![]() But vials of toxins that can knock out or kill enemies don't give you a reason to choose one or the other. You’ll frequently be forced to pick up flowers to craft healing balms or bobby pins for lockpicks, for example. There is an unbelievable number of items to pick up and carry in We Happy Few, but only a small handful end up being useful. The resources to replenish them aren't hard to find, but constantly having to tend to them when you're just wanting to get along with the story is arduous. ![]() But they soon end up being just frustrating. Early on, managing these statuses is difficult, with a scarcity of resources while you're still coming to grips with We Happy Few's many rules. As any character, you'll need to manage meters for hunger, thirst, tiredness, and more (Ollie actually needs to watch his blood sugar, of all things), which impose penalties and buffs on your fighting and movement abilities. That's mostly stayed the same, despite the structure of its design changing around it. In Early Access (where the game sat for nearly two years), We Happy Few was a survival game. Each finds a satisfying (if not always happy) end to their journey, despite the mechanics fighting actively against you reaching their climax. Each new perspective lends context to previously puzzling interactions to create clever "aha" moments, and the stories have powerful themes of abandonment, parental sacrifice, and overbearing guilt. The more personal aspects of each character end up being more interesting than the mythos surrounding them. ![]() Ollie is just a confused war veteran, disturbed by events of the past that have shaped his future. Sally hides a secret within the walls of Wellington Wells while also providing black market drugs to those who pay enough. Arthur suffers from post-traumatic stress, reliving the moments where he lost his brother to the German kidnappings. The citizens of Wellington Wells are always happy to see you, but only if you abide by their rules.Įnter Arthur, Sally and Ollie-the three characters you'll control throughout three acts that show all sides of this horrific society. Citizens refusing to live under Joy's medicinal spell are outcast to the borders of city, forced to live in decrepit, crumbling houses while they wait to starve to death. ![]() But this fake sense of tranquility brings about its own problems. With pills called "Joy" helping citizens forget the atrocities of the past, uprising is far less likely. Children are sent to the German mainland without reason, and the quiet town of Wellington Wells is plunged into a drug-induced mirage of peaceful, happy co-existence. We Happy Few takes place in a timeline where Germany reigned victorious after World War II and has England bowing to their whims. Its three individual tales of survival manage to deliver some surprisingly poignant moments, but We Happy Few does its best to dissuade you from wanting to play long enough to see them through. The game's fascinating setting of a drug-fueled society wasting away in fake happiness is squandered on repetitive environments, poorly paced and downright boring quest designs, and a variety of confusing mechanics that never find harmony with each other. Just like the forcibly stretched grins of its inhabitants, the joy found in We Happy Few is a facade.
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