Does Being Evil Affect the Storyline in Hogwarts Legacy?

The Harry Potter franchise has long focused on concepts of morality and the fight between good and evil. Whether characters fought alongside Harry to protect the innocent or chose to engage in unforgivable curses in the service of the terrible he-who-must-not-be-named (it’s Voldemort), actions and decisions in the books and films always led to major alterations of a character’s role in the story. Players wonder if the story of Hogwarts Legacy has similar elements and a morality system similar to those in the Mass Effect series or other open-world RPGs, so here is the answer to if being evil actually affects the storyline in your Hogwarts Legacy playthrough.

While You Can Use Evil Curses, Being Evil Doesn’t Really Affect the Storyline of Hogwarts Legacy

No matter how your wizard tackles the game, your good or evil actions aren’t going to make a major difference in the plot of your time at Hogwarts. The lack of a morality system may be disappointing to some fans who were hoping to walk in the shoes of Voldemort, but the positive angle to this is that players will get off scot-free for using heinous spells or sneaking around Hogwarts plotting ways to be evil.

One of those ways is by following a number of sidequests with a sinister Slytherin student named Sebastian, which will net players the Avada Kedavra curse — the “Killing Curse.” You can also learn the other two unforgivable curses to add to your dark wizard efforts. Imperio will let you take mind control over other wizards and creatures, while Crucio will let you cast torturous pain on another being.

It should be noted that Hogwarts Legacy does not allow you to use any of these evil spells on Hogwarts campus grounds. And if you do choose to cast any of these three unforgivable curses in front of another wizard, they will respond with shock and disdain, netting a negative audible reaction. This still however plays no role on how the storyline proceeds.

No matter your heinous actions, the worst repercussions of taking evil actions will likely just be a few hurt feelings from NPCs as well as some scolding if you cast dangerous or harmful spells at innocent beings or enemies. It is a bit of a letdown after the series put so much emphasis on the importance of personal choice and making the decision to be good or evil, and some players may feel let down by the simplistic view in the game. But for others, they might just love being evil and having no in-game story consequences.

So, the answer to how being evil can affect the story of Hogwarts Legacy is that — it doesn’t. Oh well.