Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Critic Reviews

A game that needs to take its time and, above all, post-launch support will be essential, but also a pleasant compendium of magical creatures and objects from Wizarding World.

With its history, its universe and its wealth of customization, Wizards Unite could surprise in the months to come. Beware, the game is much more greedy than was Pokémon Go and will not pass, or badly, on all machines.

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is better than Pokémon GO and a good insight into the Wizarding World.

You do not have to be a fan of Harry Potter to enjoy the game, as it is more important to be patient and open to sink into the wizarding world. Especially if you love collecting this is a fun game, though you have to guard yourself for not spending real-world money.

Wizards Unite aims to improve and amplify all the mechanics that Pokémon Go did right: the result is a game that definitely seems more complete at launch, but that at the same time may create some problems to the casual public.

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is a very good GPS based AR game, but it borrows so much from the likes of Pokémon GO that it is left without a distinctive hook or personality of its own. It feels like a Pokémon GO reskin. A damn good reskin, with a lot of effort put into it, but a reskin nonetheless. This is unlikely to inspire the fans of other GPS AR games to jump on board, but if you're a Harry Potter fan that likes to go on walks, there is no reason not to try it out.

When Wizards Unite is trying to do something new, it can be good fun. Most of the content sadly ends up feeling like a strange version of Pokémon Go, giving players flimsy reasons to catch or zap ‘em all.

Wizards Unite is a very interesting AR game, based, obviously, on the Pokémon GO! formula. However, it is much more complex, and that is a double-edged sword. We recommend giving it a try and seeing how much time and effort we’re willing to spend on it.

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will transport you to the Wizarding World without using brooms or Floo powder. There are room for things to improve but it is a good start, way better than the beginning of Pokemon go.

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite has some magic, but plenty of frustrating quirks that hold back its wizardry.

Beyond that feeling of individuality, I'm just not sold on what Niantic has created here. There are small, annoying issues with storage, access to necessary potion ingredients, and the wild inconsistency of how well it rates my spell tracing, but the far bigger problem with Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is its inability to utilize the IP and the technology in a way that is not only engaging but also distinct from Niantic's other games. I have no doubt in my mind there is a great Harry Potter AR game out there. This just isn't it.

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite has some good ideas that could become a great game in time, but with a huge amount of ill-conceived baggage that’s repetitive or tedious to play, and relying on a tiresome story to hold it together. While it’ll likely please the fans, this is one that muggles should avoid for now.

With way more content than the similar Pokémon Go and a lot of fanservice it Wizards Unite generates a truly magical atmosphere. But the constant reminder of microtransactions as well as technical shortcomings make it difficult to stay attached.

If you like Pokémon Go but you’re more invested in the Harry Potter Wizarding World, then this game may be for you. Pokémon Go has matured incredibly well since launch, so perhaps Wizards Unite will follow the same path to success, but for now, there isn’t much to be excited about. If you were hoping that Wizards Unite would rival the cultural phenomenon that was and is Pokémon Go, you’ll be bitterly disappointed.

More depressing is its constant desire to shake you down for cash, with microtransactional extras popping up for practically everything you need to progress. It’s an exhausting begging simulator, with a wafer-thin veneer of Harry Potter that in no way recaptures the initial allure of Pokémon GO.

Wizards Unite may evolve to become the biggest, best, and most spectacular AR game we Muggles have ever seen...But on the other hand, there are more problems to be tackled here than the Whomping Willow has branches, some of them more daunting than others.

We’re still very early days in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, but we’ve thoroughly enjoyed the little of it we’ve seen so far. It’s captured our imaginations in a similar manner to the books and movies, and makes good use of the Pokémon GO mechanics for the most part.