It seems to me that comparing some games to others can be a contentious process. These days, video games are such a monumental collaborative effort of coding, illustrations, sound design, creative vision, etc. that comparing them can quickly lose its purpose. However, there is a trend of late that really came to the fore this week when Sony and Firewalk shelved Concord, and that trend is that consumers aren’t really flocking to the new live service games or GaaS. This is nothing new, as we’ve seen it with several smaller and less prominent projects over the past few years as well, like Knockout City, Roller Champions, Rocket Arena, and even some battle royale projects like Hyper Scape. The reason I bring this up is because Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is already here, and while there are plenty of reasons to stand out from the crowd and be excited about this game, it’s also already locked in a battle that far better positioned titles have already lost.
Well, that seems like a very negative way to start a review, and it is. But after just two afternoons of playing Quidditch Champions, the warning sirens are already going off in my head. Yes, I’ve had fun so far (and I’ll explain all the positive and exciting elements in a minute), but I’ve also had trouble finding games full of players, and as with XDefiant, I’m already wondering what else there is when preparing Quidditch Champions that makes you want to come back again and again. So let me cut corners and save you all some time and say that while Quidditch Champions is a great Harry Potter experience and a pretty fun take on the fantasy sport, I also wouldn’t be surprised if this game came out within six months of the same problematic or conclusive position as the other titles. “Fun” which I listed above.
Anyway, with that big elephant out of the room, let’s move on to the positives of Quidditch Champions. Quidditch has always been a popular and beloved idea, but it’s never really been offered in a compelling interactive format. Unbroken Studios has… broken that trend. Without a doubt, it’s the best Quidditch experience you can find today. It’s based on a solo or 3v3 format where players take on multiple roles on their Quidditch teams. For a solo player, this means you can effortlessly switch between the role of a Chaser, chasing the Quaffle and attempting to score goals and points, or a Beater, designed to use Bludgers and violently knock opposing players out of the game or off their brooms entirely, a Goalkeeper, defending the three goalposts from the efforts of opposing Chasers, or, when the Snitch comes into play, that of the Seeker, chasing and snatching up that iconic and elusive ball. In multiplayer and 3v3 action, players take on the dual role of Chaser and one of the other three roles simultaneously, in a format that lets you seamlessly switch between those roles as needed. For example, you could spend the first two minutes as Chaser and then switch to Seeker when the Snitch arrives, or if your job is that of Goalkeeper, put yourself in the shoes of the Goalkeeper when the opposing Chaser tries to get to your goal.
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While it might seem like an odd decision to have players take on multiple roles at once, in practice it actually works very well. The roles complement each other and the game has been balanced so that Chaser is the meat on the bones and the other roles are more like extra extras that can be activated and used when needed. The only issue I have with this system is that a Quidditch team is made up of seven players and so more than half of the inactive roles are managed and run by the AI (or six of the seven roles if you’re playing solo). . . As with any sports title, the AI is generally mediocre at best, which is why I would have loved to see the 7v7 multiplayer action develop. But unfortunately, Quidditch Champions only has one online mode, 3v3, and there’s no deviating from that.
The broom flying mechanics are brilliantly and fluidly designed. There is a certain parallel between this game and Hogwarts Legacy, as can also be seen in the visual and art style, and I say that because Quidditch Champions’ broom flying mechanics are actually a more sensitive and streamlined version of the system than Avalanche designed for your single-player title. Even though Quidditch is an omnidirectional sport, you never feel hampered or frustrated by the flying systems, not even when you’re chasing a snitch and have to dive and spin to keep up with the challenging ball movement. This logic also applies to the other roles and their unique elements, such as the Bludger, who scores and protects three goals at once as a goalkeeper, and also the tackling and passing mechanics. You could argue that the game is too rudimentary at times, but I think it actually favors the fast pace and easy-to-learn action.
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The basic structure and design of Quidditch Champions is perfect. It hits all the main elements to make Quidditch great in an interactive game format, but Unbroken clearly had some issues improving the experience. For some strange reason, as you level up simply by playing and gaining reputation, you occasionally earn skill points that can be used to unlock new attributes and skills for the four respective roles. This could be more efficient passing for Chasers, harder tackling for Beaters, faster time to fill the Snitch bar and grab the ball as a Seeker, or ways to move between the three goals more quickly as a Keeper. It’s a system that isn’t complex, but it does make you wonder why it has to be that way, and why it applies to all modes and not just the single-player campaign section. Essentially, the skill point system will ultimately create a huge divide between newer and more experienced players, which only becomes more apparent when you add upgradeable brooms into the equation, making some brooms faster and more agile than others.
Of course, both the progression and upgrade suites use pure in-game currency and systems, but it seems like a very empty way to introduce progression into a game that doesn’t need that kind of progression at all. A multiplayer ranking or leaderboard would be infinitely more interesting and fitting. Before I go any further, I’d like to add that there are cosmetic items that can be purchased with both pure in-game currency and premium currency, but these items are purely visual and have no impact on gameplay.
So Quidditch Champions offers a fun take on the fantasy sport, a great sense of broom movement and, might I add, a brilliant wizarding world aesthetic that gets the job done thanks to sound design and lively and charming music, and complex and varied levels that take place all over the world, from humble beginnings in the Weasley Burrow to the Quidditch World Cup. Those are all areas to highlight and get excited about in Quidditch Champions, but there’s one pressing and ever-present problem that I can’t seem to solve. That’s all. There’s nothing else to see here.
There is a campaign mode that presents its story in four parts, one of which is the tutorial. In all other games, you simply take part in player versus AI action, be it against Hogwarts houses, rival schools in the Triwizard Cup, or representing your country in the World Cup, and that’s all there is to it “Carrera”. The difficulty options try to make things a little more complex, but they never really serve their purpose because, as mentioned, the AI never poses a threat. For multiplayer, there is a game mode, with the only remaining parts being a practice area and a friendly match where you can play against different teams for fun. So a very limited game offering, coupled with pointless and frankly uninteresting progression, means that Quidditch Champions has all its eggs in one basket: pure Quidditch action. Trust me, after four or five hours, the whole thing starts to lose its appeal very quickly.
That’s why I’m worried about Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions. Of course, it’s not an overly expensive game, as it costs around $29.99, and it doesn’t have an overwhelming monetization effort (though it does have a seasonal structure and a battle pass mechanic…), but the lack of content is worrying and annoying at times, and I’m not sure how or if Unbroken can change the formula and introduce something new to keep people coming back to this game hour after hour. It’s a fantastic adaptation of the wizarding world and a brilliant take on Quidditch, but that’s about it, and I can’t imagine a future where it’s still routinely jumping into Quidditch action here two weeks from now.
