The Harry Potter franchise has been among the most influential media pieces in the past couple of decades and has spurred numerous fan games, art, stories and more. Hogwarts Legacy is currently a popular example; despite the story occurring before the events of the books and movies, ultimately, it’s a game taking place in the Harry Potter universe. This generates a ton of excitement, but it also raises some concerns, especially when considering controversies surrounding Harry Potter and its creator, J. K. Rowling. Make sure you’re in a comfortable spot. There’s a lot to unpack here.
How Splits in the Community Will Shape Hogwarts Legacy’s Future
At its core, Hogwarts Legacy is an open-world RPG in the same Wizarding World in which the Harry Potter franchise takes place. However, unlike Harry Potter, Hogwarts Legacy is set in the 1800s, with an entirely different set of conflicts and means of dealing with them. The main protagonist is also a fifth-year student, making them a young adult handling this entire situation. While that can warrant another story entirely, the main focus is the game’s plot and development combined with some… let’s call it outside conflict.
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The Elephant in the Room
Without a shadow of a doubt, Hogwarts Legacy is a beautiful-looking game with an interesting story premise. Through the past few gameplay trailers that have been released, features like flying around on magical beasts, the magical combat system and quest lines show promise for an intriguing story, combined with the primary goblin rebellion conflict. However, there’s the elephant in the room: Why is there a goblin rebellion in the first place?
Stepping into the past for a moment, this isn’t the first goblin rebellion. Back in the 1600s Wizarding World, goblins began to revolt due to prejudice from the wizards. With wizards attempting to enslave them and not allowing the goblins to use wands, the goblins stood up for themselves. This carries over to the rebellions in the 1700s, with this latest one being a continuation. While the goblins are painted as evil, vile creatures, it’s entirely possible they just want to feel equal to the wizards. All of a sudden, this plot turns far darker.
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There’s More to the Story
Perhaps the biggest point to make here is how prevalent discrimination and prejudice are in the Harry Potter universe. The books and movies show numerous examples of enslaved house elves and unfair treatment against other species. Most notable of all is the mistreatment of non-magic people and half-bloods due to their “inferior” blood impurity. We see this all the way in the first book and movie, and it only continues from there.
While this is already a problem by itself, when factoring in its consistency throughout the entirety of Harry Potter, it begs one question: How much will this surface in Hogwarts Legacy? Many of these are undoubtedly avoidable, but when honing in on the goblin rebellion’s lore, there are some limits.
The Divide
This part of the Hogwarts Legacy story and how it splits the community is the true meat and potatoes here. Knowing that the game directly references Harry Potter lore, the goblin rebellion will inevitably tie in this prejudice. That’s where it all began, which fuels Ranrok to continue the battle. On one end, this circles around the original Harry Potter story and the author’s decisions rather than the game developer’s to tie in these themes. On the other end, many believe highlighting the rebellion and its discriminatory nature is its own issue.
Hogwarts Legacy’s Future
There is no doubt that different reactions and opinions will stay consistent until after Hogwarts Legacy’s launch. While many will avoid it with these issues in mind, others wish to experience the game while putting aside their personal views on the Harry Potter franchise and its controversies. With how massive the Harry Potter fanbase is and how many are separating the game from the book and movie series, Hogwarts Legacy will still have a considerably large community. However, just how large it’ll be will shift as more controversies and drama surface over the upcoming months.
Hogwarts Legacy will be available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch through the official website. If you’re interested in learning more about the game, check out Will Hogwarts Legacy Have Microtransactions and Is Hogwarts Legacy Coming to Xbox Game Pass?
Published: Dec 30, 2022 11:26 am