Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions Review (PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, & PC)

Quidditch, if the term is unfamiliar to you, simply means a fictional sports game for witches and wizards. It has all the works: riding on broomsticks, magical fantasy, and, of course, rules to follow. Quidditch was first featured in Harry Potter, with each team having seven players. The goal is to score the highest points, and that’s pretty much it. So, now that any obscurity is out of the way, you may also want to know that Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions isn’t the first game to feature Quidditch. 

In 2003, Warner Bros. released Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup, and while it was a solid first attempt at the fictional sports game, it barely scratched the surface of all that the sport is capable of. With the newly released game, Warner Bros. is essentially saying, “We want to give this another try. We want to show you just how great Quidditch can be in gaming,” and we’re damn sure here for all of it. So, let’s travel down to the pits and review this game, shall we? Cue our Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions review.

Wizarding World

Booting the game up, you’ll be thrust into the single-player campaign, which sees you start as a lowly Hogwarts student and climb the ranks to compete on an international level. Right off the bat, it’s clear Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is solely a sports game. It focuses all its efforts on preparing you to compete for the World Cup. In fact, it wastes no time with bloated cutscenes, and save for some quick banter dialogue at the start of a tournament, pretty much the entire single-player campaign is sports game-focused. 

You may even go as far as to say the campaign operates like a career mode, albeit a barebones one that wants you to hone your Quidditch skills and take on the best of the best in online multiplayer. I bring up online multiplayer because, ultimately, the single-player campaign is a means to an end. It gives you the tools and experience you need to compete with human players. Multiplayer is the true test of your skills and abilities, pushing you to perfect your craft. But, before you can boost your confidence to beat the best of the best, you have to start from single-player and work your way up.

Keep Calm and Quidditch

And so, you begin to sharpen your skills, learning the tools and controls for each character in your team. The “tutorial,” but more rightly, the first cup you’ll compete for, named the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup, shows you the ropes. It guides you through the controls for flying on your broomstick and even gives you the time to master drifting around sharp corners. Thereafter, you become acquainted with the roles (or classes) you can play. 

A team consists of six players who can take on four roles: Chaser, Beater, Keeper, and Seeker. Three players can take on the role of the Chaser, who operates much like any player in any basketball or other game. Chasers sprint after the Quaffle (the main ball that’s about the size of a football). Their goal is to score as many points as possible by catching and throwing the Quaffle through any of the three hoops (goalposts) of the opposing team. 

One player takes on the role of the Beater, who acts as the defender. Beaters aren’t afraid to play it rough. They carry bats they can use to smack opponents off their broomsticks. Or they can throw Bludgers (hard iron balls) on enemies’ heads and throw them off their game. Another player takes on the role of the Keeper (or goalkeeper), who guards your team’s hoops and prevents the opposing team from scoring. 

Catch the Golden Snitch

Finally, the last player takes on the role of the Seeker, whose only job is to catch the Golden Snitch (a smaller Quaffle that is faster and harder to spot). The Golden Snitch is available twice per game, with each successful catch by the Seeker earning you 30 points. To win, you need to earn the most points. And so, each point is precious and can make all the difference. Each role plays distinctly and, thus, provides plenty of incentive to experiment. 

On the other hand, you’re free to switch between roles mid-game to boost your team. Moreover, the roles’ skills and abilities are more in-depth than they seem. For instance, a Keeper’s job can go beyond merely guarding the goalposts to laying down rings in the field that can act as buffs for your team or debuffs for the opposing team. While a Seeker’s sole job is to catch the Golden Snitch, they also must dodge other players and keep an eye out for Beaters’ persistent Bludgers, and so on and so forth.

On the other hand, some roles are simply more fun than others. Even with the additional skills and abilities you can use to your advantage or to derail the competition, playing as the Chaser or the Beater simply outperforms the rest. The rush of adrenaline as you trail down the Quaffle is simply unmatched. And so is the thrill of inflicting damage on opponents using bats and Bludgers, keeping in mind that the opposing team’s Beaters will be on your trail, too.

World Cup Awaits

In any case, you’ll gradually build your way up from Weasley’s backyard to the coveted World Cup. The single-player campaign has four cups you can breeze through in under a few hours. Once through, you’ll want to jump into multiplayer because you’ll simply have seen all there is to see. Single-player is straightforward, with roles that have limited progression in the way of customizing your broomsticks and cosmetics. Replaying the tournaments will have to be for the joy of collecting XP. Otherwise, there isn’t much that keeps your playthrough fresh. 

Still, new content will be coming in the future, and perhaps it will introduce new skills, abilities, and quality-of-life features. It’s worth noting that all the unlockable content, from cosmetics to broomsticks and new characters like Hermione, are priced with in-game currency. Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions has no microtransactions at all. So, going into multiplayer, you can find peace in knowing that all the online players you’ll be going up against will have put in honest work into their experience and skill points. 

Sting Like a Beater

Multiplayer is indeed a blast. Playing against human players is simply unmatched when compared to playing against AI. The AI in the game can be inconsistent, sometimes letting you off easy and other times punishing you a little too hard. But human players are unpredictable and almost always fun to challenge one another. At the moment, though, you can only play in 3v3, meaning each player will have to switch between two roles. 

The playtest had 6v6, so it’s strange that the option didn’t make it to the final game. Still, it may be launched in the upcoming content updates. Overall, though, you can enjoy a splendid time competing against online players worldwide. Although I’m not sure of how long-lasting the servers will be, given the scarcity of content. With single-player easily completed in under a few hours and the repetitive nature of the gameplay, it’s likely the number of online players available to contest may drop over the coming months, at least unless the game adds quality-of-life features and engaging, replayable content.

Magic Broomsticks

Visually, Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions looks fine. Its graphics won’t be winning any awards, but it at least feels distinct to the game with a stylized and animated look. The soundtrack, while immersive at times, can use a little more dramatic effect at energized moments like when the Seeker catches the Golden Snitch. As for the voice acting, well, it’s not perfect. Most characters’ voiceovers are unforgettable, and let’s not even veer toward the commentaries. Repetitive. Bloated. Let’s wrap this up.

Verdict

I think it’s important to note that this isn’t a simulation of basketball or football. It’s the adaptation of a fictional sport that was written in the Harry Potter novels for the first time and later adapted into film. Both the novels and film have the luxury of flair and wonder. Film, in particular, has evolved to allow the portrayal of fascinating visual effects. It’s no wonder it has taken over two decades to launch a spiritual successor to 2003’s Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup. 

This is no easy feat, and were Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions not tied to the recently launched Hogwarts Legacy, along with its highly successful portrayal of Harry Porter, this would have been a decently executed game. Because it is: Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is a decent game that packs a potentially splendid time. You only need to hop onto the game for short bursts of competitive sport in single-player and momentary rounds of tournaments in multiplayer. 

However, if you are looking for a long-lasting single-player campaign that will serve you for months to come, you may want to look elsewhere. There are simply better Harry Potter games, and on the competitive sports front, there are better sports games. But can the upcoming content updates increase replayability for this game? Let’s wait and see.