As we approach the final few months of the year, there are still plenty of games for people to get excited about.
This week, we see the return of the world's most famous wizard alongside a host of new indie adventures and puzzles to keep us entertained...
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions
Selling over 22 million copies last year, Hogwarts Legacy was easily the biggest release of 2023. It tapped into that desire to answer, once and for all – what is it like to study at Hogwarts? While it paid the ultimate fan service to aspiring witches and wizards, one key ingredient was missing from the game – Quidditch.
Now, that problem seems to be addressed, as the brand new Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions has finally taken flight. But has the game been worth the wait?
For Harry Potter fans, this is another piece of fan service you've patiently waited for. The game's opening brims with nostalgia as Ginny, Ron, and the Weasley twins appear on screen. It all feels eerily familiar as they take you around their yard on broomsticks. Thrown into flight, you'll learn the basics of broom control quickly and discover how much better football could be if you could fly.
Playing on PlayStation, the controls feel intuitive, and I was surprised at how quickly you can have your character dip, dash, and charge forward in any direction. In the beginning, you'll notice slight changes to the Quidditch playbook, including player numbers on each team and the scoring system. Purists shouldn't mind too much, as these tweaks are to make the game more balanced.
The snitch, for example, is now worth 30 points (as opposed to 150 in the books), meaning that playing as the Seeker isn't the be-all-and-end-all role you might think it is. But it still plays a pivotal role in raking up points, as it can now be caught multiple times in games.
Other roles you can play include Chaser, Beater and the Keeper. Chaser is arguably the most fun, allowing you free-reign to speed around the pitch looking for the more obvious Quaffle ball. You'll be able to fire passes along to your teammate up the field, score points regularly throughout, or take charge and dart toward the enemy goals on your own.
But be careful not to be hit off your broom. Beaters roam the arena, blasting their bludgers to whittle away at your health points. Lose all of them, and you'll be knocked off your broom! Beaters can also tackle, so if you see a player charging toward you, have a finger on the dodge button.
Finally, the last of the roles is the game's unsung hero, the Keeper. It'll come as no surprise that they're more or less confined to the goals, having the ability to dive between the three rings to stop upcoming scores quickly. You can quickly swap between your characters with directional buttons, so you can play a bit of everything when and if you want to. The AI will take the reins of any character you or a friend aren't controlling, so the pitch always feels alive.
Iconic characters add a touch of nostalgia
You can unlock a wealth of iconic characters from the series to play and equip the uniforms of your favourite house. There's a variety of pitches to play on, including the stately Hogwarts pitch, the humble Weasley Burrow, and rival schools Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, the first time either has been brought to life in-game.
There is plenty of unlockable content to aim for, including new emotes, broom trails, and victory celebrations. I'm delighted to say that zero micro-transactions were found in the game. It's a welcomed thing in an industry overrun by hidden charges. With any hope, other games will follow suit.
Sadly, despite Ireland being mentioned as fairly good at Quidditch in the books, the team doesn't appear at the World Cup. A future update might change this, perhaps? We can only hope.
Speaking of the future, I am cautious about what and where Quidditch Champions will go. Impressive launches are one thing, and the game is undeniably fun. But regular content needs to be released for a live service game to convince a loyal audience to stick around.
With limited game modes, once you've played one or two matches, you've truly covered the essence of the game. This can be a good or bad thing, depending on how much you love Quidditch. I'm not sure the game could look any different in one month, let alone six.
It will be no easy task for developers to conjure new game modes or events to keep the magic alive. While the game will scratch a nostalgic itch for many Harry Potter fans, time will tell for how long the magic of Quidditch can last.
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is available now on PS4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC. A Nintendo Switch version will be released later this year.
Sunset Hills
Sunset Hills is a hand-drawn narrative puzzler set in a Victorian-inspired world filled with dogs and puppies. If that's not enough to convince you how special it is, I'm not sure what will.
You play as the aspiring writer Nico. Having been discharged from the army, he sets on an adventure, writing novels and tracking down his former comrades. Along the way, he meets new faces and rekindles past experiences in the war. All the while, players gradually come to terms with the true purpose of their journey.
The big selling point of the game, besides the dogs, is the artwork. This game is brimming with style and is stunning in virtually every scene. Moving across chapters, you'll investigate every pixel for little details and interactive material. It's like being part of some sort of interactive storybook.
The core gameplay of this adventure is puzzles. These are all chained together throughout, creating a sizeable domino effect. You'll need to help one person, then help another, to trigger events that will help Nico get one step closer to his mission.
This sets Nico going to and fro around town, doing odd jobs for the locals. These range from fun and slapstick quests like working shifts at a bakery and investigating a sudden car crash to helping an old man come to terms with his son's passing from war.
Puzzles have a mixed bag of mechanics. Some require you to recall or hunt down little details around town, like dates on a picture frame or finding the recipe for a bakery. Others involve manipulating the environment in interesting ways to progress. They're fun, challenging, and will satisfy you when completed—just what any great puzzler should aim for.
Altogether, Sunset Hills is a wholesome adventure that is as engaging and challenging as it is chill and homely. It's easily one of the best puzzlers I've played recently and has a unique aesthetic I feel many gamers will fall in love with.
Sunset Hills is available to play on PC. A version for other platforms will be released in the future.
Mika and The Witch's Mountain
Fancy more broomsticks? Well then, Mika and The Witch's Mountain is sure to sate your appetite, but in a calmer, more cosy fashion. With charming artwork and a boom orchestral soundtrack, this fantasy adventure looks like it came straight from the Studio Ghibli wheelhouse.
In the game, you play as Mika, an aspiring witch who wants to follow in her mother's footsteps. She journeys to the top of a mountain for training, only to find herself tumbling down soon after. With a broken broom and no way to return to the summit, Mika must take odd jobs as a courier to pay for much-needed repairs and chase her destiny.
This forms the premise of a simple but charming game. Each day, Mika takes on new orders around the small island, learning more about the locals and earning coins to upgrade her broom. Delivering packages is like a mini-game in and of itself, as Mika takes to the sky and glides around, trying to keep everything in pristine condition.
Each package has a health bar, so bumping into things can damage it. Dropping them in water can also downgrade Mika's star rating. When Mika does a good job, she'll earn coins to invest in the broom and unlock new abilities for faster travel. That said, Mika is best played in small bursts over a period of time. The deliveries can feel repetitive and lose their magic if done in quick succession.
Mika and the Witch's Mountain is a simple coming-of-age experience with a genuine heart. Whether it's the cartoon—style world or gorgeous soundtrack, the game should offer respite for younger witches and wizards looking for a short spell on a broom.
Mika and the Witch's Mountain is available to play on Nintendo Switch and PC.
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