In all honesty, and why wouldn’t I be honest, I’m reviewing a game, part of me was very skeptical about Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions when I first played the beta. The gameplay was frustrating to control, and the rewards were a bit of an unknown, as was the depth of the game. I also assumed, probably like everyone else, that there would be microtransactions scattered everywhere in the title and that the MTX just didn’t make it to the beta to avoid creating a sour taste in everyone’s mouth before launch. In short, there were a lot more questions and unknowns than answers during my beta time.
Now, when the full game arrived, I tried to go into the review for it with a fresh outlook and without all that clutter gumming up my noggin. As my late friend Rob Smith once told me a long time ago, when you review material, you should always approach it with complete positivity until the game proves otherwise. I have lived by that mantra for a good portion of my reviewer life and it’s a valid way to approach a game, especially in the case of Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions.
While some of my concerns were still valid by the end of the review period, mainly the controls of the game, what I found in the end was a well-planned Quidditch experience that was a lot more fun than I first experienced. Far less frustrating than I remember and far more interesting thanks to some good rewards and customization. Also, no MTX is to be found. Thank GOD!
So, let’s put down our broomsticks for a bit, get a spot of tea prepped, and discuss the ups and downs of Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions from developer Unbroken Studios.
Brooming around
I’ve been curious about this game since it was announced a while ago. After having such a nice time with Hogwarts Legacy, I figured this would be born from that same cloth, as it appeared to be a seamless transition from one to the other. But those turned out to be two very different games with incredibly different personalities, which I’m grateful for because I hated brooming around in Hogwarts Legacy. I might be in the minority, but the controls were beyond frustrating, especially during broom races.
Now, with Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, the controls are only slightly irritating but thanks to a fair amount of chaos going on during a match, they are correctable. As you would expect, Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions’ sole purpose for existing is to allow gamers and HP fans to experience Quidditch. The game, which has captivated the HP world for some time, is nicely explained in thorough detail to help get people right into it.
You will spend a large amount of time in the tutorial, which feels like an actual training breakdown of the imaginary game and that goes into so much detail that you might find mistakes in the movie because of it. There is a lot to take in at the beginning and the curve for learning every role on a Quidditch team will certainly put gamer’s patience to the test. It is a lot.
You get a good run-through of the main runner of the game called the Seeker, who usually takes the Quaffle (that large ball-like item) and tries to score. They are an attacker in a sense, where their main goal is to acquire the Quaffle, avoid contact, and try to outwit the goalie. Probably the easiest role of the bunch to play in the game and one that will certainly keep you satisfied and less challenged throughout a match. I learned that late in the game when I was a Beater (coming up) and had a dickens of a time trying to control a broom and take down opposing players. The Seeker is a hell of a lot of fun to play. Certainly, the best role of the team and one that has the least to worry about during a match.
Now, once you’re done learning about the Seeker, the game throws you into the role of a Beater, which is the brute of the team. The Beater’s goal is to beat down an opposing player using a stick or a bludger. The latter of the bunch is a ball that the Beater summons and then sends through a press-R2 target-based system to hit an opponent in hopes of knocking them out. Getting a precise aim on an opposing player is difficult and once the bludger is sent on its way toward an opposing player, there is a cooldown period for it to return, and all you can do to take out an opponent during that cooldown is to get close to your opponent and try to whack them. Using a bludger is so much fun but having to get close to an opponent is difficult, as the controls are not too precise in how they work. The opponents move fast, and you must be deadly accurate with your whack-a-mole swing. It can get downright frustrating to take out an opponent without the bludger.
The third role on the team is a Chaser, whose job it is to seek out the tiny snitch. If you aren’t familiar with the HP world, the golden snitch is a small gold ball with hummingbird wings. They are incredibly fast and tough to catch. Should a Chaser catch the snitch, which is only detectable by sound and controller vibration, then they will receive 30 points for their team, which is essentially three goals (10 for regular goals, first to 100 wins a match). This role is probably the most complicated, as you must be very aware of the snitch and seek it out through a bevy of sound effects and commentary. Certainly not the most gratifying role on the team, but an interesting one that is challenging for the senses.
The final role on a Quidditch team, and the last to be taught in the tutorial is the Keeper, or the goalie for those of us who need a real-world connection. As you can imagine, the Keeper just protects the goals from everyone and is more automated in their actions than loosey-goosey like all the other roles. Moving between goals (there are three) is just a flick of a controller. While the biggest issue in this role is squinting and seeing where the hell the ball is in the game, it’s probably the easiest stepping-off point in learning Quidditch from afar but difficult in keeping track of the ball that is heading your way with the other 8 people in tow.
These roles are what make up the game and there is enough variety here to make them interesting. I certainly found my favorite of the bunch but could switch between each and pick the other roles up easily with a push of the directional pad. That’s kind of the simplicity and charm of Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, as it’s a pickup-and-go gaming experience, and that’s just a good way to make it accessible to nearly everyone.
Now, having said all of that, the game does have its faults. The biggest of the bunch lies in its controls and the chaos of Quidditch. Starting with controls, the game moves quickly and there are a lot of back-and-forth moments, speeding up, slowing down, drifting, and pretty much every type of moment you would expect from a broom and a big soccer-esque field. You must turn on a dime and speed up, while also avoiding opponents and things thrown at you. The controls for Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions aren’t perfect nor are they comfortable. Having played this for an extended time, I hit a wall quickly while getting used to the controls. I never got better after a certain point and I’m honestly not sure what the devs could have done differently to make the controls less frustrating. If you slow down the game, then you’re not emulating the Quidditch experience. If you simplify the controls, then you’re restricting the players. But opening up camera and player controls, then adding a bunch of movements and abilities, adds complication and sometimes creates frustration. It’s certainly not as bad as Hogwarts Legacy’s broom flying but it’s still limited in what it can be designed as to bring the Quidditch experience perfectly to a game. A damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation.
Eventually, I accepted the fact that the controls wouldn’t be perfect and that slamming a player or having a perfect player targeted only to slightly miss was part of the experience. If this was an actual real-world game, I’m sure that this is actually how difficult it would be to play it. I know that statement sounds ridiculous but it’s valid when you’re trying to imagine how this game would be any different in the real world versus the video game.
The other issue with this game is the absolute system overload of chaos that occurs during a match. While five-on-five isn’t bad on paper, when you put that in a small field and then ask the player to try and keep track and even locate a ball or find a snitch while dealing with constant opponents and friendlies flying around, it can get a bit much. It’s tough to keep track of everyone, even though the game does its best to do it for you with circles, indicators, and dialogue. It just seems incredibly overwhelming. For some, I’m sure that will be the draw of it, as some people thrive in that type of chaos. For me, when shaky controls are combined with chaotic gameplay, then it can get quite tough to enjoy the experience.
I did find some good charm in the game once I found a tiny flow, but never felt completely comfortable when it came to settling down and getting everything right. Controls, chaos, and being able to focus are essential to any good sports game. Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions just sits on the fence between good and bad games in that respect. It’s manageable and you can still enjoy it, but it’s certainly complicated and tough to get to that point of enjoyment.
In all that wonderful explanation, the game does some good things. The first part of that good is the modes.
Magical modes
While I’m sure that most of the journalists out there will ding this game for its modes, I’m just happy that it included a campaign. Anytime you leave out a campaign from a game that should have one, like this one, then you run the risk of dumbing your product down and overpricing the experience.
Thankfully, Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions doesn’t do that at all.
Campaign
The game’s first mode is the campaign. Here you play cup matches and go up against other houses in a tournament style. While the stories are a bit empty, they do set up the cup matches quite nicely. You play against other houses that will mock your very existence, and you get to play against familiar faces from the stories that talk mad shit.
I spent a good chunk of time in campaign mode and found the gameplay challenging and fun. The challenging aspect has more to do with the previous section’s gripes. For the most part, the cup play felt very team-oriented, and my teammates helped more than they hurt. It’s been a long time since I felt like an NPC did something useful, and this was certainly one of those times. They picked up the slack when I couldn’t.
This mode is also nice in understanding what the game is about and building up XP. The latter of the bunch equals opening skills and items of interest. This is akin to unlocking things in Fall Guys, mainly about items. Getting items is fun, earning gold is motivating, and seeing your team with a yarn snake you just purchased sitting on their heads is priceless.
As for the skills, you gain skill points that unlock actual improvements and buffs for your characters. For example, once you get skill points you can unlock bludger handling for the Beater or improved tackling. You slowly but surely inch improvements of each player type and can go back for more. Again, very motivating and helps to alleviate some of the chaos and control issues. Seeing your efforts turn into improvement is essential for a game of this type. While it won’t eliminate its faults, it will help excuse them to a point.
Anyway, I’m sure as the seasons roll on with this game, you’ll see more cups open, and more items become available. I hope they extend this mode out a bit because it’s the most comfortable mode for my tastes.
Multiplayer
I can’t say I spent a large amount of time with this mode. It’s what you would expect from MP and certainly, the mode that will keep this game going for a while. It’s a simple and clean entry point to a match, where you’re just playing against others and showing your skills perfected from the campaign mode. I think it took me around 30 seconds to get called up into a match and the matches are just as quick as the ones in the campaign mode.
If you’re looking for a way to gain more XP and go up against some human competition, then there is no better mode.
Now, if the devs can pass the vanilla stage of Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions MP in the next few months and feature tournaments and such, then this is going to be a cool mode. I’m not sure if that is even in the works or a possibility, but I would play the hell out of a timed cup event against other people. It worked for Destiny 2, right? Make it better and it will work.
Other items of interest
One of the bigger side gigs for this game is the challenges it gives players. You will be presented with Daily, Weekly, and Career challenges in the game. They all contain certain rewards for accomplishing certain feats. For example, you can get XP by getting a Daily First Win, or XP and keys that unlock goodies if you play 10 matches per week. The goals are small and obtainable and fit perfectly within a seasonal structure. They offer up distractions from the base game and keep your attention a bit longer.
If you need microbursts of motivation to keep playing, then these items should interest you. Standard stuff for games like this but good.
Longevity
My biggest concern with this game right now is its longevity. I can get beyond complicated controls that are difficult within a chaotic construct, but having enough content to keep the player going is key to Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions’ survival.
From afar, it looks like it has set the appropriate foundation for this to work. It’s seasonal, there are multiple modes, and each has its own complication to them that will bring players back. But how often will things drop? What will be the size and entertainment of those ‘things’ when they drop? Will more characters end up in the game? Will the game go beyond the field? There are different ways for this game to expand but in its current state I can see it holding a player’s attention for a few months, then becoming something they come back to on occasion. This is something you want to avoid if you want your audience to stick around. See Destiny 2 for details.
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions needs a bit more to keep it interesting and some good substance that brings people back to it. Hopefully, the devs have a plan.
All this said the price point for this type of game is appropriate. I think $29.99 is a reasonable jumping-off point with the content provided, though I could also see someone thinking $19.99 might have been better. Had this been full price with no planned content, then it would have been a bad price point and product. But it’s appropriate and I can only assume that price point will get you more down the road than people can think. Of course, if there is a seasonal pass coming with a price each time, then we’re back to the ‘there had better be good content worthwhile coming’ sentiment.
Again, hopefully, the devs have a plan to make this game bigger than it currently is.
On that sweet note, let’s wrap this review up.
Conclusion
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions from developer Unbroken Studios finally brings a decent version of Quidditch to the video gaming world. While the controls are going to certainly frustrate some, especially when mixed with the chaotic Quidditch gameplay, the game does a decent job of bringing some good modes and reasons to keep playing. This is very much a vanilla beginning and hopefully, that can be improved in the coming months.
