5 games to inspire Hogwarts Legacy to be the ultimate Harry Potter game

Hogwarts Legacy continues to excite Potterheads everywhere. The upcoming Wizarding World game from Avalanche Software will be the first major game entry in the franchise in over a decade.

Not much is known about the gameplay besides that it will be an open-world action RPG. The explorable areas will consist of many familiar areas, like Hogsmeade, and new ones.

The protagonist will be a player-customizable student of Hogwarts and attend classes, learn spells, craft potions and engage in combat. A morality system of some sort and being able to select partners for combat is an option.

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Hogwarts Legacy has the potential to be the best Wizarding World title yet

The past decade has resulted in some awe-inspiring games from developers across the globe. Many of these are exceptional examples of their respective genres, be it action-adventure, FPS, or RPG. With that being said, there are a handful of games Hogwarts Legacy can learn from to make a genuinely different Harry Potter experience.

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5) Red Ded Redemption 2

Rockstar Games raised the bar for games and developers out there with their 2017 wild-west themed open-world game. Acting as a prequel to the PS3/Xbox 360 original, RDR2 is a narrative-driven game set in an immaculately crafted world filled with well-written characters.

Hogwarts Legacy's narrative occurs in the 1800s - coincidentally the same era as RDR2. A diverse cast of characters just like the Van der Linde gang, each with their unique personalities and motivations, could do wonders to spice up Avalanche's game.

RDR2's world also deserves mention with how densely designed it is. NPCs go about their daily routine, and the world also changes physically as the narrative moves forward. Such a level of detail would be great to see here too.

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4) Divinity Original Sin 2

It would not be an understatement to call DOS2 one of the freshest RPG experiences of the past decade. Larian Studios' 2017 turn-based classic is a CRPG fan's dream come true, offering player choice and depth at nearly every step.

Since magic is the focal point of both DOS2 and Hogwarts Legacy, perhaps the latter could be inspired by the former's magic system somehow. For starters, environments react to spells in DOS2. See a puddle of oil? Set it ablaze with a fireball. Is locked wooden door blocking progression? Summon a monster to tear it down.

What's even more interesting is the spell crafting. While Hogwarts Legacy will ideally allow learning new spells from classes, perhaps wizards could combine two spells to create a new one - just like DOS2 allows with its spellbook combination system.

The Polymorph spell category is reminiscent of the Wizarding World's Transfiguration spells, like turning foes into chickens.

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3) Minecraft

The iconic open-world survival game is one of the most popular games of all time, and rightfully so. Minecraft truly encapsulates the word "freedom" with the help of its numerous in-depth gameplay systems.

Take crafting, for example. Brewing potions is a critical element of the Hogwarts curriculum, and Minecraft has one of the best crafting systems out there for that. The brewing stand lets players craft many different potions depending upon the ingredients used - from night vision and invisibility to buffing and debuffing oneself. These potions have a crafting hierarchy—something Hogwarts' brewing lessons could take after.

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2) Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Nintendo's 2017 open-world action-adventure wowed gamers with an unprecedented level of environmental interactivity. Metal objects and water can conduct electricity, for example.

Due to the more laser-focused nature of Hogwarts Legacy, it's infeasible to expect wizards to be able to climb nearly everything as Link does - but there's still enough to take away from here.

Hogwarts Legacy could emulate the lack of hand-holding that BOTW demonstrates regarding exploration. There are no markers on the map, and players must scout areas manually by climbing to vantage points. This would also demand a decent level of verticality from the game design.

Additionally, the animal/monster behavior is also something to note, with BOTW's Bokoblins chasing other fauna around, like boars.

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1) Movie-tie in Harry Potter games

This is a bit of an obvious one. What better inspiration than past works in the same franchise? There are games for all Harry Potter movies, each with its strengths and weaknesses.

Hogwarts Legacy could take a leaf out of the first three books for puzzle design. From trailers, airborne traversal looks to be a thing - something that's been done in Prisoner of Azkaban.

Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince boasted a fully explorable Hogwarts, replete with its ever-shifting stairways and portrait-laden corridors. They also feature the best combat in the series yet, with numerous spells in offensive and defensive measures.

As abysmal as the Deathly Hallows games were, they introduced some neat concepts like Apparition (allowing users to dash between covers in a puff of smoke).

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Hogwarts Legacy launches sometime this year for PC, PS4, PS5, XB1, XSX|S.