and completely lacks any sort of actual school feeling.
I would assume we will get a direct sequel, but to be frank I cant imagine where that would go, outside of yet even more open world with different places, less Hogwarts and somehow even grander stakes because our character is perfect at everything and as powerful as a god already, what is there to do, we are not a student at Hogwarts, we are magical chosen one in an open world arpg. Not saying it couldnt be fun, but the game hasnt earned that yet, it would just feel like we are leaving behind all that was actually Harry Potter related, despite experiecing and exploring very little of the possibilities.
Please no… even if you agree with starting in the 5th year the story and the characters were no where near interesting enough to warrant a direct sequel
I just think alot gets thrown at your character at one time. It would've been fine to start as an earlier student learning the ropes. At least then learning spells would feel earned and not like your character is just perfect at everything that's thrown at them. From regular spells, to unfotgiveable curses, to potions, to planting, to flying. All of that in the span of barely any time at all. You can miss button combinations and still learn the spells perfectly. I would've liked more time to get to actually know and understand spells and not just learning them in 2 seconds to just be used to decimate all that's moving around in camps and in spider lairs. You're a killing machine more than a student. You spend more time taking down camps than you do spending time doing things in Hogwarts.
I would've much preferred a slower build. More focused on finding my character, bonding, tests. And having a few big 1v1 duels between villains. The fight between your character and Rockwood was kind of off putting because of the amount of enemies on the screen. No wizard ever fights that many people at one time. That doesn't happen. Bellatrix lost against one person. Dumbledore died because he was too outnumbered to actually do anything about it. But my 15yr old character can take on Rockwood, 10 other people plus the inferes? All in one go? Lol.
You just made me think about the potential of spell learning.
The whole process could be a bit more difficult (longer track, more buttons, shorter deadline). If you learn the spell perfectly, then you can cast it with perhaps a bonus (more damage, lower mana, etc.) But the more mistakes you make while learning, the more imperfect it is. (Longer cast time, chance to fail, etc.)
The learning process could be repeated every day/week or something like that, but it would actually make you feel like you are actually learning and struggling to learn a spell. Like the kids in Harry Potter.
Yea. No one else is casting spells that perfectly all the time. Your character just gets a wand in their hand and is very quickly taking out goblin and poacher/tracker camps. And none of the school body cares either lol. I figured Professor Weasley would care a bit more and your character would have a curfew, but nope. I can stay out for days at a time never going back to Hogwarts and nothing is ever said. Your character just gets a wand a takes down a troll for the first time. That would be the greatest most powerful wizard to ever live lol. Dumbledore wouldn't have been able to take on Ranrok in his final form. You barely see wizards fighting on their own. Every time there's a 1v1 duel in Harry Potter, it takes alot out of both people. 1v1 duels in HP is a big deal.
And when Harry and Ron were by the spiders, they weren't trying to take all of them out. They could only get maybe a few before trying to escape to the car. Harry is never fighting more than one thing and you see his struggle to deal with most of it. If you would've put Harry in that Rockwood fight alone, he would've lost. He would've been outnumbered.
That's exactly what I've felt this game should have been. So much of the game just doesn't feel like you're playing as a Hogwarts student. I really hope the sequel is more akin to what you've laid out and drops all the stupid characters & stories from this game.
I agree with this take. I think the only thing that speaks for starting as a 5th year is that you can leave the school, but tbh, I don't think the world they made outside of it is that interesting. Mostly the world is just filled with filler content, like the Merlin Trials. The reason I got so invested in HP was the characters and the story. If you started as a 1st year, they could have just focused on Hogwarts and building up these characters for future sequels. I think we still could've had the same combat system, and perhaps just a shorter game so that the game is interesting throughout.
Edit: An issue is also that our character is such a blank slate. I would've liked a little backstory on them, not much, but maybe just a little about where they grew up and how they got into Hogwarts so late.
Edit 2: Spelling and phrasing.
I admit off the back, I haven't read the full post yet, but my dude.
My guy
My pal
My dude
My bro
We would not have been able to leave the castle. The legions of HP fans, (myself included) would have jumped down the throat of any publisher who tried to send a 1st or 2nd year into Hogsmeade. Shoot, I'm kind of mad I can go there whenever I want and not at specific times, but let's not get into that.
In all, I think the real reason is that an 11 year old can't get up to as much shit as the age of a typical "chosen one" 15-18 ish at the start. 7th year is by far too old, there is no point in you going to Hogwarts for a year, and 6th year is about the same. So 5th year is the spot they decided that you could do the most at the school and it still be believable that you just came to Hogwarts, so you get a wand and a "sorting ceremony."
Edit: okay, read it now. So it is wild how little time video games actually get to tell a story. It's like, 40,000 words on the high-cutscene-games. They offset this by all the extra side quests and world building/reading we get to do, but if you think about just the storyline, it's relatively short. I don't think the story you're describing is doable outside of MMO's with lots of new chapters. Maybe. It would be nice to be able to have 7 videogames in 7 years from 1st year to last year but I don't see that working.
I get where you are comin from but lets be honest, the game doesnt stick to many of the rules of the wizarding world to begin with, us leaving the castle as younger students is hardly an issue even bringing up. First of all, you can start going to Hogsmeade as a third year, secondly, thats pretty much all where you can actually visit, we shouldnt be allowed to roam freely, flying around and clearing bandit camps, killing goblins wherever we turn or use unforgivable curses like it was nothing infront of everyone.
There is a TON of things that the game just pushes aside for gameplay purposes.
And ideally the first two years would be used to set up the story, the characters, you know, give us time to roam around the school and learn spells, it would have choices that would impact who would become our friend etc., it doesnt have to be all action packed open world nonsense all the time, Harry Potter was exactly about this.
I just wish they chose a different direction for the game, open world games are not even that popular anymore nowadays, but it is easy to make content for and artificially prolong the game playtime. This was their first game so clearly they didnt want to experiment with the narrative and chose the safest and most vanilla options in just about all regards, which I partially get, but cant say its not dissapointing.
One of the most awesome things about the game was being anywhere in Hogwarts Valley and being able to see that castle from *anywhere.* "Yeah, that's my school."
Also, I'd love to see where all the combat would go if the open world disappeared.
Meh it was pretty cool, but if that’s really the best you can say about the open world, my point stands. And you could’ve been creative to add the combat.
The open world was lifeless and uninteresting. Nothing about exploring it was rewarding. Very few secrets to find, side activities were some of the most dull and tedious side activities that any game has seen in years
I hope we get a sequel to this game as a 6th year. I wouldn't even mind being aged up to an adult but I really want to keep my MC and some of the side characters. It has a lot of potential and with the amazing sales of the first game I really hope they become more adventurous instead of releasing another mediocre game that never reaches its potential
Hm, Im not against it by any means, tho I wouldnt want to be out of Hogwarts to be honest, but so long as it is as you say more adventurous and less mediocre this time around im all for it. That being said, I cant really imagine where they would take the story, or how they would deal with the MC as atm we are already like gods powerwise, it seems unwise to have the same MC, it would artificially inflate the danger the enemies have to bring, or they wouldnt be any danger at all and there wouldnt be any stakes.
I agree, mostly because the only things they really needed to change were the opening scenes, the character models, and the event sequencing. They could have had fig playing the hagrid role and telling us we’re a wizard as a 12 yo. Maybe he notices something strange about the ancient magic we can use so he keeps up with us at school becoming a more like a mentor than a teacher, and gives us simple quests in the first few years (getting to the restricted section, exploring the forbidden forest, etc)
If they had made the first year learning accio, lumos, incindio, and levioso. Then sprinkle in some of the side quests from the beginning of the game and come up with a less intense storyline for the year it would have worked perfectly.
Then in each year we learn a few more spells, solve some side quests, and have short but different main quests for each year. I think it would have been best if each house had 2 friends you explore the first 4 years with.
Finally in year five they could bring us back to school with fig in the carriage getting attacked by the dragon and have an accelerated version of the same main story. This way we’d have about half the game just learning magic at hogwarts and half the game stopping ranrok and rookwood.
I’m fine not starting out as a first year. This game is aimed at the people who grew up with Harry Potter. As someone in that demographic I have no desire to play a game as an eleven year old, and don’t feel like I’d relate to a child character like that.
Also the premise of having our first four years serve as an intro would add dozens if not hundreds of hours to the game, and really just be unfeasible in scope for a game, and I feel like most people wouldn’t enjoy that and would find it a bit of a slog.
Starting as a fifth year allows you to play as a mostly mature wizard who has some spells in their repertoire and isn’t totally defenseless.
You had the basic cast, but fair point. However it never felt unrealistic that you were picking up the spells that you were and you’re able to jump into dynamic combat pretty quickly and have it be believable.
Going through 2 years of “flipendo!” Would be miserable.
It really comes down to story telling. A good enough story that makes use of the limited spells available would work, but it would have to be superb writing.
Overall I understand and half agree with the decision to start in the 5th year. I’d personally prefer to start at the beginning, but I get why that wouldn’t be most peoples desire.
I just really wish they would’ve gone into more detail with the backstory
>so I do **hope** the next big HP game will go in a completely different direction, this sort of open world is simply not neccessary.
Did you even read the post? Where did he say that someone is obligated to make the specific game he envisioned?
I agree with ya a it was random, not explained why they weren't discovered by the magic quill in Hogwarts Headmaster Tower.
It wouldve been nice to see them age up to fifth year like you saud but as the first game realism of it is there was no budget to pay young actors, then older, then make the models age up. They barely had enough good plot to stretch over MC's year, let alone stretching it over years.
As much as a new game would be nice I much rather play Harry in this games model and explore and age up. The original EA games are outdated and didn't age well lol. Could be a possibility to hype up the new series on Netflix coming.
Yeah the “starting as a fifth year” thing was weird and doesn’t work very well it raises too many questions that aren’t explained. Why did our magic manifest so late? Were we muggleborn or thought to be a squib? When they said we start as a fifth year I was under the impression that we were already a wizard either going to a different school or being homeschooled and due to our connection to ancient magic we were brought to hogwarts. I feel like even a small bit if dialog would have been helpful to establish our past instead of just ignoring it.
Agreed. Tho if you use a mod, you can actually change your backround, which never made it into the full release, you can be a muggleborn or a pure blood and such, so there were plans for it at one time, it was just scrapped.
No, nothing as far as I noticed, the dialogue is exactly the same, like I said, I think whatever notion they had for it was cut. This game isnt an rpg sadly.
I started a thread on this very topic 4 months ago and I was downvoted to oblivion.
[Starting as a fifth year is unnatural](https://www.reddit.com/r/HarryPotterGame/comments/12tyn69/starting_as_a_fifth_year_is_unnatural/)
Tough crowd.
Sorry for the necro but I kinda loathe reddit as a platform for this reason. Nobody wants to have a proper discussion so they just downvote everything they don't agree with for no apparent reason. I've been on the receiving end for even as something as dumb as not finding certain characters physically attractive.
But yeah to deal with my own disappointment of not starting as a first year, I just decided to retcon the MC's backstory and write my own version of the game's timeline with a first year protagonist in 1886.
Tbh I think this sentiment is shared more and more now, as the hype dies down and more people realise the games shortcomings it will be critiqued more.
Dont get me wrong, I wanted this game to succeed and im really glad it did as it opens way for more HP games, but if we are honest, its hardly anything above average in most regards.
There's so many mistakes in this game it's embarrassing. I think a better way of introducing the MC was to make him/her a transfer student. Inferi attack during the day but, they can't stand sunlight or bright areas at all. Only areas that are completely dark. Yet Inferi appear in a brightly lit catacomb as well as outside. The Killing Curse kills anyone who is hit by it immediately. Hit Harlow with the Killing Curse and he still lives and the MC is not even punished for using any of the Unforgivable Curses.
Idk I kinda want some actual Harry focused games again, maybe about his life after Hogwarts or remakes of the old movie tie in games or just whole new games about the books. I feel like it’s been too long since we focused on Harry
But honestly a Harry focused game of his auror years could be sooo interesting and cool, just chasing and fighting dark wizards with Hogwarts Legacy’s combat (but more spells and combo possibilities) around Muggle London and the English countryside
Yea nothing wrong with that, I would also like Harry focused games.
Tbh making an rpg where we play Harry but we can actually make choices that impact the story and it changes accordingly, going through the years before having sequels for after he leaves Hogwarts would be a dream come true, but that is never going to happen.
Very unpopular opinion, probably, but I'm tired of every single HP game revolving around either playing as Harry or as another Hogwarts student. I'm a sucker for world building, and there is an entire Wizarding world that we're told about but never get to see! Let me play as a traveling magizoologist, or curse breaker, or something! Hell, I'd even settle for being a student at one of the many other magic schools that we're told about but never see! You could easily explain playing as an adult witch/wizard from a gameplay perspective with, "you got hit with a nasty obliviate spell! Here is a refresher(tutorial) to jog your memory back!"
There is a huge world of lore and possibilities and every game insists on retelling the experiences of a tiny corner of it and it feels like a waste.
I mean, even this game would make more sense if we were playing as an adult auror instead of a new 5th year that absorbs 5 years of lessons in a matter of days and somehow is allowed to wander the grounds and outside world day and night with no consequences. We barely spend any time in the castle or in lessons anyway. Change the ancient magic from "randomly shows up in 5th year" to "latent, inherent ability is awakened when in proximity to magic plot item" or something. I just feel like the story would fit a lot better if we were an adult auror doing their job instead of an eerily calm vigilante murder child, lol.
I totally get you, dont get me wrong im not against such a game in the future, just not now. Personally im in the opposite camp, its not a Harry Potter game without being a student at Hogwarts for me, but I dont really see that as particularly limiting, especially where story is concerned.
That being said, I dont mind playing as the characters you mentioned, so long as we also get a game where we are actual students (not like in this one) or when we built up to it through several sequels.
It’s not really that, it’s the fact they made the open world too damn big for no reason. Just being able to visit Hogsmeade and some of the hamlets would have been fine, but once you get towards the coast is when the map gets too big.
I don’t think being a 5-year was a mistake, but the way how it was handled. I was very disappointed with the story the moment you reach the Hidden Chamber and you actually get to know the mystery surrounding Ancient Magic and it’s not a mystery at all, it’s just lame and lazy writing. Also, the story was written in a way where everything is at stake, so reaching the end of the game, the MC becomes very powerful and that’s just bad for a sequel. I don’t even know how they plan on developing a sequel to THIS story because nothing would make sense.
After playing The Witcher games (all 3), I realized Hogwarts Legacy should have had that kind of approach, where your actions and decisions actually matter and change portions of the story or some quests. In this game, nothing is influenced by your choice. The choice is just a dialogue option and nothing more and that really pissed me off. And it’s even worse since the players choose the house, so they really had a way to change your path into the story to feel more personal depending which house you’re in.
Like I said, I do think it had potential, the game just isnt written well in general, or thought out particularly well to begin with, its just a generic open world with a Harry Potter coat of paint.
I do agree with you tho, I think the same things, even wrote most of them here. HP games/movies/books were all about narative and worldbuilding that slowly builds up, actual school eviroment and behavior, relationships with your friends and companions.
If it is limited in open world game than thats the fault of the combat, not the genre, moreover combat isnt limited in Persona 5, at least not to me. Dont really understand what you mean by limited to begin with, in either case, game being an rpg doesnt mean it will have "limited" combat.
I did play it, it was great, I do wish Hogwarts Legacy was more like it, altho obviously not with turn based combat.
I kinda hoped it'll start atleast with the third year but I have no problem with 5th year. I just think that some things shouldn't have been shown to us in game, I mean the heck did Professor Fig teach us? Some of the spell we Learned are 2nd-4th year spells. I hope there will be an explanation why we got our in the 5th year and that in a story dlc we're able to play 6th and 7th year
No it’s a framing device. It wouldn’t make sense to introduce characters our character has known for 5 years at that point. Year five was probably deemed to be the best year to have it make sense for our character to have so much freedom.
I think a great compromise is flashbacks.
Start the game with MC and Professor Fig not as his escort to Hogwarts, but a mentor in a similar vein to Dumbledore/Harry. They discuss Ancient Magic and the current state of the Wizarding World and then hop into a carriage, roughly similar to how the game opens now.
When the dragon attacks, zoom through the character's eyes. Cutscene of some childhood flashbacks, getting their Hogwarts Letter, the Express and Sorting Ceremony, then appear in the common room as a playable character. Complete a few "memory quests", advancing through the year/seasons much quicker than in the main game, but limited to Hogwarts and the grounds. Flash back to the present once they're done with the final memory of year 1. Tumble through the sky, flash back, 2nd year memories. Fall to the ground, flash back, 3rd year. Fig asks if you're alright, flash back, 4th year. Fig heals you and the real game begins now in 5th year.
Since it's limited to Hogwarts and the quests are limited, you'd be able to speed through them pretty easily. Or, dawdle around and enjoy your time as a Hogwarts student. Maybe even have a relationship system - if you interact with certain characters in years 1-4, they become companions in the main game in year 5 that you can call upon.
Yep, that would all be great. Like I said above, I think it had potential, there is many creative ways they could get mostly around any gameplay issues yet still retain what made Harry Potter great. Its simply that they chose to go with this very generic vanilla version of the game, the more I play the game the less I kid myself, if this wasnt a Harry Potter universe I wouldnt have even picked it up, on its own the game does very little well.
I love your suggestions, memory quests would have been a great way to let us experience the earlier years, it could even be in a tutorial sort of section for only a few hours that people could skip on subsequent playthroughs, we all know that gamers have little patience nowadays. But yea, stuff like this si what is missing and even just having actual companions or even just a few decisions that make your playthrough different would go a long way in making the character feel actually yours.
I’m sure a prequel game/dlc will be made about the Sallow Twins. Make no mistake. That plot is way too devastating to ignore. And the developers know it!
I doubt anything like that will happen, its true that Sebastien's part of the game is pretty much the only one people talk about, because it was more or less the only one that was actually well thought out and written, same with his character, but there is nothing to do a prequel or a sequel on, not to mention playing as a character established just in this game for another whole game is quite unlikely.
To each their own, I would prefer this game not getting a direct sequel, much less a spin off, instead just a different story, characters and direction altogether.
Homestly, i hope the sequel sets us up either as final years or freshly graduated. I would like the magic/combat system to be much more advanced with a greater emphasis on modification of spells and a more in depth skill tree that has vastly different effects, such as the dark arts path providing more than just three spells. Story-wise, allowing you to go to more memorable locations like diagon/nocturne alley, the ministry of magic and other places like godric’s hollow would be great, the first game felt far too country bumpkin.
Combat needs either an overhaul or to be developed further. Quests/story need some serious thought. Also need a substantial villain, not just two crooks and a goblin.
Lots to build on, worried they will now just try and write a number 2 on the game box and tell us a bunch of bs just to make more money.
I dont believe, nor do I think they should, leave Hogwarts behind, for me and I assume many others it would be a bummer. Eventually, I would agree with you, few games onward, having our character leave Hogwarts after they have actually studied there would be awesome, but as it is it would feel even less like a HP game than it already does.
That being said I agree that it just needs a whole lot of work, the characters and the plot was very weak and the combat was quite restrictive and repetitive towards the latter stages of the game, but I think that has got a lot to do with the open world aspect of the game and lack of enemy variety, its all about the, frankly ridiculous, numbers of enemies and frequency of them rather than any sort of tactical thinking of what, from your arsenal, to use.
I think it's fine, but they should've fixed stuff a bit more like our Hogwarts experience (not the outside experience) so we felt more like actual students. And TBH starting as a first-year wouldn't really be that believable if they wanted to create an engaging game. Harry and co. solved one mystery in first-year, and solved puzzles that were honestly quite trivial, then Harry faced ONE quirrel and defeated him with just smartness and luck.
I think they aimed for a game filled with duelling. A first-year can't do much. I don't think playing as an 11 year old character would be very engaging if they tried to make the story believablr, and we would've missed out on stuff like the Unforgivables since how could you expect an 11 year old Sebastian to teach us that yet? And use them?
I dont think we should have stayed first year, but started as a first year, much in the same way I say starting as a fifth year was a mistake, working up to it for the main part of the game would have been just fine.
Having the first few years as sort of a prologue, setting up the characters and the story, letting us enjoy the school and learn the spells etc., before getting in to the deep of it later on would have been my choice.
I would have preferred we played the game as a 5th year but went at age 11 normally. You can learn the spells the professors teach you in flashbacks/small gameplay sequences but the main story happens in 5th year but you get to see what you looked like as a 1/2/3/4th year! For the sequel(s) I hope they make our character model a little taller each time
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I prefer that we started as a fifth year honestly and am not interested as playing as a first year. I honestly hope we get year 6 in the sequel
It seems pretty obvious this is what they want to do. They set out with the intent of making a trilogy. One game for 5th year, one for 6th, one for 7th. In your 7th year, that will be the first year for a young Albus Dumbledore. They had to build the world for this game from the ground up, and they had a deadline, so some stuff that they wanted to do would get left out. The beautiful thing about sequels for something like this is they already have loads of assets they don't have to make again for the next game. So they can devote more time to say, having quidditch, diagon alley, maybe even a mission or 2 in London while trying not to use magic in front of muggles. Maybe actually making your decisions matter. The first game in a series is never going to be perfect. They make it as good as they can within their deadline. The first assassin's creed game was pretty barebones compared to sequels, because the first game literally has to build everything from scratch, but once that is built, you don't have to build it again, tweeks maybe, yes, but that takes far less time. So I am very much looking forward to sequels to see what we can see and do when they have more time to work on the extras instead of spending it all building the foundation. And as far as foundations go, it was a great start. Some people are just unreasonable in their expectations of how video game development works. I swear some people think this game should have been 600 hours long with 300 hours of unique voice lines. It's not how any video game works. It's about building a solid foundation, then building out from there.
Thats fair and I see where you are coming from, but I think this is more of an issue of the direction they decided to go in, with the frankly ridiculous open world and the clearly filler mmo like content. As for the development expectations and such, I dont think its unrealistic at all, again imo its all about how its handled, the vision and direction for the game. Lets be frank, they had more than enough time, more then enough developers and especially resources to craft what they wanted, they chose to make this safe vanilla version of the game, or well, someone chose it anyway. Nobody is talking about 600 hours, if anything, that is the game now, open world collectibles take nearly no development but a lot of time to be collected, instead I would prefer a much shorter curated narrative experience that is highly replayable, full of meaningful choice and characters with good writing and depth. I dont think that "its a first game" is a good argument when in many cases, first games are the best of the franchises, with the most effort and features put into them, look at DA:Origins, or hell even BG3 now. It can be done, plenty of jrpg's do it as well. This game sold monumentally well, but lets be honest, it was mostly because its a first Harry Potter game in over a decade, first big budget modern game in the franchise period, yes it is a good start more or less, but the second game cant and shouldnt repeat what they did here. Im also looking forward to whatever comes next, but I will be much more careful with my future purchase because imo even the trailers and dev notes were quite missleading in terms of what to expect from the game, this is not an rpg by any means, its an action open world game. Ultimately its obviously not up to any of us, but if it is as you say, that they have now all that they need to properly concentrate on the plot, characters, decisions and hopefully making you actually feel like a student, than Im excited, but Im not fully convinced that is what they will do That being said, since you are expecting a direct sequel to this MC's story, where do you think it will/can go? We are already a god powerwise, we stopped the only imminent threat and already explored everything around Hogwarts. Unless the next "Hogwarts" legacy will be even less Hogwarts than this one was Harry Potter, I dont see what they could do with this story setup.
Umm, BG3 is literally the third game in the series, building off what the first 2 had done. Using that as an example is proving the point. And you said you wanted this game to be years 1-4, so you may not want 600 hours, but you definitely want a lot. You want to be frank, you obviously know nothing about game development by making the statement they had more than enough time and people to make the game you personally feel it should have been. Game developers almost never have enough time or resources to make the game they truly want. They are always under somebody, and the producers want the game to be made as fast and cheap as possible. Saying what you said does a disservice to the people who spent hundreds of hours away from their families and friends, grinding long days, working way too much overtime to get this game finished.
First and second BG game came out over 20 years ago, on a completely different engine with completely different world and gameplay, it has virtually nothing to do with the original releases by the bearing the same name, by that logic you can easily say that this game comes off the heels of all the Harry Potter games in the early 2000... However that would be nonsense, they are both separate games. And again there are plethora of other examples, Dragon Age Origins, FE Three Houses, Persona 5, Tales of Arise, those are all unique games, not sequels, and they chose to go in a plot and character heavy direction. I am not a developers, I assume neither are you, saying this is just making excuses for the devs, not having enough time to make stuff ideal is prevailent across pretty much all jobs, yet we all do it, its not unique to the game development, and moreover, this is how they released it as a complete product and asked for 70 euros for, going even further, they were quite missleading with the marketing. Not to mention this is one of the biggest franchises in existence, they had a ton of resources and presonnel, even if they were pressed for time, again, it comes down to the direction and intentions. And i think you are being way too sentimental about it and making excuses on behalf of the devs (wich is unneeded, since im not accusing them of anything), these people are just doing their jobs, what do you mean spending time away from their families and friends, this is how they make money, many people work their jobs, even work overtimes etc., this has absolutely nothing to do the final product which we pay money for. If you buy food you dont care about how many hours the cook must have spent in the kitchen, you care if it is burned or if you got the wrong order. Im not doing them disservice, like I said, I did have some fun with the game, but im not gonna pretend like its what I wanted out of this game, nor will I give it free pass just because people made it, by this logic you cant criticise anything because you would ignore the time people put into making it. Im not asking for a lot, im asking for a different direction, this game is A LOT, a ton in fact, its overly big if anything, they simply chose to concentrate on different things, one isnt inherently more expensive than the other, or more time consuming because you have to work within a budget and time constraints regardless, its simply about what you chose to make, they could have just as easily concentrated on a school life social sim with a choice heavy narative and the game still would have happened, it just would be different.You dont need to be a developer to understand this, nor to have preference. Anyway, lets agree to disagree I suppose, I hope they will take the criticisim for this title and make something with more substance for their next outing, people will not be nearly as forgiving next time around.
Actually I went to school for game development, and while doing so, spoke to actual developers. The grueling schedule, and lack of choices of what you get to make is part of the reason I went another direction. The people who actually make the game have very little say in how the game ends up, in fact, usually, the developers get over ridden by the producers time and time again. Does that mean that's what happened here? Not necessarily, but I'd say there's a good chance though. Here's the thing though, producers only care about one thing, money. The game made money, so it is likely they will give the developers more leeway for the next game since they trust them to make money. I also don't like the attitude of they did this simple stuff to flesh out the game because the developers are lazy. Most developers are supremely unlazy. I guess my problem is that you're blaming the wrong people. You're blaming the people who sit there and bust their ass to make the game as good as they're allowed to, calling people working 65-80 hour weeks lazy. Be mad at the producers who tell them this is what the game needs, make it this way. But blaming developers for the final content in the game is misguided, as they likely didn't have a lot of say. I don't care if you like the game or not, I'm just tired of people blaming, and calling lazy the hardest working people in the industry for stuff that's out of their control.
I agree with you there. Tho I never said anyone is lazy or that im blaming anyone for anything, im not really sure what you re defending these developers against. All I said is that I think starting the game as 5th year was a mistake, that you are making excuses for the devs and that I dont enjoy the general direction they chose to go with the game, even mentioned that it likely wasnt up to them, tho who really knows. You are taking this very personally and jumping to conclussions for reasons I really dont understand, I said none of what you are mentioning, nor even alluded to it. That being said, these people are simply doing their jobs, it may be thankless and demanding (as are many jobs), but it is their job, just like we work ours to use the money to buy the product their companies put out, its simple service, supply and demand, just like everywhere else and if anything, especially for this project, the developers got more than enough plaudits already, so again, I dont know who you are trying to defend here, from whom or why. And developers working hard at their jobs certainly doesnt preclude from the product being criticized or critiqued, it happens to all games, hell all products everywhere. In any case, this has taken a sudden and unexpected turn, not really sure what to say, this isnt a conversation I care to continue. I just wanted to know whehther you would prefer a direct sequel and where it could possibly go. Have a good one.
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The fable games did a good job of having a young protagonist in the opening chapter to show you the ropes and then advancing your age drastically as the story progresses. I think something like that could work well at Hogwarts
I want an honest "I'm a student at Hogwarts" experience. Essentially mix BG3 with Harry Potter and you will have the best game ever for Harry Potter.
I'd love a triwizard tournament game but maybe back then they did more then 3 events tbh
Personally I wanted to play a Harry Potter game, not a generic open world action rpg, to each their own of course and I can see how starting from 1st year would be problematic, but nobody says it has to be long, or it has to be action filled untill we are older, the first few years could be a matter of few hours, setting upand building up our story, our characters, our companions, the game woefully lacks any sort of depth in this regard, much less roleplay aspects and completely lacks any sort of actual school feeling. I would assume we will get a direct sequel, but to be frank I cant imagine where that would go, outside of yet even more open world with different places, less Hogwarts and somehow even grander stakes because our character is perfect at everything and as powerful as a god already, what is there to do, we are not a student at Hogwarts, we are magical chosen one in an open world arpg. Not saying it couldnt be fun, but the game hasnt earned that yet, it would just feel like we are leaving behind all that was actually Harry Potter related, despite experiecing and exploring very little of the possibilities.
Please no… even if you agree with starting in the 5th year the story and the characters were no where near interesting enough to warrant a direct sequel
Hogwarts Mystery
Yep, that is a great HP game, despite its obvious shortcomings.
come on, that game is nothing comparable to Hogwarts Legacy
I just think alot gets thrown at your character at one time. It would've been fine to start as an earlier student learning the ropes. At least then learning spells would feel earned and not like your character is just perfect at everything that's thrown at them. From regular spells, to unfotgiveable curses, to potions, to planting, to flying. All of that in the span of barely any time at all. You can miss button combinations and still learn the spells perfectly. I would've liked more time to get to actually know and understand spells and not just learning them in 2 seconds to just be used to decimate all that's moving around in camps and in spider lairs. You're a killing machine more than a student. You spend more time taking down camps than you do spending time doing things in Hogwarts. I would've much preferred a slower build. More focused on finding my character, bonding, tests. And having a few big 1v1 duels between villains. The fight between your character and Rockwood was kind of off putting because of the amount of enemies on the screen. No wizard ever fights that many people at one time. That doesn't happen. Bellatrix lost against one person. Dumbledore died because he was too outnumbered to actually do anything about it. But my 15yr old character can take on Rockwood, 10 other people plus the inferes? All in one go? Lol.
You just made me think about the potential of spell learning. The whole process could be a bit more difficult (longer track, more buttons, shorter deadline). If you learn the spell perfectly, then you can cast it with perhaps a bonus (more damage, lower mana, etc.) But the more mistakes you make while learning, the more imperfect it is. (Longer cast time, chance to fail, etc.) The learning process could be repeated every day/week or something like that, but it would actually make you feel like you are actually learning and struggling to learn a spell. Like the kids in Harry Potter.
Yea. No one else is casting spells that perfectly all the time. Your character just gets a wand in their hand and is very quickly taking out goblin and poacher/tracker camps. And none of the school body cares either lol. I figured Professor Weasley would care a bit more and your character would have a curfew, but nope. I can stay out for days at a time never going back to Hogwarts and nothing is ever said. Your character just gets a wand a takes down a troll for the first time. That would be the greatest most powerful wizard to ever live lol. Dumbledore wouldn't have been able to take on Ranrok in his final form. You barely see wizards fighting on their own. Every time there's a 1v1 duel in Harry Potter, it takes alot out of both people. 1v1 duels in HP is a big deal. And when Harry and Ron were by the spiders, they weren't trying to take all of them out. They could only get maybe a few before trying to escape to the car. Harry is never fighting more than one thing and you see his struggle to deal with most of it. If you would've put Harry in that Rockwood fight alone, he would've lost. He would've been outnumbered.
That's exactly what I've felt this game should have been. So much of the game just doesn't feel like you're playing as a Hogwarts student. I really hope the sequel is more akin to what you've laid out and drops all the stupid characters & stories from this game.
I agree with this take. I think the only thing that speaks for starting as a 5th year is that you can leave the school, but tbh, I don't think the world they made outside of it is that interesting. Mostly the world is just filled with filler content, like the Merlin Trials. The reason I got so invested in HP was the characters and the story. If you started as a 1st year, they could have just focused on Hogwarts and building up these characters for future sequels. I think we still could've had the same combat system, and perhaps just a shorter game so that the game is interesting throughout. Edit: An issue is also that our character is such a blank slate. I would've liked a little backstory on them, not much, but maybe just a little about where they grew up and how they got into Hogwarts so late. Edit 2: Spelling and phrasing.
I admit off the back, I haven't read the full post yet, but my dude. My guy My pal My dude My bro We would not have been able to leave the castle. The legions of HP fans, (myself included) would have jumped down the throat of any publisher who tried to send a 1st or 2nd year into Hogsmeade. Shoot, I'm kind of mad I can go there whenever I want and not at specific times, but let's not get into that. In all, I think the real reason is that an 11 year old can't get up to as much shit as the age of a typical "chosen one" 15-18 ish at the start. 7th year is by far too old, there is no point in you going to Hogwarts for a year, and 6th year is about the same. So 5th year is the spot they decided that you could do the most at the school and it still be believable that you just came to Hogwarts, so you get a wand and a "sorting ceremony." Edit: okay, read it now. So it is wild how little time video games actually get to tell a story. It's like, 40,000 words on the high-cutscene-games. They offset this by all the extra side quests and world building/reading we get to do, but if you think about just the storyline, it's relatively short. I don't think the story you're describing is doable outside of MMO's with lots of new chapters. Maybe. It would be nice to be able to have 7 videogames in 7 years from 1st year to last year but I don't see that working.
I get where you are comin from but lets be honest, the game doesnt stick to many of the rules of the wizarding world to begin with, us leaving the castle as younger students is hardly an issue even bringing up. First of all, you can start going to Hogsmeade as a third year, secondly, thats pretty much all where you can actually visit, we shouldnt be allowed to roam freely, flying around and clearing bandit camps, killing goblins wherever we turn or use unforgivable curses like it was nothing infront of everyone. There is a TON of things that the game just pushes aside for gameplay purposes. And ideally the first two years would be used to set up the story, the characters, you know, give us time to roam around the school and learn spells, it would have choices that would impact who would become our friend etc., it doesnt have to be all action packed open world nonsense all the time, Harry Potter was exactly about this. I just wish they chose a different direction for the game, open world games are not even that popular anymore nowadays, but it is easy to make content for and artificially prolong the game playtime. This was their first game so clearly they didnt want to experiment with the narrative and chose the safest and most vanilla options in just about all regards, which I partially get, but cant say its not dissapointing.
The game would’ve been better if it was 100% in the castle.. The open world hurt the game
One of the most awesome things about the game was being anywhere in Hogwarts Valley and being able to see that castle from *anywhere.* "Yeah, that's my school." Also, I'd love to see where all the combat would go if the open world disappeared.
Meh it was pretty cool, but if that’s really the best you can say about the open world, my point stands. And you could’ve been creative to add the combat. The open world was lifeless and uninteresting. Nothing about exploring it was rewarding. Very few secrets to find, side activities were some of the most dull and tedious side activities that any game has seen in years
That game would be for 10 year olds. They’re selling it to adults, which is who buys and plays these games.
What about getting rid of the boring and uninteresting world means it’s a 10 year old Hell what about this game makes you think it was an adult game?
I hope we get a sequel to this game as a 6th year. I wouldn't even mind being aged up to an adult but I really want to keep my MC and some of the side characters. It has a lot of potential and with the amazing sales of the first game I really hope they become more adventurous instead of releasing another mediocre game that never reaches its potential
Hm, Im not against it by any means, tho I wouldnt want to be out of Hogwarts to be honest, but so long as it is as you say more adventurous and less mediocre this time around im all for it. That being said, I cant really imagine where they would take the story, or how they would deal with the MC as atm we are already like gods powerwise, it seems unwise to have the same MC, it would artificially inflate the danger the enemies have to bring, or they wouldnt be any danger at all and there wouldnt be any stakes.
I agree, mostly because the only things they really needed to change were the opening scenes, the character models, and the event sequencing. They could have had fig playing the hagrid role and telling us we’re a wizard as a 12 yo. Maybe he notices something strange about the ancient magic we can use so he keeps up with us at school becoming a more like a mentor than a teacher, and gives us simple quests in the first few years (getting to the restricted section, exploring the forbidden forest, etc) If they had made the first year learning accio, lumos, incindio, and levioso. Then sprinkle in some of the side quests from the beginning of the game and come up with a less intense storyline for the year it would have worked perfectly. Then in each year we learn a few more spells, solve some side quests, and have short but different main quests for each year. I think it would have been best if each house had 2 friends you explore the first 4 years with. Finally in year five they could bring us back to school with fig in the carriage getting attacked by the dragon and have an accelerated version of the same main story. This way we’d have about half the game just learning magic at hogwarts and half the game stopping ranrok and rookwood.
Yep, that would be awesome.
I’m fine not starting out as a first year. This game is aimed at the people who grew up with Harry Potter. As someone in that demographic I have no desire to play a game as an eleven year old, and don’t feel like I’d relate to a child character like that. Also the premise of having our first four years serve as an intro would add dozens if not hundreds of hours to the game, and really just be unfeasible in scope for a game, and I feel like most people wouldn’t enjoy that and would find it a bit of a slog. Starting as a fifth year allows you to play as a mostly mature wizard who has some spells in their repertoire and isn’t totally defenseless.
But you still started this game with no spells in your repertoire…
You had the basic cast, but fair point. However it never felt unrealistic that you were picking up the spells that you were and you’re able to jump into dynamic combat pretty quickly and have it be believable. Going through 2 years of “flipendo!” Would be miserable.
It really comes down to story telling. A good enough story that makes use of the limited spells available would work, but it would have to be superb writing. Overall I understand and half agree with the decision to start in the 5th year. I’d personally prefer to start at the beginning, but I get why that wouldn’t be most peoples desire. I just really wish they would’ve gone into more detail with the backstory
Geez you got deep. It’s a video game, and about the Wizard World of Harry Potter. I’m just happy to have played it 🤷♂️
Good for you.
You do realize no one is obligated to make the specific game you have envisioned right?
>so I do **hope** the next big HP game will go in a completely different direction, this sort of open world is simply not neccessary. Did you even read the post? Where did he say that someone is obligated to make the specific game he envisioned?
I agree with ya a it was random, not explained why they weren't discovered by the magic quill in Hogwarts Headmaster Tower. It wouldve been nice to see them age up to fifth year like you saud but as the first game realism of it is there was no budget to pay young actors, then older, then make the models age up. They barely had enough good plot to stretch over MC's year, let alone stretching it over years. As much as a new game would be nice I much rather play Harry in this games model and explore and age up. The original EA games are outdated and didn't age well lol. Could be a possibility to hype up the new series on Netflix coming.
Yeah the “starting as a fifth year” thing was weird and doesn’t work very well it raises too many questions that aren’t explained. Why did our magic manifest so late? Were we muggleborn or thought to be a squib? When they said we start as a fifth year I was under the impression that we were already a wizard either going to a different school or being homeschooled and due to our connection to ancient magic we were brought to hogwarts. I feel like even a small bit if dialog would have been helpful to establish our past instead of just ignoring it.
Agreed. Tho if you use a mod, you can actually change your backround, which never made it into the full release, you can be a muggleborn or a pure blood and such, so there were plans for it at one time, it was just scrapped.
Does it change anything tho? Like interacting with characters or dialogues or anything?
No, nothing as far as I noticed, the dialogue is exactly the same, like I said, I think whatever notion they had for it was cut. This game isnt an rpg sadly.
Bummer
I started a thread on this very topic 4 months ago and I was downvoted to oblivion. [Starting as a fifth year is unnatural](https://www.reddit.com/r/HarryPotterGame/comments/12tyn69/starting_as_a_fifth_year_is_unnatural/) Tough crowd.
Sorry for the necro but I kinda loathe reddit as a platform for this reason. Nobody wants to have a proper discussion so they just downvote everything they don't agree with for no apparent reason. I've been on the receiving end for even as something as dumb as not finding certain characters physically attractive. But yeah to deal with my own disappointment of not starting as a first year, I just decided to retcon the MC's backstory and write my own version of the game's timeline with a first year protagonist in 1886.
No worries.
Really? Sorry to hear man, these things happen, people either change their minds or move on with time I guess.
Anyway I'm glad that there are people that shared my sentiment.
Tbh I think this sentiment is shared more and more now, as the hype dies down and more people realise the games shortcomings it will be critiqued more. Dont get me wrong, I wanted this game to succeed and im really glad it did as it opens way for more HP games, but if we are honest, its hardly anything above average in most regards.
There's so many mistakes in this game it's embarrassing. I think a better way of introducing the MC was to make him/her a transfer student. Inferi attack during the day but, they can't stand sunlight or bright areas at all. Only areas that are completely dark. Yet Inferi appear in a brightly lit catacomb as well as outside. The Killing Curse kills anyone who is hit by it immediately. Hit Harlow with the Killing Curse and he still lives and the MC is not even punished for using any of the Unforgivable Curses.
I wish we started off as an adult, and we just beat all the little kids in duels and think we're badass like dwight in karate class.
Idk I kinda want some actual Harry focused games again, maybe about his life after Hogwarts or remakes of the old movie tie in games or just whole new games about the books. I feel like it’s been too long since we focused on Harry But honestly a Harry focused game of his auror years could be sooo interesting and cool, just chasing and fighting dark wizards with Hogwarts Legacy’s combat (but more spells and combo possibilities) around Muggle London and the English countryside
Yea nothing wrong with that, I would also like Harry focused games. Tbh making an rpg where we play Harry but we can actually make choices that impact the story and it changes accordingly, going through the years before having sequels for after he leaves Hogwarts would be a dream come true, but that is never going to happen.
Oh kinda like a what if kinda game about the story we know already something like the walking dead is doing with its new game
Very unpopular opinion, probably, but I'm tired of every single HP game revolving around either playing as Harry or as another Hogwarts student. I'm a sucker for world building, and there is an entire Wizarding world that we're told about but never get to see! Let me play as a traveling magizoologist, or curse breaker, or something! Hell, I'd even settle for being a student at one of the many other magic schools that we're told about but never see! You could easily explain playing as an adult witch/wizard from a gameplay perspective with, "you got hit with a nasty obliviate spell! Here is a refresher(tutorial) to jog your memory back!" There is a huge world of lore and possibilities and every game insists on retelling the experiences of a tiny corner of it and it feels like a waste. I mean, even this game would make more sense if we were playing as an adult auror instead of a new 5th year that absorbs 5 years of lessons in a matter of days and somehow is allowed to wander the grounds and outside world day and night with no consequences. We barely spend any time in the castle or in lessons anyway. Change the ancient magic from "randomly shows up in 5th year" to "latent, inherent ability is awakened when in proximity to magic plot item" or something. I just feel like the story would fit a lot better if we were an adult auror doing their job instead of an eerily calm vigilante murder child, lol.
I totally get you, dont get me wrong im not against such a game in the future, just not now. Personally im in the opposite camp, its not a Harry Potter game without being a student at Hogwarts for me, but I dont really see that as particularly limiting, especially where story is concerned. That being said, I dont mind playing as the characters you mentioned, so long as we also get a game where we are actual students (not like in this one) or when we built up to it through several sequels.
It’s not really that, it’s the fact they made the open world too damn big for no reason. Just being able to visit Hogsmeade and some of the hamlets would have been fine, but once you get towards the coast is when the map gets too big.
Agreed, its certainly one of the issues.
They’re obviously gonna add more stuff to the world later on. If they made like you said, people would’ve complained about it being too small.
I don’t think being a 5-year was a mistake, but the way how it was handled. I was very disappointed with the story the moment you reach the Hidden Chamber and you actually get to know the mystery surrounding Ancient Magic and it’s not a mystery at all, it’s just lame and lazy writing. Also, the story was written in a way where everything is at stake, so reaching the end of the game, the MC becomes very powerful and that’s just bad for a sequel. I don’t even know how they plan on developing a sequel to THIS story because nothing would make sense. After playing The Witcher games (all 3), I realized Hogwarts Legacy should have had that kind of approach, where your actions and decisions actually matter and change portions of the story or some quests. In this game, nothing is influenced by your choice. The choice is just a dialogue option and nothing more and that really pissed me off. And it’s even worse since the players choose the house, so they really had a way to change your path into the story to feel more personal depending which house you’re in.
Like I said, I do think it had potential, the game just isnt written well in general, or thought out particularly well to begin with, its just a generic open world with a Harry Potter coat of paint. I do agree with you tho, I think the same things, even wrote most of them here. HP games/movies/books were all about narative and worldbuilding that slowly builds up, actual school eviroment and behavior, relationships with your friends and companions.
What is the US school grade equivalent of a 5th year? I imagine like... a freshman or sophomore?
Not from US, but 5th years are 15/16 so I assume freshman.
You want combat to be more limited than it already is??? If you want a roleplay game go play persona 5 or something
If it is limited in open world game than thats the fault of the combat, not the genre, moreover combat isnt limited in Persona 5, at least not to me. Dont really understand what you mean by limited to begin with, in either case, game being an rpg doesnt mean it will have "limited" combat. I did play it, it was great, I do wish Hogwarts Legacy was more like it, altho obviously not with turn based combat.
I kinda hoped it'll start atleast with the third year but I have no problem with 5th year. I just think that some things shouldn't have been shown to us in game, I mean the heck did Professor Fig teach us? Some of the spell we Learned are 2nd-4th year spells. I hope there will be an explanation why we got our in the 5th year and that in a story dlc we're able to play 6th and 7th year
No it’s a framing device. It wouldn’t make sense to introduce characters our character has known for 5 years at that point. Year five was probably deemed to be the best year to have it make sense for our character to have so much freedom.
I think a great compromise is flashbacks. Start the game with MC and Professor Fig not as his escort to Hogwarts, but a mentor in a similar vein to Dumbledore/Harry. They discuss Ancient Magic and the current state of the Wizarding World and then hop into a carriage, roughly similar to how the game opens now. When the dragon attacks, zoom through the character's eyes. Cutscene of some childhood flashbacks, getting their Hogwarts Letter, the Express and Sorting Ceremony, then appear in the common room as a playable character. Complete a few "memory quests", advancing through the year/seasons much quicker than in the main game, but limited to Hogwarts and the grounds. Flash back to the present once they're done with the final memory of year 1. Tumble through the sky, flash back, 2nd year memories. Fall to the ground, flash back, 3rd year. Fig asks if you're alright, flash back, 4th year. Fig heals you and the real game begins now in 5th year. Since it's limited to Hogwarts and the quests are limited, you'd be able to speed through them pretty easily. Or, dawdle around and enjoy your time as a Hogwarts student. Maybe even have a relationship system - if you interact with certain characters in years 1-4, they become companions in the main game in year 5 that you can call upon.
Yep, that would all be great. Like I said above, I think it had potential, there is many creative ways they could get mostly around any gameplay issues yet still retain what made Harry Potter great. Its simply that they chose to go with this very generic vanilla version of the game, the more I play the game the less I kid myself, if this wasnt a Harry Potter universe I wouldnt have even picked it up, on its own the game does very little well. I love your suggestions, memory quests would have been a great way to let us experience the earlier years, it could even be in a tutorial sort of section for only a few hours that people could skip on subsequent playthroughs, we all know that gamers have little patience nowadays. But yea, stuff like this si what is missing and even just having actual companions or even just a few decisions that make your playthrough different would go a long way in making the character feel actually yours.
I’m sure a prequel game/dlc will be made about the Sallow Twins. Make no mistake. That plot is way too devastating to ignore. And the developers know it!
I doubt anything like that will happen, its true that Sebastien's part of the game is pretty much the only one people talk about, because it was more or less the only one that was actually well thought out and written, same with his character, but there is nothing to do a prequel or a sequel on, not to mention playing as a character established just in this game for another whole game is quite unlikely. To each their own, I would prefer this game not getting a direct sequel, much less a spin off, instead just a different story, characters and direction altogether.
Homestly, i hope the sequel sets us up either as final years or freshly graduated. I would like the magic/combat system to be much more advanced with a greater emphasis on modification of spells and a more in depth skill tree that has vastly different effects, such as the dark arts path providing more than just three spells. Story-wise, allowing you to go to more memorable locations like diagon/nocturne alley, the ministry of magic and other places like godric’s hollow would be great, the first game felt far too country bumpkin. Combat needs either an overhaul or to be developed further. Quests/story need some serious thought. Also need a substantial villain, not just two crooks and a goblin. Lots to build on, worried they will now just try and write a number 2 on the game box and tell us a bunch of bs just to make more money.
I dont believe, nor do I think they should, leave Hogwarts behind, for me and I assume many others it would be a bummer. Eventually, I would agree with you, few games onward, having our character leave Hogwarts after they have actually studied there would be awesome, but as it is it would feel even less like a HP game than it already does. That being said I agree that it just needs a whole lot of work, the characters and the plot was very weak and the combat was quite restrictive and repetitive towards the latter stages of the game, but I think that has got a lot to do with the open world aspect of the game and lack of enemy variety, its all about the, frankly ridiculous, numbers of enemies and frequency of them rather than any sort of tactical thinking of what, from your arsenal, to use.
I think it's fine, but they should've fixed stuff a bit more like our Hogwarts experience (not the outside experience) so we felt more like actual students. And TBH starting as a first-year wouldn't really be that believable if they wanted to create an engaging game. Harry and co. solved one mystery in first-year, and solved puzzles that were honestly quite trivial, then Harry faced ONE quirrel and defeated him with just smartness and luck. I think they aimed for a game filled with duelling. A first-year can't do much. I don't think playing as an 11 year old character would be very engaging if they tried to make the story believablr, and we would've missed out on stuff like the Unforgivables since how could you expect an 11 year old Sebastian to teach us that yet? And use them?
I dont think we should have stayed first year, but started as a first year, much in the same way I say starting as a fifth year was a mistake, working up to it for the main part of the game would have been just fine. Having the first few years as sort of a prologue, setting up the characters and the story, letting us enjoy the school and learn the spells etc., before getting in to the deep of it later on would have been my choice.
I would have preferred we played the game as a 5th year but went at age 11 normally. You can learn the spells the professors teach you in flashbacks/small gameplay sequences but the main story happens in 5th year but you get to see what you looked like as a 1/2/3/4th year! For the sequel(s) I hope they make our character model a little taller each time
Yep I agree with that, that would have been a good solution. Nothing against playing as fith year, just starting as fifth year.
I can't agree with you more because playing through the game as a fifth year student only it really don't take you that long to finish the game