Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (AR) Review

Another month goes by and another Augmented Reality (AR) game drops. First, it was Pokémon Go that got the ball rolling for everyone. Now everything from Ghostbusters, to The Walking Dead, and now Harry Potter has their own AR game, Harry Potter Wizards Unite. The problem with all of them is the inability for them to separate themselves from the last. AR games at their core challenge you to get up and move about the environment to fight the latest Pokémon, or Zombie hoard, or whatever bad guy the game’s narrative calls for. A simple flick of the finger and it’s on to the next task. Mobile gaming has its place in the newer gaming world, but so far all these ARs are carbon copies of the last with a different skin.

But for nostalgia for the series alone, we decided to play Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. Developed by WB Games, Portkey Games, and Niantic Inc, Wizards Unite takes us into the world of Harry Potter months and months after there was a game to be rumored in the mix. Unfortunately for gamers, the late release to the party has cooled interest in the AR craze. So diving into the Wizarding World is HP: WU worth the app space?

One of our biggest issue with the game so far is, nothing seems to work. That is to say, there’s never anything to battle. If I were to pull up the app right now, there’d be nothing within a two block radius of my house. That’s a big let down in terms of overall gameplay. Let’s face it, while yes it does encourage you to get up and travel out to find events, most people will be playing around their own neighborhood. How far away do you have to go just to get one battle sequence?

The second major issue we have is step tracking. One of the cooler features in the game is the Portkey Portmanteau that once unlocked will take you into a VR world to explore different parts of the Wizarding World. The only problem is, you have to travel a certain distance to achieve it. 3 weeks into the game and I haven’t unlocked a single one. I’ve collected a good 6-7 and they say it only takes 2km to unlock, but after working on my feet for the past 3 weeks, and all the walking I did at a 2-day comic con, I still haven’t unlocked a single one. Major flaw!

Who knows, the game itself looks like there’s a ton to explore and different magic to play around with. However, if Harry Potter: Wizards Unite wants to be around for the long haul, it had better fix some of their mechanics for casual gamers. Yes everyone loves a good challenge, but setting challenges that are outside of reach will lose your fan base quickly. For now, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite has a long way to go