I’m a bit disgusted with Hogwarts Legacy. Don’t get me wrong: it’s a great video game. I wouldn’t rate it as GOTY, but you should buy it, play it and have it in your collection. after investing +80 hours to complete my first game, get the Platinum and start two more characters, I can say that there is one aspect that annoys me a lot: the absence of a Karma system.
Maybe it’s my impression (or not), but video games make us every time less responsible of our actions and madness for graphics has reached absurd levels, to the point of being the first (and sometimes only) aspect that is appreciated by many users.
I have not lost the ability to get excited by the graphic section. I recently played Resident Evil 2 Remake and my jaw is still hanging, but… the more I marvel, the more pissed off. Many of the worlds that we play are pure facade, they are hollow at the playable level. Video games already look great, let’s stop this insanity.
Hogwarts Legacy Don’t Care About Us – Actions Without Repercussions
If you think about it, there are a lot of video games that present wonderful worlds in which your actions do not really affect the least. Hogwarts Legacy is the most recent example. It doesn’t matter if you answer wrong, if you keep or charge for items that aren’t yours, or if you use Unforgivable Curses. The result is just as shabby: one or two lines of angry dialogue that no one believes.
your actions in Hogwarts Legacy they do not affect the world. You’re not going to fuck up your relationship with anyone and it’s okay to cast an Avada Kedravra on an enemy. Even during the final election, essentially the same thing happens! no repercussions. There is only the morality that you want to add. No one is going to raise your prices or deny you entry to any site. And as if that weren’t enough, Professor Weasley congratulates you anyway when you arrive at level 34. Your time at Hogwarts is irrelevant.
The missions of the Unforgivable Curses they make it very clear that it is not a good path and that to use them is to cross a door through which you cannot return. An ex-Auror even shows up who clearly says that they are persecuted by the Ministry of Magic!
On the other hand, the Hogwarts Legacy Dark Magic branch it’s accessible right out of the box, with no requirements, and learning it has no world or character impact. No teacher is going to tell you off, nor are the authorities going to worry because you are throwing Crucio and Avada Kedavra left and right. Nothing happens either if you go out at night or if you mistreat animals…
All this pisses me off. I understand that Hogwarts Legacy It pretends to be a video game for all audiences and accessible, but in the attempt it ends up being inconsistent with all the rules it establishes from the beginning. My final feeling is that Hogwarts doesn’t change the least after my passing.
This is not new. The Division, for example, also sins about this: you can become a Renegade Agent in the Dark Zones to steal and kill SHD agents. There is no positive or negative repercussion. You remove the status and leave the zone as the holiest player. And the list goes on: GTA and Assassin’s Creed are two other examples. Surely more will occur to you.
Decisions and consequences: worlds consistent with your actions
That a video game looks incredible is fine, but that it takes into account your time in the world is another problem. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the Fallout saga (minus 76), Elden Ring (and the rest of soulsborne), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and Red Dead Redemption II/Online are perfect examples of video games that are aware of the player’s place. in the world and who react to your actions… with more or less possibilities.
He Skyrim and Fallout karma system it is very well known. It goes to the point of causing the loss of side quests, enmity with certain factions and the banning of access to certain areas. Elden Ring features a intricate system of relationships and side missions. It’s impossible not to mess with someone. Although some relationships can be restored, most decisions and NPC deaths are irrevocable.
You have another clear example in the recent publication of The Witcher 3 about the Hunchback Swamp. A series of decisions and attitudes are intertwined that end up leading to the death of someone important for a character in the main story. And although I was not the executing hand, I was responsible.
These systems of reputation, decisions and karma connect the world and its rules with the player. They are an incredible immersion bombshell, because you go from being a mere spectator to a gear and/or engine of the changes in the world. You can behave however you want: being yourself, a villain, a hero… The nice thing is that each role has its pros and cons.
The Dark Magic at Hogwarts Legacy it has 100% advantages and 0% disadvantages. His skill tree upgrades are too powerful, and the three Unforgivable Curses are acquired in side quests whose dire results have no impact on your character. The game does not hold you responsible. Put all the blame on your fellow NPC, lest you feel bad about torturing and killing.
“We want solutions, not problemsyou will say. Perfect! Using Dark Magic should close your relationships from Natt and Poppy, for example, and open up other side quests for you that focus on the dark path you’ve chosen. Professor Weasley shouldn’t congratulate you on your progress and you shouldn’t be able to attend the secret ending quest.
If you choose to fully power up the Dark Magic branch and learn all three Unforgivable Curses (there is leeway), the ending could be in In Azka, For example. Did you have fun during the story? Great, now answer for your actions.
It is easier to make a beautiful game than coherent
Recent years have shown that video games have lagged far behind in various areas: AI, open worlds richness and the karma systems. They are amazing on a graphical level, but their worlds (not only on a physical level) do not respond to our actions, they are inert.
The harsh reality is that it is much easier to make beautiful worlds than coherent ones. Have real decisions and consequences (unlike Cyberpunk 2077) is complicated both at the development level and when facing the experience. Know that your actions will have a impact on the world (present and future) poses an experience that requires a certain degree of commitment.
Meanwhile in Hogwarts Legacy you end up in applause and cheers no matter what and how you do it, games like Elden Ring, Mass Effect y The Witcher 3 they do not always deliver the results the player expects. On many occasions you will be forced to choose between two evils, each one worse, or a turn of events (due to decisions you made at the same time and/or in the past) that will truncate your plans.
It’s not nice… And here’s the crux of the matter! There is a huge risk of reaching the end or spending part of the experience with bad conscience for a decision. And with this I am not suggesting that the guided stories are worse, The Last of Us Part 2 is the experience that makes the player feel very bad… even if he chickens out at the end.
Either fear or comfort Of developers, fewer and fewer games hold users accountable for their actions…or at least allow them to take them. But the future is not entirely dark for those of us who love this type of game. Some like Starfield promise experiences in which we must think very carefully about what we are going to do, since our decisions will have a short and long term impact in our relationships and the world.
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