12 magical alternatives Harry Potter fans will love
Publishers using the Harry Potter series brand have a deep history of releasing less-than-stellar titles on multiple platforms. Avalanche Software’s (developers) dedication to Hogwarts Legacy was a love letter to Harry Potter fans, delivering an exceptional open world and detailed recreation of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Mobile players are left out of the mix since Hogwarts Legacy is only playable on PC and console. Playing some top-notch Android titles can emulate these magical moments without owning a console and PC. You can use your trusty Android gaming phone to punch your tickets to Hogwarts (or a well-regarded imitation of it).
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1 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
Part of the fascination of playing through Hogwarts Legacy is experiencing the life of a Hogwarts student, but not through the eyes of Harry Potter. You can do precisely that with Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery game. You’ll start by creating your student representation, selecting your House, and choosing how you wish your Hogwarts tale to unfold. Friendships you make are up to you, and you’ll learn the magical secrets of spells while attending classes.
The Hogwarts life is in the palm of your hand in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery. You don’t need to plug in your console or hook up your PC to get it.
2 Old School RuneScape
RuneScape was revolutionary as a choose-your-own-adventure style game, especially in the MMO space. You decided your path, whether you honed skills through fighting and quests or explored the medieval fantasy realm of Gielinor. Similar to the glory days of RuneScape, Hogwarts Legacy gives you freedom about how to carry out your adventures in the Harry Potter universe.
Both games share a love for fantasy elements. Old School RuneScape doesn’t leave out the fantastical creatures like dwarves, fairies, gnomes, goblins, and trolls. Even if both games play out differently, returning to the original roots of custom fantasy adventuring is never a bad idea.
3 Switchcraft: Magical Match 3
A previous winner for Best Pick Up & Play on the Google Play Store in 2021. You’re sent to a witch academy while exploiting the inner workings and secret behind the academy’s legacy. Each choice made impacts how the story and environment unfold around you. Switchcraft: Magical Match 3 centralizes gameplay around the social sim element, a heavy inclusion in Hogwarts Legacy. It’s nothing like experiencing witch/wizardry companionship in your own story.
Both games drive home the point that you’re a witch (or wizard) in training. You’ll explore the world of magic from an unexposed point of view. It’s an unforgettable (magical) journey when venturing into the unknown.
4 Harry Potter: Magic Awakened
Harry Potter: Magic Awakened was one of the most anticipated games coming to Android in 2022. As the year went by, it saw a delay. However, the wait paid off, considering Harry Potter: Magic Awakened had improved since its early beta days. A closer look at this polished title shows the potential a mobile Harry Potter-branded game truly holds. At first glance, this game feels like a deep open-world Harry Potter card battler in bite-sized form.
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With the inclusion of hidden lore-filled Easter eggs spread (from the Harry Potter books and movies) throughout the story and the slick card animations, it feels like some heart and soul is returning to the series. Magic Awakened has been nothing but a pleasant surprise.
5 Witches & Wizards
Witches & Wizards is a mashup between Harry Potter and an old-school Elder Scrolls game. You create your character in Witches & Wizards and play from the first-person perspective (think of Morrowind and Oblivion). You still undergo the same ordeals as you would if you were a student of Hogwarts. You’ll join (via invitation) an exclusive academy for the gifted and move into your dorms while mingling and befriending the other witches and wizards.
Hogwarts Legacy includes mounts and the ability to fly on your broomstick, which the Witches & Wizards app doesn’t fail to include.
6 The Academy: The First Riddle
Exploring the history behind Hogwarts and its discoverable secrets is one of the highlights of Hogwarts Legacy. The Academy: The First Riddle doesn’t provide those answers about Hogwarts. Still, it’s an appetizer to satiate your puzzle-solving hunger while quenching your thirst for uncovering answers. It’s the perfect app to load up when you need to scratch that detective-work itch.
The First Riddle takes inspiration from Harry Potter (seeing that it’s set in a school) and other popular puzzle games, such as the Professor Layton games. Fans of either one won’t have trouble digging into this 200-puzzle-course meal.
7 Minecraft
It’s challenging to re-emulate an AAA open-world game on mobile, but it doesn’t prevent fans from trying. Many have attempted these projects by relying on high-profile sandbox apps like Minecraft. With modding, Android users can go beyond the vanilla features and acquire tools to realize their dream creations in the Minecraft realm.
Several mods exist on the Play Store, like Harry Potter Hogwarts MOD MCPE, but downloading someone else’s mods may result in an ad-intrusive experience. The Minecraft modding community is supportive and will help you collect suitable texture packs and resources to start your open-world Harry Potter universe sandbox project.
If you grabbed access to the Minecraft Java Edition, check out Floo Network, a group of modders that recreate the Harry Potter universe from the ground up.
8 Guild of Heroes: Adventure RPG
Are you interested in Hogwarts Legacy from a mechanical standpoint, where spell and skill customization takes priority for your gaming experience? Guild of Heroes: Adventure RPG might be right up your alley. Guild of Heroes: Adventure RPG does away with dressing up in school robes to take up arms. Instead, it returns you to the old-school RPG mechanics of fighting against classic fantasy monsters like dwarves, trolls, and other players, which means you can’t Expelliarmus your way out of this one.
If you’re here for a challenge and ready to embrace another take on dark fantasy, check out Guild of Heroes.
9 Genshin Impact
Are you trying to find time to sink, similar to Hogwarts Legacy’s breathtaking world, and love exploring more than anything else? Genshin Impact is unparalleled in its theme for open-world exploration. Both games make adventuring feel like a triple-A experience.
On closer inspection, Genshin Impact has much in common with Hogwarts Legacy. For example, vision holders in Genshin Impact are like chosen ones, similar to wizards and witches in Hogwarts. Still, not everyone is gifted in the arts of magic. With the self-insertion (on the protagonists), both games deliver well on the power fantasy front.
10 Black Desert Mobile
Hogwarts Legacy’s graphical fidelity is mind-boggling, making it difficult to find Android games that reach those levels. There are a few contenders with high graphic fidelity on Android, like Black Desert Mobile. Even if the genre is different, it still compares in polish.
Black Desert Mobile offers stunning graphics and animations in an open-world fantasy setting. The game includes detailed character customization and a diverse class selection (you’ll choose a Witch or the Igneous class/Awakened Wizard), paired with a smooth action combat system.
Black Desert Mobile still falls under the MMORPG umbrella, which means a personable single-player experience is out of the question. Still, games like Black Desert Mobile raise the standards for beautiful and polished mobile-developed games, much like Hogwarts Legacy does with its breathtaking environments.
11 Wilderless Classic
We play and enjoy gorgeous open-world games for different reasons. Some prefer exploring every nook and cranny of the map. Others prefer getting sucked into the story and finishing the entire game as a completionist. Wilderless offers casual players freedom, advocating toward the explorers’ side of the spectrum.
Wilderless leaves behind the threat of monsters and the demands for questing to embrace the open-world experience. Imagine wandering through Hogsmeade Valley and the outskirts of Hogwarts without being in immediate danger. Wilderless promotes that type of gameplay, one free from stress and worry.
Wilderless Classic is the free version of the paid app, giving you access to all the biomes and maps without any barriers.
12 The Magical Typewriter
One reason to play Hogwarts Legacy is to experience the Harry Potter magic-filled universe with a customizable avatar while trotting around an exceptionally detailed (open) world. It’s tough to re-create such a complex experience, but simulated-focused games like The Magical Typewriter try to give you the same sense of freedom.
In The Magical Typewriter, you play as a young wizard or witch trying to deduce why others have gone missing and where they’ve gone. To deal with these challenges, you must become proficient in the art of spells, potions, and flying. The game reminds you that it is possible to unveil the story in your own way. You decide all your worldly interactions and discover its hidden truths.
The story is updated in installments. Even if you require a bit of a break from The Magical Typewriter, you can pick back up later.
The impact of Hogwarts Legacy on Android
The games on this list will put you one step closer to experiencing Hogwarts Legacy on mobile. And who knows, maybe one day we will have the means to stream and play Hogwarts Legacy directly. Until then, enjoy a magical journey into witchcraft and wizardry with these titles.