Off the Shelf Media

If I had to sum this game up in one word it would be refreshing. It felt good to walk around Hogwarts again and be immersed in the world. After the disaster of Goblet of Fire, I’m proud to say Order of the Phoenix has gone black to formula. It’s not a perfect potion but it is a step in the right direction. 

Gameplay: 1

Let’s let the cat out of the bag. This game uses a new system for casting spells and it’s hit or miss. You have to rely on the sensitivity of your joystick and that can be frustrating. I like the idea of using the joystick because it feels like you’re waving your wand but casting spells like incendio or reparo would work 50% of the time. 

I will say it does make dueling more fun. Yes, it’s a lot of spamming random spells until you win but zipping and zapping Slytherins or Death Eaters with spells is a good time. The mechanic gets an A for effort but a B as a final result. 

Hogwarts Castle is huge and it’s easy to get lost. The developers put plenty of effort into making the castle look like the sets on film and it is impressive. They had the foresight to put in a navigation system and a map that made sense. You use The Mauraders Map to go from point A to point B and follow the footsteps that appear in front of you. This is an excellent mechanic because it’s useful when you need it and easily ignorable when you want to mess around and explore the castle. 

Where the game lacks in story it makes up in collectibles and exploration. Moaning Myrtle has The Room of Rewards where if you collect enough goodies you unlock behind-the-scenes content. In the previous game, I thought it was lazy to add set photos. Order of the Phoenix ups their game and gives you interviews with the cast, the writers, the developers, and the director. You learn a lot about what goes into the game and I appreciated it. At the end of the day, a lot of work goes into video games, even the bad ones, and it’s good to take a step back and tip your wand to the people who bring the vision to life. 

Unfortunately, the story lacks, so the empty space needs to be filled with side quests. Side quests aren’t always a bad thing. I said previous games could have used side quests, but this game fails to set the side quests apart from the main quests. 

For example, early on in the game Harry, Ron, and Hermoine decide to form Dumbledore’s Army and use the Room of Requirement to practice. Great, now we have a story and motivation. The problem is there are 28 members you need to find and they all blend together. The quests are either fetch quests or…actually they are mostly fetch quests. This is a majority of the game and they don’t push the narrative forward in a meaningful way. 

My final complaint is the fixed camera. This game needed a rotating camera desperately. I can’t tell you how many times I tried looking for something but couldn’t find it because the camera would not move. 

Oh, and there’s no quidditch. Always take points off for no quidditch. 

Story: 1

It’s Harry’s fifth year at Hogwarts and Lord Voldemort has returned, but nobody believes him. To make matters worse, the Ministry of Magic is making Harry look like a fool and Dumbledore look like he’s staging a coup for power. The cherry on top is Dolores Umbridge, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher who has no interest in teaching defensive spells. This leaves Harry and his friends in a position where they have to teach themselves if they are ever to defeat Lord Voldemort and his evil followers. 

I had my reservations about this game. In my opinion, the story is the weakest in the series. The book is bloated with JK Rowling writing whatever she damn well pleases and the movie wasn’t as strong as previous entries in the series. Plus there isn’t much action until the end so the developers had their work cut out for them this time. 

Quick sidebar while I rant at the absurdity of the story. 

First off, I don’t believe everyone wouldn’t believe Harry when he says Lord Voldemort is back. Soooo how did Cedric die then? Did you not see Barty Crouch Jr, who is a known Death Eater, impersonate Mad-Eye Moody for an entire school year? Why would Minister Fudge put his hands in his ears and go LA LA LA LA I’M NOT LISTENING like he’s Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber. Unfortunately, I do believe the media, in this case, The Daily Prophet, would toe the government line and print their lies without any pushback or legitimate question, but that’s a rant for a different media outlet.  

Ok, rant over. 

Anyway, Harry comes out of his shell at this point in his journey and I like seeing him become a leader and teach other students. I like that side characters like Ginny and Neville get their moment to shine. And yes, I love playing as Dumbledore in the end and whipping some Voldemort ass in the final battle. 

I have a personal policy where any game based on a movie or book can’t get a perfect score since it’s not their original work. They can’t be blamed for the flaws, but they can’t take credit for the successes either. The story is what it is and they do a decent job of filling in the blanks to fill an entire game.

Atmosphere: 2

Oh baby this is what I’m talking about. Hogwarts is back! The castle is huge and it’s fun to explore time and time again. The castle looks beautiful, the stairs move, the pictures talk, the corridors are filled with students, and there are plenty of puzzles to solve. There are approximately 4,360 discovery points around the castle and you don’t get bored trying to find every single one of them. 

They also got the original cast to do the voice acting which is a nice touch. I don’t think they got all the actors but Harry, Ron, Hermoine, Cho, Neville, and more all lend their voices to the game and add to the magic of video games. 

The movie played with The Daily Prophet as a way to transition from scene to scene. They do the same in the game and it’s a cool effect that plays into the theme of the story so thumbs up for that. 

These games always nail the atmosphere of being a Hogwarts student and this game nails it in every way. 

Value: 1

I think the full price tag for this game is fair but it’s not a game I’d pick up and play again. Once you do everything once you’ve done it and you’ll have a better time watching the movie rather than playing the game. 

Duration: 1

If I wanted to get all the collectibles, the runtime would be around 20-25 hours. I beat the story and did as many collectibles as I could handle in 12-15 hours. For a movie tie-in game with a flawed story, that’s pretty good. 

There were parts in the story that could have been explored but instead, it was a 15-30-second cutscene. When you meet Grawp for example. Or when you take Umbridge to Gwarp. You could have explored the Forbidden Forest, dueled some spiders, or met some centaurs. 

Then the ending felt rushed. Harry and his friends go to the Ministry, there’s a cutscene and before you know it you’re fighting Voldemort, and the game ends. I wanted to walk around the Department of Mysteries or duel a few Death Eaters. Feel more impact when Sirius dies and feel Harry’s pain as he chases after Bellatrix. Instead, it’s a cutscene and it’s gone before you know it. 

Total Score: 6/10

I enjoyed this game more than I thought I would. They revamped Hogwarts into what it should be, they tried something new with the spells, and they did the best with what they had. It’s worth playing once and then doing what you do with the movies, watch the first four and call it a day. 

Next up for me is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It’s not that much different from this game but does it get a higher score? A magician never reveals their secrets and that’s close enough to a wizard in my book.

I’ll see ya there, but until then, y’all take care.