(heroic music)
- [Jonathon] Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is, in a nutshell,
Pokemon Go but with recognizable wizard tchotchkes
instead of collectible Pocket Monsters.
While that concept may not be
the Wizarding World game of my dreams,
I've have fun with my Niantic's latest
augmented-reality walking RPG,
but I do worry about how its many miscellaneous issues
will affect my enjoyment in the long run.
In a story that feels like a silly J.K. Rowling lore tweet,
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite enlists you and other wizards
around the world to prevent Muggles
from learning of the Wizarding World.
For anyone who's played Pokemon Go,
the format proves instantly familiar,
and it still works as a great foundation for a mobile game.
Exploring the pretty, more colorful storybook aesthetic
of the Wizards Unite map,
you hunt around for an assortment of Foundables,
or Confoundables.
Well, actually, the Confoundable is the thing
holding the Foundable out of its place in space and time,
and you have to free the Foundable from the Confoundable.
Look, it's a very complicated way of explaining
the smart and more engaging version
of Pokemon Go's catching mechanic,
even if it's not quite as iconic
of a wish-fulfillment mechanic
as catching your own Pikachu is.
But Niantic's latest is so wrapped up
in justifying its own existence
that there's little in the way
of actually helping you improve in your spellcasting.
Part of that may stem from just how much
Niantic throws your way,
and Wizards Unite doesn't do the best job
of ingratiating you into every aspect.
And that's unfortunate, because at the end of the day,
Wizards Unite isn't all that complicated.
It just makes some really bizarre missteps.
One of the biggest is the uncanny valley of the Foundables.
The unfortunate choice to go with
realistic human character designs
means they can't hold a floating candle
to the real humans I've seen in the Harry Potter films.
And it's disappointing that you can't design
your own wizarding character
beyond the color of your Hogwarts house.
Customizing a photo I take of myself at the start
with borders and AR costumes feels pointless
when I never look at it or share it with friends.
But Niantic's other use of AR in-game
is one of my favorite innovations.
A portkey can be placed in the world around you,
so you can step into a familiar wizarding location.
It's the closest to bringing the magic alive
that Wizards Unite ever comes,
and I wish that same ingenuity could be more apparent
in other areas.
For example, the change of PokeStops
to greenhouses and inns adds more to do,
but the very limited inventory you're saddled with
makes hunting for more resources a chore.
And to get more room in my inventory, I need gold,
which I still can't believe aren't called galleons
in the game.
And that's the rarest commodity,
unless you're willing to dole out real-world money.
Then there's the real-life multiplayer aspect, fortresses.
Though they can be tackled solo,
you can join together with other players
to fight through floor after floor
of any fortress you come across.
There's a nice bit of strategy
that can really come into play beyond simple type-matching,
thanks to you and your friend's chosen classes.
It's a much more engaging system than tap-tap-tapping
through every Pokemon gym around.
But at least anecdotally,
I'm not running into too many other wizards as I play,
like I did with the phenomenally popular Pokemon Go.
I really like the flow and cadence of fortresses,
but friends aren't always around,
and I sadly have had to go it alone
more often than I would have liked.
And on that note, Wizards Unite of course still suffers
from the same problem any location-based game will,
availability of things to actually do.
You're likely going to struggle to find things to do
in more rural areas.
And when spellpower, which is found at inns and greenhouses,
can be in short supply,
it can feel like Wizards Unite's monetization
is even more of a strain.
I'm a bit confounded by my time
with Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.
I have definitely been enjoying the daily grind,
but I worry about its longevity.
Adding onto that,
the quick collectible ceiling I ran into,
the lack of meaningful customization,
and a multiplayer experience that is missing
some easy features Pokemon Go already has,
and I'm worried about the longevity of this walking RPG.
Wizards Unite has been a fun small dose of magic
in my daily life for the last week,
but I'm not sure how engaging all of these mechanics
will remain in the long run.
For more on all things Harry Potter,
check out some Wizards Unite gameplay
and our hopes for the possibly leaked Harry Potter RPG.
And, of course, for everything else, stay tuned to IGN.