Hogwarts Legacy recreates “boys can’t enter girls’ dorm” setting faithfully

Players of Hogwarts Legacy are impressed by the way the game prevents certain characters from trying to enter the witch dorms. A lot of care went into crafting a faithful recreation of how things work in the Harry Potter books.

男子が女子寮に侵入しようとすると階段が滑り台になって追い返される設定ちゃんと再現されてて草　#PS5Share, #ホグワーツ・レガシー pic.twitter.com/5dRlupkwf8

— たまご (@tamago_gamer) February 11, 2023

Hogwarts Legacy is an open-world action RPG based on the Harry Potter series. The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is depicted in stunning detail, and each of the four houses—Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin—has its own wizard and witch dormitories.

In the original books, boys are prohibited from entering the girls’ dorms. There is a scene where Harry and Ron attempt to go and meet Hermione in her dorm, but as they are about halfway up the staircase, it suddenly becomes flat, and they are sent sliding back down. This stairway mechanism has been perfectly recreated in Hogwarts Legacy.

When starting the game, players can choose to play as either a wizard or witch. Wizard characters are unable to enter the witch dorms, and the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin dorms all include the same staircase mechanism as in the books. Ravenclaw is the only house that differs in the way it prevents access: two suits of armor lower their spears to block the path as you approach. 

While boys could not visit the girls’ dorms in the books, girls could freely go to and from the boys’ dorms without issue, and this was also reflected in the game by giving witch characters full access to both the witch and wizard dorms. According to the Harry Potter Wiki, girls were not prevented from entering the boys’ dorms because the founders believed that girls were more trustworthy than boys.

As an aside, there is a rumor among Harry Potter fans in Japan that boys in Hufflepuff are able to enter the girls’ dormitory. The rumor claims that this is because students of Hufflepuff are sincere, and that historically there has not been any trouble between members of the opposite sex. It is unclear where this rumor first originated, and its credibility is rather dubious.

In Hogwarts Legacy, even wizards from Hufflepuff are prevented from entering the witch dorms, so that rumor suddenly looks even more farfetched. Considering that the game is a licensed work in the Wizarding World franchise, it’s probably safe to assume that the official stance is that boys cannot enter the girls’ dorms, no matter the house.

Written by. Marco Farinaccia based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2023-02-13 17:33 JST)