Developed by Unbroken Studios and published by Warner Bros. Games and Portkey Games, Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is a brand-new game that revolves around the fantasy sport Quidditch featured in the Harry Potter franchise. This broom-flying sport plays an important part in the franchise and has been considered one of the main sporting events in its world however ever since Hogwarts Legacy was released last year, players were left devastated when they found out that it did not feature any sort of Quidditch despite having a fully detailed and modeled Quidditch pitch right next to the Hogwarts Castle. However, while the wait may have been much, we finally now have a standalone Quidditch game which is all about catching Snitches and flying brooms. This is our review of Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions on the PS5 in which we beat some bludgers and catch some snitches.
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions begins with a very detailed tutorial which also serves as one of the single-player campaign championships. This takes place at Ron Weasley’s house and during this tutorial, you can get to play Quidditch against some familiar faces like Fred and George Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. During this introductory cup, you not only learn how to play different positions on your team but also create your very own Quidditch team to use in the game. You can customize it later, but it all begins here. This is one of the best tutorials that we have played in any game so far because it explains everything precisely and thoroughly. Understanding controls and gameplay mechanics was one of our concerns while jumping into the game but the tutorial made it easy.
At this point, there are four different game modes in the game. There is a Campaign mode where you take part in four different Cups. You have the Training Cup which takes place at The Burrow, then you have the Hogwarts Cup where you take part as one of four Houses, the Triwizard Schools Cup where you can take part as any one of the three Wizarding Schools and finally the International Cup which takes place between countries. Apart from the Training one, all three follow the same formula of eliminations as the winner moves on and the losing team eventually falls out of the Cup. Winning these Cups unlocks exclusive rewards along with XP and these are the only single-player aspect of the game apart from the Exhibition Mode where you can create your custom games.
The game follows the original Quidditch rules from the books and the movies but changes them slightly to suit the game better. Similar to the original concept, you have 3 chasers, 2 beaters, 1 seeker, and 1 keeper for every game. The Seeker has to find the Snitch, the Beaters use the bat to take out enemy team members either by shooting Bludgers at them or by hitting them with bats, the Keeper has to protect the goal posts while the Chasers have to secure the Quaffle, and score goals. It sounds very familiar however during the games, you will find only one beater on each team and the Snitch only gives 30 Points when the Seeker catches it. During a game, you can switch positions using a radial dial that allows you to quickly shuffle between all available positions on your team.
Every match in Quidditch plays out exactly the same apart from the final results. The only change between online games is that they are played in a 3v3 format, and each player has to select two position preferences before a game begins and these are available to them during the match. Seeker position becomes available only when the Snitch is released on the pitch and on average, this is around two times in every game based on the total time allocation for a match. During solo matches, you will have the entire team at your disposal, and you can instantly switch to your favorite position. As the goalkeeper, you can block incoming goals, and the controls switch for your ease as using the left joystick allows you to quickly jump in front of the three goal posts. Apart from blocking goals, you can also drop Playcall Rings on a path that can be used by your Chasers to recharge their boost and quickly reach the opposing goals. This means that even if you are a Keeper, you will not spend most of your time waiting for the Quaffle to come to you.
The Seeker needs to follow the Snitch closely and while locked on to it, they must follow through rings to fill a meter before you can grab it. The Beaters during a game need to ensure that they are looking after their players while taking down the opposing players. Each beater can summon its own Bludger and shoot it at other players to damage them. Once a player’s health reaches zero, they are knocked out of the game for some time. Beaters can also use their bats to strike other players to make them drop the Quaffle or ruin a Snitch’s final approach. Finally, the Chasers need to fight with the opposing Chasers to snatch the Quaffle and score goals. The Chasers are supported by the Keeper and the Beaters to ensure that they can reach the goals and land 10 points for their team. The winning team is decided when they score 100 Points first or if time ends, the team with the most points lands the win.
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions really shines when it comes to gameplay. Perhaps this solid gameplay is one reason that compels you to dive back into the game again and again. Flying your room around is an absolute delight. You can use Boost as long as you have some juice in your Boost bar and make sharp turns by drifting your broom. The movement is fluid and really satisfying and really makes you feel in control. Whether you are following the Snitch or chasing down another Chaser, you feel completely in control and the sense of speed is there. During these tense situations, you can pass the Quaffle to your partners, aim at other players to shoot the Bludger at them, or even look around at other players while chasing the Snitch fairly easily, thanks to the gameplay design.
Progression in Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is measured through a series of challenges. If you head over to the Challenges tab, you can see your progression in the game regarding various aspects of the game. These are divided into different categories like Game Modes, Daily, Weekly, and Campaign. Daily challenges and Weekly challenges contribute directly to the Season’s progression. These upgrade regularly and these provide you with a clear path of how you can earn XP and increase your Season level to unlock new rewards. Campaign challenges are related to the main Campaign mode of the game where you can earn XP by completing different tasks such as winning different tournaments. The same goes for Game Modes. As you level up, you will unlock new rewards for your account such as exclusive customization options and after reaching level 50, you move into the Prestige system and enter the next Prestige level.
Another positive aspect of the game is that there are no microtransactions in the game. This means there is plenty of griding for earning the three in-game currencies. You have Moonstones which are used to upgrade your brooms and increase their stats. Then you have Gold which is used to buy in-game store items and finally, you have the Premium currency called Winged Keys which can be used to purchase the much-rarer Vault Items. You can earn all currencies in-game while the Winged Keys are obtained through the Season progression. It is like a free battle pass for battle royale games but here you do not need to purchase it separately. There are no Free and Paid tiers and all items can be earned by you without paying a dime but you will need to grind the different gameplay modes and complete challenges to earn XP and increase your Season level to reach higher milestones and unlock exclusive visual customization rewards.
There is plenty of customization in Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions and this is evident by a unique tab in the main menu called My Team. Apart from the visual customization, some customizations actively impact your gameplay as well. There is a wide variety of brooms to choose from and depending on which broom you choose; you will get a different performance. For example, the starter broom is a great all-rounder but depending on your playstyle, you can choose a broom that excels are cornering or higher top speed. You will need to upgrade your brooms eventually to gain a real edge in online matches.
Other customization options include creating custom characters for each position in your team. If you do not want to create custom characters for each position, you can also purchase premium Hero skins from the in-game store which allow you to choose Hero Overrides for each position like Ginny Weasley, the Weasley Twins, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and more characters from the main franchise. These Hero Overrides do not change your custom character and any time to switch them back, you will get your character back instantly. The more you play and grind through the challenges, the more in-game currencies you earn, and the more customization options you can unlock for your team. Eventually, you can have a complete Gryffindor squad from the movie and can even mix and match characters from different houses to create your ultimate team.
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions features excellent gameplay mechanics with a touch of nostalgia with iconic characters from the film but unfortunately it lacks when it comes to content. It is evident that the developers were aiming for it to be an online game but threw in some solo gameplay modes at the end just for formality. Even online, Quidditch cannot offer multiple modes like you get in shooting games unless the developer invents some quirky modes itself. You get a basic setup of Quidditch for each match and after a few matches, it starts to get a little repetitive overall. It is still a fun game that offers a nice break from other sports games, and you will enjoy whooshing around on your broom, but it does not last for long.
Final Verdict:
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions aces its flying and gameplay mechanics and offers a lot of cool iconic elements from the movies like brooms, stadiums, characters, and more but the nostalgia is not enough to extend its lifespan. You will love spending some initial hours into the game and a few of the online matches are excellent but unfortunately, it does not offer much that would compel you to replay this game every day. It may become your weekend game to jump in and play a few Quidditch games, but it will not make you boot your console or PC every day just to jump into it and that is a bummer. We still think that this should have been included in last year’s Hogwarts Legacy. If you are a fan of the franchise and want to see Quidditch come back to life, this game will certainly keep you entertained, at least for a few hours.
Final Score: 7.0/10
