The cartoonish style of the game is beautiful and eerie at the same time, and there’s a lot to appreciate here in terms of art and visuals. The character designs are appropriately unsettling and creepy, where every NPC has a white mask plastered to their face to make them look like they’re perpetually smiling. It’s really fascinating stuff, and his story only gets more exciting when you meet other characters with conflicting ideologies or different takes on the situation.Īrt direction in We Happy Few is stellar, with neon colors popping in vibrancy when you first arrive in Maidenholm, contrasted with the gloomy greys of slum areas like Lud’s Holm and Barrow Holm. We Happy Few’s setting serves as a nice backdrop for Arthur’s story, especially when the game delves into the political climate of this dystopian world, along with themes about the price of happiness and whether it’s worth living in a fantastical, dreamlike state rather than dealing with the horrors of reality. Arthur then resolves to recover as much of his memory as he can, while also going in search of his brother Percy, who had been sent to Germany when they were just kids. Before long, he’s recognized as a Downer (people who are off their Joy), and he’s forced out of the village. One day, he opts not to take his Joy, and memories of his childhood come flooding back to him. The game’s first act puts you in the shoes of one Arthur Hastings, who holds a job looking through newspaper articles and censoring them before they’re released for public consumption. The people are happy all the time, but side effects include severe memory loss, mindless violence, and the creation of an authoritarian government where those who aren’t on the drug are ostracized and beaten up. In this world, the people have gotten themselves hooked on a drug called Joy, which puts them in a constant state of euphoria. The game offers a compelling narrative and setting, but is constantly undercut by a lack of polish, which completely botches whatever underlying menace and sinister message it was trying to convey.ĭeveloped by Compulsion Games, We Happy Few takes place in a dystopian version of Britain. This little anecdote could probably sum up my experience with We Happy Few as an entity. Every few seconds or so, he’ll tell Arthur the same thing he did before -that he needs to keep himself out of mischief- then proceed to walk in circles and repeat the cycle.
After turning away, though, the bobby proceeds to walk in aimless circles around the bench Arthur is sitting on. It’s a tense moment, especially since you’re not sure if the bobby knows you’re secretly a Downer. He brandishes his baton menacingly, giving Arthur one last knowing look before turning away. While nowhere near as revolutionary as the whip, this tool is similarly helpful and provides another nifty shakeup for the formula.The bobby smirks at Arthur with his creepy, Cheshire cat-like grin, warning him not to get himself into any mischief or there’ll be hell to pay. These darts can be used to disable TVs and other electronic devices, or for shocking some of your pursuers. Still, the whip isn't the only new tool, as this DLC also introduces the dart gun, a small handheld gun that shoots electric darts. I appreciated the change in gameplay that the whip provided.
Compared to sneaking around all the time, it's a refreshingly quick change of pace that requires some accurate timing, especially at one lengthy section near the end. The whip is also fantastic for grappling onto different marked points, allowing you to get a vantage point high above the streets and even swing your way through unstable platforms. Combat is completely transformed and with some proper timing, even massive groups of enemies that would've been insurmountable before are now easily taken down. I really can't emphasize that part enough. The result is a much-needed, massive improvement combat and momentum within the game. The first of these is the whip, which you can use to nonlethally fight off different foes like the Bobbies, as well as use it to scale different buildings and swing between rafters. With that said, there are some new tools that greatly aid exploration and combat. If you're familiar with We Happy Few and its prior DLC packs, you're familiar with the setup here.