It looks like we’re finally getting closer and closer to an actual release date for the much-awaited AR game Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. But just like what we said months ago, don’t hold your breath just yet. We just think it may be imminent because we now know how it will be played, at least theoretically as Niantic and Warner Bros finally released the gameplay and basic story behind the game. It only fuels both the anticipation and the frustration that the game isn’t on our phones yet.
If you’re familiar with how Pokémon Go and Ingress are played, then you have the basic idea of how WU will play out. You get an augmented reality experience but this time set in a much-beloved universe and franchise. Based on the trailers previously released, we already know that we’re going to be witches and wizards but we didn’t know what we’re going to do with all the spells and magic. Now we kind of know what we’ll be in for.
Players are recruits of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force and you will have to collect the “Foundables” before they expose the Wizarding World to the Muggles. These are artifacts, creatures, memories, and even people have confounding magic and are showing up in the wild and you need to collect them like you would Pokémons. They are more likely to be found in places like banks, colleges, monuments, zoos, so get ready to start walking in these areas once the game is out.
You’ll also be able to find Portkeys, or rather, Portmanteaus, which will let you step into a scene from the Harry Potter universe in a 360-degree Advanced AR immersive experience. As you play the game, you’ll expound spell energy so you need to replenish through items you can find in Inns. You can also have multiplayer Wizarding Challenges where you will need to fight Death Eaters and Dementors.
You will also need to choose a “specialization”, so you can be either an Auror, Magizoologist, or Professor. All of these things are enough to excite us but what we would probably want to know the most is when it will come out. For now, you can already pre-register through the Google Play Store.
SOURCE: Niantic
