Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery is a role-playing video game set in the Harry Potter universe established by J. K. Rowling's series of novels.[1] The game is set between Harry Potter's birth and his enrolment at Hogwarts.[1] The game revolves around the player character's journey through life at the school.[2] They can attend magic classes, learn spells, battle rivals, and embark on quests.[2] Through the game's encounter system, players make choices that affect the game's narrative, though sometimes these choices are locked if the player's statistics are not high enough.[2] Players can interact with defined characters from the series, such as Albus Dumbledore, Rubeus Hagrid and Severus Snape.[1]

"Energy" is used to perform tasks throughout the game, which regenerate over time.[3] Players tap on the screen to move the character between places.[3] The player also gains different levels of courage, empathy, and knowledge by making choices in game, with higher levels of a particular attribute allowing the player to choose some different dialogue options in game and change interactions with other students and staff.[4][5][6]

In Diagon alley, the player meets Rowan Khanna, a young witch or wizard[lower-alpha 1] who teaches the player about the wizarding world. A conversation with Ollivander reveals that the player character's brother, Jacob, was expelled from Hogwarts for attempting to open the "Cursed Vaults," hidden vaults rumoured to have existed at the school.

Upon visiting Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore announces that Harry Potter is safe, thus revealing that the events of the game are set in the year of his escape from Voldemort as a child. After being sorted into a house,[lower-alpha 2] daily life at Hogwarts starts. During a Potions lesson with Professor Snape, the player character is docked house points after a Slytherin called Merula Snyde sabotages the character's cauldron. A fake letter is sent to the House—supposedly by Snape—saying that an errand run would win back the player's house points; however, the letter was in fact written by Merula and leads the player into a room with Devil's Snare, forcing the player to escape from the snare. Following this, the player attempts to learn how to duel by searching for a book on duelling. The player also starts to hear voices as well as premonitions about the Cursed Vaults. Later, the player confronts Merula when she starts to harass Ben Copper, a first-year Muggle-born Gryffindor boy, and challenges her to a wizard's duel. The duel ends with Professor Snape and Professor Flitwick finding them fighting. While completing a task for his/her prefect, the player has a vision of ice surrounding Hogwarts. On another occasion, the player overhears a conversation between Snape and Filch, the caretaker, about the location of the Cursed Vaults. The player, accompanied by Rowan, Merula and the players choice of Ben or first-year Hufflepuff Penny enters the vault. Rowan, Merula and whom the player chooses end up getting trapped in the ice. After saving them, the player notices carvings on the wall. Rowan memorises them while the person who the players chooses helps gets everyone out. After escaping, the player and Rowan realise the vault they were in wasn't the real Cursed Vault. Rowan tells the player that he/she will start trying to decipher the carvings. At the end of the year, Dumbledore congratulates the player for being brave.

During second year, Rowan is attacked by the ice, leading to his/her ending up in the Hogwarts hospital wing. The player duels Merula again, defeating her this time. After Rowan recovers, he/she tells the player to enter the vault accompanied by Bill Weasley, a fourth year with some polished skills, resulting in Bill's also being affected by the ice. The player again tries to open the vault along with Bill and successfully opens it after a duel with an ice knight. The player then finds out about the presence of other vaults through the voice of the player's brother. The player also discovers a broken wand and a book in the vault, both of which belong to Jacob. When Professor McGonagall finds out about the player's entry in the vault, she sends the player to Professor Dumbledore's office, but the player is once again commended for bravery.

During the third year welcome speech, Professor Dumbledore forbids students to open the Cursed Vaults. A boggart attacks Penny in Herbology class. Merula convinces two Slytherin students to accompany her in her search for the other Vaults. To find more about the disguised quills, the player tries to contact Madam Rosmerta in the Three Broomsticks and finds another clue through the quill. The player finds out about a corridor in which Jacob used to hide secrets and tries to open it, but he/she finds it locked and the name "Tulip Karasu" engraved on the lock. The lock has two keyholes, and the keys remain with Merula and Tulip. After befriending Tulip, the player comes to know that Merula also tried to lure Tulip into the secret of Cursed Vaults and possesses another key into one of them. The player tries to get the key from Merula with the help of Tulip. The player defeats Merula in another duel, and Merula gives her key to the player. The second Cursed Vault is located within the Restricted Section of the library, and with the help of Merula's ex-bodyguard Barnaby Lee, the player duels Vault Boggarts that have taken the form of Lord Voldemort, defeating them with the Riddikulus Charm. Using the broken wand found in the first Vault,[lower-alpha 3] the player opens the second to find a broken arrow and a map of the Forbidden Forest. After this, the player is sent to the Headmaster's Office to meet with Dumbledore.

At the start of year four, Dumbledore introduces Patricia Rakepick, a famed Curse-Breaker,[lower-alpha 4] whom he has brought in to find the next Cursed Vault on his behalf. Tulip and other students are later discovered sleepwalking toward the Forbidden Forest, which appears to be the location of the third Cursed Vault. The player asks the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Professor Silvanus Kettleburn, for access to the Forbidden Forest, only to be attacked by a cloaked-figure, who claims to be a messenger. The player, after recovering, learns that the best way to enter the forest is by flying. To enter the Forest, the player accepts the help of Charlie Weasley. The player again enters the Forest to find clues about the next Vault, and the player meets a centaur named Torvus, who was dismissed from the centaur camp for giving Jacob a jeweled arrowhead. The player deals with Torvus for the location of the Vault for the jeweled arrowhead. The player meets Sickleworth, Madam Rakepick's niffler. The player borrows Sickleworth[lower-alpha 5] to search for the missing arrowhead. Sickleworth finds the arrow in a Red Cap's Lair, and the player enlists the help of Penny Haywood to make a beautification potion, which helps the player succeed in getting the arrowhead. The player returns it to Torvus, who is ready to take the player to the Cursed Vault at the condition that Hagrid accompanies them, since the vault is guarded by an acromantula. The player learns Arania Exumai from Madam Rakepick and persuades Hagrid. While the player, along with Charlie and Rowan meet to plan their entrance in the cursed vault, the cloaked-figure attacks again, but Madam Rakepick saves them. The figure is revealed to be Ben, who has no recollection of attacking the player. The player then goes to the Cursed Vault, defeats the acromantula and opens the vault using the jewelled arrowhead, thus breaking the sleepwalking curse. A small sweater and a portrait of a dragon is found inside the vault. As the group leaves the vault towards Hogwarts, Dumbledore arrives along with Filch, and though pleased by the player's bravery in breaking the sleepwalking curse, insists that the player has broken rules and punishes the player with detention next year. The year ends, with the news that Madam Rakepick will be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts next year.

The fifth year begins with Professor McGonagall giving the welcome speech on behalf of Dumbledore, who is out of Hogwarts and introducing Madam Rakepick as the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. The player meets Beatrice Haywood, Penny's sister and visits Ben, who is still uncomfortable after the last incident of him attacking the player. Madam Rakepick then calls Merula, Bill and the player, and forms a team which will help her find the cursed vault. While Bill, Merula and the player are discussing their meeting with Rakepick the next day, Penny arrives and says that Beatrice is missing. After a thorough search of school, Merula finds Beatrice trapped in a portrait. Rakepick tells that this is the beginning of the sleepwalking curse, and it will be broken as soon as they locate the cursed vault and break the curse. The player meets and befriends Jae Kim, who is also serving detention in kitchens along with the player under the house elf Pitts.

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery was developed and published by Los Angeles-based mobile video game company Jam City.[7] The game was licensed to Portkey Games, a publishing label established by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to create games based on Harry Potter, with Hogwarts Mystery being the label's debut game.[2] Actors from the Harry Potter film series such as Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Gemma Jones, Sally Mortemore, Warwick Davis, and Zoë Wanamaker voice their respective characters from the films.[8]

The game was first announced on 18 January 2018 with a scheduled release on Android and iOS mobile devices on 25 April 2018.[8][9] The game's release featured many components found in freemium games, such as microtransactions.[9] Following backlash from fans, many of these microtransactions were reduced in price.[10]

According to review aggregator website Metacritic, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery received "generally unfavourable" reviews.[11] Marc Hewitt from Gamezebo praised the concept of a Harry Potter mobile game and stated that Hogwarts Mystery "largely lives up to the hype."[13] Christine Chan from App Advice commented that Hogwarts Mystery is a "nice representation" of the world set out in Harry Potter and commended the game for letting her "live out [her] Hogwarts dreams."[14]

However, the use of "energy" and frequent enticements to pay real-world money for microtransactions in the game was widely criticised. One notable example highlighted by critics was an early scene in which the player is subject to being strangled by a Devil's Snare, during which his/her energy is immediately depleted; the player must then either wait around half an hour for energy to replenish or spend real-world money to receive immediate energy instead.[17] The developers later defended the scene in an interview and disregarded suggestions of its controversial nature.[18] GameZebo commented that the "[r]estrictive energy system rears its head early" and called the game "slow."[13] Christine Chan from App Advice said the timers and energy system "left a sour taste in [her] mouth."[14] Emily Sowden from Pocket Gamer called the use of free-to-play mechanics "maddening" and described the experience as being "behind a paywall."[15]

Kotaku also commented on the game's use of these mechanics, saying, "where the game falters, is how it implements its free-to-play elements".[19] Kotaku interviewed one user that even took up writing Harry Potter fanfiction because it "kicked me out so frequently."[20] David Jagnaeux from IGN Africa called it "awful," describing the microtransactions as "gratuitous" and stating that they "actively prevented" him from enjoying the game.[12] The Guardian called Hogwarts Mystery "a dull game with a great concept, made unplayable by its hyper-aggressive monetisation."[16]

The game was awarded Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Mobile Game during the 2018 Dragon Awards.[21] The game was nominated for Best Breakthrough Game during the 2019 Google Play Awards but lost to Marvel Strike Force.[22][23] As of August 2018, the game had grossed $55 million and has grossed US$110 million as of March, 2019.[24][25]

• Official website