If you're itching for more magical goodness after Hogwarts Legacy and its recently integrated PC modding support, The Fool's Apprentice might just be worth a wishlist.
With a release window planned sometime within the first quarter of 2025, The Planar Danse's enchanting new management gem is just around the corner, and it looks like the perfect clash of Hogwarts Legacy's whimsical wizardry and The Sims 4's more strategic decision-based sim gameplay. In The Fool's Apprentice, players are tasked with stepping into the shoes of a so-called "benevolent professor" and running a wizard academy.
It doesn't seem as though it'll be your run-of-the-mill management sim either, but rather a wonderfully whacky experience in which you can cast spells on your own students to "gently nudge them in the right direction" – but between all the mind control and disintegration The Planar Danse describes, I'm personally not sure how they're defining "gently" here. It's more survival of the fittest for this academy's students, I'd say.
To produce the best and brightest wizards, you'll not only cast spells on them but also work to construct an "ideal Conservatory." This part plays more into the strategic side of The Fool's Apprentice, but it's not all mental math. You can decorate to your heart's content, too, just as you do the Room of Requirement in Hogwarts Legacy. There's a more narrative-driven part of the game to follow as well for all of us lore lovers.
If The Fool's Apprentice sounds like it'd be right up your alley, you can learn more about the sim on Steam and wishlist it to stay atop any future news. You can also explore the free demo to get an early taste of The Planar Danse's game before its upcoming release on PC. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some very important spell-casting to do and some very unruly students to discipline – if you can call it that.
The release of Hogwarts Legacy has been the subject of criticism and debate due to J.K. Rowling's public stance on gender identity, which continues to challenge the inclusivity at the heart of the Harry Potter community. Here is our explainer on the Hogwarts Legacy controversy.
