What the fuck Niantic? What the actual fuck? Harry Potter Wizard's Unite is like Niantic heard every complaint that we had about Pokemon Go and thought, "Hell we should make a game out of that." Mobile games are known for being gated by several mechanics designed to get you to spend money but after playing this game for a period I feel less gated and more walled in. I am going to try and be fair and name some redeeming qualities but there is not a lot.
Where to Begin?
I can't even imagine where to start with this Wizard's Unite as it's so chock-full of features on the first impression you might think there are a lot of things to do, which there are, kind of. The basic premise of the game is to go around collecting "foundables" (I shit you not) who are trapped by the (brilliantly named) "confoundables". You do this by clicking on floating icons on the map and then performing a "spell" by tracing an outline on the screen. If done correctly you will be able to collect the foundable. This is all if you have enough energy.
Oh yes, they have added the mobile energy mechanic to this game but the best part is it doesn't auto-renew on its own. No, you have to go to a building that looks like houses, perform a simple "spell", and sit through what becomes an exhaustively long sequence to get energy. Every house, every time, and you get so little. This energy is vital if you want to just to do the base collecting, a wizards challenge, or add to a greenhouse bonus. Greenhouses are like the houses but you get plants with ingredients and you can plant stuff that you need.
Sounds like a lot of stuff is coming up in my explanations/review? You are right but remember this all relies on energy and some of it relies on inventory. The most frustrating system in Pokemon Go is the constant inventory juggle. Whether you have bought the extra space or not you have a limit and must constantly clean it out, which is not in any way an enjoyable mechanic. That why there are now three separate inventories in Wizard's Unite, all requiring premium currency to expand them. A currency that you can farm from several days of work or buy at a premium price. With the amount you need in this game, it is far from cheap.
Got Any More of That There Energy?
When you are not juggling inventory you can walk to your nearest fortress and try a Wizards Challenge, which is this games version of a raid. You go into the fortress, pick a level difficulty, and then you and your party are able to fight whatever random enemies they put in front of you. You beat them after a repetitive volley of attack and defend spells. Your job is to take out the enemy before they take your stamina or wizard's health down to 0. To say it's a bit monotonous is an understatement. Not to mention if you run out of energy in these fights you are SOL. You will need plenty, especially later on because I found myself casting around 12 spells a raid, which translates to at least 3 houses visited. Did I mention the houses have a five-minute cooldown because why the fuck wouldn't they?
Well now you are home after an exhaustive walk around the neighborhood trying to find the fun hidden with the game and you would like to still keep playing. There are always spells you can brew if you have the right items. These potions can take a few to several hours to "cook" depending on what they do. They range in giving a bonus to damage to health potions. One interesting mechanic is the ability to make the proper gestures to add a bonus to your potion. These motions are hidden from you so you need to discover them yourself from a set of possible ones in order to unlock the bonus. This is a system of trial and error or a google search.
There, of course, is a leveling system and they have added on a profession system where you will pick from one of 3 classes. Each has their own abilities and you will need books and scrolls to level them up. These are found from challenges and I am pretty sure I got some from a harder random encounter. Building up your profession is crucial as you gain bonuses like more damage and stamina.
The last "coup de grace" on this hot mess is the most annoying feature in the game, besides the fact they want you to take Snapchat like pics with wizards filters, is there is unavoidable VR encounter. One of the things you can pick up is a portkey that you not only need a key to unlock but a distance traveled while the game was open. Once you get these portkeys open you enter a VR room that you can look around in a full 360 manner. Cool in theory but the problem is you have to use your phone and you have to look in every angle to find the items. Prepare to look like a lost idiot if you do this in public.
I might be missing something but it's not much worse then Niantic forgetting these games are supposed to be fun. Fun would be being able to play Wizards Unite but because of terrible energy gatting mechanic and small inventories, it's hard to enjoy. The only times I am still opening this game is not out of interest but because I frustratingly want this game to magically become good. Right now it's not. Stick to Pokemon Go if you aren't already tired of it.
TL:DR;
Harry Potter Wizard's Unite is a hodgepodge of bad mobile mechanics that turn into a magical potion of garbage.
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