What are your favorite to least favorite HPHM Years from 1 to 7?
From favourite to least favourite. Also, I judge based on the main story only.
#1: YEAR 4. I still claim it’s almost a perfect year. If I could replay just this year, I probably would do it like once every couple of months. Most importantly, the mystery started getting a lot more intriguing. Learning a bit more about Jacob from Torvus was great. We had Rakepick’s arrival which is a brilliant addition on its own, but it also added to the mystery. Admittedly, the writers tried a little too hard to make us suspicious of Ben, but I liked this plotline a lot either way. Sickleworth was an adorable comic relief. Charlie was a fantastic main companion, and he was so well-written back then. Moreover, even though he had a lead, he didn’t make the other characters less meaningful or forgotten.
Y4 is very good when it comes to length and pace as well. Even when we had some fillers, they weren’t entirely pointless (for example: while we could’ve asked someone for a broom right away, our earlier search led us to learning about the Black Lake incident and finding the threatening letter addressed to Rakepick). And sixteen chapters is quite appropriate to fill enough interesting information in there without making it a drag.
I guess my biggest complaint about Y4 is that I wish the Sleepwalking Curse was explained better. For example, was there any factor deciding which students would be affected or not?
#2: YEAR 5. To be fair, the ending of this year was a hot mess, and it left a lot of unanswered questions. However, until Chapter 20 (so when Pettigrew Obliviated us), the plot was really interesting. I loved meeting Duncan, learning more about him and Jacob, learning about Jacob and Rakepick… The dynamic between Rakepick and MC was entertaining and intriguing. I enjoyed most of Y5 a lot.
#3: YEAR 3. There’s quite a lot of good action. The addition of Tulip and Barnaby was interesting and refreshing. It was cool to find Jacob’s room (though it’s a shame that it was really underused overall…). Moreover, I have to say that the Vault of Fear is probably my favourite out of all the Cursed Vaults. It simply seems to be well-thought-out, and I think it actually might have the best design when it comes to its mechanisms.
That being said, I wish Y3 got a couple of chapters more, just like Y4 – because currently, it feels a little rushed.
#4: YEAR 6. To be clear, there’s A LOT to complain about in Y6. However, the first half of it… wasn’t that bad. The plotline with Rakepick’s Dark artefacts and the Ministry heist was pretty exciting, even if it had no payoff (and I still insist that Jam City changed it while writing Y6…). The Wizard in White was very intriguing at first, too. And I love the mole plotline, even though its execution was very far from perfect (and sadly, it only got worse…).
The biggest problem with Y6 is probably that a lot of things were totally ignored, yet the year was still somehow stretched terribly with meaningless bullshit.
#5: YEAR 2. To be honest, I did consider putting Y2 above Y6, but I decided otherwise eventually because… Well, here’s the thing. I know that for many people, years 1-3 are the best. But to me, they’re just kind of… bland. I have to say that they became more interesting in the light of the later years, but when I played them for the first time, they weren’t particularly engaging. Y2 has nice moments for sure, but overall, I think it’s lacking.
#6: YEAR 1. Similar to Y2, it’s lacking in content. I know it’s just an introduction to the story, but I still believe it could’ve been a bit richer. I suppose they could’ve spent more time on MC’s backstory, the circumstances of Jacob’s disappearance etc. I still don’t understand why the writers decided to keep everything a secret. Did they keep it short because they weren’t sure whether the game would succeed? I don’t know – but it was a stupid decision. And it’s a part of the reason why the potential “plot twist” with MC’s father will be so ridiculous.
#7: YEAR 7. Let’s be honest: it’s a disaster. It had some potentially interesting elements, but I feel like there was yet another big change in the writing team, and so the writers don’t really know what they’re doing anymore. The only thing that seems to be consistent with the previous years is Merula working for R. Also, I talked about it in Y6 already, but I still think that leaving the Cursed Vaults out of Y7 was a mistake. It simply feels less and less like the same story.
