Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions Review
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions won’t be one of the best games I play this year, but it is a lot of fun and manages to bring some of that Harry Potter magic along for the ride.
Hogwarts Legacy made it clear that Harry Potter games could exist in this world without, well, Harry Potter. It was a breath of fresh air to a fandom shrouded in a lot of negativities at the time. It’s one of the best games I played last year, and still would have been even if I wasn’t a fan of the Harry Potter universe. It was genuinely a great experience.
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Quidditch 101: The Art of the Broomstick
For those not well versed in all things magical, I guess I need to give a quick rundown of how the game of Quidditch works:
In the books, a team of seven witches and wizards hop on their broomsticks and enter a stadium, over a pitch. There are three chasers. This position requires the player to gain and keep possession of a ball called a quaffle, dodging other players, tackles and balls. If they manage to throw the quaffle through one of the goal posts, they score points for the team.
Then, there are two beaters. These players race around with a bat and have to both protect their team and attack the enemy team by hitting and guarding from magically possessed violent balls called bludgers. The keeper is the player who sits in front of the enemy goals and defends from offensive attacks. The last player is the seeker, who chases after a tiny golden ball called the snitch, which ends the game when caught.
Muggle-Friendly Quidditch
In the interest of making this magical game more friendly to muggles with controllers, a few rules are different. There is only one beater per team, the snitch only appears now and then, and when caught, awards 30 points, but the game continues on. You can play any position you like in the campaign mode, and when playing online, do a random queue or specify between roles you would prefer to switch between in match. Each of those roles have their own pros and cons, but if you were looking to play exclusively as a keeper or seeker, matches may be long and boring.
Familiar Faces and Places
During the campaign, or tournament mode, you visit beloved parts of the Harry Potter world, playing with and against characters we all know and love. The AI of these opponents is pretty simple on easy mode, but poses a bit of a challenge on higher difficulties. The core of how the game works and melds all the different roles and skill sets of the different positions together has been done extremely well.
Harry Potter and The Half-Finished Tournament
If you are looking to play this game for lots of single player content, you’re not going to get that right now. The four tournaments that make up the campaign mode can be done in about four to five hours, and there isn’t any reason to replay them, unless you feel like challenging yourself (or completing daily/weekly challenges for rewards).
A Golden Snitch in the Making?
This leaves you with the online multiplayer, and if you aren’t up to improving your skill, or learning each position, the game doesn’t have much more to offer in terms of reasons to keep playing.
There is only a 3v3 mode right now (6v6 is being worked on), and you’ll rotate through the same set of maps again and again. If you really enjoy the game, there are tons of collectibles to unlock, even some really cool country themed Quidditch uniforms, South Africa included!
There is of course an in-game shop for cosmetics, emotes and so on, but all of the currency can only be earned by playing. At this point, there is not a microtransaction to be found. So, if there is a particular crookshanks hat you really want, best you get on that Quidditch pitch.
Verdict: Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions has a really great foundation to work off of, and one of my first impressions of it was “Rocket League but on brooms”. Rocket League has come miles from what it was at launch, and I think given some love and patience, there is a lot more that Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions can offer up.
P.S Ravenclaw is the best house.