In late April 2018, Jam City released a new game connected to the Harry Potter series: “Hogwarts Mystery.” Set the same year that Harry Potter narrowly escapes his death at the hands of Lord Voldemort, “Hogwarts Mystery” follows your customizable character as they navigate their first few years at the famed wizarding school.
The primary plot focuses on your character’s quest to locate the “cursed vaults” hidden somewhere inside the school, which are supposedly connected to the disappearance of your character’s sibling the year prior to the start of the game.
In addition to discovering more information about the vaults, your character can attend various classes to learn new spells and skills, duel other witches and wizards and form relationships with other characters, including some of the well-known characters from the “Harry Potter” books, including Nymphadora Tonks, Bill Weasley and Severus Snape.
Although currently the game only allows playthrough until the beginning of the character’s third year at Hogwarts, the remaining years will be released in future updates.
“Hogwarts Mystery” is similar in style to the game “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.” Each of the quests require energy to complete the tasks. When the energy runs out, you have to wait four minutes for another energy so it can be a little tedious to wait around for enough energy to complete some of the longer quests, which range from one hour to eight hours.
The dueling feature is like if a “Pokemon” game met “Rock Paper Scissors.” Players can select between three dueling options: sneaky, aggressive and defensive. If their choice “beats” the choice of their dueling opponent, the player can cast a spell that lowers their opponent’s stamina (shown in a health bar at the corner of the screen).
Although still in its early stages, “Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery” is still a fun time-killer. It’s too early to tell if the game will stay popular, but it does appear that it will remain a popular game for a while.
That’s because, even in 2018, the “Harry Potter” series is still just as popular as it was when the first book was released in 1997. The “Harry Potter” movies have grossed billions of dollars throughout the eight installments, and the books are continuing to sell well.
When J.K. Rowling released the eighth book in the series, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” in 2016, it sold more than four million copies — almost five times as many copies as the next most popular book that year.
“Cursed Child” opened recently on Broadway, where it has met with great success. Recently, it won six awards, including outstanding new broadway play at the Outer Critics Circle Awards. Anthony Boyle, who portrays Draco Malfoy’s son Scorpius in the “Cursed Child,” also won a Theatre World Award for his portrayal.
All of the “Harry Potter” spin offs have been so popularized because of the immersive nature of the world that J.K. Rowling built. Unlike some of the other popular young adult novels from recent years, Rowling went above and beyond to create a multifaceted fictional universe, with compelling characters and a fleshed out background of the magical wizarding world that is able to be further developed over time.
For example, “Cursed Child” picks up where the epilogue of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the seventh “Harry Potter” book closes, and is primarily focused on the relationship between Harry and his youngest son, Albus Severus Potter, as the latter begins his own time at Hogwarts. The play gives its viewers the ability to ascertain how their favorite fictional characters have developed since the last book.
The popularity of the “Hogwarts Mystery” game can be attributed similarly to the desire of “Harry Potter” fans to learn as much as they can about the fictional universe. Even though there is currently not a ton to do in-game, it is seeing success because it serves as a unique prequel to the main series, showing what Hogwarts was like long before Harry Potter stepped inside its walls.
Focusing on the mysteries and magic of the school itself, instead of on any particular character, is what makes the game so great for “Harry Potter” fans. Hogwarts is one of the coolest parts of the “Harry Potter” universe, and it is great for fans to have the chance to learn more about the history and secrets in the school. The game serves as a way for diehard “Potter” fans to learn more about the magical universe they love so dearly.
Although the books and movies in the main “Harry Potter” series have been out for a long while, the fictional universe that J.K. Rowling has created continues to inspire awe in millions of people worldwide. The continuation of this universe in the “Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery” game is just one of the many ways for loyal fans to explore the magic.
