Summary
There are practically innumerable directions aHogwarts Legacysequel could take at this point. It makes sense to build from the foundations ofHogwarts Legacyas an IP rather than begin a new franchise with its own title, anyway, and such a sequel could still be as unique and unaffected byHogwarts Legacyif that’s the case. BecauseHogwarts Legacyhas a customizable protagonistit seems unlikely that they’ll be reprised for a sequel unless somehow players’ save data can also transfer over to keep their desired avatars, but having a new protagonist doesn’t mean they need to start from scratch, either.
Hogwarts Legacyfound a loophole for itsAncient Magic-wielding protagonistin having them first attend Hogwarts as a fifth-year student under particular circumstances. This way, Avalanche got to have its cake and eat it too with all the lovable Hogwarts nostalgia of first enrolling in the wizarding school while also having a student mature enough to deal with darker content in the game. Avalanche might not get away with this premise a second time, and yet a spell exists in the wizarding world that would saliently explain why a protagonist might not have any memory of their life beforehand.
Hogwarts Legacy’s IP Can Use Obliviate to Terrific Effect
Why the Amnesiac Protagonist Trope is Usually Great
Beginning a series or entry with a protagonist who’s forgotten who they are essentially affords the story a blank canvas. This isn’t popular in established franchises that have recycled the same protagonist since the player would remember who the protagonist was and the premise would lose any possible luster.
That said, the amnesiac protagonist trope has made for some of the most phenomenal gaming experiences ever as players are learning about the protagonist’s backstory at the same time as the protagonist themselves—Final Fantasy 7,KOTOR, andSilent Hill 2, to name a few. Typically involving some incredible twists, too, this trope sets itself up for a lot of fun moments.
Not much might’ve happened in a student’s life to really have some profound effect, at least if it wants to be authentic and not copyHarry Potter’s tragic backstory. It’s not like a student would really secretly be a dark lord or anything and not know, but hiding a crucial moment in their past that they could then learn about themselves later or have revealed to them would be interesting, especially if it’s learned that they only forgot because someone cast Obliviate on them.
The Memory Charm Could Make the Protagonist Amnesia Trope Fully Immersive
Obliviate effectively erases a person’s memory. Therefore, in the amnesiac protagonist trope, this lapse would be perfectly explained and even have some potentially riveting beats where maybe the individual who cast Obliviate on the protagonist did so maliciously. Not knowing that the spell was cast on them,Hogwarts Legacy’s sequel protagonist could be put into any number of situations to open the game and, because players have already become tirelessly accustomed to the trope, it wouldn’t feel out of place.
That said, there would still need to be a good reason why their memory was wiped and the payoff for that would need to be fulfilling or at least comprehensible.
It would be fantastic for that to be the reasoning for a protagonist’s amnesia, though, since it would be immersive within the world and have an established spell contribute to a trope that’s already so familiar in gaming. There’s a chance that fans would already inferHarry Potter’s Obliviate spellbeing used based on the protagonist’s presently unexplained memory erasure, but perhaps it wouldn’t even need to be a twist that is withheld from them for long in the game’s story to get out in front of that reveal and have it make sense.
Hogwarts Legacy
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 WorldThe wizarding world awaits you. Freely roam Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest, and the surrounding Overland area.Be the Witch or Wizard You Want to beLearn 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 AdventureExperience 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.
