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Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells Isn’t Just a Terrible Mobile Game – It Hurts the Brand

Last Updated September 23, 2020 1:57 PM
William Worrall
Last Updated September 23, 2020 1:57 PM
  • Harry Potter has a history of low-quality mobile games being based on the IP.
  • The latest addition to the franchise is Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells.
  • This Candy Crush clone is the latest step in the watering down of a great brand.

Mobile gaming can be a tricky thing. There are some genuinely great mobile gaming experiences out there. But, the bad far outways the good. For every Downwell there are a million Candy Crush clones. Now Harry Potter is jumping on that particular bandwagon .

Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells is a new mobile game from the Portkey Games brand. If that name sounds familiar it’s probably because they’re already released two games. One is a Pokemon Go clone, and the other is Hogwarts Mystery.

If you can’t tell already, the Harry Potter brand is so watered down it might as well be a pond.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Screenshot
Even Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which was well-received by critics, had fans completely divided. | Source: YouTube 

Harry Potter Is Being Diluted by Too Much Media

Harry Potter is one of the most iconic franchises in recent memory. A series of 7 books spawned countless spin-offs, movies, and video games. Not to mention all the merchandise. Fans are even starting to get sick of it all at this stage.

There were already a bunch of mediocre games. Then Hogwarts Mystery came out and lowered the bar. Think about that for a second. A game series that features PS1-era Hagrid somehow had the bar lowered .

The problem is that all of these mobile games is that they’re taking something that used to be great and boiling it down to the lowest common denominator.

Puzzles & Spells Is the Worst One Yet

It would all be forgivable if these mobile games were any good. But, Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells is the worst one yet. It’s just a Candy Crush clone.

No matter what other stuff you staple onto it, it’s still just a rip off of a game that came out in 2012. That’s jumping on a bandwagon so late that you miss and break both of your shins.

As a fan of the books, I just wish they’d stop. 7 books and 8 movies were plenty. We don’t need all this mobile gaming trash or the constant spin-offs that keep getting made. Just let it die. Let the memory of Harry Potter be a golden, rose-tinted one in the minds of the fans.

At this rate, that memory is taking a more feces-brown hue.


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