Hogwarts Legacy players are enjoying secret new mode and a 'completely different experience'

Hogwarts Legacy is an enigma of a game. Not because it can’t be easily defined, but because it’s had equal amounts of positivity and negativity. A lot of grieves appear to revolve around the state of the story, with many fans believing it is a filler ready for a sequel. If you fall into that camp, there are still plenty of ways to spice up the game, like a secret new mode.

This game mode isn’t one designed by the devs, but by one passionate fan who's determined to keep the sparks of hope alive for as long as possible. Not that Hogwarts Legacy is currently struggling after being officially crowned the number-one-selling game of 2023. Still, as Tesco says, every little helps, and with this helpful fan-made mode, you’ll get a “completely different experience” to the vanilla game.

Go exploring in Hogsmeade with Hogwarts Legacy!

A lot of time and effort has gone into this creation, a creation that the original Reddit poster assures players has always been there, just “overlooked”. Obviously, we’re talking about Level 0. Not heard of it? You’re definitely not alone. So obscure is this secret mode that a whole page of tutorials and explanations have been provided so you can discover for yourselves. Be warned, it’s not for the fainthearted, nor is this a quick tutorial.

Dubbed the “First Year Challenge”, your characters will have to traverse the halls of Hogwarts without any gear, without any talents, walk everywhere (no brooms), and will have to forego the use of plants or potions. As if that wasn’t complicated enough, there are also “House exceptions”, meaning each wizarding House will have advantages and disadvantages. Honestly, it’s a lot.

But, as with every vast challenge, there’s the opportunity to refresh a game you’ve already played to death, to the point that it holds no more secrets for you. This is especially true for gamers who’ve been playing HL since its release on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC in Feb of this year. It’s no wonder then that those players in particular are thrilled to have such an eccentric new game mode open to them.

“Yeeessssss! This is the content I'm still here for. Congratulations on creating a new level of gameplay. Even if someone finds a flaw with your strategies or gameplay rules, the pure love of the world and dedication to existing on top of the established rules, is amazing,” said rclaybaugh after reading the epic wall of information about the game.

Another player expressed what a fabulous idea it was, having tried “no teleportation/fast travel/brooms” in their first playthrough and decided it was “well worth it”. If you want to try it for yourselves, all you need is a copy of the game and the determination to make this work.