Hogwarts Legacy Needs New Seasons and Activities More Than Suicide Squad Does
Hogwarts Legacy is not a bad game, and one you'd want to come back to - if it had new content. Suicide Squad will have new content, but one doesn't necessarily want to check what kind. Could it be that the publisher, common to both productions, got the genre selection wrong?
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is receiving negative reviews and facing the usual post-release problems of most looter shooters and game services - a lack of motivation to keep playing regularly and uncertainty about the future development.
Game-services is generally a difficult topic and it requires a really good idea, execution, and then regular, creative support to maintain player engagement. We are aware of too many failures of titles in this genre to feel any particular regret over the absence of another position competing for our time.
Although... one game could be an endless game service, and many of us would likely approve of such an idea. Moreover, it's a game from the same publisher, Warner Bros. Games, which oversees many iconic brands. I'm of course referring to Hogwarts Legacy, which was released a year ago and is just perfect for experiencing adventures at the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry throughout the entire school year, rather than just for 30 hours.
Source: Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, Warner Bros. Games, 2024.
Shooters better as a game-service?
It can be assumed that both games were developed at the same time, given that they were released a year apart. Why was Suicide Squad chosen as a game-service and Hogwarts Legacy as a one-time adventure? It's hard to say, and perhaps a few managers at Warner Bros. Games are also now asking themselves this question.
Maybe the mechanics of shooting and combat were the deciding factors here, forming the basis of the gameplay. It's possible they wanted to follow the path of games like Destiny or The Division, and at first glance, the world of Harry Potter doesn't seem to have such potential. Or does it? Hogwarts Legacy could easily combine different types of gameplay, such as spell duels, and some of the activities may resemble a certain Nintendo games, which isn't a game-service, yet many people consistently play it while awaiting periodic events.
Source: Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, Warner Bros. Games, 2024.
Average potential of Suicide Squad
Let's go back for a moment to Suicide Squad and what the future development of the game's content may be based on. Without going into too much detail about the plot, the devs left the door open for a theoretical year of retelling the story presented here, but in different or modified locations. Moreover, they orchestrated everything in a manner that could even justify bringing back characters who were killed off in the campaign. There's also a great potential to add more playable characters from the Legion and develop them from the ground up, as well as an endless variety of cosmetically distinct weapons. However, when it comes to outfits, there's not much freedom for the distinctive characters to maintain their identity.
The most desirable would be new gameplay modes, new types of missions, raids - but looking at the devs' creativity so far in this respect, I don't have very hopes high. The so-called extended universe of DC Comics and the dead Metropolis during the alien invasion don't provide a right foundation for the cyclical events that appear in service games based on the calendar year, such as various holidays. Hogwarts Legacy, on the other hand, is a real mine of recurring events and a strong linchpin of any additional content!
Source: Hogwarts Legacy, Warner Bros. Games, 2023.
Perfect foundation for co-op and game-as-a-service
The Harry Potter universe appears to offer a much larger potential for a game service. Ideas literally line up when you know Hogwarts Legacy, the books, and films from this universe. The gameplay mechanics we've seen in Legacy could be easily adjusted to be more time-consuming and require regular completion, such as attending classes to learn a spell or potion, or regular care for magical animals. It's difficult to think of a game more suitable for co-op mode than one where we can do everything together with our friends, just like Harry, Hermione, and Ron.
New side stories with classmates could be regularly added to Hogwarts Legacy, even if they are shorter than Sebastian's or Poppy's storylines. I also remember such basic things as the Triwizard Tournament, for which it would be possible to create many interesting challenges, mini-games, and collectibles, as well as Quidditch matches. For sure, the last one is a big absentee from the game released a year ago, but probably no one would mind if such an addition appeared even with a significant delay, after the premiere.
Source: Hogwarts Legacy, Warner Bros. Games, 2023.
Returning to the previously mentioned Nintendo game, Hogwarts Legacy as a service would be specifically designed to incorporate a wealth of cozy gaming elements from Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Games that aren't a service still attract many players with their leisurely gameplay and seasonal patches, which include not only special events, but also collectibles. At Hogwarts, we could take our time to set up our Room of Requirement and the large common room of our chosen house, as well as to maintain the school's decor and surrounding locations when it's time for autumn pumpkin decorations or Christmas trees. These and other aspects of a relaxing gameplay could serve as a substitute for the overly complex weapon stats and bonuses in a typical shooter.
Combined with spell-based crafting, quests to confront an especially menacing troll or other boss, fresh mini-games, environmental enigmas, discoveries, attire, wands, brooms, and pet companions introduced with every season and update, this all would create the highly anticipated game-service. A game that we would return to for full immersion as a student of the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, with the opportunity to spend every free moment there, and not for the boring grind of acquiring weapon skins.
Source: Hogwarts Legacy, Warner Bros. Games, 2023.
We will definitely return to Hogwarts, but how...?
The good news is that the chances for such a game are huge! Hogwarts Legacy may not have won last year's The Game Awards ceremony, but it definitely captured the hearts and wallets of gamers, and ensured huge profits for the developers and publishers. After all, it's not often that a completely new gaming brand emerges and outshines the sales of Call of Duty. Warner Bros. probably already knows what a treasure they have in their hands, and it's obvious that a sequel is in development. However, I believe that another quasi RPG set on the same map (as I doubt they would opt to relocate to, for instance, Uagadou - a school in Uganda that Natsai attended) might be a step backward, even if it includes its own Quidditch. The world of Hogwarts definitely calls for more of everything, and the idea of a game-as-a-service fits it perfectly. And Suicide Squadâ?¦? I'd love to play a sequel, but only in the style of the Arkham series.
