With 2022 just around the corner, Potterheads are starting to get about as excited for the upcoming game ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ as students at the school of witchcraft and wizardry are while they wait for their new-term enrolment letters by owl.
The trailer for ‘Hogwarts Legacy; released last year, and while it already feels like a lifetime ago, the game is still yet to be released, with 2022 having that honor – though there’s no official date or even ballpark confirmed as yet.
The game won’t be getting delivered by an owl, but it certainly promises to be magical. And at least the trailer shows us plenty – which gives us a lot to chew on in the meantime. We get to see students in action – both in and outside the classroom, and some locations we can’t wait to visit.
But there are many things fans are dying to know, with the main questions being: Is ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ open-world? So let’s find out whether we’ll be able to disapparate outside the school in ‘Hogwarts Legacy’, as well as which areas we'd love to visit...
‘Hogwarts Legacy’ will be set in the 1800s, long before the events of the ‘Harry Potter series takes place, which is the mid to late 1990s. In fact, the same can be said about the spin-off series ‘Fantastic Beasts’, which take place in the 1920s, so there will be no sign of any other characters (unless one decides to use a Time-Turner to go back and grab an old book that’s long out of print!).
But you’ll be thrilled to know that the upcoming game is described by the official website as “an immersive, open-world action RPG set in the world first introduced in the ‘Harry Potter’ books’. This marks the first ever open-world game in the series, and while there have been several other ‘Harry Potter’ titles, none have ever allowed players to explore anything beyond the castle.
So which locations will we be able to visit in ‘Hogwarts Legacy’? Well, the trailer showcases a few areas, with Hogwarts itself appearing to be the focus of the game. Between the footage and the narrator’s “Every corridor, every portrait, every stone in this castle, tells the story of witches and wizards who came before”, it’s obvious we’ll be able to go anywhere we want in the school.
Even the school’s grounds are on show - we see a carriage flying towards Hogwarts by night, and then a sweeping aerial shot of the school and the Great Lake. As for the inside of the building, the narrator suggests that we’ll be able to attend the “classrooms of the world’s most talented professors”. We also get shots of the castle grounds and gardens, which might feel like an open-world game in itself!
But of course, we’ll be able to explore Hogwarts – it is called ‘Hogwarts Legacy’, after all. So which other locations are confirmed? The narrator says, “While your journey begins at Hogwarts, there is a larger world beyond these walls.” We even get to see the Forbidden Forest, where we will be able to interact with and “tame” fantastic beasts - we just have to know where to find them!
There's also a shot of Hogsmeade, the village near Hogwarts where you can relax and enjoy a Butterbeer and do some studying between lessons and terms. Or if you’re feeling particularly defiant, skip class (hopefully we’ll be able to do this) and pick up some magical sweets, or maybe even wear an Invisibility Cloak and have fun scaring some of the locals (we can only dream)!
Other locations in the trailer include a British coastline, where the player is flying a hippogriff, very reminiscent of such scenes in ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’. We also get to see the Inferi moving through a dark cave, which may be the same out-at-sea rock as seen in ‘Half-Blood Prince’, where Dumbledore and Harry must retrieve one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes.
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As for any other location, nothing is really given away, though we do see some dungeon-type areas and an army of Dementors in an indoor setting. While the official website for the game only confirms Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, and the Forbidden Forest, it does also say, “Embark on a journey through familiar and new locations as you explore and discover fantastic beasts.” So where else might the magic take us?
London
There are many locations that we’d love to visit in the Wizarding World, but the first thing we need to remember is that ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ is set in the late 1800s, so visiting, say, London as it is in the books and films, isn’t possible – although it shouldn’t be ruled out. After all, the likes of Diagon Alley and the Ministry of Magic can still be found in the Dickensian version of the UK capital. While neither of these two locations appears in the trailer, they do go hand-in-hand with all things ‘Harry Potter’.
Diagon Alley
Home to all sorts of magical shops, Diagon Alley is where, as a student, you’ll find everything you need for your year at Hogwarts. Owls, wands, books, robes – you name it, they’ll have it. And as you’ll be playing a student in the game, and attending classes where you’ll learn to brew potions and practice spells, we’d be surprised if the game didn’t open with a tutorial-of-sorts that involves doing a bit of shopping at Diagon Alley (we also think you should be able to return here throughout the game - you never know when you might need some more ink for your quill!).
Gringotts Bank
If we are able to visit Diagon Alley, then it makes sense to be able to step foot onto Gringotts’ lavish marble flooring and feel those creepy, beetle-eyed Goblin tellers staring right back at us. It’s hard to believe that the game won’t involve a mission of some kind that involves going into – or even breaking into – Gringotts, and deep into its subterranean vaults. In fact, we do see a dragon in the trailer, not unlike the blind dragon in ‘The Deathly Hallows’ who is in chains beneath Gringotts. But we’ll just have to wait and see if it's a shot of the bank’s underground caverns or not.
The Ministry of Magic
We can’t think of a witch or wizard who wouldn’t want to uncover some of the countless secrets about the Wizarding World by infiltrating the Ministry of Magic. This location becomes key from ‘Order of the Phoenix’ onwards and perhaps offers more in the way of versatility than even Gringotts Bank. There are the Floo networks, the vast atrium, the courtroom, the Hall of Prophecies, and way more. Whether it’s by infiltration or invitation, we think the Ministry of Magic is a must location for ‘Hogwarts Legacy’.
British Countryside
This one goes without saying, and it’s a location that will be included by default, as both Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forest are already part of the British countryside (though hidden by magic, of course). Nevertheless, we’d love to be able to visit other locations, and the scenes in the trailer with the hippogriff and the Inferi both suggest that you’ll be able to explore outdoor settings beyond Hogwarts. And the Hogwarts Express is an absolute must too - just imagine boarding the train and watching the countryside sweep past your window as you make your way to the most magical place in the world!
Where will the magic take us in 2022? We'll just have to wait and see, but we're already convinced players will have access to Marauder's Map while exploring Hogwarts. How else will we be able to manage our mischief and solemnly swear that we're up to no good?
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