Pokémon Go creator Niantic and WB Games San Francisco have shared a preview of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.
The mobile game features characters from the Harry Potter universe and location-based gameplay similar to Pokémon Go to send players on a real-world journey to “prevent The Calamity from exposing the secrets of the wizarding world.”
An event called the ‘Calamity’ has begun leaking magic into the Muggle world, meaning that wizards around the globe need to band together to help contain magical occurrences.
Players fill the shoes of a recruit to the Ministry of Magic’s ‘Statute of Secrecy Task Force.’ From there, the new wizards need to investigate and contain The Calamity.
The game’s website says players need to explore the world to find ‘Foundables.’ These are traces of magic leaking into the Muggle world. You can find these all over the place, but they’re more likely to appear at “parks, municipal buildings, campuses, libraries and other public spaces.”
When you find a Foundable, your job is to send it back to the wizarding world.
Players use magic to complete these tasks which refills at in-game ‘Inns.’ Players can also find ingredients for potions that can give them a boost of magic without having to stop at an Inn.
There will also be ‘Portmanteaus’ locations which can be unlocked to reveal ‘Port Keys.’ These lead players into full 360 degrees AR experiences of famous Harry Potter locations like Ollivander’s Wand Shop.
Wizards Unite is launching with multiplayer battles against computer-controlled foes like ‘Death Eaters’ and ‘Dementors.’ It’s still too early to tell, but this seems like a more complex version of Raids and Gym Battles in Pokémon Go.
Each player can choose to specialize in one of three magical careers, Auror, Magizoologist or Professor. Each career has its own specific set of abilities and skills. Players need different types of wizards in their party depending on the task at hand.
Android users can now pre-register for Harry Potter: Wizards Unite on the Google Play Store.
Source: Niantic
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