During Sony’s last State of Play, developer Avalanche Software uncovered many details about what fans can expect from Hogwarts Legacy. However, while the latest gameplay preview gave fans a taste of what Hogwarts Legacy will be about, many details are still being kept under wraps, one of which is whether blood status will play an essential role in Hogwarts Legacy.
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The Role of Blood Status in the Harry Potter Franchise
For the uninitiated, blood status is a concept that became the main driving force in the Harry Potter books and films that sparked the first and second wizarding wars. In the wizarding world, wizards and witches can be classified into one of five levels of blood purity: Pure-bloods, Half-bloods, Muggle-borns, Squibs, and Half-breeds.
Pure-bloods refer to families or individuals with no known linkages with Muggles (non-magic humans). In contrast, half-bloods are witches and wizards whose ancestry is split between magical and non-magical humans. On the other hand, Muggle-borns are witches and wizards born out of two Muggle parents. The last two are Squibs, who are individuals born into wizard families but cannot perform magic, and half-breeds or those who are humans that have at least one non-human parent, such as giants, villains, goblins, vampires, etc.
In the Harry Potter series, a witch or wizard would have different experiences of the wizarding world, depending on their blood status. For example, Muggle-borns are often discriminated against by their fellow wizards due to their “inferior blood.” Additionally, blood purity became the catalyst that sparked the first and second wizarding wars as certain community members, such as the Death Eaters, who were pure-blood supremacists, fought for dominance over those they considered inferior.
How Blood Status Could Affect the Story and Gameplay of Hogwarts Legacy
According to Avalanche Software, Hogwarts Legacy will put players in the role of a character joining Hogwarts as a late fifth-year student. As it turns out, the player character holds the key to some “ancient secret that threatens to tear the wizarding world apart.” Unfortunately, it remains unclear whether the concept of blood purity will play a significant role in the story of Hogwarts Legacy. However, given its importance to the established lore of the wizarding world, it will likely play some part in the story and gameplay of Hogwarts Legacy.
In terms of story, the different blood statuses may give players unique origin stories that would reveal how they ended up in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A player’s blood status may also trigger specific dialogue and dictate how other characters, companions, and NPCs would behave around the player. For instance, Muggle-borns may experience discrimination from their fellow students and maybe even from some teachers at Hogwarts. It is worth remembering that during Harry Potter’s time in the ’90s, the wizarding world is more or less tolerant towards Muggle-borns. However, since Hogwarts Legacy is set in the late 1800s, more wizards may still be sympathetic to the concept of blood purity.
As far as gameplay is concerned, some side quests and items may be exclusive to a specific blood status, which would increase Hogwarts Legacy’s replayability value given the many paths players can take. It is also worth pointing out that the concept of blood status would also have an exciting impact on Hogwarts Legacy’s morality system since player choices will impact the legacy they leave behind in the wizarding world. Imagine a half-blood wizard, obsessed with blood purity, paving the way for pure-blood dominance.
While the concept of blood status could be a great way of introducing unique origin stories in Hogwarts Legacy, it should not affect a character’s magical ability. It is worth noting that it has been established that Muggle-borns are just as magically talented as pure-bloods, so this should remain true in Hogwarts Legacy. Given this, if players can choose their blood status, it is likely that it would only be between pure-bloods, half-bloods, and Muggle-borns since some half-breeds have extra abilities like half-Velas. Lastly, the game will likely not include the option of being a Squib for the player’s character since they are unable to perform magic.
Hogwarts Legacy releases in 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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