We’re typically in the business of recommending existing games, or at least reviewing them. However, when a Harry Potter mobile game came out recently (to not so great reception), we got to thinking about all the great games that just don’t exist. It’s remarkable that it took so long for someone to try a modern Harry Potter mobile game given the obvious demand and the fact that it essentially amounts to printing money. These are some other games that, provided licensing agreements and all that fun stuff, it seems like a no-brainer for some major developer to tackle.
1. Quidditch World Cup
While we’re on the subject of the Harry Potter game (which is called Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery), how in the world is there not a dedicated Quidditch mobile game!? Granted, flying is a part of Hogwarts Mystery, if you have the patience to get that far. But a game devoted wholly to Quidditch would be the closest we could get to actually playing this absurd yet thrilling fictional wizard sport - at least until someone makes it happen in VR, that is. Think about it like a FIFA or NBA 2k game: you could start as a student on a house team at Hogwarts, work your way up, and eventually get drafted to one of the club teams profiled in J.K. Rowling’s own (under the name Kennilworthy Whisp) Quidditch Through The Ages. From there, you could make a national team! It would be an incredibly fun game, done correctly.
2. Pokémon (Red & Blue)
Pokémon GO was a huge hit, and is arguably one of the most important mobile games in history, having helped to usher in the age of AR and make the technology fun and relatable. Still, is it really so hard to make a traditional, vintage Pokémon game for mobile devices? In terms of screen requirements, controls, and action, these games are exceedingly simple; there are more complex RPGs by the dozens in mobile app stores. Here’s hoping the folks with the power to make it happen resurrect the original Pokémon games for iOS in the near future.
3. Mos Eisley Casino & Shootout
2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi got a lot of attention for its Canto Bight casino scene, and a space venue modeled after Casino de Monte Carlo. But as one recent article pointed out, Canto Bight wasn’t the series’ first foray into the world of casino gaming. That would be Mos Eisley, the infamous cantina from Episode IV: A New Hope. While there’s not much focus on the actual games, the setting (and music) would make for an awesome gaming atmosphere. Throw in some casino games and perhaps a twist by which you could get into conflicts and wind up in shootouts with opponents, and you’d have a unique and fantastically enjoyable game for the legions of Star Wars fans out there.
4. The Fast & The Furious
Okay, so there are a lot of good iOS racing games already, and in fact there have actually been some based on the Fast & Furious franchise. But it’s remarkable that as popular as this action franchise has become there isn’t a great game that takes you through the whole series - street races, life choices, shoot-em-up action sequences and all. The best case would be for this to be a full-fledged console game (particularly given that the franchise has now inspired its own animated Netflix series and a theme park experience). But the more realistic hope is probably an extensive, episodic mobile game.
5. Westworld
It’s more understandable that we don’t have a great game based on HBO’s Westworld just yet. The show is half-way through its second season, and took a whole year off following the first. But given that many have characterized the drama as playing out like something of a real life video game, there probably ought to be a video game of it. You could control your character venturing into the sprawling Westworld theme park and interacting with the “host” robots in any way you like - possibly even (spoiler alert) dealing with the robot uprising that happens near the end of the first season!
