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Harry Potter Prequel Game 'Hogwarts Legacy' Trailer Is All About Dark Magic

Befriend a mysterious Slytherin student, and you'll be faced with the choice between what is right and what is easy.

Corinne Reichert Senior Editor
Corinne Reichert (she/her) grew up in Sydney, Australia and moved to California in 2019. She holds degrees in law and communications, and currently writes news, analysis and features for CNET across the topics of electric vehicles, broadband networks, mobile devices, big tech, artificial intelligence, home technology and entertainment. In her spare time, she watches soccer games and F1 races, and goes to Disneyland as often as possible.
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Corinne Reichert
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Under a dusky sky, two students at Hogwarts cast beams at each other from their wands

Learn about Hogwarts before the Harry Potter books. 

 Avalanche Games

Hogwarts Legacy, the upcoming open-world video game set in the Harry Potter universe, has released another trailer -- this time looking at the dark side of the game. Shown off during Gamescom opening night on Tuesday, the video reveals an optional companion quest line where you can work with a Slytherin student learning dark magic like the unforgivable curses.

"Should you choose to befriend Slytherin student Sebastian Sallow, you will be faced with the decision to embrace or reject the Dark Arts as you uncover his family's mystery," the video's caption says on YouTube.

Sallow can teach you the Crucio spell -- used in the later Harry Potter books by Voldemort and his followers to torture people -- as you learn the dark arts.

The trailer shows trolls, walking skeletons and the Salazar Slytherin statue found in the Chamber of Secrets.

Read more: Game Release Dates of 2022: The Biggest Titles Still Coming

Earlier this month, Hogwarts Legacy was delayed from its anticipated release during the holidays until Feb. 10, 2023, as the studio needed "a little bit more time to deliver the best possible experience to everyone."

It'll be released on the PlayStation, Xbox, PC and Nintendo Switch.

You'll play as a new fifth-year student at Hogwarts, "with a unique ability to manipulate powerful ancient magic," according to a gameplay video shown earlier this year. There's also a goblin rebellion to investigate.

Players will be able to pick their character's skin color, eye color, hair color and style, and other features. Despite being new to the school, you'll play as a fifth-year student and attend all the usual classes, including charms, defense against the dark arts, herbology and potions. As the game is set in the 1800s, the only characters you'll recognize from the school are the ghosts.

You can preorder the game from Aug. 25 at 8 a.m. PT. Preordering the digital deluxe edition will get you an onyx hippogriff mount, a dark arts garrison hat, 72 hours of early access and the dark arts pack, which comes with a thestral mount, dark arts cosmetic set and dark arts battle arena.