One of the biggest highlights ofHogwarts Legacyis its authentic depiction of the Wizarding World and its ability to drop the player right into the middle of it, giving them all the tools they need to immerse themselves in the magic of Hogwarts and its surrounding area.Hogwarts Castle’s areasare packed with fun little details and references, all of which help to make the player feel like this is a real, magical environment they’re walking through. The surrounding highlands also do a good job of letting the player feel as though they’re in control of their own adventure, letting them explore every nook and cranny of this mysterious world at their own leisure. But it isn’t all perfect.
WhileHogwarts Legacyoffers a magical experience like no other, there are a few elements of the Wizarding World that it could have explored in further detail. One of these elements is Hogwarts' array of magical, living portraits. Though players can interact with a handful of these portraits around the castle, they very rarely crop up in any quests, and that’s a real shame, as there could have been a whole other world there for players to explore.
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Hogwarts Legacy Should Have Looked To Mario 64 For Its Portraits
IntheHarry Potteruniverse, portraits aren’t just regular old painted pictures of famous individuals. Instead, Wizarding World painters place enchantments on their finished portraits of famous witches and wizards, which essentially breathes life into the pictured person. Though the framed individual doesn’t have all of the same memories as its real-world counterpart, it does behave in a similar way, speak in the same voice, and express similar mannerisms. Those in a portrait can also travel between nearby paintings, and can even visit any copies of itself around the world.
This gateway-like aspect ofHogwarts Legacy’s portraitscould have made for some incredibly unique quests. While living people don’t really jump into a Wizarding World painting and travel into some kind of secret dimension, at least not in the current canon, that still would have been an amazing mechanic forHogwarts Legacyto have had, and it could have looked to 1996’sSuper Mario 64for inspiration.
Still widely considered to be one ofthe best 3D platformersever made,Super Mario 64broke new ground in innumerable ways. From state-of-the-art 3D graphics, to smooth platforming mechanics, to a truly iconic score, there’s a lot still to love aboutSuper Mario 64. But by far one ofMario 64’s best features is its level design, and along with that comes the level-select process. InMario 64, players choose their level by leaping head-first into a portrait on Peach’s Castle walls. With just one image,Mario 64manages to both excite and inform players, giving them just enough information about the level’s setting and potential obstacles while keeping the big set pieces hidden from sight.
Hogwarts Legacyshould have taken inspiration fromMario 64when it came to its own living portraits. While it probably wouldn’t have been viable for every portrait in the game, it would have been fun to see some ofHogwarts Legacy’s portraits offer much more than just idle chit-chat and give players the ability to hop into the world of the portrait. These quests could have givenHogwarts Legacysome much-needed visual variety, with each painted world having an opportunity to look completely different from the last in terms of art style.Hogwarts Legacy’s Deathly Hallows Trialoffered an experience close to this, with its otherworldly art and level design making the player truly feel like they’re trapped in an alternate magical dimension, and this should have been further expanded to include a handful of other paintings around the Wizarding World.
Hogwarts Legacyis available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, with PS4 and Xbox One versions launching May 5 and a Switch port releasing July 25.
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