Summary
AHogwarts Legacyplayer couldn’t give their Niffler the name Amethyst, as it ended up triggering the game’s list of restricted words. Though it was released in February 2023,Hogwarts Legacycontinues to have a respectable player count for a singleplayer title, and few can deny that it was a major success for Avalanche Software – both from a critical and commercial perspective. ManyHarry Potterfans were impressed by the game’s attention to detail in recreating Hogwarts and its surroundings, as well as the magical creatures that make up the Wizarding World.
While they may not necessarily be integral to the primary gameplay loop, themagical beasts inHogwarts Legacyplay a major role in upgrading equipment or applying useful traits to armor. Players can find wild specimens in their respective Dens, but they can also breed their own inside the Room of Requirement’s Vivariums. The magical beasts kept by the player inside the Room of Requirement can be fed, played with, and even given a unique name.
However, it would seem that some names are off-limits, as discovered by SoriaRose, who couldn’t use the name Amethyst for theirNiffler inHogwarts Legacy. Though Amethyst is an innocent name on its own, it unfortunately contains the word for an illicit substance. There are two reasons why most players would find this type of censorship baffling. While censoring offensive or problematic terms has merit in multiplayer,Hogwarts Legacyis a singleplayer game. Furthermore, it could be argued that just because a word contains a combination of letters which could be deemed offensive, it doesn’t mean that the word should be forbidden.
Hogwarts Legacy Has a Frustratingly Strict Name Censorship System
The thread posted by SoriaRose garnered plenty of attention from theHogwarts Legacysubreddit, as other fans commiserated by sharing their own unfortunate experiences with the game’s censorship system. Some players couldn’t even use their real names, such as Shelly or Mitchell, and rather amusingly, the filter seems to take issue with Lemongrass or Stardust as well. While magical beasts can liven upvivariums inHogwarts Legacy, players argue that the censorship is too strict and rather pointless for a singleplayer game.
While it’s unlikely that Avalanche Software will ever remove or alter the list of forbidden words inHogwarts Legacy, players are hoping that the feature will not return in the sequel. As the developers continue to work on thenext installment ofHogwarts Legacy, the first title will continue to be treasured byHarry Potterfans – warts and all.
