We Happy Few

Okay game, although it feels clunky and boring from time to time.
Completed act 1 and I have no need for pushing further. I feel like the police are the coolest guys around in the game.

Fantastic opening, I love the concept and parts of the story in We Happy Few but I just feel like the game after the opening is pretty dead and uninteresting. Maybe you have to play it for longer but I just found the game a bit boring after the fairly intense opening. I'm kind of on the fence of recommending it or not but I'm leaning more into not recommending it based on price tag alone, $85 for this is criminally overpriced.

This has been on my list to play for years. Was heavily recommended by a friend. Started playing it a few months ago. Had a couple good sessions, story setup seemed nice even if a little slow intially. But I wasnt really getting into it. Had picked normal difficulty and I just had trouble with a lot of the game mechanics to the point it just generally wasn't fun.

I'm very grateful friend checked in again to see if I was playing or had finished it recently. I gave it another shot. Restarted because it had been a few months. Picked easy difficulty this time. And omg it was like a night and day experience. I'm not sure if it was just because the second time experience the starting missions again or that I'm not drinking as heavily now but all of the game mechs started to click. I could actually play the game and had a lot of fun with it. Got incredibly into the story and itching to know any new details that would come up while questing and exploring the world.

Pretty unique game. Fantastic story telling, especially when you get into chapter 2 and chapter 3. Great sound track. Great voice acting. Very nice immersion overall.

I want to like it based on environment, but I find the gameplay tedious.

Okay, this was a hard one. I'd give it neither a thumbs up or a thumbs down but unfortunately you can't do that on Steam.

On one hand, the story, the design and the voice acting are absolutely outstanding, but on the other hand the gameplay itself is clunky at times (enemies sometimes just vanish when you try to take them down, savegames are still glitchy eight years on and so on) and there's several things that absolutely break immersion, especially the piss-poor quality of the in-game German translations. Most of the time it seems like they took an English sentence and translated it word-for-word back into German, which often makes no sense at all. Did you even bother to hire a native speaker to proof-read your 'translations'? I'm sure some dude on Reddit would have even done it for free. And it doesn't stop there, even English texts are riddled with spelling errors and inconsistencies - why are the hatches, for instance, labeled 'authoriZed access only' (isn't the game supposed to be set in Britain?), which is written in Impact of all fonts?

If you can overlook that (which, frankly, is VERY hard to do as a native speaker) it's a rather decent game though - if you love walking simulators and don't mind other minor inconsistencies. Overall I enjoyed it but please, PLEASE hire translators the next time you're designing a game.

Very good underrated game. Love the atmosphere and characters.

its okay, definitely not worth the price though, just found it a bit boring and there's really not much to do after you complete all the stories. (but I do like the story line) If you really want to get this game id suggest waiting for a discount to come along because as I said, I just don't find it worth 60 bucks.

This became one of my favorite games that I've played; because this game is not just about blending in, it's about redemption. The characters I've played have done something terrible and they needed one small thing to redeem themselves. After the main game; They Came From Below is more like a puzzle, Lightbearer is a mystery, and We All Fall Down is the final chapter. A real high thinking game that kept putting me on edge every step I take, the game and the stories I enjoyed so much!

Oh, I have so mixed feelings about this title. I've been struggling to finish the game because of that. And the fact that my saves won't transfer between PCs like they should, and I had to start over the first time I played the game.

Let's start from the positives. The atmosphere is amazing. The writing is top notch. Voice acting, best I've ever experienced. The first person mechanics when the characters are looking around in cutscenes is implemented really well. Many of the characters are actually really fun and personal.

However, there are some severe shortcomings. The game still has some annoying bugs. The stealth mechanics aren't that interesting at times. Early game is filled with accidentally alarming the townspeople or bobbies, and running away from them. Combat is totally useless and not fun. You're either overpowered or overran, but nothing in between. Sharing the stamina between attacks and running will render the player helpless after they've attacked, and make escaping impossible. At times the throwables felt just useless, and the tranquilizer or bersek darts don't always work as intended. Really frustrating.

The main quests are really good. The only downside is that there's a lot of running. I hate the beginning of Sally, when you had to run to the other end of the world while having to maintain the baby. That was just unnecessary punishing. Moving around is what I hate most in this game. You're just running around, using the quick travel and avoiding the NPCs from attacking you. At best it's mechanical and boring. At worst it's a hell.

The side quests can be really boring. The only reason I did them was to get XP and to access the OP skills.

Chemistry was actually really fun in the Sally playthrough, but it doesn't get to its full potential until you've already finished the game. So it's actually useless. From the point where you unlock the last ones of Sally's recipes you have only like 30 minutes of gameplay left if you focus on the main quest. And there isn't any reason to do the side quests at that point, because they're boring and the game is going to end very soon.

The game looks a lot like Unreal Engine. I don't like that at all. But regardless of that, they succeeded in making the environment beautiful. I like the art style, the masks, British aesthetics, the contrast between the drug-controlled parts of the world vs the other places. The dreamy and eerie atmosphere. Sound design and music. Futuristic apparatuses, robots, energy systems and such.

I liked to loot peoples homes. That was one of the best ways to get crafting ingredients. However, the cities didn't feel that much alive, and not all homes were accessible for understandable reasons. Money wasn't at all useful in the game. The vendors didn't sell anything interesting besides the things you need for quests. For looters and hoarders like myself there isn't much of that in the game.

There is nothing in the game that attracts me to replay it with roleplaying or different playstyle. Like, killing nobody. Or being lawful. Or taking Joy, since it has negative effects to it. I wish the core mechanics were good, and this would be GOTY material. If you can get it for huge discount, and if you don't have absolutely anything else to play, and if psychedelic steampunk futuristic dystopian post-apocalyptic story-driven 1st person single player games are your cup of tea, give it a go. You'll know in 15 minutes of gameplay if this is what you desire. Don't pay the full 60 euros for it, because there are some titles that are really worth that money, and have 100+ hours of gameplay. This surely doesn't.

I wish there was a sideways thumb in the "do you recomend this game", because I'd use that here instead of thumbs up or down.

I Don't Understand The Dislikes
But The Game Is Good

We really could've had it all...

The lore and side content and story is all really good. It slots into history really well and creates this dystopian that's really fun to get lost in. The combat is fun and the survival elements are fun. But there are a lot of bugs, especially in the somehow both more-polished yet less-polished survival and sandbox gamemodes.

You also WILL run into an annoying scenario where you're dying and need a health balm or healing item and can't get one in time so you just kind of have to wait out the death timer and accept your fate which never feels cool or fun. Honestly quite the turnoff...

The DLC's are really solid. If the base game had been completely story-focused like the DLC stories we'd have a 10/10 product here. Each one has a gimmick item but each fits the narrative and overall game really well.
The first DLC has two gay guys from the story going up against evil robots that have taken over. You get a laser blaster thing and it's kind of fun to use, and you fight robots.

The second DLC has a mega-famous rockstar with a lot of bad habits trying to get to the bottom of a series of murders at the hotel he's performing at. It's a surprisingly funny campaign with a story about self-betterment and a ridiculous way to explore the dangers of addiction and drug overuse. You use his guitar to serenade and subdue your crazed fans who try to pull you apart when they see you. The DLC took Beatlemania and made it the combat style. Plus, you get to learn a lot about the mysterious character Foggy Jack, a mysterious serial killer you hear about through dialogue in the base game. Also, new song from the Make Believes, though it sadly never got put on Spotify (besides a podcast episode someone graciously posted.)

The third DLC might actually be canon despite the DLC's being labelled as not being relevant to the base game and it's story... You play as a character from the main story as she tries to grab people's attention and warn the people that their picture-perfect society is not only insanely dangerous and corrupted, but also that it's coming to an end. It's a solid story and feels like a fourth act to the main game, I really don't know why I slept on it because it was honestly my favorite campaign out of all 6 (base game and DLC campaigns) after finally getting around to playing it. Gone is the RNG world generation and in it's place, there's a very immersive and intentional city design that feels a lot closer to what you'd expect based on concept art and ideas from the base game.

Overall a fun game, you'll probably get lost in the story and side content but again, the bugs. Oh, the bugs.

Is it janky? Very. Does the random level generator work against it? Very much so. Do I enjoy it despite its many bugs? Yes I do. A very interesting essay on the darker side of British conformity.

One of my favourite games ever.

Maybe I just don't understand the hate but the setting, music, ambience and characters were engaging enough to where I didn't need crazy game mechanics.

There are bugs but again I could easily look past them.

The DLCs are also fun and give new perspectives of characters that exist in the world.

All in all the world building and story are really strong for the game.

9/10

This is honestly one of my favorite games. It does, however, have its flaws and a dev team that will not fix the bugs in the game. Play for the story, prepare for the quirks.

I definitely DO NOT recommend this game at full price. I bought the game on sale for $15 and I still think that I overpayed for it. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the game, however, there are still quite a few bugs. Overlooking those, there is a cohesive story and decent mechanics. One thing that I have noticed, however, is that things like the hunger and thirst system and the joy overdose system don't really make a huge difference.

The story line is very deep, especially since you play between two characters (not including the DLCs). There's so much to do, which I hadn't realized until after I finished my first playthrough of the game. I had seen a few YouTubers do their own let's plays and this is one of those games where almost no two playthroughs are alike, which I love.

I don't get the hate this game gets. I had a very good time playing it. The story, the characters, the atmosphere is really good. There is lots of walking yes and some parts are way difficult. It is kinda like Bioshock, especially like Infinite. DLCs are amazing, maybe even better than the game. If you are into dystopian games, definitely give this a chance.

despite the raging bugs its a really good game with great potential

Its okay, I would recommend getting it while on sale.

good story ruined by bad gameplay, this game will leave you bored after an hour.

The setting, story, and graphics are pretty good, but this game falls short on several levels.

Joy. The intro shows the drug drastically altering your senses, unable to discern dead rat from pinata candy. I was expecting this to play a much larger role in progression. Like maybe you'd need to be sober to navigate a certain puzzle, but only on Joy could you work your way through another. Instead, taking Joy simply plasters rainbows on things and make your arms swing. Nothing looks drastically different. NPCs aren't any more or less suspicious than if you're sober. They'll even attack you still if you accidentally crouch for half a second. The plot may be centered around this drug, but it's turned out to be pretty inconsequential.

Bugs. Essential quest NPCs get stuck underground or float away regularly. Random NPCs bunch up and clip their way into locked buildings then catch you trespassing. Certain areas are considered trespassing even if they've been cleared. For a game that's been out since 2018, it doesn't seem very polished.

Map. Quest objectives can be hundreds of meters away with nothing in between. Can't run in cities without the townsfolk turning on you, so actually getting to the next point is just tedious. The space between towns are almost completely empty, minus some flowers.

Overall, the game has turned into more of a chore than anything. I'd really like to uncover the rest of the story, but it's a grueling process to get there. Definitely not worth $60. If you do happen to get it on sale, I recommend dropping the NPC awareness in custom difficulty or going outright easy mode.

My favorite story game - the art style and dystopian immersion go hand in hand with the story, and the amount of content within the main story and DLCs is amazing. The 100% achievements run makes for a very enjoyable 2nd playthrough as well. I wish I could experience this game for the first time again.

- lovely day for it?
- No it has been rather a shit day

Great game sometimes you gotta enjoy the journey or it'll pass you by.

very fun and addicting in an immersive dystopian world with lots of lore and the dlcs are fun too

pretty fun. reminds me of bioshock in its gameplay

An amazing game. First game I played on my steam deck

Whilst I've seen the amount of bugs and glitches that have been mentioned online, I must say that besides those I'm pleasantly surprised. Good story, interesting mechanics and a killer artstyle in my opinion. Might not be groundbreaking, but certainly pleasant.

i first played this game back on my PS4 a couple of years ago. it was one of the first games i managed to play all of the way through with virtually no help. it was really fun, had quite an engaging story to it, and it also really sucked me in on some of the drama and backstory that the remember masks gave you. i love the level of depth the game had to it, on top of the amount of secret stuff you could get. i could kind of understand why people didn't like it so much when it first came out, but i've had no issues with the game at all in the many years i've played it.

when i got steam for my laptop, i decided to get this game and play it again, and i liked how seamless the change from controller to keyboard was. i didn't find myself struggling too much, but my fingers are naturally small, so it's already a challenge to reach certain keys and stay there anyways, haha.

i like this game. i could honestly say i love it. i mean, i've had no bugs or glitches, no lag; it's fun!

Glitchy, laggy. Incoherent story. Wandering around for ages; all you ever seem to do is spend time trying not to be spotted. Promising start but quickly went downhill.

My new favorite game! I love the world, the story, and the morally ambiguous characters who are very human in their mistakes and mannerisms and trying to do better/escape a world that's completely lost the plot. I will definitely return for more playthroughs in the future, trying to get all the achievements and the DLCs!

We Happy Few by Compulsion Games is a compelling and ambitious journey into a dystopian world where societal control is maintained through mandatory happiness, delivered via a mysterious drug called "Joy." Set in an alternate-history 1960s England, the game blends elements of survival, stealth, and narrative-driven gameplay to create a unique experience.

Story and Atmosphere
The story is the game's strongest aspect. The colorful, retro-futuristic world of Wellington Wells is darkly charming, filled with chilling undertones of conformity and repression. The narrative unfolds through the perspectives of three protagonists, each with distinct motivations and gameplay styles. Arthur Hastings, Sally Boyle, and Ollie Starkey bring unique perspectives to the societal decay and ethical dilemmas underpinning the world.

The art style is striking, with its exaggerated, eerie caricatures and a pastel palette that contrasts sharply with the grim undertones of the story. The hauntingly upbeat soundtrack complements the uneasy atmosphere, amplifying the game's surreal vibe.

Gameplay
Gameplay is a mix of survival mechanics, exploration, and stealth. While it offers moments of intrigue, it can feel uneven. Crafting and scavenging are central, but inventory management can become cumbersome. Stealth sections are tense but sometimes suffer from inconsistent AI.

The game also incorporates permadeath and procedural generation, which add replay value but can disrupt the narrative flow. Exploration is rewarding, with hidden stories and side quests scattered throughout Wellington Wells. However, repetitive objectives and limited variety in environments occasionally detract from the immersion.

Performance and Polish
At launch, We Happy Few faced criticism for its technical issues, including frequent bugs, frame rate drops, and crashes. While many issues have been addressed through updates, some quirks remain, which can break immersion.

Final Thoughts
We Happy Few is a bold and imaginative game that stands out for its narrative depth and unique aesthetic. However, its ambition is sometimes undercut by uneven gameplay mechanics and technical hiccups. For those who can overlook these flaws, it offers a thought-provoking exploration of societal control and the cost of manufactured happiness.

Rating: 7/10
If you’re a fan of dystopian tales and can tolerate some rough edges, We Happy Few is worth a play. It may not deliver a perfect experience, but its originality and atmosphere make it a memorable one.

Very fun and unique game. Have played through 4 times and am contemplating a 5th!

Just awful. My second attempt at playing it through but I've just decided to give up again. This time for good. Why? The game is very repetitive, the sneaking is broken and the fighting, when absolutely necessary, is useless. Also I've been trying to find some shredded raincoat for 4h so I could progress in the story but the one time I finally did, I died on my way out of the home and lost it from my inventory. I'm simply too frustrated to keep playing and had no fun playing so far anyway.

Very unique style game. I enjoyed it but there were dull and repetitive moments. There was times were I wasn't sure exactly how to progress. Still overall good.

Fantastic game. Don't play the day 1 release tho. If you can work through the bugs it's a lovely tribute to the 1960s London, the style, and the music of the era. It's all wrapped up in a Fahrenheit 451 & 1984 fever dream.


8.5/10

Also the DLCs are a must have to complete the story.
--Roger & James 10/10
--Lightbearer 8/10
--We all Fall Down 9/10

A beautiful, tedious mess of a game. Honestly great and clever story but tedious open world that is fun to my sensibilities of stupid games but I can see how most people wouldn’t like it

if you want to love life and skip happily while smelling the roses then play this game (i love this game so much im actually insane)

I wanted to like this game, but there really isn't anything here. The game reminds me of thief and dishonored. However, this game lacks the depth of story and cinematics of either game. The combat mechanics and general quality of life mechanics does not even get close to either game. This game commits the worse sin, it makes me want to play a different game.

the game is good it's a little slow in certain areas but overall it's a good game, don't listen to the people that didn't even make it past the first character portion, an don't listen to anybody that hasn't actually tried to play the game because I've seen a lot of people complaining about the baby bit but yet it's super easy because you can get a automatic feeder and you never have to go back to him again but these people don't know because they didn't actually bother to play the game and much more

love the art & design.
but not loving the gameplay & mechanics.

maybe it's not for me.
maybe i'll revisit this game later.

but not too soon.

Very creative, different style, and a lot of fun to play.

We Happy Few is a game with such an immersive world it's unbelievable! The game’s vibe and overall look are so awesome! There's this 1960s England feel you really get to experience that vibe of a post-war f-ed up society. The story is dark and really pulls you in, all about a society hooked on drugs to forget their past. The world feels very alive and full of little details that make it super immersive. I’ve been playing it on another platform and just bought it on Steam to support the developers. Loved this one and would recommend to anyone!

Fantastic Early access. Very interesting ideas and themes.
Everyone said "This looks like a Gearbox game".
Then Gearbox threw a hunting knife into a tree and made We Happy Few squeal like a piggy
Sad 3/10.

I'm so confused by some of the negative reviews here. This game is BRILLIANT and highly underrated. It's unique, completely one of a kind and the story, game play, characters, music is an incredible experience. This is actually the best game I've ever played! It has something for everyone. I could not love it and recommend it more!

We Happy Few is a must-own title for any gamer who loves survival open world titles and quality world building. It has a fascinating story of a comically-dark dystopia.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3368529832

a nice story with horrible janky gameplay that feels like garbage to play. extremely overpriced mess. the story and music is nice but there is nothing else

We Happy Few is set after an alternate ending to WWII where the English families had to send their children away to Germany for an unknown reason which led to the people of Wellington Wells inventing a drug called Joy to keep all those sad memories away, making them happy and ignorant of the real world outside their town. the story begins with Arthur and him getting a glimpse of a memory of his brother and refusing to take anymore Joy to try and remember fully what happened to him and fleeing the town to do so. along the way he meets, among others, two characters which are a part of the main story taking place once Arthur's side finishes and one character at the very start who is involved in the final DLC that brings the game to the conclusion of what happened to everyone else that stayed in Wellington Wells.

the two other main story perspectives see us play as Sally and Ollie, each with their own uniquely different playstyles that might take a bit to get used to, especially since they each have something that holds them back, something the player has to maintain and stay on top of. all three characters intertwine throughout the story and we get to see both perspectives whenever the main characters converse with one another. through them we also get to see the background story evolving, how the town and people around them are slowly becoming more and more aware of the unsustainable Joy-altering reality culminating with the final DLC and the shattering disillusioned reality. all three characters escape the town of Wellington Wells in different manners finding the unknowing future a lot brighter than the past they left behind.

there are three DLCs total revolving around three different protagonists and people around them that we all met during the main story at some point.

They Came From Below DLC is about Roger & James trying to find out what happened to dr. Faraday after she vanished. they're both entertaining during the main game but get to really shine in their own little story, letting us get to know them even better. it's a charming and quirky story that switches to FPS as we play as one of the boys fighting invading robots who have more depth to them than we're led to believe.

Lightbearer DLC is about Nick the Lightbearer, the pop idol that had quite a nasty "fall" in the main game. the story continues from there but has the feeling of it not really fitting with the rest of the game because it evolves parts of his life that feel more like reliving the past and his glory rather than what is really happening currently around town. there's a really not-so-subtle part of his story that confirms to us his "fall" was more permanent that we were left to believe and this is his way of finding peace and happiness after it. the way he plays is uniquely his style, using his guitar to charm his fans and drugs to heal up.

We All Fall Down DLC is about Victoria Byng and the definitive ending of the game. her playstyle is using her whip to defeat enemies as well as to get to higher places which feels a ton of fun. throughout her story we learn more about the history of Joy and eventual downfall of both it and the town and end up in a brutally depressing, but realistically needed, dawn of the world of We Happy few and the people of Wellington Wells.

the game has a ton of quests, both required and optional, that the player can find in both Wellington Wells and the Garden District, each quirkier than the next.
the Garden District sections are open fields with destroyed houses and streets riddled with downers, people who have become resistant to the effects of Joy and were therefore cast out.
Wellington Wells on the other hand is a civilized town that requires certain degree of civility and forced behaviour so as not to disturb the happiness of Joy users.
as the game progresses both districts of the game become progressively harder to play through, but the skill system implemented more than makes up for it by allowing certain things outside the norm. if finishing all the quests one can find then the skill tree is able to be unlocked completely, without missing out on the positives it offers. there's a wide variety of weapons that the player can either craft, loot from enemies or find amongst piles of trash, as well as healing items, gadgets and other craftable items that can make looting houses easier and a more satisfying experience.

there's also a Survival mode under Arcade which offers a sandbox experience that makes the game a lot harder than the main story without any of the quests and extra characters. the goal is to explore, loot and craft to find the bridge keycards to progress onto the next island and boat capacitors to power the boat used to escape. it's a great mode for experienced We Happy Few players especially when getting the randomized seed that makes it brutally hard without feeling punishing.

the game has a typical English humour which is always a joy, especially when the story is set in such a depressing moment in albeit altered history. every character in the game, even side characters, has a unique charm and personality that's understandable and forgivable because of their checkered past. it's a game that proposes a different outcome to one of the two most famous and brutal wars in our history and gives us a story that shows us what happens when you pretend and ignore instead of accept and move on.

Fun open world and so many quests, you'll never be bored playing

Very fun and interesting game.