All the games of Harry Potter franchise so far
Harry Potter: The philosopher's stone or Sorcerer's stone
The Harry Potter game journey begins with Harry Potter and the philosopher’s stone or the sorcerer’s stone. The game was released in 2001 only 2 weeks after the release of the movie, Electronic arts or EA granted the rights to Harry Potter games in August 2000. The story follows the main elements of the book’s plot and starts after Harry Potter discovers he is a wizard. Players control Harry Potter from a third-person perspective. In the game, players can complete puzzles, follow lessons, fight enemies, cast and unlock spells throughout the levels. There are also some levels in which harry can fly on a broomstick and play quidditch. All the main characters, including Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco and Hagrid are in the game, as well as you know who, which you were able to fight in an intense boss battle at the end of the game. Besides the PC version, other versions were released for different platforms, including the Play station 1, just like the PC version, it was a third-person adventure game, however there are differences in the story and gameplay, there were also two different versions for the game boy color and the game boy advance. A role playing game was released for the game boy color, similar to Pokemon, while the game boy advance received a top down puzzle game.
Harry Potter: The philosopher's stone or Sorcerer's stone
In 2003, a new version of the philosopher’s stone was released for the game cube, play station 2 and Xbox, it differs greatly from the other version, with different game and the story followed the film much more than the other games. The game was released in a hurry and criticized for reusing the spells and map from the chamber of secrets game. The first Harry potter games received mixed reviews. IGN even said about the PC version quote, “It seems to me that most of the budget for the game went into licensing, I can’t see that a lot a effort was actually spent on the production of the game side of things”. On Metacritic the game received a score of 65/100. None the less, the first harry potter game with all its variants was a success, and in the United States alone, 2.7 million copies were sold. The play station version of the game is famously known for PS 1 Hagrid. this is what they came up with for the game, where he just looks terrible.
Harry Potter: The chamber of secrets
Next came the harry potter and the chamber of secrets in 2002. Like the first game, there was several different versions. However, unlike its ancestor, the play station 2, Xbox and game cube versions were not made after the game was released on the other consoles they were all released simultaneously. The harry potter and the chamber of secrets video game sticks pretty closely to the plot of the book and movie, but also adds a few extra things for players to do besides following the main story. A huge improvement was that players were able to run around Hogwarts freely, just what every fan dreamed about. Players could explore the dungeons, halls and school grounds, and they could also find hidden areas. All the releases of the game received generally positive reviews. The PC version got a score 77/100, which is 12 points higher than the first game. According to critics, it became one of the best harry potter games in the main series. It was a huge success and more than 9 million copies were sold.
Harry Potter: Quidditch world cup
In 2003 harry potter: Quidditch world cup was released for the game boy advance, PC, Play station 2, Xbox and game cube. This game was entirely different, and as the name implies, if focuses on Quidditch matches, making it a sport action game. The game was best described by PC game world, who said “For harry potter enthusiasts, EA did a semi-decent job at creating an imaginary sport”.
Harry Potter: The prisoner of Azkaban
In 2004 came the harry potter and the prisoner of Azkaban action-adventure game. The game was released in three different versions, the first for PC, the second for the game boy advance, and the third for home consoles. More spells were added to the game, as well as new creatures to fight, the game also includes new characters such as Sirius black, an important figure in the story. Players can explore to do many side quests and unravel secrets, though the most significant difference was the players have the ability to also play as Ron and Hermione. The PC and console versions had different spells that were exclusive for the three playable characters. the game was met worse than the chamber of secrets, with critics saying that while kids and fans of harry potter will probably still enjoy the game, anyone else will probably not like it that much, well, they didn’t know what was coming. The PC version was also considered too easy, which isn’t surprising since the game is also intended to be played by kids. The game got a score of 67/100, which is 10 points less than the previous harry potter game. The harry potter and prisoner of Azkaban was made by EA bright light, they also developed the later games of the main series which was probably a bad thing.
Harry Potter: The goblet of fire
In 2005, harry potter and the goblet of fire was release, the game was available for a many platforms, including PC, game boy advance, game cube, Nintendo DS, Play station 2, Xbox and the play station portable. The fourth game had improved graphics and became more of an action focused game rather than a puzzle adventure game, it was the franchise’s first step towards being more action focused. Unlike the previous harry potter game, the goblet of fire is spilt up into particular levels, rather than being able to run around Hogwarts freely, which many people were disappointed about. The game received mixed reviews, while some enjoyed the gameplay and spells, many would agree that the game was very short. PC gamer was clearly not a fan of the game and said “Save your money, fellow muggles; its best spent elsewhere”. The goblet fire got a score of 66/100.
Harry Potter: The order of the Phoenix
Harry potter and the order of the phoenix came in 2007, the same game was released for every platform with only minor changes, such as graphics. The game stepped away from linear action oriented gameplay to sand box adventure gameplay, letting you explore Hogwarts freely instead of just rambling from mission to mission. The order of the phoenix was also released for the Nintendo Wii, this allowed players to use the Wii remote as a wand to cast spells. EA worked with fans during the development of the game, to improve the game’s graphics, certain characters from the film visited the studio to have their faces rendered in the game, these included Ron, played by Rubert Grint and Luna, by Evanna Lynch. The game only got a score of 63/100, which is worst score for a harry potter game. according to critics, the game had many flaws and glitches, and repetitive gameplay. Many fans were unhappy with the inability to explore Hogwarts in the previous game. So, for the order of the Phoenix, the designers made sure to include as many areas of Hogwarts to explore as possible, the designers also wanted Hogwarts exactly how it appears in the films, rather than a recreation of the developer’s own design, they also looked at the blueprints of Hogwarts from the movies and notes from J.K Rowling to make Hogwarts as immersive as possible. Despite it being the worst rated harry potter game at the time, fans and critics did appreciate the recreation of Hogwarts.
Harry Potter and the half blood prince
In 2009 Harry potter and the half blood was released, players could enjoy the game on PC, Play station portable, play station 2, Xbox 360, Play station 3, Nintendo DS, mobile devices. After shifting away from action-oriented gameplay, the franchise came back to it. The game also includes multiplayer, as well as classes, Quidditch, wizard duels and potion making. While the school grounds are nearly identical, some new areas are added including the entrance of Hogwarts, Even for its time, the graphics were unimpressive. The half blood prince only received one point higher than its predecessor.
Harry potter and the deathly Hallows part 1
Harry potter and the deathly Hallows part 1 was released in 2010 for mobile devices, Nintendo DS, PC, Play station 3, Wii and Xbox 360. The story is about harry, Ron and Hermione, who set out to destroy the seven horcruxes, in order to defeat Voldemort. The game is very different from previous harry potter games since it was focused on an adult audience rather than kids, it was also the first harry potter game to be rated a ” “T” is teen by the ESRB. while the change to the older target audience, the dark theme and the lore could have been turned into a fantastic game, it became the worst harry potter game by far. The gameplay turned this into a mindless third person shooter, it even involves headshots, we understand that the call of duty franchise was in full bloom and the halo franchise was also going strong. But really, a harry potter shooter for the Nintendo DS, a different version was released, it wasn’t action focused and instead, it was a puzzle based game. The game shows a map on the top screen and a 3D top down view of the player on the lower screen. Ron and Hermione were also playable and had their own abilities. Both versions of the Deathly hallows part 1 received very negative reviews, PC gamer said that “It’s a shooter for people who don’t shout and have the initiative of a house elf” and Gamepro said “It doesn’t matter if you’re hardcore or casual fan: there is no magic to be seen here”. This game only scored 37/100 which is by far the worst score of all harry potter games.
Harry potter and the deathly Hallows part 2
The deathly hallows part 2 was released in 2011, it was released for the same platforms as part 1. The story continues to follow harry, Ron and Hermione on their quest to defeat lord Voldemort by destroying the remaining horcruxes. After hitting rock bottom with part 1, EA did their best in the sequel and made what is probably the best, but the part 2 has almost the same gameplay expect for some minor changes, like the ability to “Apparate”, which lets you teleport in and out of battles. Digital spy said about the game that “The gameplay remains a weak imitation of a third-person shooter, and the enemy A.I is extremely poor”. The daily telegraph told that “A bland, unimaginative shooting gallery that lacks the thing that matters most: magic”. The deathly hallows part 2 only scored slightly better than part 1 and received 43/100. This was the end of the harry potter movies and their main game series, these gave lots of emotions. But it wasn’t the end of harry potter games, as probably the most anticipated harry potter game ever still has to be released. “The harry potter video game franchise is a huge success, in total, the games grossed over 1.5 billion in sales”
The Lego Harry Potter games
Besides the main series there were also the Lego harry potter games developed by Traveller’s Tales and published by Warner Bros. In 2010 Lego harry potter: years 1-4 released gamers had a wide variety of choices on which platform they wanted to play the game, as the game was released for many platforms. As the name implies the game is based on the first four books and their film adaptations, it was an action adventure game that emphasized collecting, exploring, solving puzzles, making portions and of course casting spells, the game was very well received. It even received a higher score than all the previous harry potter games. obviously the game had a sequel; Lego harry potter: years 5-7. This game was based on the final three books and four films of the harry potter series. The gameplay was the same, but it also included a wide range of new characters, items and locations, just like its predecessor, the game was also very well received. CD action even said about the game that “An ideal remedy for the headache that electronic arts caused us with their lousy harry potter and the deathly hallows part 2 adaptation”. The game received an impressive 80/100 . In 2012 and 2013, the books of spells and books of portions were released, both were released for the play station 3 and used the play station move controller. The game also used the wonder book which came with the game, these games are entirely different from any other harry potter games and focus on doing spells with augmented reality. “J.K Rowling worked with Sony to develop book of spells and described it as the closest a muggle can come to a real spell book”.
Hogwarts Legacy
When the world lost hopes for a decent harry potter game, we got it now with Hogwarts Legacy, Hogwarts Legacy is an immersive, open world RPG. Now you can take control of the action and be at the center of your own adventure in the wizarding world. Hogwarts Legacy will be released in 2022 or 2023 and is being developed by Avalanche software, which to be honest, has not released any major games and it is told that it will be published by Warner Bros and will be released for PC, Play station 5 and Xbox one and the Xbox series X and S. The game takes place way before the original harry potter story, in the 1800s. In the game, players can choose their Hogwarts house, attend classes and explore the open world. Players will also learn to cast various spells, brew potions, tame magical beasts and master other combat abilities. A massive open world game on the next generation consoles really sounds like a dream come true, the world has been waiting for a harry potter game like this for so long. For everyone that grew up with harry potter. lets just hope. Even though most of us are in our twenties or thirties now, it all doesn’t matter as the wizarding world has no end.
