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Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

Despite a magical setting and engaging premise, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery’s abhorrent microtransactions drain almost all life out of this mobile RPG.
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery Game Cover
53%Game Brain Score
story, graphics
monetization, stability
57% User Score Based on 10,000 reviews
Critic Score 35%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

TabletAndroidPhoneiPadMobile PlatformiPhone
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery Game Cover

About

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery is a single player casual role playing game with fantasy and mystery themes. It was developed by Jam City and was released on April 25, 2018. It received negative reviews from critics and neutral reviews from players.

A Wizarding World Adventure!

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57%
Audience ScoreBased on 10,000 reviews
story1.5k positive mentions
monetization455 negative mentions

  • Engaging storyline that immerses players in the Harry Potter universe.
  • Great graphics and character customization options.
  • Fun mini-games and side quests that add variety to gameplay.
  • Energy system is frustrating, taking too long to recharge and often running out during tasks.
  • Frequent glitches and crashes that cause loss of progress and require restarting tasks.
  • Limited time events are difficult to complete without spending real money.
  • story
    4,916 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is generally praised for its engaging narrative and connection to the Harry Potter universe, with many players appreciating the character development and unique plotlines. However, frustrations arise from the energy system, which limits gameplay and often leads to lost progress on timed quests, causing players to feel compelled to spend money to advance. While the graphics and overall atmosphere are well-received, the slow pacing and frequent glitches detract from the enjoyment of the story.

    • “Always loved this game because it was super fun and had an interesting storyline.”
    • “Love this game, the characters are unique and the story is intriguing.”
    • “The story is engaging while the gameplay style is fun as well.”
    • “The story is very well structured and the only thing that kept me playing the game since beta.”
    • “The storyline keeps pulling me back, even as i get frustrated with the game mechanics.”
    • “The story is fine for a mobile game, but it's not compelling enough for the ridiculous energy issues in the game.”
  • graphics
    980 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game have received a mixed response from users, with many praising their beauty and detail, particularly in capturing the essence of the Harry Potter universe. However, some players have noted issues such as glitches, loading problems, and a lack of polish in certain animations. Overall, while the graphics are generally considered impressive for a mobile game, there are calls for improvements to enhance the overall experience.

    • “The graphics are spectacular.”
    • “The missions are extremely creative, the graphics are beautiful, the backdrop music is really melodious, the activities are very fun, and it is bound to be fun because it is a Harry Potter game.”
    • “The graphics are amazing and the storyline is so interesting!!”
    • “The graphics are terrible and it takes way too long to load.”
    • “The graphics have really suffered in the last two updates and the game looks bad on an aesthetic level now with the effects on the clothes, buttons, and even loading screens.”
    • “I've only played the game for 20 minutes but the graphics compelled me to review.”
  • gameplay
    701 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Gameplay in this game has received mixed reviews, with many players praising the engaging storyline and graphics but expressing frustration over the energy mechanic that limits playtime. The gameplay often consists of repetitive tapping and waiting for energy to recharge, leading to a feeling of tedium and a cash-grab mentality due to the pressure to make in-app purchases for quicker progression. While some enjoy the casual nature and character customization, the overall consensus is that the gameplay lacks depth and can become monotonous, especially as players progress further into the game.

    • “The gameplay is engaging and pretty fun, and there's no major bugs apart from the many visual bugs and errors.”
    • “The gameplay is smooth, mini games are fun, quests and missions are enticing and the conversations are funny and engaging.”
    • “Great graphics, easy gameplay.”
    • “The only downside is that energy constraints completely choke the flow of gameplay.”
    • “Gameplay is non-existent, just click on the screen.”
    • “The gameplay is extremely short, about 5 minutes at most, before you run out of energy and have to wait an hour or more to refill or pay for a refill.”
  • monetization
    681 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization model of the game has received significant criticism for being overly aggressive and resembling a cash grab. Players express frustration over the slow energy recharge system, which often forces them to either wait long periods or spend real money on in-app purchases to progress. While some appreciate the option to watch ads for energy, many report that these opportunities are limited and unreliable, leading to a gameplay experience that feels constrained and frustrating without financial investment.

    • “The variety of things to do is wonderful, and although there are microtransactions, they are totally optional and you can get most of that stuff other ways.”
    • “Yes, there are in-game purchases, but you don't have to have them to enjoy the game.”
    • “I can understand the microtransactions are a turnoff for a lot of people, but I can understand that the developers are trying to make a living and they do deserve to be supported, so some payment is necessary.”
    • “The game has one of the worst monetization models around, with everything designed to push you into spending gobs of money: short timers on everything, special events that run only two/three days, all of which requires massive time or money input to finish.”
    • “This game feels like a bit of a cash grab.”
    • “The microtransactions are repugnant, but they're out of the way and generally won't bother you.”
  • stability
    637 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The stability of the game has been widely criticized, with numerous users reporting frequent glitches, crashes, and freezing issues that disrupt gameplay and cause loss of progress. Many players express frustration over the game's inability to save progress properly, particularly during timed events, leading to repeated tasks and wasted energy. While some users have noted improvements after updates, the overall consensus is that the game remains plagued by significant stability problems that hinder the enjoyment of its otherwise engaging content.

    • “The game runs smoothly, no glitches and no need to spend any cash to advance at a reasonable pace in the game.”
    • “The graphics are amazing so far and everything has been running very smoothly with no glitches or freezing.”
    • “Early days but no glitches so far.”
    • “The game freezes often and restarts a lot; I don't always get whichever reward I'm supposed to after watching a video. Sometimes I have to watch it several times, and the game will freeze and restart once or twice during the process.”
    • “I can't carry on with gameplay; it just freezes the screen. I reboot time and time again, and it does the same thing.”
    • “The game is entirely full of glitches, which make gameplay impossible.”
  • grinding
    118 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding aspect of the game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many players finding it tedious and repetitive. Users report spending excessive hours on grinding tasks that often feel unfulfilling, leading to frustration with the energy system and a lack of engaging content. While some appreciate the potential rewards from grinding, the overall sentiment suggests that the gameplay becomes a monotonous slog, detracting from the enjoyment of the story and characters.

    • “I was looking for a game that wasn't farming, merging, or Candy Crush, and it isn't that, so that's good!”
    • “Extremely grindy and will probably take years to play through, but that's to be expected from a mobile game that uses time as a currency.”
    • “The amount of content you get after energy grinding classes and quests is disappointing.”
    • “The energy system is simply tedious and annoying; sometimes it can cause you to miss limited time events as well.”
  • music
    61 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally praised for its soothing and immersive qualities, enhancing the overall experience with a charming soundtrack that evokes nostalgia. However, players have reported various issues, including low volume levels, music continuing to play in the background after exiting the game, and occasional mismatches between the music and in-game situations. While many appreciate the sound design, some suggest improvements, such as adding more variety to the soundtrack and implementing volume control options.

    • “I love the music, sound effects, pets, the hidden things you can tap and animate to get extra energy, the art and the 3D-ness of it.”
    • “The music is soothing, and the character lines are so touching.”
    • “The awesome graphics and incredible background music make it more fun.”
    • “On a minor note, the music and sound effects are really bad and usually don't fit the situation.”
    • “The game is really nice but it's really confusing; there's no way to turn off the music, you can barely hear what they're saying, and you can't go back and change clothes.”
    • “The game was glitching in not wanting to load, showing the Hogwarts crest but still playing the background music as if it had fully loaded, and closing out on its own.”
  • optimization
    25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues, including lag, crashes, and slow loading times, particularly on mobile devices. While some users noted that the game runs smoothly without glitches, others experienced frequent interruptions and poor responsiveness, leading to frustration. Overall, the consensus indicates that the game requires substantial improvements in optimization to enhance the user experience.

    • “The game runs smoothly, no glitches and no need to spend any cash to advance at a reasonable pace in the game.”
    • “Overall the game runs smoothly.”
    • “The performance of the storyline, characters, and dueling are really good but I don't get it when my phone has a lot of space left and it says not enough space, which annoys me.”
    • “It's extremely poorly optimized.”
    • “The gameplay is choppy, definitely not well enough optimized for mobile.”
    • “Literally unplayable... the game itself is pretty great, the story, the world, everything makes for a very nice game... but the optimization is very poor... it just crashes every 5 minutes, often sending you back to complete tasks already completed before the crash, and no amount of RAM clearing or whatever the FAQ recommends helps fix this issue.”
  • character development
    25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the depth and variety in storylines and character interactions, while others criticize the limited character designs and occasional stalling in development progression. Many users enjoy the customization options and the ability to form relationships, but some express frustration over gameplay mechanics that hinder the experience, such as energy limitations and technical issues. Overall, while the game offers a charming narrative and engaging character development, there are notable areas for improvement in design and pacing.

    • “Overall good storyline and character development, and it keeps getting better, but there are a few things I want to see change.”
    • “I enjoy the different storylines and there is some character development going on.”
    • “The character design, the lore, the customization, everything about this game is excellent!”
    • “Also, the character development stalls at certain points of the game.”
    • “There's not much character development.”
    • “This is appalling; the character design is extremely limited and you have to work hard to make them look human. The gameplay is slow and sluggish; I couldn't even make it through the tutorial without becoming frustrated beyond belief.”
  • emotional
    17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players express a mix of emotional engagement and frustration with the game. While some find the dialogues and music touching, others feel alienated by limited character options and are disheartened by repetitive gameplay and technical issues that hinder their experience. Overall, the emotional impact is marred by gameplay frustrations, leading to a sense of resentment and heartbreak over missed potential.

    • “I was on the very last part and want to cry.”
    • “The music is soothing and the character lines are so touching.”
    • “I like the dialogues; sometimes they're very educational, then they're emotional too, and sometimes they're really funny.”
    • “The game has such promise but ruins it with buggy and repetitive gameplay, poor and unfinished graphics, a boring story that is trying to throw in as many references to the books as it can that it loses itself in being an individual story, not to mention it basically forces microtransactions down your throat.”
    • “It's a boring story with vapid characters and in the last few months has been riddled with events that require either all of your time or paying real money to get good rewards.”
    • “But the worst part for me is the lame graphics and boring storyline.”
  • humor
    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with many players finding it entertaining and funny, particularly in the dialogues and certain scenes. However, the game's glitches and poor facial animations often detract from the experience, leading to frustration rather than laughter. Overall, while some aspects of the humor are appreciated, the game's technical issues and design flaws can overshadow the comedic elements.

    • “Absolutely love this game, it's interesting, funny, and the graphics are pretty great.”
    • “The storyline is quite interesting and the game is also sometimes funny.”
    • “I like the dialogues, sometimes they're very educational and then they are emotional too, then sometimes they're really funny.”
    • “The new update they did on June 4th has the game so screwed up it's not funny.”
  • atmosphere
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its beautiful graphics and immersive storytelling, effectively capturing the magical essence of Hogwarts. Reviewers highlight the engaging characters and overall fun experience, contributing to a captivating and enchanting environment.

    • “Beautifully done, nice story, nice atmosphere.”
    • “I love the characters, atmosphere, and plot!”
    • “I loved how well they create the Hogwarts atmosphere and how well the graphics are.”
  • replayability
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the game enjoyable and replayable, but suggest improvements such as a save/load system and the removal of the energy bar, which currently limits gameplay. The time constraints for progressing through chapters are seen as a significant drawback, impacting overall replayability. Adjustments to these mechanics could enhance the game's playability and encourage more frequent returns.

    • “Game is fun and replayable, but the overall time limit for advancing is horrible; 7 hours to have a second dual?”
    • “Events are frequent but are playable without spending.”
    • “I also suggest changing this game to have replayable chapters or a save and load system.”
    • “Please make some adjustments to make the game more playable.”
    • “Best graphics, but I think you should get rid of the energy bar because it takes just one move and I'm already losing energy. Can you please remove it? It would help a lot and make the game more enjoyable.”
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9h Median play time
12h Average play time
4-12h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 15 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery is a casual role playing game with fantasy and mystery themes.

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery is available on Phone, iPad, iPhone, Tablet and others.

On average players spend around 12 hours playing Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery.

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery was released on April 25, 2018.

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery was developed by Jam City.

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery has received neutral reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its monetization.

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery is a single player game.

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