Avalanche Software’sHogwarts Legacyis the next bigHarry Pottergame and as such has garnered a lot of fan hype since its announcement last year. The game will be set in the titular school of wizardry in the 1800s and will see players go on an epic quest, facing visceral foes and learning magical spells on the way.
Originally set to release in 2021,Hogwarts Legacyhas now been delayed to 2022. While that may be disappointing to zealous fans, it’s always better to delay games than to release them unfinished. And while not much has been shown of the game to date,Hogwarts Legacyhas been the subject of many comparisons to Rockstar Games’Bully, and many fans assume that it might ultimately be best if the game takes a few inspirations from the latter, and sprinkle in magic for a successful formula.
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Bully Is A Masterclass In Open-World Design
Rockstar Games’Bullymight be well over a decade old at this point but it hasn’t lost its charm in any way whatsoever.Bullyremains a masterclass in open-world designand is a testament to Rockstar’s understanding of what makes such games fun. Fans ofGrand Theft Autoinstantly feel at home in Bullworth Academy, all the while seeing an open world in an entirely new light with a new set of rules and regulations.
Bully’s characters are stereotypical students for the most part, but this lends a distinctly recognizable personality to them. The game features a wide assortment of side activities such as attending classes, lawn-mowing, boxing, and more, which all fit comfortably in the setting and remain supremely fun distractions from the narrative. All of this combined makesBullyan incredibly memorable experience, and it’s no secret thatfans are clamoring forBully 2to this very day.
Hogwarts Legacy Should Learn, But Also Improvise
Hogwarts Legacycan learn a lot fromBully, particularly how to make a seemingly mundane open-world setting such as a school (although Hogwarts sounds a lot more fun than Bullworth Academy), without compromising on the credibility and legitimacy of the activities found in the institution. The magic elements and the game’s reliance on making “life-long friendships” might open the door for a lot more activities, butHogwarts Legacyis a lot more than that.
As opposed toBully,Hogwarts Legacy’s overarching narrative extends outside the Hogwarts School of Wizardry and would revolve around the protagonist’s understandings of Ancient Magic and using that to decide the fate of the world. This makes for a far greater purpose than something likeBully, and restricting the game to “Bully with magic” might only hurt the game in the long run.
This makes it clear that while taking inspirations from Rockstar’s titles is definitely great forBully, but limiting what the game can be by creating such standards might be detrimental. Hopefully,Hogwarts Legacydoubles down on its greatest aspects and joins the ranks amongst some of thebestHarry Pottergames of all time.
Hogwarts Legacyis in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X for release in 2022.
