For most of the Harry Potter series, fans have been limited to the perspective of Harry and his friends, which is useful, as Harry faces off against one of the most powerful dark wizards in wizarding history. However, this leaves a lot of the wizarding world in the shadows. Hogwarts Legacy has the chance to explore aspects of the magical world that have not been touched on enough previously, including the giants of the wizarding world who are often misunderstood.
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The Misunderstood Giants of the Wizarding World
In the Harry Potter universe, several magical species must co-exist, and they do not always get along. Among the different species, the giants are perhaps the most notorious, and wizards do their best to stay away from them. Giants are large, humanoid creatures, and they are believed to be violent and sadistic, sometimes killing for fun. According to popular belief, giants are so brutal that they cannot even live peacefully among themselves, and they are known to kill each other. Strangely, things are not always as they seem, and if one studies giant history, it becomes clear that giants may be the victims of some bad propaganda and unfavorable social conditions.
As Harry learns from Ron Weasley, giants used to be plentiful, and they chose to align with Voldemort during the First Wizarding War in the 1970s. The reasons for this are not clear-cut, but it should be noted that wizards have a long history of prejudice against other magical species and races, making it easy for Voldemort to convince these prejudiced groups to engage in war. Following the war, wizard Aurors killed many giants, leading to the near-genocide of the species, and the fear of giants remained strong in the wizarding community. In response, the giants retreated to the Northern parts of Europe, but with limited space, conflicts became common among the giants.
With tension still high between wizards and giants by the time Voldemort rose to power again in the 1990s, it was relatively easy for Death Eaters to convince the giants to join their cause, although Hagrid the half-giant did make attempts to sway giants over to the side of wizards. The tale of the giants illustrates how prejudices can sometimes become self-fulfilling prophecies, and how communities can be complicit in creating their own enemies.
Questions Surrounding the Giants
With Hogwarts Legacy being set before the Wizarding Wars, the game has the opportunity to explore the giant species when it was still at its peak, long before it was confined to Northern Europe. It could be an opportunity for Harry Potter fans to see beyond the prejudices that have been slapped onto giants and witness how giants live when space constraints force them to fight among themselves. Several questions could be answered, including how giant-wizard relationships and mating happen, and what conditions paved the way for giants to side with Lord Voldemort. Throughout the series, a few friendly giants make an appearance, including Grawp, as well as Rubeus Hagrid and Olampe Maxime who are both half-giants, proving that giants are more than the brutes that wizards believe they are.
Although Hogwarts Legacy will largely take place in Hogwarts castle, it has been revealed that players will be able to step off the school grounds and explore other areas such as Hogsmeade. Hopefully, this will open up the opportunity for gamers to interact with and find out more about giants.
Hogwarts Legacy is scheduled to release in 2022 on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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