Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
With this overwhelming sense of freedom, I was able to dive right into Wizards Unite. Using my Pokémon Go instincts, I just started clicking on things in the map and following the directions. Most of the interactive things on the map are "confoundables," or little instances of magical events or creatures that somehow traversed time and space to reach the muggle world. Obviously, it would be catastrophic if muggles were to see the confoundables and become aware of magic, so fledgling wizards like myself have to band together to send them back where they belong. These confoundables can offer some pretty cool interactions with familiar characters and creatures, and they are the primary focus of the game, but sending them back is far from the only thing to do.
I found Wizards Unite's biggest flaw to be its weak introductions to features. There is so much that you can do in the game, but without fumbling through the menus, you likely won't encounter it all for a long time. Unfortunately, even when you do find something cool and new, the game whizzes through a brief introduction to the feature and then leaves you directionless again. With portkey portmanteaus, potion brewing, the Knight Bus, skill trees, inns, and more, you can quickly get lost, but as long as you have the patience and perseverance, Wizards Unite has a lot to offer. I personally was able to try most of the different activities, but I feel like returning confoundables was the only really fun thing for me, whereas I felt more obligated, rather than interested, to play the rest.
While its life is pretty much over, I think Wizards Unite had a lot going for it. The callbacks and fan service that make up the confoundables are a lot of fun to watch, even though the gameplay aspect of returning them to their homes is extremely repetitive. Although I only dabbled in it, the wide array of additional content is also a welcome addition for when the core gameplay loop is feeling a little bit too samey. I would have liked some better instructions on how to do some of the things the game offers, let alone some sort of indication that they're options in the first place, but I got it all figured out eventually. Frankly, I'm just a little bit disappointed that I hadn't played this earlier. I'm glad I had a chance to try it out before it disappears forever, but some games just need longer to work their true magic.
