Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Is Pokemon Go With An RPG Twist

In 2018, the studio behind Pokemon Go, Niantic, made public that it was in the development process for a brand new Augmented Reality title based on Harry Potter’s Wizarding World. Apart from a teaser released last year, no further information had been leaked up until now.

Here is what we know. The game is named Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. It has the participation of WB Games. With the base taken from Pokemon Go, they build a world of witchcraft on it. However, the Harry Potter’s title is more about immersion rather than catching like its predecessor.

From a demo of the game, we know that to stock more items, players have to visit inns or greenhouses. If you have grown familiar with Pokemon Go’s map, it will take you less time to break into this one as both of them work in the same way. However, expect to see Harry Potter’s iconic buildings and owls flying around. AR Plus and photo mode are also available.

It is Harry Potter we are talking about so expect a massive storyline. Wizard Unite takes place long after the Battle of Hogwarts. The events revolve around a disaster that endangers the whole magical community. And when the secret existence of this world is at risk of being exposed, you have to work for the Statute of Secrecy Task Force to keep Muggles ignorant of the wizarding world.

In order to fulfill your missions, you must head outside and look for evidence of magic to hide them. What you encounter comes with names like the Foundables and the Confoundables. The former is what you have to retrieve while the latter is what prevents you from doing so. For example, you might see something like Harry Potter in combat with a dementor, so in this case he is the Foundable and his opponent is the Confoundable.

To approach the Foundables, you tap on it and choose the encounter. Expect to see things like the Nimbus 2000 in ice; Hagrid’s hippogriff, Buckbeak, chained up. After that, you target them with a suitable spell.

You can also cast spells while in combat, which is a major difference between Harry Potter and Pokemon Go. The combat is not very challenging as opponents take turn attacking the other. However, in order to do damage and protect yourself, you must make up your mind about what spell to use really quickly.

If you want to take on fights like that, follow the leads you find around the world. Players can also team up to join bigger combats against dark wizards and magical creatures. Winning these fights and you will have rewards. However, details on them are not yet to be revealed.

If you think casting spells and joining combats are all of the game’s selling points, you should recalibrate your expectation. Harry Potter actually leans toward the RPG side rather than what you see in Pokemon Go. Potion making is also part of the fun. You go around collecting ingredients. What you find is not consistent but change according to the weather, the time, and even phases of the moon.

There are voices along the way to support you with tips and stories. The further you advance into the game, the more you find out about the world you are in. Players have the choice to change roles, between Auror and Professor for example. In each role, you can climb up levels to improve your own skills. The Portkey can temporarily turn any place into a magical world. If you want, you can have a commanding view of locations like Ollivanders using the AR features.

Wizards Unite is too grand to list everything here but when players actually take part in the game, most will find everything makes sense. If you are a fan of Harry Potter, things can get easier. However, whether the game can gain popularity to the point that players activate it whenever they walk, or even take more walk to be able to play is still a question that only time can answer.

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will be out this year for sure. Currently, early registration is already available on Google Play. IOS users might have to wait a little longer for future updates.