As fun as it is casting wild spells in Hogwarts Legacy, the Wizarding World action RPG doesn’t offer much in the way of consequences for your actions. Though you can’t use all of the Hogwarts Legacy spells to mess with every student you see, there was a time when the Harry Potter spin-off game would ensure your decisions had far more weight throughout the world around you – with its own Red Dead Redemption 2-style morality system.
Digging through the treasure trove that is Hogwarts Legacy‘s files, YouTuber ‘GrandTheftDiamonds’ highlights the omission of a morality mechanic that would have influenced the game beyond its limited dialogue selections and house-specific missions. Defined with outliers such as “SocialActionDefinition” with the datamine, it appears that instead of affecting your Honor level like in the Rockstar Games cowboy opus, players would have been able to increase or decrease their house points through their actions.
Notably, the system includes the mention of several different “Crime Response” parameters, ranging from “Discover” to “Scold”. This type of policing lends itself to another comparison within the Rockstar Games pantheon, to none other than the acclaimed Bully (Canis Canem Edit).
Casting spells such as Avada Kedavra, Imperio, and Confringo would result in a penalty of -100, -50, and -25 points respectively.
The extensive datamine also uncovers unused social options for players, which would have included gift giving and the potential for romance. Furthermore, the attitude of your own wizard could have been more initiative in the final game, as the cut content signals that players had a reputation system to manage alongside the aforementioned morality mechanic too. Additionally, the heritage of players was set to be mentioned, noted as “SocialHeritageStatus”, and would have been used for NPCs around the castle grounds and beyond.
Whether a Hogwarts Legacy DLC adds these missing features in the future remains to be seen, though it is looking unlikely for Harry Potter fans. The addition of new Hogwarts Legacy side quests would be excellent – especially if we finally got to pick up our brooms and play some Quidditch.
Alas, despite tinkering with every Hogwarts Legacy broom customisation option, we might be waiting indefinitely for the arrival of the iconic Wizarding World sport. For now, there are other adventures awaiting you, so don’t forget to check out all the upcoming PS5 games for this year and beyond.
Hogwarts Legacy has drawn considerable criticism during its development, largely due to the fact that the creator of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling, has made a number of transphobic remarks on social media in recent years.
While Avalanche has confirmed that J.K. Rowling is not “directly involved” in the development of Hogwarts Legacy, it is working with “her team” and Portkey Games, a Warner Bros. label dedicated to launching new experiences inspired by J.K. Rowling’s original stories. It is currently unclear whether she will earn any royalties from the game’s sale, but it is likely given it is based on her original body of work.
If you would like to learn more about transgender rights or lend your support, we’d encourage you to check out the National Center for Transgender Equality in the US and Mermaids in the UK.