I’m a bit disgusted by the Hogwarts Legacy. Don’t get me wrong: it’s a great video game. I wouldn’t rate it GOTY, but you should buy it, play it and have it in your collection. After investing + 80 hours completing my first game, getting Platinum and starting two other characters, I can say that there is one aspect that really annoys me: absence of Karma system.
Maybe it’s my opinion (or not), but video games make us less responsible of our actions and graphics madness has reached absurd (and unsustainable in many developments), to become the first (and sometimes only) feature appreciated by many users.
I have not lost the ability to transfer and part of the graphics. My jaw still drops when I remember the visual insanity that is Resident Evil 2 Remake, but … the more I marvel, the angrier I get. Most of the worlds we play in are very primitive, hollow to a playable level. Video games already look great, let’s stop this madness.
The Hogwarts legacy cares not for us: Harmless Actions
If you think about it, there are a lot of video games that feature fantasy worlds in which your actions do not affect them at all. The legacy of Hogwarts It’s a good example. It doesn’t matter if you answer incorrectly, if you keep or charge things that don’t belong to you, or if you use Unforgivable Curses. The result is just as tacky: a line or two of angry dialogue that no one believes.
Actions are inside The legacy of Hogwarts They do not affect the world. You will not destroy your relationship with anyone and it is okay to cast Avada Kedravra on the enemy. Even during the last election the same thing happens! No effect. There are only values you want to add. No one will raise the price or deny you entry anywhere. And if that’s not enough, Professor Weasley also congratulates you on your arrival level 34. Your time at Hogwarts is worthless.
Missions of Unforgivable Curses They make it very clear that it is not a good method and that using them is crossing a line from which you cannot return. An old Auror even appears who clearly states that they are being hunted by the Ministry of Magic! A lot of barking, but then … nothing.
On the other hand, the Dark Magic branch of The legacy of Hogwarts It is available from the first moment, without requirements, and learning has no effect on the world or behavior. No teacher will be angry with you, nor will the authorities be worried because you are using Crucio and Avada Kedavra left and right. Nothing happens if you go out at night or if you torture animals, etc.
All this annoys me. I understand that The legacy of Hogwarts It aims to be a video game for all audiences and accessible, but in the experiment it ends up not conforming to all the rules it sets from the beginning. My final feeling is that Hogwarts doesn’t change a little after my passing.
This is not new. The Department, for example, also faces this: you can become a Rogue Agent in Dark Zones steal and kill SHD agency. There are no positive or negative effects. You remove your status and leave the scene as the holiest player. And the list goes on: GTA and Assassin’s Creed are two other examples. I’m sure you can think of more.
Decisions and consequences: a world that adapts to your actions
That a video game looks good is fine, but that it takes into account your time in the world is another matter. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the Grind Fallout (minus 76), Elden Ring (and others that carry souls), 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 react to their actions. … more or less likely.
Karma system Skyrim and Fallout It is well known. It goes so far as to cause the loss of side quests, enmity with certain factions, and banning access to certain areas. Ring of Elden It has a complex system of relationships and secondary missions. It is impossible not to be confused with someone. While some relationships can be restored, most NPC decisions and deaths are irreversible.
You have another example in my The Witcher 3 post about Hunchback Quagmire. A series of decisions and attitudes are combined that eventually lead to the death of someone important to a character in the main story. And although I was not the hand to execute, I was responsible. And speaking of decisions and effects, Baldur’s Gate 3 is a nightmare.
These systems of merit, judgment and karma bind the world and its laws to the player. They represent a wonderful ticking bomb, because you go from being a mere observer to a gear and/or engine of change in the world. You can live the way you want: be yourself, a villain, a hero… The good thing is that each role has its advantages and disadvantages.
Dark magic within The legacy of Hogwarts It has 100% profit and 0% loss. His skill tree upgrades are very powerful, and three Unforgivable Curses are available in side quests whose negative effects have no effect on your character. The game is not responsible. Put all the blame on your fellow NPC, lest someone feel bad about torturing and killing, and stop playing.
“I want a solution, not a problem“, you will think. Perfect! Using Dark Magic should close Natt’s relationship with Poppy, for example, and open up other side quests that focus on the dark path you have chosen. Professor Weasley should not congratulate you on your work. progress, and you should not attend the final mission secret.
If you choose to fully upgrade the Dark Magic branch and learn the three unforgivable curses (there is room for trickery), you may end up in In Azkah, For example. Did you enjoy story time? Chief, now answer for your actions.
It’s easier to make a good game than a cohesive one.
Recent years have shown that video games have fallen far behind in several areas: AI, the richness of the open world and systems of karma. They are wonderful on a photographic level, but their world (not only on a physical level) does not respond to our actions, they are inert.
The harsh truth is that it is much easier to create a beautiful world than a cohesive one. Having real decisions and results is difficult at the level of development and when faced with experience. Knowing that your actions will have an impact on the world (present and future) provides an experience that requires a certain level of commitment and strategy.
Meanwhile inside The legacy of Hogwarts you end up clapping and shouting no matter how you do it, games like Ring of Elden, Mass Effect y Magician 3 It does not always produce the results that the player expects. Often, you have to choose between two evils, each worse, or a change of events (due to the decisions you made in parallel and/or before) reduces your plans.
It is not pleasant … And here is the key to the matter! There is a high risk of reaching the end or going through a part of the experience with a bad conscience because of the decision. And by this I don’t mean that the inspired stories are worse, The Last of Us Part 2 is an experience that makes the player feel really bad … even if he gets cold feet at the end.
Whether out of fear or the convenience of developers, fewer and fewer games hold users accountable for their actions, if they allow them to be taken at all. But the future is not entirely dark for those of us who love these kinds of games. Starfield and Baldur’s Gate 3for example, it has shown that there are still cases in which we should think very carefully about what we do, since our decisions have short-term and long-term effects on our relationships with the world.
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