Finally, there are real gameplay scenes from the Harry Potter role-playing game. And the big reveal reveals even more than it first appears.
Finally, we know exactly what’s in Hogwarts Legacy. On March 17, the role-playing game in the Harry Potter universe lifted the Banshee veil and revealed what we actually do in the open world. Brewing potions, attending classes, solving puzzles, caring for magical creatures, flying on brooms, fighting evil goblins and wizards, saving the world — sounds like a classic school year at Hogwarts.
But there’s a lot more in the video that you might miss at first glance. So we’ve whipped out our wands, muttered lumos, and shed light on the trailer’s hidden details. By the way, here you can see the full video:
Note: Comments made by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling about trans people have repeatedly caused controversy. (This article) recounts what Rowling said and the reactions to it. The author is not directly involved in the development of Hogwarts Legacy, but indirectly benefits from profits from the Harry Potter brand through trademark rights. ]
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01. dynamic weather and light change
Hogwarts Legacy has now shown several examples of how weather, time of day, and lighting conditions change. For example, when the sun disappears behind thick clouds and our surroundings are all of a sudden plunged into dark shadows. You can see this in the video above starting at minute 6:35. There are even supposed to be seasonal changes, so wrap up thick for Hogwarts winter!
02. magical clothing
We noticed a very nice detail in the Collector’s Edition video: Some garments have magical prints that even move. There are billows of smoke and swaying kelp leaves as if in water. So very similar to magical photos and paintings of the wizarding world. So far, however, it is not known if these clothes exist only as pre-order bonuses or if we can get them just like that in the game world.
03. The Dark Arts are a companion quest
The latest trailers are a lot darker than we’ve been used to from Hogwarts Legacy (more on that in the new cover art section!). In it, everything revolves around the Dark Arts, such as the Unforgivable Curses. Whether or not we get involved with this forbidden magic is up to us, as this story is an optional companion quest series from Slytherin student Sebastian Sallow. If we don’t become closer friends with him, we’ll probably miss this dark section of the game completely.
We hope that the other three possible companions will also each bring a special and large quest chain.
04.A sneak peek at Hogsmead
In one of the two ASMR videos released on the official YouTube channel of Hogwarts Legacy, we get a taste of the small town near Hogwarts:
We spy The Three Broomsticks Inn, Zonko’s joke store, Quality Quidditch Supplies, the Hogsmead Post Office, Boar’s Head — and to our surprise, Ollivander’s wand store. This is probably run by one of the ancestors of Garrick Ollivander, whom we know from books and movies. However, the location makes us a bit suspicious. After all, we know the store from Winkelgasse!
Whether we as players can really enter each of these stores and spend our Galleons there remains to be seen. In any case, we’d love to sip a Butterbeer at the Drei Besen or stock up on stink bombs at Zonkos.
05.Hogwarts Legacy has a new cover design
The latest trailer and infohaps for Hogwarts Legacy have taken an unexpectedly dark tone: we’re suddenly dealing with the Dark Arts, Unforgivable Curses and Thestrals. And the game’s cover design has also been adapted to this new direction.
As a reminder, this is what the cover art looked like after the announcement. On it we see Hogwarts and our protagonist. The mood of the image is light-hearted, in the sky we see a dragon and an owl flying around:
The new design, with which the deluxe version is also advertised, is much more gloomy. Our character is surrounded by much scarier creatures: inferi, dementors and thestrals. Also, the character’s wand glows green, which could indicate the deadly curse Avada Kedavra:
The Dark Arts seem harmless — until it’s too late. HogwartsLegacy pic.twitter.com/34RtjX0EZF
— Hogwarts Legacy (@HogwartsLegacy) August 23, 2022
6. the ghosts of Hogwarts
The School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is teeming with ghosts in Hogwarts Legacy. We again meet prominent ghosts like the Almost Headless Nick, who has been haunting the school since the 15th century. But old acquaintances who didn’t make it into the movies also find their way into the new role-playing game.
With his colorful outfit, the poltergeist and troublemaker Peeves is a real eye-catcher. Most likely, we’ll have to deal with his pranks again, just like in the first Harry Potter games, and it’s best to stay out of his way.
For the first time, we’ll probably also be able to take part in Professor Binns’ boring history lessons. According to stories, this mentor had taught at Hogwarts before his passing and passed away peacefully one evening. The following morning, however, he wandered to his class as usual to teach the students the history of magic. Unfortunately, his teaching style did not have the best reputation and students occasionally fell asleep during his explanations.
7. kitchen of Hogwarts and bathroom of the trust students
Who would not like to stroll through the winding corridors of Hogwarts and even look around in forbidden wings and locked rooms? All this should be possible in Hogwarts Legacy! In the trailer we can already see two familiar places, which we can now explore on our own.
We can sneak into the kitchens of Hogwarts for a midnight snack and watch the house elves at work. However, almost two centuries pass before someone stands up for the rights of the unpaid cooks and Hermione starts the «League for Elf Rights.»
The bathroom of the trust students we know from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Here, in the steaming bath, Harry solves the riddle for the second exam of the Triwizard Tournament. It’s not yet clear how our protagonist will gain access to this exclusive spa oasis in Hogwarts Legacy. However, it’s unlikely that he’ll be appointed directly as a trusted student as a latecomer.
8.The Eagle of Ravenclaw
For the beast of Ravenclaw house, the developers seem to have taken their cue from the book. Because in the trailer there is no raven on the coat of arms, but an eagle. Only the house colors white and blue from the films were retained. In the books, they are bronze and blue.
By the way, Ravenclaw is the only house that was skipped when the Companions were introduced in the trailer. So far, we only know Natsai Onai from Gryffindor, Poppy Sweeting from Hufflepuff, and Sebastian Sallow from Slytherin. Could the Ravenclaw Quidditch player from the trailer be another Companion?
9.Where is Quidditch?
In the trailer we see our protagonist flying around on his broom and exploring the world. But there’s no sign of Quidditch in the trailer! Or is there?
We don’t see our avatar himself playing this popular sport of the wizarding world. However, there are a few hints in the trailer that Quidditch will still be a part of Hogwarts. Again and again we see students strolling around the school grounds in their Quidditch uniforms. We also see a Ravenclaw player on a broom. The mini-game introduced in the trailer is also played with Quaffles, one of the Quidditch balls.
Since our protagonist is busy with ancient magic and saving the world, we probably won’t get to play Quidditch ourselves. But maybe we can still cheer on our house from the stands!
10. the Hogwarts uniforms
You’ve probably noticed that the Hogwarts uniforms look a little different than we know them from the movies. No wonder, after all, Hogwarts fashion has also changed over the centuries.
However, it is also noticeable in the trailer that our protagonist wears a different variant of the uniform. While other students have three stripes in their house color on the sleeves, our cloak has much more embellishments and details. This is probably to mark our special status as a latecomer who has to catch up on four years of learning.
11. the principal
In the trailer we get a first glimpse of the charismatic and psyched professor of magic. His lilac outfit is striking. A similar cloak and headgear is worn by Dumbledore in the movies. Could this mean that the professor from the trailer is also the principal of Hogwarts? Conceivably, this could be Professor Everard, who went down in Hogwarts history as one of its most celebrated principals.
12. who is the dark wizard?
Naturally, we are dealing with a Dark Wizard this time as well, who supports the goblin uprisings, but apparently also has his own goals. Of course, this is not Voldemort, but also not Gellert Grindelwald. The latter, in fact, was not born until the end of the 19th century. So who could this mysterious stranger be?
We won’t know exactly until after the release of Hogwarts Legacy. It’s possible, however, that it could be a name we already know — Owle Bullock, for example. He was the author of the black magic book «Secrets of the Darkest Art», which contains detailed instructions on how to make a Horcrux. Since we are dealing with ancient powerful magic in Hogwarts Legacy, in which the Dark Wizards also seem to be interested, this would not be so far-fetched. Of course, it could also be a completely new character invented for the game.
13th Professor Figg
During our school year at Hogwarts, we not only attend classes and learn the art of «classical» wizardry, but also join Professor Figg on a quest to discover the origin of our extraordinary powers and solve dark mysteries.
For some Potterheads, hearing that name may ring a bell. We already know Arabella Figg, who lived in the Dursleys’ neighborhood and later reveals herself to be not only a Squib (non-magical person with at least one magical parent), but also a member of the Order of the Phoenix. So could Professor Figg possibly be an ancestor of the lovely cat lady?
14.The Goblin Rebellions
These bloody rebellions are only touched upon in the books: in this, the goblins rebelled against the wizarding world, which they felt was oppressing them. In Hogwarts Legacy, one of our opponents is apparently called Ranrok and thus plans an uprising.
Another exciting detail: for the first time, we experience goblin magic being used against us firsthand. Although by law they can’t possess wands (one reason for the rebellions), they have some powerful abilities, as we know from the official lore.
15th Priori Incantatem
These pictures are likely to make die-hard Potterheads frown directly. We see here an extremely rare magical phenomenon called Priori Incantatem. In this, two related wands with the same core combine when they are supposed to fight each other — something that actually only occurs between Harry and Voldemort. Afterwards, the losing wand is forced to reveal the last spells it cast (though this is not seen in the trailer). Whether there’s a story reason for this or Avalanche just wanted to include visual effects for duels, we don’t know yet.
16. known spells
The gameplay reveal already contains a surprising number of known spells, in total we are supposed to learn dozens of spells and combine them with each other. These are the ones we spied:
- Lumos (Light)
- Accio (Attract)
- Wingardium Leviosa (Float, but of course only if you pronounce it correctly)
- Expelliarmus (Disarm)
- Petrificus Totalus (Paralyze)
- Incendio (Ignite)
- Shield Spell
- Stupor (Shock spell, not named, but could be the red projectiles)
- Descendo (Ram opponents into the ground)
- Reparo (Fix things)
- Avada Kedavra (Unforgivable death curse)
It’s striking: Some of our character’s actions from the trailer are clearly lethal, for example the death curse, but also the use of mandrake screams. At first, that doesn’t sound so appropriate for the Harry Potter universe.
17. we can see thestrals
Those who have paid attention in Order of the Phoenix know that thestrals can only be perceived by someone who has seen a person die. And since our character clearly interacts with skeletal horses, I guess that means we’ve experienced it as well. Which may not be too surprising if you read back over the point above about spells.
18. the centaurs
Obviously, we encounter a herd of centaurs in the Forbidden Forest, where they are known to live. Since they are wise prophets, it stands to reason that they are familiar with the mysterious ancient magic that we are somehow connected to. However, they are unlikely to be too friendly to us; after all, it is not until much later that Dumbledore and Hagrid can earn their respect.
19th appearances of Fantastic Beasts
Not only did the developers take their cues from Harry Potter, but they also took some creatures directly from the new movies about Newt Scamander. These Fantastic Beasts immediately caught our eye — some we can even apparently relate to ourselves:
- A thieving (and saccharine) Niffler, albeit in blue instead of black as in the movies.
- Several graphorns, including apparently a mother with calf. Actually, they are nearly extinct, so they could theoretically be the same specimens that appear in the movie Fantastic Beasts.
- The bug-eyed and harmless moon calves prefer to dance in the moonlight and are otherwise extremely shy.
20. flying with broom and griffin
It’s really not surprising that we get to swing on a flying broom ourselves. But in the gameplay video we can see that we may also ride on the back of a mighty hippogriff! According to Lore, you have to earn this honor first, which could be an exciting mission.
21st Inferi as an opponent
These fearsome undead are created by only the most powerful black mages and necromancers, and used by them as mindless murder puppets — perhaps by the mysterious mage in a top hat? In The Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and Dumbledore encounter a horde of them — our character in Hogwarts Legacy seems to be able to handle them quite well on his own. They are completely immune to most spells, but sensitive to fire and heat.
22nd detective look?
In one scene, the world around us suddenly turns grayish, with only a few objects standing out in yellow. Is this a classic feature that allows us to see certain objects even through walls?
We’re not sure if this only happens in a certain mission or if we really have a kind of detective’s eye that reveals mission objects. There are spells to do that, and apparently there’s a lot of collectible stuff waiting for us — so a little help would be appreciated.
23. invisible without a cape
Actually, true invisibility is almost impossible to achieve without a cloak of invisibility. Only Dumbledore himself has such powerful magic in Harry Potter’s day — our highly talented fifth grader might, too. We probably use the simpler disillusionment spell, though, which may not completely cloak us, or at least would have to have limited durability.
By Merlin’s beard: Your eyes are guaranteed to be at least as sharp as Mrs. Norris’. What other details did you spot in the gameplay reveal? Feel free to share your observations with us in the comments!
