Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery excels at letting fans experience the magical world of Harry Potter through fresh eyes. Although set years before Harry’s arrival, the game still captures the wonder and charm of Hogwarts while allowing you to choose your own path. Customizing my character and getting sorted into Ravenclaw made me feel invested right away. The voice acting and music add to the immersion substantially as well.

I really enjoyed the storylines related to lessons and secret passages early on. Learning Wingardium Leviosa and sneaking to Hogsmeade made me nostalgic for those light hearted moments from the books and movies. The main mystery around your missing brother keeps things compelling too. I wanted to uncover the truth while also focusing on classes and mischief.

However, the costless-to-play elements do hamper progression. Tasks require substantial wait times that incentivize spending gems to finish faster. I didn’t mind at first but it slows down the pace. The lessons can feel repetitive too when you’re asked to repeat similar spell patterns or brew the same potion again. While patience is rewarded, I wish some parts respected players’ time better.

Overall though, I had a wonderful 10 hours loving my Hogwarts experience before hitting frustrating walls. Exploring the castle, making friends like Rowan, and dueling Merula brought the Wizarding World to life beautifully. The story gives fans something new while capturing what makes Harry Potter magical. Just be prepared for free-to-play timers hampering the pace if you don’t spend real money. It’s still an enchanting game but requires some patience too.

Based on J.K. Rowling’s globally popular Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery allows players to create their own Hogwarts student and experience life as a witch or wizard. Developed and published by Jam City, Inc., this costless-to-play roleplaying game was first released in 2018 and is available on iOS and Android devices.

Hogwarts Mystery is set in the 1980s, prior to Harry Potter’s enrollment at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As a new Hogwarts student, your character follows an original story set within the Wizarding World. You’ll get sorted into one of the four houses - Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw - attend magical classes like Charms and Potions, learn new spells, explore famous locations like the Forbidden Forest and Hogsmeade Village, and build friendships with iconic characters like Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape.

A notable feature of Hogwarts Mystery is the ability to customize your own student, including selecting their wand, appearance, and personality attributes. The story also focuses on the mystery surrounding your brother’s disappearance from Hogwarts which adds an element of intrigue as you investigate what happened. Alongside the main story, there are special seasonal events and side adventures that provide new stories to enjoy.

After completing the short tutorial and customizing your student’s initial appearance, you get sorted into your house. Professor McGonagall and Prefects then guide you through interactions introducing the basic mechanics.

Core gameplay revolves around completing story-based quests by reading dialogue, making dialogue choices to progress conversations , and finishing lessons to earn stars and attributes. Dialogue choices allow you to shape your student’s personality and relationships. Lessons focus on learning spells, brewing potions and other magical concepts through mini activities like pattern recognition and timed taps. Earning 5 stars passes the lesson and awards attributes, which improve your student’s skills.

In your dormitory, you can change your outfit and access daily tasks, friendships, your wand, pet, creature reserve and more. Coins let you buy clothes, furniture and supplies while gems provide premium currency for special options. You explore using an interactive map, visiting locations like the Great Hall and various secret passageways. During key story moments, you play gobstones, drink butterbeer with friends and attend events like dueling club.

As you progress, you learn magical abilities like casting spells and flying on brooms. The main goal is continuing your character’s adventure through new years at Hogwarts while building friendships and relationships and becoming a great witch or wizard. Limited time events also offer special storylines. In-app purchases provide bundles, clothing/customizations and energy restoration, but are not required to play.