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Five things we learned about Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery from its latest trailer

Choosing your house, fighting students, and falling in love

Five things we learned about Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery from its latest trailer

With Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery's launch getting ever closer, we've finally got a proper look at what the game will actually have you doing thanks to the latest trailer.

There's a fair few things to unpick here, so we've decided to dig in and break out the more interesting parts of the game ahead of its eventual release sometime in Spring 2018.

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You can choose your own House

The Sorting Hat is an iconic item of clothing in the Harry Potter universe, with the ability to magical look into the wearer's soul and decide which of the four Houses they belong in.

Hogwarts Mystery can't read your mind, so instead it looks like you'll get to choose your own house at the beginning instead, rather than be chucked into one you're not keen on.

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

So even if our sorting quiz thinks you’re a Ravenclaw, you can now be the Hufflepuff you always wanted to be.

Each house has its own common room to explore and teacher to interact with too, so if you'd prefer to chill with Snape in the Slytherin common room, you can make that dream come true.

Your choices will have consequences

It's only brief, but in the trailer, we get a glimpse of some of the dialogue options available, which in this instance allows you to pick out a new item of clothing for your friends.

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

That may not look like much, but it's good to know that dialogue will come into play here. Maybe you'll need to smooth talk a professor after you skip class to adventure, or get information from a stubborn ghost about your current quest?

And it's also interesting to see choices in general, which suggest that you'll have some control over how your story goes and how you approach different situations.

You can fling spells at other people

It's only natural that you'll be learning spells during your time at Hogwarts – that is the whole point of being a witch or wizard, after all.

But we're glad to know that your magic won't be limited to party tricks. The trailer shows you facing off against a mysterious statue in an icy cave and taking them down with a quick flick of the wand.

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

It also looks like you'll get to duel your fellow students too, so there'll be plenty of opportunities to test out the new spells you learn as you go.

On top of all that, it looks like each character has their own set of stats, suggesting some light RPG mechanics too. Maybe you'll need to level up through training at school? Or jumping into battles with other kids? Only time will tell.

You get your very own rival

There's a spiky-haired girl named Merula who keeps showing up in the trailer, and it looks like you'll be facing off with her in duels more than once.

Whether she shows up in everyone's game is another question, but it's clear that you won't just be making friends at Hogwarts – you'll also need to navigate bitter rivalries with your fellow classmates.

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

It'll be interesting to see how this is handled if you're playing as a Slytherin, given they're considered the "evil" House. Maybe a Gryffindor decides they're going to teach you some manners? Or an older Slytherin decides you're a little too big for your boots?

Bill looks like a nice boy

You may have caught a glimpse of Bill in the trailer. He looks really nice. He's the kind of man you could take home to meet your parents and they wouldn't immediately kick him out of the house.

Just look at that smile! His flowing ginger hair! He's even got his tie done most of the way up, so he's still keeping in uniform regulations but he's not a nerd. Nice.

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

It could be that Bill's just a friend, but we think (and hope) he might indicate that romance will be on the cards - even while you're fending off trolls and giant trees and the like.
A dating sub-plot is sure to spice up any narrative, especially with Bill involved, so fingers crossed it's part of the final game and not just our wildest dreams.

Ric Cowley
Ric Cowley
Ric was somehow the Editor of Pocket Gamer, having started out as an intern in 2015. He hopes to take over the world the same way.