Hogwarts Legacy cut content reveals reputation and morality system, leaving fans to imagine what could have been

Hogwarts Legacy fans are currently mourning what could have been, as it's revealed the game once had a reputation and morality system that was cut from the final version. 

As highlighted in this Reddit post, one Hogwarts Legacy player has discovered cut content hidden in the magical RPG's files. YouTuber GrandTheftDiamonds has found a number of unused ideas in Hogwarts Legacy's code, most interestingly though, they found traces of a reputation and morality system.

Just like the post explains, at one point developer Avalanche Software created a reputation and morality system, similar to the Karma system in Red Dead Redemption 2. According to the video, players could lose House Points for doing specific things, for example casting Avada Kedavra would cost you 100 points, casting Imperio would cost 50 points, casting Confringo would add up to 25 points, and more. 

So how do Hogwarts Legacy players feel about missing out on all of this? Well, if the comments of the Reddit post are anything to go by, it seems players' main concern is how many points they would have lost for casting the spells mentioned above. A lot of fans believe that the consequences for using those spells are fair, however they don't agree with the fact that Confringo would cost you 25 points. As one player put it: "I'd be fine with all that except for the Confringo penalty... it's just so much more useful than Incendio."

Others have also pointed out how this system wouldn't work very well as the spells are often used to fight bosses and other enemies - so would students still be penalized for that? "If I'm using Confringo to do a Merlin Trial I fail to see how that's a points deduction," one Reddit user says, "what if I'm using it on a poacher who has tried or done the fire tornado thing on me? Or on a boss? They're all supposed to be the villains to be defeated, the bad guys."

Elsewhere in Hogwarts Legacy's files, it was discovered that a number of spells were also cut from the game. The video claims that spells such as Accio Maxima (summoning spell), Aguamenti (water-making spell), FiendFyre (a powerful fire spell), the Bat Bogeys curse (a spell that turns bogeys into bats), the tripping curse (self-explanatory), and more all failed to make it into the final build of the game.

As well as all this, the video also claims that a number of activities were also cut from Hogwarts Legacy including the ability to cut class, the option to be the class clown, the ability to commit crimes (like theft, breaking and entering, etc.), the choice to bully your classmates or protect them from bullies, and even the ability to study, gossip, and get drunk. All of these things make Hogwarts Legacy sound like a completely different game. 

There must have been a good reason for Avalanche Software to leave these features out of Hogwarts Legacy, and like the video disclaimer says, this is just speculation based on things found in the game's files, so take it all with a grain of salt. Who knows, maybe we'll end up getting some of them back later down the line. For now, though, we'll just have to settle with not being punished for casting deadly spells. 

The release of Hogwarts Legacy has been the subject of criticism and debate due to J.K. Rowling's public stance on gender identity, which continues to challenge the inclusivity at the heart of the Harry Potter community. Here is our explainer on the Hogwarts Legacy controversy.