I Played Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery For One Week, And This Is What Happened

A week ago, the rather anticipated Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery active game launched, allocating a new story set in the 11-year period immediately Following the Boy Who Lived defeated Lord Voldemort, and before Harry Potter’s Hogwarts arrival. I’ve spent the past seven days diligently attending classes, learning to duel, exploring the castle, and waiting for my energy to reload — and naturally I documented all of it.


With my wildest childhood dreams virtually fulfilled, here are my observations.


Pre-Play


I did not go into this Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery experience blind. I had already saw a demo at the Jam City offices about a week before the launch, so I was equipped with the knowledge that the game, created by an enormous team of fellow Harry Potter aficionados, boasts slick visuals along with a story line that is true to the universe I love.


Mirroring the foundation of the books, "there’s the core content and there really are also categorize kind of side quests and side stories that eventually weave back inside the main thread," Jam City CEO Chris DeWolfe explained. "As you could tell from the title, Hogwarts Mystery, mystery is a core piece of this discovery, so you’re not just order kind of randomly exploring the school. There’s certainly through-line plus a set of mysteries that you’re attempting to solve."


I also learned some very generic gameplay — like that fact that each player gets to pick their own house because we all know where we belong by now — as well as the fact that this launch is only phase one. "This is going to go on for years and years — new features, new events, new characters," DeWolfe mentioned, noting that the story-based game tackles minor house cleaning before delving into the good stuff. "We wanted to prepare ensure we traditional the characters and the stakes and the story arcs before we got into group kind of the fun of things, like Quidditch and dueling."


naturally, watching someone play parts of the game is very different than playing solo, so one week later…


First Impressions


Had I ever been more excited to play a video game before? Absolutely not. I began this journey happy to be back in that cozy castle, ready for a new adventure. And the initial visuals did not disappoint.


Professor McGonagall — voiced by Dame Maggie Smith herself! — Welcomed me to the game, also it was so cool to hear her in character again. The auditory component made the game feel more legitimate, like I was being invited to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


Anyway, onto creating my character. The options were plentiful and I made her look like me, even giving her my childhood performer name. Then I was off to Diagon Alley, where I made my first friend, Rowan, and saw my very official Hogwarts acceptance letter. What a rush!


I was instantly sold on Rowan for her vast knowledge of Hogwarts and bookish charm. I also like that she asked my advice on what item she should purchase to create herself look smart. (I instructed her to get a scarf.)


Actually, I was told about making choices while in my visit to Jam City. Every choice I make during the game will affect my character and my story. This first choice was meant to be an easy one, just to get players used to making decisions in the game, and because the game progresses, choices will become more impactful. As an example — the second choice question is already more intense than the first: How I felt about my brother Jacob’s disappearance. (“I just hope he’s OK!”)


Equipped with my books and my wand — acacia with a unicorn hair core, 12 inches, pliable — it was off to school for me!


Hogwarts of the '80s


Hogwarts of the '80s does not look so different from Hogwarts of the '90s. The game took me straight to the Fantastic Hall for the ordering ceremony. It was a little bit nerve-racking to be called up there first without seeing anyone else get ordered, nevertheless it was ultimately fine. I picked Gryffindor, because that's my house. I thought I’d get to appreciate the welcome feast, however alas, I was whisked away to the Gryffindor usual room, where a rude third year boy makes it known that Jacob has ruined my reputation before I even arrived. Oh, brother.


The backstory I gathered on Jacob through various conversations is that he was at Hogwarts before me and became obsessed with his search for the Cursed Vaults. His quest put other students in danger, and he was expelled from school. Soon after his expulsion, he went missing. Some mention he ran away to join Lord Voldemort, although I know my brother better than that... (No, I don't, I'm just hoping that I am not so closely related to a ruthless Death Eater.)


Meanwhile, the classes were pretty unexciting — a series of tapping, with some tracing and quiz questions thrown in — so I made it through my first two, Charms and Potions, nearly unscathed, save a snafu with my nemesis Merula, in which she caused my potion to explode. It was OK though, because I was happy to be in Snape’s virtual presence. Well, bittersweet, because he hates me, however also he must be secretly protecting me, right?!


After my Potions problem, my Prefect notified me Snape was giving me a chance to prepare up for my explosion by helping him, so off I went! Alas, it was just more Merula, who abandoned me entrapped in Devil’s Snare. It took a long time to free myself because I kept running out of energy. It was annoying — and sort of frightening! — However I persisted for the sake of this diary. As a reward, I met Hagrid! It turns out that was his Devil’s Snare. Typical.


(I later saw that several other people online were frustrated enough by the Devil’s Snare wait time to stop playing the game entirely. I stopped playing While I waited for my energy to refill so that I wouldn’t have to watch my character in a uncomfortable position.)


Making Companions and Exploring the Castle


Right after cementing my friendship with Rowan over a game of Gobstones (which I won by distracting her with my conversational charm), I used up my energy in Potions class and noticed myself also tired to look for the secret dueling book. For a Whenever I thought I was going to fail the mission and I wasn’t sure what that would mean, however I made it far enough to pass although I didn’t get achieve of the bonus points.


Understandably, Rowan needed a three-hour break from me, which gave me an excuse to explore the castle. Nevertheless there wasn’t much to be able to see or do, while randomly clicking around to be able to see if I might interact with the environment, I noticed some secret concealed energy Easter eggs! So I hustled through every segment of the castle and clicked on everything that might animate. I noticed a couple of — though I’ll avoid spoiling where they are. The perfect one involved a puppy Fang, and the close second, a scurrying house-elf.


Learning to Duel


I met Rowan in the Wonderful Hall for sandwiches and also a chat, then I met Professor Flitwick for a private Expelliarmus lesson. The initial time I truly felt the Hogwarts experience was while in my clandestine meeting with a teacher for a hands-on advanced lesson.


Later, I went back to the Gryffindor typical room where my Prefect taught me and Rowan Rictusempra (the tickling charm) and went over the basics of dueling for my inevitable run-in with Merula.


Skills-wise, I was ready for battle, and after, I conveniently defeated Merula, whose “aggressive” stance routinely faltered to my “defensive.” Snape and Flitwick caught us dueling, and I got into a ton of trouble for initiating, although I was also excited for the story advancement to get down about that.


After our duel, Merula and I eavesdropped on Snape’s conversation with Filch about, uh, me, or perhaps my brother, along with a mysterious corridor.


The Forbidden Corridor


Soon after another wait period, I met Rowan in the Fantastic Hall for more sandwiches. (Why we habitually pick sandwiches once we can have literally anything else is behind me.) With some tactful convincing on my end, we determine to team up and explore the mysterious forbidden corridor Snape and Filch were talking about. How exciting!


All I knew at this point was that the corridor has something to do with the Cursed Vaults, and that some days I heard voices that Rowan did not hear. It's all very Chamber of Secrets, leaving real-me wondering if game-me was about to realize I speak parseltongue, or if I have some sort of telepathic connection with my brother.


Although it turns out, "exploring" just meant more tapping games, so not very stimulating soon considering that. Wishing I could genuinely click around the corridor and search for things, Mrs. Norris arrived and almost blew our spot, so we fled.


Overall Impressions


It took a week to get here, nevertheless I'm finally feeling like the mystery is picking up and I have some direction in this game. I do wish the narrative was moving along a little bit faster — which it would have, if I hadn't insisted on not participating in microtransactions and may zoom through my classes.


Yet although my progress is often interrupted by mindless tapping activities and long wait periods, I'm invested in the concept and curious about the game’s future. I'm a sucker for a new addition to the Harry Potter universe. Plus, I need confirmation that Jacob was not the menace he's made out to be — and I'm sort of concerned that he's trapped indoors inside of the Cursed Vaults, with me as his only hope.


And let's face it: This is the closest I'll ever get to attending Hogwarts, and I really hope to try out for the Quidditch team next year.