Summary
Debuting back in 1997, theHarry Potterbook series quickly became a phenomenon in the UK, and with the release of the movies just a few years later, the US wasn’t too far behind. A fantasy world brought to life like no other movie had done before,Harry Potterwas astounding when it first released, and it continued to have a tight grip on pop-culture for the next decade. And even thoughHarry Pottertechnically wrapped up all the way back in 2011, it’s remained one of the most popular franchises out there, with spin-offs likeHogwarts Legacyproving as much.
Grossing over $1billion and selling well over 15 million copies,Hogwarts Legacyis currently the best-selling game of 2023, and although there are some huge games still to come out this year, it’s looking unlikely that any will manage to top it. Though it wasn’t perfect,Hogwarts Legacyhas proven that the desire for a fully-fledgedHarry Pottergame is certainly there, and in many ways, it has the potential to even outdo its source material, with video games managing to achieve certain things that movies and books just can’t. And one area thatHogwarts Legacycould outdoHarry Potterin is its villain.
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Hogwarts Legacy Can Have a More Unique Approach to Its Villains
During the entirety oftheHarry Potterseries, there’s really only one main antagonist, and that’s Lord Voldemort. Shown to be integral to Harry Potter’s own journey right from the get-go, Voldemort remains a dominant presence throughout the series, despite not being shown fully until the fourth entry. Instead, Voldemort is teased consistently in every story, manipulating his servants to do his bidding for him, and try and restore him back to full power. By the time Voldemort makes his terrifying return inGoblet of Fire, fans are already well aware of the threat he poses, and the rest of the series becomes an intense race against the clock to defeat him.
Lord Voldemort is a very compelling villain, andHarry Potter’s more gradual approach is one of the main reasons behind that. The slow build of this one threatening figure makes his eventual reveal all the more impactful, though it isn’t without its downsides. For the first half of theHarry Potterseries, fans are mainly just told how evil Voldemort is, and while this does often work well, there’s only so far it can go, and constantly just hearing about this threat can get a little stale.Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabanis many fans' favorite entryfor this exact reason, giving audiences a mysterious threat that still has personal connections to Harry, but is completely new and distinct.
Hogwarts Legacyhas the opportunity to go for a completely different approach for its own villain. Instead of just having one villain, and slowly building them up over the course of multiple games,Hogwarts Legacyshould focus on a new threat with each entry. This givesHogwarts Legacyan opportunity to highlight a variety of different villains fromacross the Wizarding World, potentially during different time periods. This would not only keep the game’s narrative fresh, but it would also give players a new type of enemy to face off against in each game.
IfHogwarts Legacystill wanted to capture the feeling of a growing Voldemort-like threat, however, it could still do that, but keep that character on the sidelines. Rather than make them the main villain of every game,Hogwarts Legacycould build up one villain while they’re kept in the shadows, only appearing in a handful of cutscenes or being mentioned in collectibles and character dialogue. That wayHogwarts Legacycan still have a big villain reveal later down the line while keeping fans entertained with other main antagonists along the way.
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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