Can You Torture and Kill in Hogwarts Legacy?

Hogwarts Legacy is the first fully open-world Harry Potter-themed game that is not developed as a kid-friendly game like the LEGO series. As such, players are expecting the freedom to explore Hogwarts Castle and its surrounding Wizarding World areas — as well as the freedom to do as they please to helpless NPCs in the game. Now, the question remains: can you actually kill and torture people in Hogwarts Legacy?

Can You Torture and Kill in Hogwarts Legacy – Answered

First of all, while I’m not sure you can just kill and torture random students or innocents like in Grand Theft Auto or Saints Row, Hogwarts Legacy developer Avalanche Software has confirmed that the game will include a number of Dark Arts and Unforgivable Curses to your magic disposal, letting you kill and torture your targets. The game does not have a morality system though, but doing certain quests and storylines can influence how your character will turn out.

In an interview with GamesRadar+, Hogwarts Legacy narrative director Moira Squier also added that the team “knew” that some players would want to play as an evil character, and including these dangerous spells is the best way to let players do exactly that.

“Giving the player the option to use Unforgivable Curses was a decision not made lightly. We knew that many players have always wanted to play as Dark witches and wizards, and this option allows them to do so. […] Characters will react visually and audibly to seeing the player cast an Unforgivable, but we don’t have a morality system that punishes them for doing so.”

Speaking of Unforgivable Curses, all three of them can be learned in the game, as seen in the State of Play and Sebastian Sallow’s Dark Legacy trailers (both can be watched in this article):

1. Imperio, the mind control spell.
2. Crucio or Cruciatus Curse, which lets you torture your targets with excruciating pain.
3. And the extremely lethal Avada Kedavra.

The Sebastian Sallow’s Dark Legacy video description explained that befriending the Slytherin student Sebastian Sallow lets you “embrace” the Dark Arts. And If you bought the Deluxe Edition of Hogwarts Legacy, you can access the Dark Arts Arena and get an early taste of Unforgivable Curses even if your character is yet to learn them.

Hogwarts Legacy will be released on February 10, 2023, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store.