Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 and 2

The seventh and final entry in the Harry Potter movie tie-in franchise was absolute trash, and in turn remains one of Electronic Arts’ lowest rated games ever made. The game’s dark, low-res color palette tinted everything and everyone in a musty greenish hue, except for Hermione for some reason? She had almost an angelic glow compared to every other character’s inky design.

As for gameplay, the previous entries’ free-roaming open world concepts were ditched entirely. Instead, the game was a level-by-level third person cover shooter, except the guns were wands, and frankly there wasn’t a lot of cover to hide behind.

The gameplay was also glitchy; it was impossible to aim, the A.I. enemies were terrible, and just everything about this game felt hollow and rushed. Part 2, which was its own game entirely, wasn’t much better either. Sure, the third person shooter vibe made more sense in theory because of the Battle of Hogwarts, but EA didn’t fix any of the substantial gameplay issues, so the battle was just joyless to partake in.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

The first movie-tie in video game entry was more like a platformer, with spell casting taking a back seat and only really appearing in fun little mini games. The grounds of Hogwarts were still off limits, but players could openly explore the castle, which was an impressive feat considering the limitations of consoles back then.

The characters looked like shit though, and the combat was pretty rhythmic and easy. The game was a first step in the right direction in terms of helping fans feel like they were at Hogwarts, but with no side quests and very little to do other than the main story, there remained little replay value after beating the game.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

After the open-world sandbox experiences of The Chamber of Secrets and The Prisoner of Azkaban (more on those entries later), fans were disappointed when The Goblet of Fire abandoned any sort of open-world anything in favor of a rigid level-by-level playthrough, with only eight levels to choose from.

This is probably because EA only had one year to throw together a game after the success of Prisoner of Azkaban, and the resulting effort ultimately feels rushed. With that said, it was the first Potter game to feature local multiplayer, which was a nice touch.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

To be fair, out of all the movie tie-ins, Order of Phoenix was by far the most difficult to turn into a successful action game, considering the film substituted wizarding action for a darker and more politically driven plot. EA UK got around this by focusing extensively on Harry’s recruitment for Dumbledore’s Army, so the game was heavily geared towards exploration and interaction.

The gameplay itself was also kind of fun, because it catered to the Wii’s joystick at the time, making use of the joystick to wield Harry’s wand and cast spells rather than having players just press a button. It was a finicky mechanic, no doubt, but it added to that immersion that fans longed for.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I was personally shocked at how much fun I had playing the Half-Blood Prince‘s tie-in. Hogwarts was far more detailed than it had ever been. Classrooms and the hallways felt bustling with life, and every detail in the books somehow made its way into the game in one form or another.

But the voice acting was atrocious, and the camera was wonky and uncontrollable during the game’s fight scenes. The entry wasn’t groundbreaking by any stretch in terms of gameplay or exploration, but it reaffirmed what people loved most about the series.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

An immersive and enjoyable game, Potter’s second outing into the Wizarding World was full of lighthearted fun that built upon the explorative mechanics of Sorcerer’s Stone. Players were now allowed to explore the grounds of Hogwarts via Harry’s Nimbus 2000, which was really fun to use to fly around the castle at lightning speed.

The grounds and the castle were also filled with secret chests and puzzles that encouraged exploration, and the controls were user-friendly enough to warrant some satisfying spellcasting moments in combat. Throw in a few fun Quidditch matches, and you have yourself a near perfect game, if it wasn’t for the sometimes redundant puzzles.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

The series’ third movie tie-in game may have completely omitted any playable Quidditch matches, but in its stead the game added the most fully realized version of Hogwarts ever. There were boss fights, endless goodies to find and nooks to explore both in the castle and on the grounds, and you even got to engage in satisfying tussles with Dementors.

It also included a handful of RPG mechanics, such as leveling up your character, which made completing side missions feel rewarding. You could also play as Hermione and Ron if you wanted. This last great Harry Potter game was actually released 17 years ago today, and frankly, for the rest of the franchise, it was all downhill from there.