When Hogwarts Mystery was first announced, fans were overjoyed at the chance to finally become a student at Hogwarts and explore the world for themselves. Upon release, the game was met with a mixed reception as some fans were overjoyed by the experience while others felt that the game left a lot to be desired.
Now, nearly 2 years after its initial release the game is filled with new features, characters, and much more content that was not available upon its original release. But will it be enough to keep people playing and prevent them from giving up on the game entirely? Today we will go through ten of the changes that we think, if made to the game, could make it one of the best mobile games on the market.
10 10. Lower/Remove Quest Time
Few things are more discouraging to players than beginning a quest and seeing that the game predicts that it will take eight real-world hours to complete. And the most frustrating aspect of this is the fact that it is not even eight hours of continuous gameplay. Actual quest related gameplay (for those who refuse to pay for microtransactions for games that were advertised as being free,) is roughly one to three minutes at a time as that is the length of time it takes to log in, use up all available energy, and have to log back out again as there is nothing left for the player to do.
These short bursts of gameplay with such little pay off are truly frustrating and we hope that the developers seriously consider lowering quest time (so that it takes up much less energy) so that players can complete more than one quest a session and can play for more than five minutes at a time without having to support microtransactions.
9 9. The Ability To Play Alongside Harry
The current game focuses on events that occurred at Hogwarts before the golden trio started their formal education in the wizarding world. However, the fact that our character will be finished with school after 7 years means that this game has a fast-approaching end date.
A wonderful way to keep audiences entertained would be to give them an option to create a new character in order to play alongside Harry, Hermione, Ron, and friends when they make their way to Hogwarts.
8 8. More Classes Earlier In The Game
Including some more varied classes (as well as classes that were sadly left out of the films) could be a wonderful way to keep new players interested in the earlier levels of the game, as the best classes cannot be accessed until much later in the game.
Though classes that are reserved for older students in the books are perfectly acceptable to be kept locked until the higher levels of the game, we do wish we had more than a handful of classes at the start of the game.
7 7. More Wand Related Questions
If the wand that we receive (according to the wand choosing ceremony on the Wizarding World's website) is based upon our personality, it seems odd that one question is all Ollivander needs to get a full picture of us.
Including even two more questions could make the experience much more immersive for players and like they are really getting their true wand. It would be worth restarting the game for this addition.
6 6. Remove Books Entirely (Or Make Them Easier To Get)
Both special event rewards and animals cost an absurd amount of books and books are truly difficult to come by within the game. Some people simply purchase them while other fans are strictly against the concept of microtransactions, on principle. For the latter, it seems like they may have to accept never owning any pet besides the Niffler as they are simply too difficult to obtain.
Adding a way to gain books at a higher rate could make the game feel more playable. Perhaps students could study in the library or do their coursework in order to gain access to books (in a free and entertaining way.)
5 5. Lower/Remove Energy Costs
Energy points are a staple of modern mobile gaming, but that doesn't prevent it from being truly irritating at times. As mentioned earlier, the length of quests severely limits gameplay to five-minute bursts and that is simply not ideal if one wants to capture and keep the attention of devoted fans.
Making energy refill at a higher rate, lowering the amount of energy that quests costs, or simply removing the energy systems entirely could make the game much more entertaining. It's a good story and can be very fun to play, it's just frustrating and feels like too much work for too little reward, as it currently stands.
4 4. Lower Store Prices
Pets, hairstyles, and unique outfits are wonderful and immersive additions to the game. However, they are truly overpriced and the best options cannot be bought with coins.
Allowing players to be able to better customize their characters by letting them use coins to purchase all store items (or allowing them to convert coins into gems) would make the game feel a lot more accessible. It currently feels as if it was purposefully created to be near impossible to play without partaking in microtransactions. And this has alienated a large amount of the fandom. Making it easier for fans to create an immersive and entertaining experience without having to pay for it could really win over the fans.
3 3. Easier Special Events
Special events can be fun but they can sometimes feel far too difficult for fans to even want to partake in. The best rewards are truly difficult to acquire and require one to be constantly checking in on the game during its short availability; which is simply not possible for a lot of fans.
Extending the length of time that events are available, shortening the length of the numerous quests held within them, and making the rewards a bit easier could require could make these events feel fun rather than like more work.
2 2. More Customizability
We don't mean to be harsh or overly critical, but the customization options within the game are very limited. Few of the options are aesthetically appealing and there are only three cute female hairstyles (and two of them cost an obscene amount of gems.) We would also like the ability for our characters (and the characters around us) to age as the game goes on; as few people look the same at both 11 and 17.
Giving players the ability to access some of the cute hairstyles that other characters can be seen sporting (or even some unique styles) earlier in the game (and for less gems) would be a great way for players to feel more connected to their characters (which could keep them interested in the game for much longer.)
1 1. An Actual Sorting Quiz
While we do like the fact that the current "sorting" method prevents players from being placed in a house that they don't identify, waiting years to be sorted and hear your name and respective house called out only for the process to simply involve clicking on a banner was a bit of a letdown.
It would truly be worth restarting the game if the developers included a short series of questions (similar to those on the official sorting quiz) to make the experience a bit more immersive and rewarding. They could also add an option to connect your Wizarding passport to the game and use your established house if you don't want to risk being sorted elsewhere.