A journey to Hogwarts has always been the dream of all Harry Potter fans, which was finally fulfilled in a sense with the release of Hogwarts Legacy almost two years back. Hogwarts Legacy recreated the magical experience of the Wizarding World in simple video game mechanics, drawing in players who have never even played video games before. But even with all the accolades and highly lore-accurate details showcased in Hogwarts Legacy, the game still missed a core element of the Wizarding World. What was it? In one word: Quidditch.
However, after what seems like an eternity, Harry Potter Quidditch Champions has finally filled the void in the hearts of all Harry Potter fans who desired to not only fly on their brooms but compete in the most famous wizarding sport. Harry Potter Quidditch Champions does a brilliant job of implementing the core fundamentals of Quidditch with very intuitive and simple controls. As a massive Potterhead, I decided to take the game for a fly. Here is my full review of Harry Potter Quidditch Champions to help you decide if the journey back is worth it or not.
Lore Accurate Quidditch in a Simple and Intuitive Way
Quidditch was always considered to be the hardest element to recreate in a Harry Potter game, which is also the reason I was looking forward to it. There seem to be a hundred different things that can go wrong while trying to recreate Quidditch as a multiplayer, but none of those issues affect Harry Potter Quidditch Champions.
The game is very simple to play and highly intuitive for new players. It is very lore-accurate, only making a couple of necessary changes, which makes the experience truly wonderful for avid readers of the Harry Potter series like myself.
The controls boil down to only a few keys, with the movement strictly having forward, backward, and boost keys. The direction of the movement is set by the mouse, which works both for ascent and descent, making flying on the broom feel very intuitive and simple. Other than that, there are keys to focus on the Quaffle or the Snitch, based on whether you are a chaser or a seeker in the game.
Understanding the Roles in Quidditch
Yes, the game also follows the traditional roles of Quidditch players, breaking the game into four key positions — Chaser, Beater, Keeper, and Seeker.
- Chasers: There are three chasers in every team, responsible for carrying the Quaffle and scoring in the opponent’s goal post. Each score gives 10 points, and the match is won after one side crosses 100 points. They can pass around the Quaffle, shoot at the goal, stun other players, or intercept the Quaffle.
- Keeper: Each team has one Keeper who stays near the goalpost and defends it. The Keeper is a bit trickier to play in the game, but I found it easier than controlling a goalkeeper in games like FIFA or PES. The Keeper can create plays by creating boost circles for other players.
- Beater: The beater is one of the fun roles in the game as you get to beat opponents, even knocking them out of the match for a couple of vital seconds, using tackles or shooting Bludgers. However, they cannot score points or pass the Quaffle.
- Seeker: The Seeker’s main role is to search for the Snitch and grab it. After the Snitch is released in the game, both Seekers will pursue it and build up progress. The team that catches the Snitch will only receive 30 points, unlike the stories where the team would directly win the game.
Each of the team’s roles is quite fleshed out and fun to play, including the Keeper. Now, the main gameplay of Harry Potter Quidditch Champions is separated into Multiplayer and Campaign. Your team will have six characters, each having a different role.
As you play through the campaign or multiplayer, you will unlock skill points and other currencies. The skill points can be used to upgrade individual characters of your team, and the currencies can be used to buy better broomsticks and various cosmetic items.
Main Campaign: An Extended Tutorial
The main campaign of Harry Potter Quidditch Champions consists of a series of tournaments you can play with other NPCs. In this game mode, you will be able to swap all the different roles in the team and play.
There are four tournaments available at the game’s launch — The Weasley Burrow Garden Cup, the Hogwarts House Quidditch Cup, the Triwizard Schools Quidditch Cup, and the Quidditch World Cup.
The best part about this tournament is that you get to play against well-known Harry Potter characters, like Draco Malfoy, Fleur Delacour, or Cho Chang. But beyond the fan service, the tournaments can feel somewhat repetitive over time. It’s more of an extended tutorial than a fully fleshed-out campaign.
Multiplayer: The Heart of Quidditch
The multiplayer mode is where the game truly shines. At launch, the game only has a 3v3 mode, which means players will have to take on two different roles in each team — Chaser/Keeper, Chaser/Beater, and Chaser/Seeker. The gameplay is similar to the campaign, but here teamwork becomes more important, and strategies become highly prevalent.
Every player must do their job properly to win, and many matches can get really close. Thankfully, it does not have a rank system yet, so most players are enjoying the game without the pressure of competition.
Completely Free of Microtransactions
One of the best aspects of Harry Potter Quidditch Champions is that it has no microtransactions at launch, and hopefully, it stays that way. The game’s format with multiple currencies, Battle Passes, and other similar elements typically screams microtransactions. Surprisingly, it has none. Everything available in the game can only be unlocked by playing through the core game.
From cosmetics, progressing battle passes, getting upgrades, and buying new brooms, all of it is available through in-game currency. The in-game currencies can only be obtained by playing the game and cannot be purchased with real money. This helps mitigate criticism regarding the game’s relatively high price.
Connectivity Can Be an Issue
Harry Potter Quidditch Champions excels at what it set out to be, creating a simple and engaging Quidditch multiplayer sports game. However, a major flaw is that it is completely online, including the campaign and exhibition game modes. You cannot run the game in offline mode, which is disappointing for players with unreliable internet connections.
Even slight internet fluctuations can result in disconnections, which happened multiple times during my review. This includes when playing through the campaign, which would greatly benefit from an offline mode. The worst part is that you lose all progress in a match if the game disconnects.
The game is priced at $29.99 on Steam, which may feel steep for the amount of content provided. However, the absence of microtransactions, unlike many popular multiplayer sports games, makes the price more palatable.
Graphics and Performance
Let’s discuss the performance of the game. For me, the game ran smoothly, maintaining around 80-90 FPS at the highest graphics settings on 1080p. My GPU usage was around 62% and my CPU usage hovered around 30%. The game has an FPS setting that goes up to 320 FPS, although I didn’t notice much difference between locking it at 60 FPS and playing it at 90 FPS.
Overall, the game should run smoothly even on lower-end devices, as long as they meet the requirements. The graphics are cartoonish but not unpleasant, and I did notice a few visual bugs, though they don’t significantly detract from the overall immersion.
A Broom Worth Flying
So, should you buy Harry Potter Quidditch Champions or not? As someone who grew up reading and watching Harry Potter, this game perfectly fills the space Hogwarts Legacy left behind for me. I found myself completely addicted and spending hours flying on my Nimbus 2000. I can assure you that most Harry Potter fans won’t be disappointed with this game.
However, it does lack content at launch, with only a 3v3 multiplayer option. I expect them to add more game modes soon, whether that’s a 5v5, 1v1, or even multiplayer tournaments. The base game is quite solid and has the potential to grow significantly in the future, as long as it
