"Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery" was recently released on iOS and Google Play with many fans of the magical series jumping to download after a highly-anticipated wait. According to the official website, "it is the first game in which players can create their own character and experience life as a Hogwarts student" through a Mobile Game experience that takes the player around the school.

The game was published under Portkey Games, from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Jam City two days ago on April 25, 2018 in the US. The official launch trailer was also released the same day from the Jam City YouTube channel.

Wait times angering fans

Most free-to-play mobile games currently being released often involve micro-transactions to replace wait times for an in-game commodity. This is fairly reasonable as games need some kind of profit or income to continue running, and as this is widespread, it has come to be expected by frequent mobile gamers. However, early players of "Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery" have already taken to Twitter to express their frustration with the imbalance of energy needed to complete tasks and the time required for them.

According to Matthew Scoltz from Android Police, " At about the 25-minute mark you will find yourself in the middle of a task that requires you finish it before an 8-hour time limit is up.

The trouble is, your limited energy will run out right in the middle of this task, and I assure you this is by design."

It appears that even simple tasks such as talking to your friends also requires energy, which may limit your overall experience and long-term play.

Fixes found so far

In the wave of frustration caused by the paradoxical wait times and time limits, some fans have been getting creative, finding new ways to get more energy.

What this might mean for the game

This sort of interactive real-world and mobile-game experience is not necessarily new, with "Pokemon GO" having been on everyone's radars when it released on July 6, 2016.

However, while it had similar early tweaks, nearly two years later the game is still going strong with Gen 3 having arrived this past October and Gen 4 news steadily coming in. Fans are still having plenty of fun with the game with its custom character features and just being able to live out childhood dreams of going to Hogwarts.

The game has only been released for two days and may well have improvements to make, but with some energy balancing and proper updates by the team, it has the potential to be around for a while with the strength of "Harry Potter" fans.

Some store transactions may go up to $100, but it is still the player's choice whether or not they are ready to commit serious capital to their wizarding experience. At the end of the day, it is still a free-to-play game.
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