I played Wizard101, an game by KingsIsle Entertainment. It’s free to play, but has a paid membership (which I will go into more later), and I played it on my laptop through their game launcher which I downloaded off their website. I used to play Wizard101 in elementary school with my friends, so I was really excited to play it again as an adult. The game is set in a magical world where you play as a student wizard, attending Ravenwood School of Magical Arts and taking on quests to stop an evil villain named Malistaire.
The first thing you do is create your character. You can only choose between a boy wizard and a girl wizard, and depending on which one you pick, you get access to different face types and hairstyles. You then choose your name from a pre-generated list, which has both magical names like “Enigma” and more common ones like “Emily” or “Maya.” All the name options are Western and English, which felt a bit limiting. I remembered taking a quiz as a kid to find out which school of magic I belonged to, kind of like the sorting hat in Harry Potter. This time around, I just got to pick, and I chose the Death school. Even though I liked being able to directly pick my school, I preferred the quiz because it made my choice feel more personal back then, and I think it helped me connect to the world in a deeper way. I picked Death because I remember when I used to play the game, you could only access the Death school as a Death wizard. However, if players are completely new to the game, choosing a school this early is making a completely arbitrary and random choice.
As soon as you start playing, the game drops you into a battle with Malistaire. It is also a tutorial for the turn-based combat system and gives you an early sense of connection with the narrative. I liked that the game didn’t waste time getting you involved in the main storyline. The central mystery of why Malistaire turned evil and what he’s trying to do was interesting, and I liked that some characters were even hesitant to talk about him. It made the world feel like it had a real history. The game gives you a mix of main quests and side quests, and I enjoyed walking around and talking to random characters in the town. It made the world feel more alive, and I appreciated that there were both human and non-human characters, like ghosts, dog people, and skeleton pirates.
Meeting and battling with Malistaire
Balance Professor is a human-looking dog
Get quests from different characters
One thing I noticed is that there’s a lot going on in this game. Within the first 30 minutes, I already had access to my backpack, mounts, pets, crafting, gardening, spell creation, and more. I think the game would benefit from unlocking these features gradually instead of frontloading everything. Leveling up and learning new spells is a fun and satisfying part of the game.
Your Backpack: Very overwhelming, many things going on
In terms of ethics and representation, there are definitely things Wizard101 could do better. Like I mentioned earlier, the game only lets you choose between a boy and a girl wizard, and you can’t pick your pronouns separately from that choice, and it locks certain customization options depending on what gender you choose. There are limited face color and hairstyle options, and while I think they provide a good range of skin tone options, they don’t offer much in terms of representing a wide range of body types or cultural identities.
If I were to mod the game’s mechanics, I would start by expanding the character creation system. I would let players choose their pronouns and mix and match features regardless of gender. I’d also add a typing option for names or at least include more name diversity. It would also be cool if there were more aspects tied to your school, like a Death wizard having a specific kind of symbol on their robe, so that your magical identity felt more present in the world.
Another ethical consideration that stood out to me this time around was the membership system. Wizard101 is technically free to play, but there’s very little you can do without a membership. After about an hour, the game starts locking you out of new areas, and the main story becomes inaccessible unless you pay. A membership costs $10/month and gives you full access to every feature in the game, including locked worlds, areas, and content. Any purchases past the membership are purely cosmetic, like cooler looking costumes or pets. Even though the membership system is frustrating since it is pretty essential in order to progress in the same (and even perform some basic functions, like open chat or crafting). I appreciated that at least after the membership, its seems like there are not a bunch of other things you are continuously encouraged to pay for. The paywall definitely limits accessibility, especially for younger players and those who can’t afford a subscription, but in comparison to other games it would feel very complete once you purchase the membership.
Overall, I enjoyed revisiting Wizard101. The story and characters drew me in more than I expected, and I was surprised by how much there was to explore. Even though parts of the interface felt cluttered, the character system could use a modern update, and many parts are hidden behind the membership paywall, the game still managed to make me care about the world it created, mostly because of the nostalgia and mystery elements involved.
