Hogwarts Legacy is nearly upon us, and some new details regarding the freedom of choice and the “morality system” of the game have emerged, thanks to the new preview content that was just released.
Apart from J.K. Rowling’s affiliation with the game being the talk of the town, it seems the new preview content revealed some new details that may have surprised the fans of the Harry Potter series.
All the gameplay and showcases thus far have given great insight into the game and its mechanics. This includes the open-world exploration of the vast wizarding world, the combat mechanics, and the famous broom riding. However, one of the most interesting things to note in the gameplay demonstration was the use of one of the Unforgivable Curses, The Avada Kedavra, also known as The Killing Curse. The use of this magic spell has raised some concerns as it is one of the deadliest spells in the wizarding world.
Technically, Unforgivable Curses are completely forbidden to use unless absolutely necessary, and, even then, come with consequences. Hogwarts Legacy is taking a completely different route and allowing players to be whatever they wish to be – whether evil or good. This means that the players can choose to learn these Unforgivable Curses and use them on anyone in the game.
Unlike the honor system in Red Dead Redemption 2, Hogwarts Legacy doesn’t have a morality system that incentivizes not killing the NPCs in-game. Kelly Murphy, the lead designer of Hogwarts Legacy, explained in an interview with GamesRadar that it was important for them to allow players to be a “Dark Witch or Wizard” if they want to be.
Murphy also explained that since these Unforgivable Curses are forbidden, they are not learned at school. The players must venture into other quest chains to learn them, requiring them to go out of their way. They have a choice whether to learn them or not.
Moira Squier, the narrative director of Hogwarts Legacy, said, “This is because it is the ultimate embodiment of role-playing, allowing the player to be evil.” She added, “Additionally, this was important because it comes from a place of non-judgment by the game creators. If you want to be evil, be evil.”
The Unforgivable Curses look like your everyday spells that the players can use anytime they want in Hogwarts Legacy as it lacks a morality system to hold the players accountable for it. It’s still too early to jump to conclusions as the developers were still quite vague with their descriptions. There has to be some sort of “limiting” factor to these Unforgivable Curses, which we might only find out once the game releases.
Despite not keeping the Unforgivable Curses in line with the Wizarding World lore, Hogwarts Legacy is shaping up as both the most controversial and bestselling open-world adventure games of the year. Hogwarts Legacy is scheduled to release on February 10 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. The older-gen version will release shortly after on April 4 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Finally, the Nintendo Switch version will come out on July 25.
