A behind-the-scenes portion of the recent PlayStation State of Play for Hogwarts Legacy offered a very brief look at the game's map, or at least a portion of it. The open-world action RPG will let players explore the eponymous school of witchcraft and wizardry, but also its grounds and the surrounding region. While this Hogwarts Legacy gameplay preview was fairly lengthy, there's still a lot that has yet to be revealed about the game, including just how large its explorable area will be.
Players will enter Hogwarts as a fifth-year student who is beginning their magical education late for as yet undisclosed reasons. A special curriculum has been set up to get the player's academic progress in line with their peers, which appears to be overseen by Professor Eleazar Fig. Among the many extracurricular activities expected to be in the game, players will travel with Fig and possibly other students (or even alone) beyond the grounds of Hogwarts. Hogsmeade will be a major point of interest, but the Scottish countryside around the school will also feature other villages, landmarks, and secrets.
During the short look during the State of Play, the Hogwarts Legacy map revealed more than just Hogwarts - in fact, the school doesn't appear in the teased area at all. Provided the game world hasn't gone through very drastic changes since this concept map (pictured below) was made, the game will have a surprisingly large explorable area. Hogwarts, its grounds, and other landmarks that immediately surround it - like the Forbidden Forest and the Great Lake - appear to constitute only a fraction of the open world.
What Can Be Seen In Hogwarts Legacy's Preview Map
This one bit of map already appears quite large, and it's only a piece of the total game world. The numbers seem to indicate sectors, and if 6-6 were a corner of the map, and assuming the opposite corner would be 1-1, this whole region would only be roughly one-sixth of the game world's total footprint. There is, however, nothing to indicate this is a corner of the whole map, meaning it could very well be much larger. Hogwarts Legacy lets players explore unseen school locations, but it also appears to be provided vast tracts of wilderness.
Just this one section of the map is quite varied in its terrain. Rivers, streams, ponds, and a lake cover the area, even being so concentrated in one section to create what looks like a marshland. Mountains rise above the surrounding forests, and rocky outcroppings provide space for grass-covered plateaus. This part of the map doesn't appear to contain any prominent villages, though there are numerous buildings scattered throughout.
Most pertinent to gameplay purposes, the map is littered with icons that look sort of like small, black obelisks. It's tough to guess exactly what they're for, since some are located next to buildings or prominent landmarks while others are just out in the middle of the woods. Another, less frequent type of icon appears to be some sort of doorway, perhaps indicating something like the dungeons reported in a recent Hogwarts Legacy leak. As the game approaches its Holiday 2022 release date, more information will almost certainly come to light, including more gameplay that showcases just how dense the open world is. Hogwarts Legacy was known to be an open-world game, but just this section of the map alone seems to suggest a far larger explorable area than many may have assumed.
Editor’s Note: Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling has been accused of transphobia by those in the LGBTQ+ community. Although not directly involved in the development of Hogwarts Legacy, Rowling does stand to earn royalties from the game. We would like to reiterate our support for trans rights and that trans identities are valid. Support services are listed below for trans people impacted by discussions of transphobia.
In the USA:
- Trans Lifeline: (877) 565-8860
- The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386
In Canada:
- Trans Lifeline: (877) 330-6366
- Youth Line: 1-800-268-9688
In the UK:
- Switchboard: 01273 204050
- Mermaids: 0808 801 0400