From goblin's rights to the slippery slope of the dark arts, "Hogwarts Legacy" isn't all sunshine and butterbeer. In fact, some of the game's darker moments might just Depulso right over kids' heads.
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00:00From goblins' rides to the slippery slope of the Dark Arts, Hogwarts Legacy isn't all
00:05sunshine and butterbeer.
00:07In fact, some of the game's darker moments might just depulso right over kids' heads.
00:12Beware, minor spoilers ahead for the plot of Hogwarts Legacy.
00:16In Hogwarts Legacy, players can befriend a Slytherin student named Sebastian Sallow,
00:20who can in turn teach the player a few dark spells over the course of several side missions.
00:25Some of these spells are in fact unforgivable curses, dangerous magical charms that have
00:30been outlawed by civilized wizards.
00:32With such heavy magic at his disposal, including the deadly Avada Kedavra spell, one might
00:37think that Sebastian Sallow is pretty much a villain, right?
00:41Well, not exactly.
00:42Yes, Sebastian ends up going down the wrong path to the point where his rage becomes unhinged
00:47and violent.
00:48However, his quest started out with pure intentions.
00:51Throughout the game, Sebastian only seeks to cure his sister of the ailment that is
00:54slowly killing her.
00:56This leads Sebastian to do things he might not have ever done otherwise, especially as
01:00he grows more desperate and his sister's condition worsens.
01:04Younger players may see Hogwarts Legacy as a black-and-white tale of good wizards versus
01:08bad ones, and much of it does play out that way, right up until the game's ending.
01:12However, Sebastian truly believes he's doing the right thing, and even the horrible moves
01:17he makes comes from a place of love.
01:19Sebastian may be irredeemable by the end of the story, but he definitely didn't start
01:23off things with wicked intentions.
01:26Harry Potter creator and author J.K.
01:28Rowling has remained in the news pretty consistently over the last few years, and for reasons that
01:33have upset a large section of the fanbase.
01:35The author's comments about the transgender community have cast a long shadow over the
01:39franchise to the point where some fans have outright boycotted the game.
01:44That's why it came as such a surprise to learn that Hogwarts Legacy actually features a transgender
01:49character in the form of Serona Ryan, the owner of the Three Broomsticks pub.
01:54"...Welcome.
01:55Butterbeer's on me."
01:59Although Serona doesn't figure heavily into the plot of the game, the inclusion of a trans
02:03woman in the wizarding world has been seen as a win by many people in the gaming community
02:08and Harry Potter fandom.
02:09However, others believe that Serona Ryan may not be the most shining example of representation,
02:14and according to them, a lot of it has to do with her name.
02:18A number of critical eyes, including Queer as Folk showrunner Jacqueline Moore, have
02:22pointed out that Serona Ryan's name begins with Ser, and that her last name is traditionally
02:26a male name.
02:28This unfortunate bit of wordplay, intentional or otherwise, probably goes right over the
02:32heads of younger players.
02:34Aside from fan concerns over Rowling's comments about transgender rights, another common argument
02:39against the Harry Potter series is its depiction of goblins.
02:43Some readers and viewers have criticized Rowling's decision to depict goblins in the world of
02:47Harry Potter as greedy, scheming bankers, arguing that the author leaned on anti-Semitic
02:52stereotypes to describe the creatures.
02:54Comedian and longtime Daily Show host Jon Stewart famously commented on the goblins
02:58in Harry Potter on his podcast, arguing that he couldn't believe that Rowling chose, in
03:03a world full of fantastic creatures and magical feats, to feature what appeared to be caricatures
03:08of Jewish people running a secretive, tightly-guarded bank.
03:11Stewart joked that Rowling might have looked at a caricature from anti-Semitic propaganda
03:15and develop the characters from there.
03:17The scene from the film doesn't do Rowling's defenders any justice, as it presents goblins
03:22with even bigger noses, even pointier teeth, and an even bigger obsession with money.
03:27The comparison was so prevalent that even the irreverent Pete Davidson had to comment
03:31on it on SNL.
03:32"...but who controls the banks?
03:35Jews, obviously!
03:37Little giant-nosed Jew goblins!"
03:40Luckily, Hogwarts' legacy takes a slightly different route with these highly intelligent
03:45beings, adjusting them into a portrayal that is much more socially acceptable, and less
03:50stereotypical.
03:51While the game doesn't drastically change the physical appearance of the goblins, it
03:55does do something more nuanced with their storyline, giving them a chance to be more
03:59than money-hungry bank tellers.
04:01What it doesn't do, however, is make wizards less mean to them.
04:04"...the wizarding world will crumble!"
04:08Okay, okay, we're not going to say that Ranroch, the game's main goblin antagonist, is totally
04:14justified in all of his behavior, but the goblin rebellion that plays out in Hogwarts'
04:19legacy is rooted in very real prejudices, and it makes sense why the goblins eventually
04:24decided to rise up.
04:26In the wizarding world, even in the modern-day stories populated by Harry and his friends,
04:30goblins are seen as lesser forms of life.
04:33Even though they have a high level of intelligence, and they're literally math geniuses, goblins
04:37are subject to heavy scrutiny and regulation.
04:40They're not allowed to carry wands, and are generally treated as untrustworthy among wizard
04:45society.
04:46Most upsetting of all, wizards seem to believe that goblins are fine with being treated as
04:49second-class citizens.
04:51The treatment of goblins, and elves, is often seen as one of the most questionable aspects
04:55of the Harry Potter franchise.
04:56When the goblin rebellion begins, it's ignited by a desire for goblins to be free from prejudice
05:01and given the same rights as the humans in the wizarding world.
05:05The battles eventually escalate and become much more brutal and bloody, but again, it's
05:09hard to argue against the basic desire to be treated fairly.
05:13I don't want respect from the likes of you.
05:16All you do is insult people.
05:17The protagonist of Hogwarts Legacy joins the titular school at the age of 15, as opposed
05:22to the standard enrollment age of 11.
05:25Beginning classes as a fifth-year student doesn't really seem to be much of an issue,
05:28though.
05:29Not only does the main character manage to catch up pretty quickly, but they are a bit
05:32of a prodigy, picking up advanced skills and executing them without much trouble.
05:37Much like Harry Potter himself, the protagonist is a bit of a Mary Sue who is instantly great
05:41at pretty much everything.
05:43Point blank, it must be really frustrating to be this kid's classmate.
05:47Imagine studying for four years, only to be outmatched in every way by someone who just
05:51picked up their first wand.
05:53Of course, there are reasons for this from a development standpoint.
05:56The developers told Game Reactor that they felt uncomfortable sending an 11-year-old
06:00into tense combat scenarios, not that this ever stopped the franchise before.
06:04So the protagonist was aged up a bit.
06:06This also allowed the character to properly engage with the more mature themes in the
06:10story.
06:11Older players are a bit more likely to notice the seams when it comes to the world-building
06:14in Hogwarts' legacy, even if these concessions were made out of necessity.
06:19It's hard not to see the overachieving main character through the eyes of fellow students,
06:22who have put so much work in already.
06:25And that's not even touching upon their tendency to break into strangers' houses and chug their
06:29half-empty drinks, but that's a bad habit for another time.