I won’t lie: on my 11th birthday, a tiny part of me hoped that I might get a letter from Hogwarts. By that age I had long accepted that my toys would not spring to life, I would not find a snowy fantasy realm in the back of a closet, and I was not a secret warrior princess – but the existence of a secret school in the Highlands of Scotland still seemed just possible. Edinburgh’s Fettes College was down the road from where I grew up; I imagined Hogwarts would be much the same, but for wizards instead of extremely posh children.
The first Harry Potter game in more than five years, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, attempts to fulfil that childhood fantasy. Released today for Android and iPhone, it is a gentle narrative game that offers a pared-down Hogwarts experience, letting you pick your house, form friendships and rivalries and master spells in the famous castle. I was really hoping it would be good. On first impressions, it’s not the lazy cash-in I’d feared.
The game looks pretty spot-on, with decent music and a cartoonish art style that is distinct from the films and illustrated books. It helps that Maggie Smith (McGonagall), Warwick Davis (Flitwick) and Michael Gambon (Dumbledore) have lent their voices to the game, though you won’t hear them very often – it’s mostly soundtracked by unexceptional magical music and sound effects. The writing in the early scenes, however, is a little bland; it makes a good attempt at capturing Snape’s sardonic disdain and McGonagall’s pursed restraint, but there’s not much flair to it. It doesn’t have the fizz and personality of the books.
Hogwarts Mystery employs a familiar but irritating “energy” system to encourage you to spend money, essentially cutting off your access to the game until a timer goes down. Taking part in lessons or moving the story along cost points that recharge painfully slowly; you can’t sit down with it for more than 10 or 15 minutes. Ridiculously, this means that your character can be caught in the clutches of Devil’s Snare for an hour while you patiently wait until you can tap the right button to fend it off. It’s frustrating that the game resorts to this; surely players will be more than happy spending money on customising their little witches and wizards. The constant waiting will be enough to put a lot of players off.
When you’re exploring the castle and talking to people, free of energy restrictions, Hogwarts Mystery really captures something of the Hogwarts fantasy. It’s set in the 1980s, when Harry was still a baby, so there are no conversations with Draco or Ron, but there are cameos from other well-known characters in their younger days. For anyone who loves the books, there’s a thrill to trying out your first wand in Olivander’s, even if you’re now 30 and your most exciting purchases are tiny clothes for other people’s babies.
Developer Jam City will add to Hogwarts Mystery over time, taking players through a full seven-year school career. The personality and skills that your student avatar cultivates will have an impact on the story. Happily, there are good foundations here to build upon – when it’s not getting in the way of its own fun.
