When I first heard about Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, I was extremely excited, as any Harry Potter fan wh
o plays games would. I played the PC games when I was younger dozens of times. It helped that I do not play mobile games very often and have been looking for a game that I could play in short down times and while traveling (I do not have a Switch or DS).
In terms of content there was a lot to be excited about. I love mystery games and solving puzzles so the title ‘Hogwarts Mystery’ implied that there would be some sort of sleuthing. The game is described as an RPG – also up my alley. The art style has a sort of charm to it. The stylized approach is pulled off well and still captures the essence of Hogwarts. Furthermore, the publisher, Warner Bros., and the studio, JamCity Inc., managed to pull many of the same voice actors for the professors – McGonagall, Dumbledore, Flitwick, Madam Pince, Madam Pomfrey, and Madam Hooch. This really helped a feeling of authenticity and was a nice touch to make the game a better experience.
However, after playing the game for about a week, I have found it to be quite a mixed bag. The game offers a variety of interesting aspects and I have come to like some of the mini games, from rock-paper-scissors-esque dueling, to befriending people in which you much choose the best response, and learning new spells (which takes a page out of the first Harry Potter PC game where you must trace the spells symbol). Despite this, the first hour and a half is boring. It is very linear and the only interactions require you to tap buttons that state small phrases like “Borrow notes”, “Listen”, and “Practice spell”. It is also a nice touch that after you choose your house it is in your best interest to respond accordingly, as it will earn you extra house points. For example, if you are a Gryffindor you should respond bravely, Ravenclaw is smart and witty, Slytherin is cunning, and Hufflepuff is loyal.
But overall, I am disappointed “my journey” to Hogwarts, mostly because it is NOT my journey at all and this is probably my biggest grievance with the game. The games website states “Live Your Hogwarts Experience”, “Customize Your Character”, and “Choose Your Hogwarts House”. The app’s description on the store explains, “YOU have been chosen to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! Embark on your own adventure…” (there is a literal emphasis on the YOU). There almost nothing about “me” in this experience in regards to the story, the character customization options, or how characters respond to me.
The first major realization happened very early on in the game when I found out I had a brother named Jacob who was previously expelled from Hogwarts. I do not have a brother (though to be fair with my family’s insistence on names that start with ‘J’ his name would probably be Jacob). This may seem like a minor thing but it is a huge focus of the game that gets brought up every two minutes. Seriously every two minutes. With such an interesting setting filled with such fantastical lore you think the game could focus on something else to help develop your character for a little while. Most interactions revolve so much around this aspect that it really pulls me out of the game and enforces that this is not my story.
Another thing I noticed early on is that the character customization options are rather limited. I understand this is a mobile game and that it needs to be optimized and that mobile games usually do not have extensive character customization. I am ok with this. However, I was a little peeved that my character could not have glasses (even simple plain colored ones) – without playing the game for a very long time to get enough gems or paying a lot of money. I have glasses, please let me have a simple set of glasses for my character. I understanding having priced upgraded options, but this was just another way to say “NOT your story”.
The final thing that bugged me a bit was when I first met Rowan. I rather like “her” character (Rowan’s gender is based on the gender you choose for your character). But in first meeting this character the game also forces a personality upon your avatar. Rowan states how people think and say that they are weird. Your character immediately states that people think you are weird as well. The tone of the conversation implies that by “weird” it is not a funny lighthearted compliment but a means of isolation. I definitely think I am weird but not in a negative way and I also know that some players who play this game will not consider themselves weird at all.
For someone who has played so many Harry Potter games on PC, Wii, GameBoy and PlayStation I was so excited to get to play as myself in an RPG setting. This game does not offer that. Some of these details are small and others are saturated into the game, but regardless they all build up to a disappointing experience. Not necessarily because it is a bad game (though it is flawed and not for everyone), but because after my owl was lost for 13 years I was so excited to receive my letter to Hogwarts. It is still lost.
