During my Hogwarts Legacy review, I discussed how Avalanche Software had managed to do the impossible by bringing the magical wizarding world to life in a fun and fulfilling action RPG. When that game launched, I was finally able to satisfy my childhood dreams by exploring Hogwarts castle, capturing unique creatures, attending magical classes, fighting evil wizards, and casting a range of spells. However, while it was possible to fly on a hippogryph or a broom, one of the biggest aspects of Hogwarts student life was missing: Competitive Quidditch matches.
The upcoming Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions somewhat fixes this oversight by being a multiplayer game solely devoted to the wizarding sport. That said, this new title leaves a complicated taste in my mouth toward Hogwarts Legacy.
No wonder Quidditch wasn't in Hogwarts Legacy
Hogwarts Legacy's in-game reason for Quidditch's absence is pretty weak. Basically, headmaster Phineas Nigellus Black cancels Quidditch at the start of the game, saying the decision was made because someone apparently got injured the year before. This is just a flimsy excuse, really. We all know Hogwarts is a relatively dangerous place that doesn't stop most normal operations, even when a student is seriously injured or dies (RIP Cedric and Myrtle to name a few). You could argue that the wizarding world was more cautious in the 1800s when Hogwarts Legacy takes place, but I doubt that.
If anything, this feeble reasoning made it even more inexcusable that Quidditch matches weren't in Hogwarts Legacy at all. The Quidditch Pitch (field or arena) was right there on Hogwarts school grounds, yet I couldn't even watch a match from the stands or see a quick cutscene of students playing a match. It was kind of like having an indulgent sundae with the iconic gleaming cherry placed right before me and knowing I couldn't eat it or even touch it. Even flying around the vacant Quidditch arena in Hogwarts Legacy felt hollow and sad.
That all said, the lack of Quidditch gameplay was a good thing, overall.
Now, you can bet your Nimbus 2000 that one of the biggest reasons behind having a separate Quidditch game in addition to Hogwarts Legacy was so Warner Bros. Games could make more money from the same Harry Potter IP (intellectual property). But that doesn't mean it was a bad decision.
For example, the old Electronic Arts (EA) PC Harry Potter games I played as a kid let me fly around and catch the Snitch during competitive Quidditch matches. Thing is, since I was playing as Harry, the developers only had to worry about creating the Seeker part of the sport rather than the various positions on the Quidditch team. In other words, all EA had to do was plan on players catching the Snitch rather than accounting for the various other scoring possibilities that could tip a match one way or the other. Even then, the Seeker segments were really underdeveloped and felt pretty shoddy in EA's games.
Meanwhile, you play as a unique student in Hogwarts Legacy, so who's to say you'd only want to play as the Seeker on a Quidditch team? To do justice to the magical sport, Avalanche Software would have had to focus a lot of time on the various mechanics for the different Quidditch roles, not to mention the broom movements and scoring mechanics. That would have required a ton of extra energy spent on one optional side element of the game. Their time has been better served on mainline gameplay.
Removing Quidditch from the equation allowed the Hogwarts Legacy team to focus more on combat, story, and single-player gameplay mechanics. After all, Hogwarts Legacy was designed as a solo experience, and Quidditch is far more multiplayer-oriented. We're no longer in the 2010s, where every single-player game comes with a half-baked multiplayer mode, and that's a good thing. One thing I can say for Hogwarts Legacy is that the developers went all out in every aspect. Poorly executed Quidditch mechanics could have dragged the experience down and the game wouldn't have felt as polished as it currently does.
A separate developer team dedicated entirely to making Quidditch come to life could theoretically do better justice to the sport, which could result in a far better overall playing experience. We'll have to see exactly how good of a job Unbroken Studios does with the upcoming Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions multiplayer, but as it is, I'm happy Hogwarts Legacy didn't overextend itself by doing too much. I just wish it had at least given us the option of watching a few fun Quidditch cutscenes.
