While Hogwarts Legacy is by no means perfect, one aspect that it absolutely nails is the atmosphere, tone, and general vibes of the Harry Potter books. From the coziness of Hogsmeade and its many interactable shops to the vast, winding, and varied halls of Hogwarts itself, every exterior, interior, and tiny decoration so perfectly encapsulates the beauty and magic of the Wizarding World. Hogwarts Legacy may not have shone as brightly in the narrative department, but its recreation of the Scottish Highlands is truly something else.

However, there’s one aspect of the books that Hogwarts Legacy failed to add. While it certainly implemented this facet of the Harry Potter universe, it didn’t quite capture its whimsy, magic, and spectacle. Instead, its implementation felt forced and bare-bones, which is a great shame, especially for someone like me who has always dreamed of entering the Wizarding World themselves. Fortunately, this is where Hogwarts Legacy’s upcoming sequel comes in, as it has a chance to right the wrongs of its predecessor and properly implement the most whimsical part of the Harry Potter books.

Hogwarts Legacy Barely Used Its Seasonal Events

Christmas & Halloween Barely Mattered

One of my favorite parts of the Harry Potter books and films is the periods set during the Fall and Winter, especially the earlier entries. It is always a lot of fun seeing the floating pumpkins, Christmas decorations, and terrible Christmas jumpers that the characters wear as they roam a completely changed Hogwarts. So, I’m sure you can imagine my excitement when I learned that not only would Hogwarts Legacy be implementing seasons, but it would also feature both Halloween and Christmas as in-game events.

Unfortunately, these events amount to ostensibly a cosmetic change and little else. You won’t see a reduction in students during Christmas or any special in-game activities, nor will you get to witness spooky pranks at Halloween or fancy dress. In the game’s defense, Hogwarts does look remarkably different in certain locations, but the visuals alone don’t evoke an atmosphere and mood. It is one of the hardest parts of replaying HL, as I always find myself getting excited about the Christmas and Halloween period in-game, only to be sorely disappointed all over again.

I had hoped that Hogwarts Legacy’s rumored DLC would have focused on these seasonal events, adding quests associated with them or even minigames – I’ll never stop wanting minigames in HL – but, alas, it was allegedly canceled and will likely never see the light of day. So, it is up to the sequel to make seasonal events more important, and to give players a little more to do during them than simply gawk at tall, decorated trees and pumpkins surrounded by candles.

Hogwarts Legacy 2 Needs To Make Seasonal Events More Important

They Should Be A Core Focus Of The Experience

Hogwarts Legacy 2 can fix the original’s biggest mistake by introducing themed quests during the seasonal events. For example, players could be responsible for helping set up certain decorations, or they may have to help a student who didn’t get any presents at Christmas. Perhaps you could be tasked with setting up a scary prank that then goes horribly wrong, or have a prank played on you that leans more into the horror-focused elements that made up some of Hogwarts Legacy’s best quests.

Certain Christmas and Halloween-themed minigames could be introduced, such as snowball fights during the winter or pumpkin carving for Halloween. If Hogwarts Legacy 2 finally lets players decorate their space in the common room, then the game could introduce themed decorations as the original did for the Room of Requirement. There are plenty of great ideas that would all help make HL 2 more school-sim focused and move away from the setting being a mere backdrop, rather than a key component of the experience.

Ultimately, that’s how Hogwarts Legacy 2 becomes a better sequel. By borrowing more from Harry Potter and honing in on making Hogwarts and its surrounding areas a more lively and exciting sandbox, it can become the immersive school-sim the first game never managed to be. It should stray further away from generic open-world fare and offer an experience that only Harry Potter can, much like how the films and books have never really been replicated since their release.

Seasonal Events Should Play A Bigger Role In Hogwarts Legacy 2’s Story

Much Like They Do In The Books

Seasonal events could also be better woven into the main narrative. In The Sorcerer’s Stone, for example, Harry utilizes the smaller number of students during Christmas to sneak around in his invisible cloak, and the troll disturbance takes place during the Halloween festivities. Hogwarts Legacy 2 could do something similar, such as the main cast being forced to contend with a spooky presence haunting the halls or even interacting with the school’s ghosts during Halloween, or gaining a useful item at Christmas thanks to a kind benefactor.

The seasonal events don’t have to play major roles in the story specifically, but should be better implemented to give the game the same cozy feeling that the first few films have. There are too few games that feel like Christmas classics – or Halloween ones, for that matter – and Hogwarts Legacy 2 is perfectly primed to be one. Regardless of how they’re implemented, so long as Hogwarts Legacy 2 makes a bigger deal out of both Christmas and Halloween, it will be a vastly superior game and fix one of the few glaring faults with its predecessor’s atmosphere and world.

Hogwarts Legacy

Systems

Released

February 10, 2023

ESRB

T For Teen Due To Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Use of Alcohol

Developer(s)

Avalanche Software

Publisher(s)

Warner Bros. Interactive

Engine

Unreal Engine 4