Hogwarts Legacy lets you live out the full experience of being a student of the world’s most famous magical school. Along the way, you’ll attend familiar classes, hone your magical skills, befriend fantastic beasts, and slowly uncover a dark magical conspiracy. All of that should make the game catnip to Harry Potter fans (if their conscience lets them play it), and there’s one big aspect of the Wizarding World many are eager to explore.
Throughout the books and films, we see Hogwarts students romantically pairing up. Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley end up married, Ron Weasley is briefly involved with Lavender Brown, Bill Weasley punches way above his weight with Fleur Delacour, Hermione is romanced by Viktor Krum, Harry gets his first kiss from Cho Chang, and — of course — Ron and Hermione finally admit their feelings for one another in the final book.
So, can you find that Harry Potter love in Hogwarts Legacy?
‘I love you, Hermione,’ said Ron, sinking back, rubbing his eyes wearily.’
Sadly for all those budding Hogwarts Casanovas out there, there are no romance options in Hogwarts Legacy. You can develop strong friendships with various students from each of the houses, but you cannot get into a full-blown romantic partnership with them.
This is likely Avalanche Studios trying to dodge a bullet. You play a fifth-year student, so you and your classmates will either be 15 or 16 years old. While in real life teenagers are obviously getting into boyfriend/girlfriend relationships around this time, it’s likely the studio decided that adults playing as teenagers trying to woo other teenagers was simply too hot a potato for the game to handle.
This is depressing news for the gigantic Potterverse shipping community out there, though we have zero doubt that what doesn’t happen in the game will take place in graphic detail across tens of thousands of fan fictions.
‘Lavender burst into tears. Ron looked immensely guilty and turned his back on her.’
Romantic relationships between students were a big part of the books and it’s a shame we couldn’t even get the mildest most PG-rated romantic partnerings in the game. Perhaps these options will one day come in the form of DLC, but as it appears the objection is to the content rather than any technical reason it’s not looking likely.
However, on PC the modding community may well swoop in to add romantic content. Hang on, let me just check what romantic options have been added to Skyrim by modders since launch.
Oh.
Oh jeez.
Uh, maybe it’s for the best that Hogwarts stays strictly celibate after all.
Hogwarts Legacy will be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X, and PC on Feb. 10, with the PS4 and the Xbox One releases set for April 4, and the Nintendo Switch on July 25.
