Hogwarts Legacydid extremely well to encapsulate a wide range of experiences within the iconic magical school. While the release fell short in some aspects, such as its absence of Quidditch in-game, the title perfectly recreated the magical essence of the IP overall.
As it stands,Hogwarts Legacyhas a fairly limited but memorable selection of unsettling locations, with the likes of Haunted Hogsmeade and its associated quest doing a good job at playing to the franchise’s horror elements. With this in mind, extraHogwarts Legacycontent featuring more of the legendary Azkaban Prison could be a fantastic way to bolster the title’s range of explored themes and tension.
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Hogwarts Legacy’s Horror and Haunted Hogsmeade
Haunted Hogsmeadeis one of the most unique locations in all ofHogwarts Legacy.It’s a shop that the player can own and enjoy a range of benefits from. The location is tied to its own quest, which heavily involves a chest inside the shop that contains an antagonistic poltergeist named Fastidio.
The quest sees the player descend into a sinister dungeon orchestrated by the poltergeist, involving a number of mind-bending and creepy horror sequences. This quest showcases a number of unique locations and greatly contrasts the more wholesome themes of the game, which makes a clear space for similar locations and quests to appear in the game. These kinds of quests also do well to convey the many forms and levels of power thatmagic inHarry Pottercan take, reminding the player of its untamed and dark aspects.
Sadly, the Haunted Hogsmeade shop and its quest is exclusive to the PlayStation 5 release ofHogwarts Legacy, meaning many players cannot experience it whatsoever. This only increases the need for similar locations, and any futureHogwarts Legacycontent should turn to Azkaban to deliver a more substantial horror dynamic overall.
Hogwarts Legacy: The Horrors of Azkaban Prison
Many fans ofHarry Potterwill be aware of Azkaban, the notorious prison for the most dangerous magical criminals and the namesake of the franchise’s third mainline installment across both its books and movies. The fear surrounding Azkaban extends beyond its dangerous prisoners, with the secluded island on which it stands originally being a site of dark magic and ritualistic torture. These early connotations extended to the island’s use as a prison, with a longstanding plague ofHarry Potter’s infamous Dementorsbeing used to guard and mentally break the prisoners. Dementors are some of the most depraved and horrifying creatures within the IP, being renowned for their infliction of fear and their ability to consume human happiness.
Azkaban did appear inHogwarts Legacy, although it was only accessible in a Hufflepuff playthrough during a brief side-quest that does not do justice to the true horrors and purpose of the facility. In this way, a dedicated future DLC forHogwarts Legacycould focus extensively on Azkaban, with the player character perhaps being tasked later on in life to solve a mystery within the prison.
This dedicated content could give fans a crucial detailed look into what is otherwise one of the most mysteriousHarry Potterlocations, while being the perfect setting for horror-centric gameplay. The bleak nature of the location, its deranged inhabitants, and cruel magical guards foster a fantastic dynamic forHogwarts Legacyto strengthen its darker themes, and so any future content should seriously consider exploring Azkaban to the fullest.
Hogwarts Legacyis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, with a Switch version releasing November 14.
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