The augmented reality game, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is an app made by Warner Bros. Interactive, Niantic, and Portkey Games. Since downloading the AR app, I’ve had tons of fun being a wizard. Consequently, I’ve walked for more than 10 miles, leveled up to rank 10 in Ravenclaw, and have saved 105 Foundables from the Calamity.
What is Harry Potter: Wizards Unite the Augmented Reality Game?
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is an augmented reality game for iOS and Android phones. The walking app, released on June 21, 2019, has 250,659 Google Play and 125,500 Apple App Store ratings! Verdict is in: Potterheads love it! Myself included!
The app got me away from my desk for a few minutes to an hour for breaks. Bonus, it made me more adventurous! On my adventures, I saw owls, snitches, giants, werewolves, and lots of other mythical creatures. After venturing through the neighborhood and seeing similar creatures pop up during events I went on more adventures.
Searching for variety, I took it with me to the beach, mall, record stores, restaurants, and other places. An L.A. summer is hot, dry, sometimes humid, and has temperatures in the eighties. It seems like the augmented reality game must have a spell on me. As a result, I didn’t mind playing it outdoors!
Exploration
Walk around your neighborhood with your phone and collect Traces of magic by going to the colorful icons on the map. This is where characters, creatures, and items have been placed by the Calamity or the dark magic event that’s going on in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.
The more you walk around with the augmented reality game the more diverse the creatures and characters you’ll meet and the more items to collect. I found and saved a unicorn and helped Harry fight a wraith! Although fun, I came along an issue with the Ingredient Vault space. Basically, buy more storage in the store or deal with a full inventory.
Spells and Energy Use
To cast spells, Wizards in training use their finger (the wand) to swipe over patterns quickly. The pattern gets more challenging over time as you meet Low to High Threat creatures. The more accurate and faster you are the better to overpower what’s controlling the Foundables characters, creatures, and items.
There’s a chance you can mess up casting if you don’t draw the spell pattern correctly the first time, which weakens it. This increases the chance that you might not get to collect the whole Foundable, but rather a fraction of it. This means you’ll have to defeat it again later and collect the rest of it.
By using spell potions, wizards have a better chance at defeating foes and setting Foundables free. Although potions pack a punch to Confoundable forces and foes they do not fill up spell cast energy (blue lighting bolts).
My issue with spell cast energy is that its energy whittles down quickly as you use it. So, you must wait a few hours or buy game currency to replenish it. The kicker, if you’re in the middle of a battle and out of spell energy, game coins, and money – you can’t continue.
Skill Tree
Each Profession (I’m a Magizoologist) has unlockable lessons that teach you specialty skills. Use them to improve your chances of winning challenges with increased stats like stamina, power, Protego Power, precision, critical power, proficiency power, deficiency defense, defense breach, and accuracy.
Assignments and Special Events
If you’re not Richie Rich rich, players can gain a reward by just signing into the augmented reality app. Some days I just don’t have the energy or time to do a lot with the app, so this low-effort reward keeps me coming back without FOMO.
The Daily Assignments are super easy to earn and they reset every day. So, you can always complete tasks like returning Foundables, collect ingredients, and use/brew potions without going hardly anywhere but your living room.
Those with an adventurous spirit or time will want to go out and find Portmanteaus, dine at inns, and complete wizarding challenges. So, you’ll have to get your shoes on and walk around. This is worth the exercise, fresh air, and battling it out with augmented reality beasts to gain XP, coins, ingredient items, and collect Foundables and Fragments in the game.
Special Events like Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Community Day are an augmented reality game players’ paradise. It’s where players meet up locally and battle. Special Assignments like the Fantastic Flora and Fauna or Potters Calamity Brilliant Event are great ways to boost user involvement. Finding unique Traces and Foundables is a bonus!
Would I Recommend Playing Harry Potter: Wizards Unite?
Totally! Especially fans of the Harry Potter movies, novels, and franchise. First, I really enjoyed the variety of creatures and their augmented reality animations. Furthermore, they were fun to screenshot and share with my friends. Consequently, challenge/battle sequences were a significant part of what kept me coming back to play.
Next, the battles were a decent mix of low to high effort swipe patterns and the helpful rewards hooked me. I just wish I didn’t have to keep a close eye on how fast casting energy whittled down and how quickly the inventory filled up.
Rising in popularity, augmented reality games like Harry Potter: Wizards Unite are made so well that they will be what other apps take notes on. Above all, it has a great storyline, entertaining graphics, and augmented reality features.
Wizards, this is a must-have augmented reality game that’s going to do more than drop you off at Hogwarts. It’s an adventure in your pocket that goes anywhere you do.
