We Happy Few

[Shradow]

 

 

[spoiler=Plot]

The game is set in the fictional island town of Wellington Wells in the year 1964. In this alternate timeline the Soviet Union invaded England. The residents of Wellington Wells fought off the invaders by doing a "Very Bad Thing", which was so upsetting for the survivors that they resorted to taking a drug called "Joy" which suppresses unhappy memories. The town is further placated by a childish television show hosted by the mysterious Uncle Jack (played by Julian Casey), who keeps the Wellies happy and unaware of the fact that the island is quickly running out of food and Joy. Those who abstain from taking Joy are branded "Downers", who are forbidden in Wellington Wells. If a Downer is caught, the citizens will force-feed him Joy to fit him back into society-assuming they do not beat the Downer to death, as Joy also suppresses the ability to recognize moral or long-term consequences.

 

The player controls Arthur Hastings, a clerk whose job is to redact unhappy articles from old newspapers. He comes across a wartime article concerning him and his younger brother back from during the war. This brings back painful memories, but rather than take a Joy pill, he throws his bottle away. As the effects of the drug wear off, he starts to recognize that a co-worker of his has been gone on "summer vacation" for an extremely long time, the brutality of Joy doctors when administering a liquid form of the drug, the general dilapidation of his office, and finally that a pinata used for a colleague's birthday party is, in fact a real rat being bludgeoned until its viscera (which the Wellies believe is candy) covers the table. Seeing his horrified and disgusted reaction, his colleagues sense he has become a Downer, and Arthur flees underground and ultimately finds himself on the outer rim of Wellington Wells, where other Downers live and scavenge.

 

In an effort to escape the town, Arthur finds and develops an underground hideout, for protection from the local police force, who actively seek, detain and either repurpose or bludgeon Downers on sight on the orders of the town's enigmatic leader, Uncle Jack. He learns that by taking a minor dose of Joy, he can appear indoctrinated, but still retain his free will.

 

[spoiler=Gameplay]

We Happy Few has the player control Arthur Hastings after he starts withdrawing from refusing to take Joy. Arthur's goal is to escape the town without being killed or arousing the suspicions of the Wellies before the town undergoes a social collapse in a fixed amount of time. We Happy Few employs permadeath by default: should the character be killed, captured, or otherwise incapacitated, or otherwise fails to escape in time, the game is over, and the player must restart again. The player can disable this feature to make the game easier. In the style of a roguelike, the game uses procedural generation to recreate Wellington Wells on each playthrough.

 

The player controls Arthur from the first-person perspective, exploring the homes and buildings, acquiring sustenance, resources and melee weapons, all without alerting the residents as to being a Downer. Performing unusual actions, such as attacking Wellies or breaking into homes, will cause the residents to become suspicious and may lead to them attempting to capture or kill Arthur. Some suspicion can be allayed by taking measured doses of Joy, but taking too much Joy will cause the character to forget their quest, ending the current game. While under the influence of Joy, Arthur witnesses the town in much brighter and colorful vision. As Joy wears off, his vision will become more dark and gritty, and Arthur will become more hungry and thirstier. Further, staying off Joy too long can lead Arthur to suffer a hallucinatory vision of a butterfly that they will chase, losing further time towards escape. Progress towards escape can be made by completing various quests that are given to Arthur, such as rescuing a person from a Joy-enraged mob. Items collected can be used in a crafting system which is often necessary to gain access to new areas of town.

 

The town is divided into a number of districts, each with its own look and customs that the Wellies in that district follow and that the player must account for. For example, one district may be occupied by the wealthier Wellies who will attack Arthur if he is not dressed in expensive clothes and not under the influence of Joy. The character has an underground hideout in town where they can rest and recover.

 

The game looks super interesting, and I love the aesthetic. I don't have an Xbone so I'll have to get it on Steam sometime.

[Toffee.]

...Why am I getting a strong Matrix vibe from This game?

 

Either way, it looks funking incredible.

[Shradow]

Oh, I didn't even realize it at first, these are the same guys that made Contrast. Neato.