Title: Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells
Developer: Zynga
Publisher: Zynga
Genre: Match-3
Available on: iOS and Android
Version Tested: iOS
Official Site: https://www.harrypotterpuzzlesandspells.com/
Release Date: Coming Soon
Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells is coming real soon on iOS and Android. Before you claim your free Welcome Bundle and Quidditch Googles within the first seven days of its launch, check out our early access sneak peek. This game by Zynga is more than just your average mix and puzzle game.
Upon opening the game, it will immediately transport you to the world of muggles and wizards. With the game’s background music, it will envelop you in this whimsical feeling. You will get to choose your own house. Gryffindor for courage, bravery, and determination. Slytherin for pride, ambition, cunning, Hufflepuff for dedication, patience, and loyalty. Last but not the least, Ravenclaw for wit, learning, and wisdom.
According to Garrick Ollivander “The wand chooses the wizard…”. In this case, you can also get to choose your own wand. There are six wands to choose from. Each one has its own characteristic and design.
After choosing your wand, you will notice a familiar wall – the secret wall to Diagon Alley. Hagrid is there to greet you and he’s bringing a gift but you will have to solve your first puzzle. Casting a spell or two and solving the puzzle, you will go back to Harry’s muggle home, 4 Privet Drive.
Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells will then teaches you a few more combos to unlock different kinds of power-ups, such as bombs and surges to help you out. Once you’re getting a hang of it, you’ll notice that in order to move on to the next story, you will need to finish a number of puzzles. For example, we’re currently at Privet Drive, in order for us to move to the next scene, we need to finish five puzzles. Since this game is currently on Early Access, it’s maximum is currently at 545 puzzles and are under Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. The Philosopher’s Stone, House Cup Celebration, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and so on are still coming soon. Rest assured that the game has a lot of grounds to cover and that means more puzzles for us to solve.
Completing two puzzles in Privet Drive will unlock avatars. You will now get to customize your own avatar to use in Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells. This includes face shape, skin color, hair, eyes, eyebrows, nose, lips, shirt, spectacles, and background. On your profile, you will also get to see your unlocked spells. What are these spells for? Well as a spell, they do have a certain power. Alohomora, for example, has the power to open locked Reward Chests found within Puzzles. As of this writing, there are a total of 37 unlockable spells. You may also notice the “Friends” button on the image above. You can unlock friends as soon as you connect your game to Facebook. By connecting, you can get to save your progress, play on multiple devices, invite friends, or send each other Magical Help.
After a few puzzles, you will notice that you’ve probably got a level increase. Increasing your level will give you bonuses such as a spell upgrade, free gold, +1 life request, +1 additional move, and so on.
You may also wonder, where’s the story? All you’ve been hearing about are about puzzles, power-ups, and spells. Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells literally put the puzzle in the movie. Check out the image above. This is the Dursley family’s door at Privet Drive. Your task is to match next to the Dursleys’ door to unleash the letters. You may get to see more of this type of story integration in the game. Some may ask you to collect items such as train tickets and so on.
Hagrid’s Magical Creatures are also in Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells. You can get to collect creatures and pets and they can give you boosts such as power-ups. So how do you get those creatures? You have to complete puzzles to earn stars, these stars open card packs, you will then need to collect cards to finish albums and unlock these creatures.
What about freebies? Don’t worry Zynga also put freebies in the game for free-to-play players. There is an Events tab with tasks that you have to complete every day. It ranges from detonating bombs, casting spells, to capturing chocolate frogs, the list goes on. Aside from that, there is also a Gold Vault that gives gold every day. Think of it as your daily login bonus.
Verdict: Yes, it may look like another Candy Crush game with gems, power-ups, and extra powers. But to be honest, I commend Zynga for making it not just your typical mix and match puzzle. They totally input the whole Harry Potter series in the game. It has puzzles that require you to interact with items from the film. Aside from that, you will also get to hear original voice clips from your favorite characters. For those who are curious, I also tried playing the game offline, and yes, it works! It is a perfect game to play if you’re in the subway, waiting for a friend, or just want to get your Harry Potter fix.