Can you be evil in Hogwarts Legacy?
As a game that appears to include many RPG game mechanics and themes, questions have arisen over the past few months surrounding one key issue: Can you embrace your dark side in Hogwarts Legacy, and how does that reflect back on your character and the world around you? The short answer is yes, kind of. There are quite a few restrictions and limitations in place to prevent the player from pursuing a completely destructive evil path. So if you were hoping to commit flagrant war crimes against your fellow Hogwarts students and the faculty, you would be best to lower your expectations slightly.
Players will be freely able to kill enemy combatants using Avada Kedavra, as well as torture them with Crucio, or mind-control them with Imperio. All three unforgivable curses will be readily available for the player to utilize in their loadout, should they choose to do so. Players will also be allowed to perform a vast number of hexes, charms, and curses on their fellow Hogwarts students, and even be allowed to engage in one-on-one duels. However, in these situations, the Unforgivable Curses will be off-limits. So if you find yourself aiming at another student, you’ll only be allowed to cast non-fatal spells. After all, a wizarding school can hardly be expected to function properly if the student population was suddenly eradicated overnight.
What good is power if you can’t enjoy it?
Hogwarts Legacy developer Avalanche Software has confirmed the game will not feature a morality system, wherein the player’s actions not only throughout story missions but also in the open world would normally result in the player being perceived by others as being good or evil. While there does seem to be some effect on character relationships, being evil will not carry with it any explicit penalty. So players should feel more than free to cast whatever charms, hexes, or curses they feel to be most appropriate for the given situation, without fear of later retribution.
For those curious about how exactly their evil deeds might rankle their fellow students and other NPCs in the game, certain characters will treat you with increased fear, anger, or distrust if you begin behaving in ways that go against their personal values. So if you plan on torturing one of your enemies into insensibility in order to gain valuable intel, you might want to first check around to make sure no Hufflepuffs or Gryffindors are in the area before you get started. Something wicked this way comes, indeed.
