Since the first book in the series was published in 1997 – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (or Sorcerer’s Stone if you’re in the US) – the franchise has become an undoubted, multi-generational phenomenon.
The tale of a lonely, mistreated young boy who discovers that he’s a wizard, the first Harry Potter book sets up a universe of magic, mystery and plenty of danger for our young protagonist.
Attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he and close friends Ron and Hermione get themselves into numerous scrapes and adventures over the course of the seven book series, which get truly epic by the climax of the final book.
Of course, the big budget movie adaptations played a massive part in expanding the popularity of the Harry Potter series – but video game versions of the stories also brought the franchise onto consoles and computers over the years.
Which ones were best though?
1. Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (2010)
Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 is the best Harry Potter game ever made!
Though the second Lego Harry Potter title was superb and even featured a few refinements over Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4, this first game features so many iconic moments from the opening chapters of the boy wizard’s saga that it’s impossible to find it so much more satisfying.
Saying that, Years 5-7 are much more action-oriented in story terms of course – so you may find yourself more enamoured with the kids kicking more magical butt in the second game than the more laidback (but still action-packed!) action here.
It is such a huge, lovingly created recreation of the Wizarding World too; hubs such as Hogwarts and magical pub The Leaky Cauldron led to a huge number of familiar locations from the books and films.
Unique mechanics such as spellcasting and potion-making made this title feel truly authentic, without losing sight of the slightly cheeky nature of the Lego games.
Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 is a real love letter to the series and to the fans themselves – and easily takes pride of place here.
Both of the Lego Harry Potter titles rank highly on our Best Lego Games of All Time list and they’re also both available as a single pack in the Lego Harry Potter Collection, for PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch – an absolutely unmissable package for Potterheads!
2. Harry Potter And The Order of the Phoenix (2007)
The first console Harry Potter game to really fulfil the potential of the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a third person. open world adventure with a sandbox style structure.
Players can not only explore an impressively recreated Hogwarts at leisure, but other locations can be visited too – with fan favourite locations such as the Ministry of Magic and Little Whinging also included.
Plenty of activities, mini-games and missions were also on offer throughout the game; popular magical pastimes from the stories were included too, such as Exploding Snap, Wizard Chess and Gobstones.
Of the ‘standard’ Harry Potter games, Order of the Phoenix is undoubtedly the peak – though upcoming title Hogwarts Legacy looks very likely to usurp it this year!
3. Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (2011)
When Traveller’s Tales (later TT Games) developed the brilliant Lego Star Wars back in 2005, few could have realised just how huge and wide-ranging its formula would become.
The third-person, co-operative gameplay saw players working their way through the events of the prequel movies. It had humorously anarchic, often slapstick cinematics based on familiar scenes from the films.
Addictive mechanics saw players breaking Lego-based structures and collecting hundreds and thousands – eventually millions – of shiny Lego studs over the course of the game.
The formula was a well-refined one by the time TT Games turned their attention to Harry Potter – they’d become more open, bigger in scope, with huge selections of characters to collect and additional layers of mechanics that didn’t take away from the addictive simplicity of the titles.
They were straightforward and simple without ever feeling dumbed down.
This second Lego Harry Potter title covered the rest of the books (with the first game, Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4, having taken care of the opening quartet) – and it’s just as fun, funny and compelling as any other Lego title.
Full of brilliant references to the stories it’s based on, stuffed with collectables and unlockables, it’s very deserving of a place in the top three.
4. Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Based on the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was perhaps the first video game to truly capture the magic of the boy wizard’s adventures.
Not only are the events of the book closely adhered to, but players could also attend classes at Hogwarts, fly a broomstick (completely free-roaming on the PlayStation 2 version, with slightly more restricted flight on the GameCube and Xbox) around the impressively expansive school grounds and learn spells.
There was lots more to do in the massive school than in previous games too, with wizard duels, quests to complete and bosses to fight – it was a hugely satisfying adventure that disappoints slightly only due to its ease and brief length.
5. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
Can you find the remaining Horcruxes, Hallows and kill Voldermort in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2?
Well, I hope so, otherwise it’s going to be a bit of a dull game!
Part 2 scores much higher than Part 1 because of that final battle with Voldemort. It’s the most important part of the entire franchise, after all.
Like Part 1, this is a shooting game where magic is the main weapon. Fight Deatheaters and take part in the Battle for Hogwarts as you end Mouldy Voldy’s reign of tyranny once and for all.
You’ll play as different characters from the franchise too, giving you the ultimate Potter experience.
And, there are no stealthy levels like there are in the last game. If you know my experience of stealth games, then you’ll also understand why the Part 2 scores higher!
6. Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban (GBA, 2004)
Though most of the games on this list take the form of 3D action adventure titles, Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban for the GBA was an interesting departure from the expected formula, which took advantage of the host hardware’s differences, rather than being restricted by them.
The GBA version is actually a 2D, overhead view RPG with turn-based battles, in a similar vein to the classic 16-bit Final Fantasy games.
Though a bit divisive, the visuals are nicely cartoony and stylised – and unlike the old Final Fantasy games, there are (thankfully!) no random encounters.
7. Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone (2003)
The very first version of the Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorceror’s Stone story came in 2001, released on aging hardware such as the PS1 (and featuring some endearingly awkward polygonal models of characters – with Hagrid standing out as one of the most unintentionally funny). It even went on to become one of the best-selling PS1 games of all time (check it out on our Best Selling PS1 Games list!).
However, publisher EA – never one to shy away from milking a licence – had the idea of going back to the first story and remaking it for the then-current consoles, even though they’d already progressed to publishing Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by then.
It’s just as well they did – this version has aged far more gracefully than the original and despite being criticised at the time for reusing the world map and even spells from the Chamber of Secrets game, this does give the games a nice sense of consistency in their setting and mechanics.
8. Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Notable for being the first of the console games to allow players to assume control of characters other than Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – based on the third book – was another excellent third person action adventure game.
Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were both playable characters in addition to the titular boy wizard, but Hippogriff Buckbeak and Owl Hedwig were also playable in certain sections of the game.
The PS2 even had mini-games added in that were designed for use with the largely forgotten, pre-Kinect, interactive camera peripheral the EyeToy.
9. Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup (2003)
Far better than any completely made-up sport title has any right to be, EA’s Harry Potter spin-off Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup does a great job at making Quidditch into a genuinely compelling game.
Of course, with their sports experience it’s no wonder EA did a great job with Quidditch World Cup – it was fast-paced, colourful and true to both the Harry Potter world and the game of Quidditch itself.
Though the game’s rules aren’t fully fleshed out in the books, this gave EA a bit of creative leeway to fill in the gaps and make it a more rounded experience than readers – or indeed fans of the films – were used to.
Along with the full competition of the titular World Cup, players could play one-off Exhibition matches too – though this will see Hogwarts house teams facing off against each other, rather than the national teams featured in World Cup mode.
The team line-ups are based on those featured in book 3, Prisoner of Azkaban – so you’ll see Harry Potter himself featured for Gryffindor, his nemesis Draco Malfoy for Slytherin, Cedric Diggory in Hufflepuff and Cho Chang in Ravenclaw – but there’s also cameos from other familiar characters who feature as commentators, spectators or even elsewhere in the game.’s well realised world.
10. Harry Potter And The Goblet of Fire (2005)
Based on the fourth book and film in the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire did feature some gameplay refinements over its predecessors – such as more involved spellcasting mechanics – and excellent multiplayer features.
However, the more linear levels and lack of exploratory elements in the main story puts this firmly towards the lower end of the list.
This is one of the few Harry Potter games that feels a bit rushed – and it’s far too short too, unlike the epic tale it’s based on!
11. Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (2009)
I’ve specifically left the Wii version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince out of the ranking for this one, as it was hampered with awkward and unnecessary motion controls (an issue which was the bane of many a Wii port!), but even the other versions of this adaptation of the sixth Harry Potter book and film were a bit of a disappointment.
Though it featured an open world Hogwarts, barely anything had been improved over its predecessor, Order of the Phoenix. Everything that felt fresh and new in Order of the Phoenix just felt a bit lazy here – and it didn’t help that the mission design was also less interesting than before.
It’s not all bad though – and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is definitely better than some Harry Potter games (hello, games based on Deathly Hallows 1 & 2!).
The non-linear, third person adventuring made it the last good game based on the books and films – before the series shifted genres to be awkward and unsatisfying third person cover shooters – but it couldn’t help feeling like a disappointment after the excellent Order of the Phoenix.
12. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows : Part 1 (2011)
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows : Part 1 takes the 12th spot in this list, the less impressive of the last two film titles.
Of course, if the film was split into two, then the game was always going to follow suit. No as much action happens in this title, which is why we’ve ranked it here rather than featuring further down our list.
This is essentially a 3rd person shooting game, but instead of using bullets, Harry’s firing off Expelliarmus left, right, and centre.
Duck behind items to regain health and use defensive spells to block and counter other wizards, knocking their spells back at them.
Imagine Time Crisis with wands, and you’ll get the idea.
13. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (2018)
Let’s keep the mobil play going with Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, shall we?
You’ve finally got a letter to go to Hogwarts. Well… the in-game you has, and there’s a wizardlicious RPG ready and waiting to unfold in the palm of your hands.
The game is set long before Harry Potter comes to Hogwarts, so I’m not sure why his name is even in the title.
Still, Dumbledore, Snape, and other teachers from Harry’s time are all there to help you develop your magical education.
Choose which house you will be in and develop your traits accordingly. Will you be wise like Rowena Ravenclaw or a sly devil like Salazar Slytherin?
Brew potions, use charms, and become the wizard you were born to be as you progress through school years.
14. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (2019)
For all those people that have played Pokemon Go and wished it was more wizardy, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is the answer!
Wizards Unite is actually made by the same people as Pokemon Go, which is why it looks and plays exactly the same.
Move around a map and come into contact with wizards and creatures right in front of you through your phone camera.
I’m glad that Deatheater isn’t actually real; that’s one scary mask alright!
This augmented reality game sees players trying to help the Ministry of Magic restore peace to the magical world. Come across dragons, memorable characters from the books and films, and pull off spells to fight enemies.
The game is a little convoluted and certainly doesn’t have the same appeal as Pokemon Go. Still, Potterheads all over the globe loved it, which makes it must-have title in this list!
N.B – Wizard’s Unite has now been discontinued, so if you don’t have it on your phone, you’ll have to find a mate who does!
15. Wonderbook: Book Of Spells (2012)
Ever fancied taking a look at Miranda Goshawk’s Standard Book Of Spells and having a go at wielding a wand? This game, complete with the playstation move controller and camera, makes it look like you’re controlling a real wand on screen!
Players learn about the spell and then get to try out it out in a practical application. It’s a fun little game designed to be a companion to the main Harry Potter series.
And, it was developed with JK Rowling as part of the team, so you know it’s the real deal.
Players pick a house, a wand, upload a moving photo, and then get to it. It’s a good laugh if you’ve always dreamt about being a wizard, which I imagine most people reading this list will have done!
