Let's be honest, as someone who spent countless hours wandering the halls of Hogwarts in the first game, I felt a bit... short-changed. Sure, casting spells was a blast, and flying on a broomstick was everything I dreamed of as a kid. But after a while, it started to feel like I was just a tourist in a beautiful, yet strangely static, museum. I could wave my wand, make a few choices here and there, but nothing I did really mattered. The world around me just... politely ignored my actions. That's a problem, and it's the one thing a sequel in 2026 absolutely cannot afford to repeat.
You know, the Harry Potter world is built on this amazing tension between choice and consequence. The whole story revolves around Voldemort choosing power, Harry choosing bravery, Snape choosing love... you get the picture. So, when I'm playing a game set in that world and I can casually use an Unforgivable Curse in the middle of Hogsmeade without so much as a stern look from a professor, it feels off. Like, really off. It breaks the magic, pun intended. In the sequel, my choices—good, bad, or morally grey—need to leave a mark. Otherwise, what's the point of roleplaying?
The Illusion of Choice is the Worst Kind of Magic
I remember the first time I cast Avada Kedavra in Hogwarts Legacy. My heart was pounding! I was waiting for the sky to darken, for Ministry owls to swoop down, for my character's reputation to be forever tarnished... and then... nothing. It was just another combat spell, maybe a bit flashier. That moment, for me, was when the game's biggest flaw became crystal clear. The game world remained largely static regardless of morality or choices.
This isn't just about the dark arts, though. Think about everything else:
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Skipping Class: I could literally not show up to Potions for a month, and Professor Sharp wouldn't bat an eye. Where's the detention? The house point deductions? The worried letter from my "parents"?
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Story Missions: So many missions felt like they were on rails. I'd make a "choice," but it never branched the story. It was like the game was winking at me, saying "Nice try, but the plot's over here."
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House Selection: Picking my house was one of the biggest decisions, which is fun for the sorting hat ceremony, but afterward? The differences felt cosmetic. I want my House choice to mean something—different quests, different social circles, maybe even a different perspective on the main story.
Without consequences, my agency as a player was just an illusion. And let me tell you, there's nothing more frustrating than realizing your choices are just... decorative.
What Real Roleplaying Looks Like in 2026
A true sequel needs to learn from modern RPGs. The magic shouldn't just be in the spells; it should be in the narrative. Providing a sense of ownership over the narrative is key. I don't just want to visit Hogwarts; I want to live in it and shape its story.
Here’s my wishlist for Hogwarts Legacy 2:
| What We Had Before | What We Need in the Sequel |
|---|---|
| Static world that ignores your actions | A dynamic, reactive world that remembers what you've done. |
| Cosmetic house differences | Branching storylines influenced by your house, friendships, and choices. |
| No penalty for dark magic | A reputation system affecting how NPCs, teachers, and even the Ministry treat you. |
| Predictable, linear quests | Quests with multiple outcomes that alter future events. |
| Skipping class has no impact | Attendance and academic performance affecting skills, opportunities, and rivalries. |
Imagine this: you choose to help a certain faction. That faction becomes stronger, but another becomes hostile. You use an Unforgivable Curse to save a friend. You're hailed as a hero by some, but others now fear you, teachers watch you closely, and dark wizards might seek you out. You neglect your studies to explore the Forbidden Forest. Your magical theory suffers, making certain advanced spells harder to learn, but your knowledge of magical creatures becomes unparalleled. Shaping the journey, influencing relationships, altering alliances—that's the real magic.
The Sequel Can't Just Ride the Broomstick of Success
Look, the first game sold like hotcakes at the Leaky Cauldron. It was a phenomenon. But that was 2023. We're in 2026 now, and players are smarter, expectations are higher. Complacency is the greatest enemy of a successful sequel. Warner Bros. can't just give us the same castle with a new coat of paint and a different villain.
The hype for a sequel will be massive, no doubt. But hype is a fickle beast. If the game launches and it's just Hogwarts Legacy 1.5, that hype will vanish faster than a Snitch. The sequel needs to offer more engaging gameplay, richer narratives, and meaningful player agency. It needs to address the core criticism of the first game head-on.
I'm not saying they need to reinvent the wheel. The foundation is solid—the spellcasting, the world design, the feeling of wonder. But they need to build a living, breathing world on top of it. A world that reacts, that changes, that makes me feel like my witch or wizard is truly a part of it, for better or worse.
In the end, it's pretty simple. The first game let me see the wizarding world. For the sequel to truly succeed, it needs to let me live in it, with all the weight, responsibility, and consequence that comes with that life. Otherwise, well... let's just say it might need a Time-Turner to go back and fix its mistakes. The magic of choice is waiting to be truly unleashed.
