Victoria's Principles

I was very disappointed in the lost potential of We Happy Few. Despite really interesting concepts, an inspired world, and some really impressive visual effects, Compulsion Games' dystopian nightmare was suffocated by frustrating gameplay, annoying bugs, and an abundance of finicky sur??vival mechanics that got in the way of an interesting story and genuinely creepy universe.

Undaunted, We Happy Few launches its final expansion next week, as bonus chapter "We All Fall Down" arrives on PC and console platforms. This chapter will see players don the bowler hat and riding boots of one of We Happy Few's villains, Victoria Byng, who is now free from the somnambulis?tic drug "Joy" and ready to take down the establishment she once enforced.

Victoria is equipped with her own weapons and abilities, including a skull-cracking whip (which can also be used to swing between the village rooftops), and a stealthier dart gun. Ironically, the press release notes that We Happy Few's crafting and survival elements will take a backseat in this DLC, perhaps offering players a loo??k at what might have been.

Despite its flaws, We Happy Few remains an interesting idea still ripe for exploration. Hopefully this isn't the last we see of the IP, as I g??enuinely?? believe there is an excellent game waiting to be unearthed from the depths of Wellington Wells and its wildly-grinning populace.

We Happy Few: We All Fall Down launches November 19 on PS4, PC and Xbox One.

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And remember, keep smiling

Compulsion Games' dystopian adventure We Happy Few launches tomorrow on various platforms, but those wis??hing to jump into the cheery world of Wellington Wells today can do so??, thanks to a free VR adventure exclusively on PlayStation VR.

Uncle Jack Live sees the player working in a propaganda television studio, where they produce the broadcasts of England's favourite celebrity, Uncle Jack. As a produ?cer for the Joy figurehead's show, players can follow the doctrine of censored news being delivered to the people, or they can mess with Uncle Jack's script in an attempt to throw him off his performance. Go fuck yourself, San Diego.

Unfortunately, there also appears to be an outbreak of Downers in the station, so players will also have to deal with those rampaging folks who just don't seem to understand that Happiness is a Choice. Uncle Jack Live also features an archive where players can watch all of We Happy Few's trailers, listen to its fantastic? soundtrack, and watch a whopping 40 episodes of Uncle Jack's show. Guaranteed to make you ??feel great about life. Or else.

Uncle Jack Live is available today free on PSVR. We Happy Few launches tomorrow on PS4, PC and Xbox One.

The post We Happy Few VR ??side-story available free?? on PlayStation VR appeared first on Destructoid.

It's nearly here

I've mostly kept out of We Happy Few's orbit since it was released a??s an Early Access game in 2016, and I'm kind of glad as its focus has changed so mu??ch that it's a completely different project. 

Originally set as a sandbox survival game it's now a linear focused story, but that whole sandbox angle is planned as a post-launch update. As announced on their blog an update will come that will add a free sandbox mode into the mix with customizable sliders. According to developer Compulsion Games "this mode will bring back the systemic sandbox world showcased in the early days of We Happy Few." A Season Pass is also confirmed with three stories in tow: Roger & James, Lightbearer, and We All Fall Down.

A a reminder Microsoft acquired Compulsion Games and announced it to the world during E3 this past June. The PS4 version is still being released later this week when the game debuts on August 10, similar to the situation when Microsoft acquired Minecraft developer Mojang in 2014.

The Season Pass! What is it? [Compulsion Games]

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Oh joy!

We Happy Few is a self-described "game of paranoia and survival, in a drugged-out, dystopian English city in 1964." Back in May, the Australian Classification Board took a look at the title and refused classification, meaning We Happy Few was effectively banned from sale in the country.

Developer Compulsion Games and publisher Gearbox sought to appeal the board's decision, and as confirmed today, We Happy Few has ??now been re-reviewed and classified at the R18+ level due to "fantasy violence and interactive drug use." It'll be available for purchase in Australia after all.

Context matters. Here's how Compulsion publicly defended the game after the original ruling:

"We Happy Few is set in a dystopian society, and the first scene consists of the player character redacting material that could cause offense to 'society at large,' as part of his job as a government 'archivist.' It's a society that is forcing its citizens to take Joy, and the whole point of the game is to reject this programming and fight back. In this context, our game's overarching social commentary is no different than Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, or Terry Gilliam's Brazil."

It's reassuring to see this sorted out. If We Happy Few hadn't been classified, Compulsion w?ould've offered r??efunds. With Kickstarter involved in the game's funding, that would've been a whole mess.

We Happy Few coming to Australia [Compulsion Games]

The post We Happy Few will release in Australia after all appeared first on Destructoid.

Also, Microsoft bought developer Compulsion Games

After wowing people with its reveal last year and losing some steam along the way, Compulsion Games is looking to rekindle interest in the tripped-out 1960s England survival adventure We Happy Few. The 1.0 release is set for August 10, 2018 wi??th "over twenty hours of narrative-driven gameplay added."

The post We Happy Few hits PC, PS4, and Xbox One this Augu?st appeared first on Destructoid.

This involves Kickstarter refunds, unfortunately

It's fascinating that a government's intervention can have all sorts of repurcussions for a game that's already been publi??cly known for three years, has been Kickstarted, in Early Access, and was all set to go, but here we are.

As a result of Australia refusing to classify We Happy Few, and this banning its sale in the region, develper Compulsion Games is scrambling to respond. They've noted that they're "looking into it" and are appealing the decision, but in the meantime in addition to "sharing frustration,??" the company ?is also looking into the whole refund thing -- especially for Kickstarter backers.

Compulsion notes that if Australia doesn't back down that they'll "make sure" the impacted folks get a refund, and will work with backers to "figu??re something out." In this globalized era where someone can spoof regional locations and easily buy media anywhere in the world, it's so weird to see something effectively banned like this -- almost like it's out of a dystopian work of fiction.

We Happy Few in Australia [Compulsion Games]

The post We Happy Few refused classification in Australia, developer ‘looking into it’ appeared first on Destructoid.

Downer?

Sometimes you have to take a step back to take two steps forward. We Happy Few, a game that's almost finally finished, needs just a little more time for devel?oper Compulsion Games to get everything jus??t right.

In a video update today (embedded above), Compulsion announced that We Happy Few is content complete, meaning that all of the narrative and gameplay stuff is done. But, i??t's delaying from April 2018 to summer 2018 because the developer isn't happy with the first few hours of the game.

We Happy Few's story takes place ove??r the course of three different characters' arcs. As Compulsion explains, the studio isn't happy with how Arthur's arc plays out (sounds like someone hasn't been taking their Joy pills). As such, Compulsion is taking a few extra months to rearrange those story moments so that everything moves in a more engaging way.

Simultaneous to this update, Compulsion and publisher Gearbox have made an interesting business decision. Back in August, the Early Access price of We Happy Few was raised from $30 to $51. Compulsion reasoned that this was the expected pric??e of the final game. Fans responded that $51 is too much for an unfinished title.

Now, Compulsion is offering a refund to anyone who bought the game on Steam regardless of how long they've played it. Additionally, starting on February 1, there won't be an option to pre-purchase We Happy Few on Steam until much closer to launch. Compulsion says this decision was made because "We won't be offering any additional E??arly Access updates beyond August's 'Life in Technicolour,' [and] we think having this labeled Early Access and charging the price of a larger g??ame caused more confusion than we had hoped."

Big day for We Happy Few -- a delay and a new refund ??policy. Both in-game and out, Compulsion's whole routine ??is trying to keep people happy.

Production Update and Story Teaser [Steam]

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Have you taken your Joy today?

Compulsion Game's We Happy Few will still be sitting pretty in ear?ly access until April of 2018. That isn't s?topping the game from releasing some cool looking collectible figures.

An action figure of the title's primary foes, th??e Bobbies, will be released in April of 2018, set to re??tail for $19.99. It'll release alongside the game.

We Happy Few Bobby Action Figure Coming To Oppress Your Other Action Figures - //t.co/Z6RYJsb6Hh pic.twitter.com/MywZnbWO1j

— Game Informer (@gameinformer) September 25, 2017

It's a shame that the early access gameplay of We Happy Few never really clicked for me. The game is con??ceptually pretty cool, with the look and feel of the world being right up my alley.

This Bobby figure would also be pretty good to have around. Someone has to make sure He-Man gets his daily dosage of Joy. We Happy Few exits ear???ly access on PC, Xbox One, and PS4 on April 13, 2018.

We Happy Few Bobby action figure coming to oppress your other?? action figures [Game Informer]

The post We Happy Few’s Bobby action figure coming to keep the downers down appeared first on Destructoid.

Launching on April 13

We Happy Few is set to face a new reality, one where it's a multi-console game. After s??pending two years as an Xbox One console exclusive (and also on PC), developer Compulsion Games announced today that it's branching out to PlaySta?tion 4.

The platform hopping is just one of many significant We Happy Few developments to come to light today. It has also been revealed that Gearbox Publishing has signed the game. This is just the sixth title that Gearbox has published; its other five games are: Homeworld Remastered Collection, Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak, Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour, Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition, and Fortnite (which it's co-publishing with Epic).

Gearbox's role in all of this, besides marketing We Happy Few, will likely be to help bring the game to the finish line. The "Life in Technicolour" update launched today for the early access versions on PC and Xbox One. After this, there won't be anymore updates until We Happy Few releases on April 13, 2018.

It sounds as if there's still a significant amount of work to do because Compulsion has increased the scope of We Happy Few. The developer says the full version of the game will contain three playable characters and more ??than 250 encounters. In a press release, Compulsion calls this "a much grander vision."

Somewhat buried among all this news is that today marks the moment when We Happy Few is hit with a sizable price hike. Previously, people could purchase the early access/preview program version for $30; that's gone now, as the price has increased to $60 for both digital and physical editions. A silver lini?ng is that most pre-orders are subject to a 15 percent discount, which dr?ops it to $51.

Much like the story it's telling, We Happy Few has kind of existed in an optimistic state where the safety net of early access made for wishful thinking. Things got real today. We Happy Few is set to release in eight months and that's when w?e'll get an uninhibited look at what this game is made of.

The post We Happy Few is coming to PS4 now and it’s being published by Gearbox appeared first on Destructoid.

It's still in Early Access

It's not uncommon for Steam Early Access games to raise their price once they're ready for full release. In the case of the tripped-up survival title We Happy Few, though, I had to do a double take. It's $29.99 right now, but come August 16, it's going to cost $50.99. If you've been on the fence, t?ime to get off!

This increased price coincides with a significant update dubbed?? Life in Technicolour that adds "new Joy effects as well as a brand new UI (still WIP), AI rework, and much more." Full details will be available when it goes live next week,?? but for now, this is mostly just a heads-up about the price.

"We will explain everything in more detail on the 16th," said Compulsion Games. "As you can imagine, there is more to the story, and we are looking forward to sharing all the juicy details with you. We always do our best to be transparent with you guys, so we felt it was important to provide this?? pricing information with ample time for you to make a decision."

I always liked the look of this game, but descriptions of what it was like to actually play put me off. Well that, and my general "Be wary of survival games in Early Access ?no matter how cool they look" rule.

Weekl?y Journal - August update date and?? price heads up [Compulsion Games]

The post Starting next week, We Happy Few will cost $50.99 appeared first on Destructoid.

Joy?

We Happy Few is the title of an upcoming dystopian drug-addled video game, but it's also a phrase that could describe the audiences of video game movies. Films based on gaming properties have a well-deserved reputation for sucking, the exceptions being far to??o rare to undo that perception.

Maybe though, just maybe, We Happy Few can do something to chisel away at that mindset. According to a report from Variety, Gold Circle Films and dj2 Entert??ainment have partnered to produce ??the film adaption. No names have yet been attached to the project.

What We Happy Few has going for it is an honest-to-goodness lack of expectations. Video game movies often fall flat because they can't measure up to the memories players hold dear from when they first experienced Doom or Assassin's Creed or World of Warcraft or Street Fighter&nbs?p;or? [insert literally any game that's good but movie that's bad here].

We Happy Few has none of that going for it because it's not even a complete dang game yet. It's still in beta on PC and in the preview program on Xbox One. Instead, it's the ideas and themes that the producers will try to transfer to film, a direction that affords itself a hell of a lot more creative license. We still don't know how We Happy Few will turn out as a video?? game, and for that ??reason it probably stands a better chance at being a decent movie.

"We Happy Few?" Videogame Getting Movie Adaption (Exclusive) [Variety]

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Ode to No Joy

When it took the stage at Microsoft's E3 presentation this year, Compulsion Games' We Happy Few was easily one of th??e most intriguing titles of the show, promising a trippy story set in the drug-addled English township of Wellington Wells. As such, I was rather excited to take on the task of previewing the game with a press-acces??s build we received. 

Cut to today, and while I'm not exactly chuffed that We Happy Few is a far different game than the one that I was initially expecting (maybe I should've read Ben's take first), it has been a pleasant surprise??, even if it isn't quite ready for prime time.

To be fair, the game feelin?g half-done is entirely expected. The current build released to Steam E?arly Access and the Xbox One Preview Program is missing roughly half of its planned content, including the three-character story mode that caught so much attention at E3.

That in mind, I can't recommend anyone who was hoping for the next BioShock pick up the game at this point in time. For that matter, the rough edges and very "alpha quality" of this ver?sion would be a tough sell for anyone not prepared to play a decidedly unfinished game. This is no thinly disguised premium demo, folks, so keep that in mind before you buy.

Thos??e who do take the plunge, however, get to faff about in one of the most attractive survival games I've yet seen, one that's already setting itself apart thanks to its key twist.

That twist, if you've been paying attention, is Joy. It's a pill that every resident of Wellington Wells has to pop on the regular, in order to stay hopped-up enough to not remember the Very Bad Thing they did in the past, during an apparent German Occupation of England some years back. Your character is a "Downer," one of the un-happy few that have gone o??ff their meds, and in doing so pose so much of a threat to the status quo that they're hunted do??wn mercilessly.

Joy is the key to doing what needs to be done in Wellington Wells, as most major activities and quests require you to get out of your Downer ghetto and infiltrate the town proper, where you must act properly baked out of your goddamn skull or else be brutally murdered. The addition of this "social steal?th" adds a new, intriguing dimension to otherwise by-the-numbers survival game mechanics, as well as facilitating a mode of play beyond the usual scavenge-and-craft rhythm that -- let's be honest -- isn't all that different from what else is available in any number of survival titles currently available (especially if you're on PC). 

The downside here is that the unfinished state of the game means that those by-the-numbers survival game mechanics are pretty much the only thing really in the game at the moment, and without the additional hook of the narrative, or the polish needed to make the social stealth elements really shine (currently it's quite hard to figure out just how the AI sees through your behavior or not, making infiltration a roll of the dice more than a coherent strategy), We Happy Few is a pretty,?? but tedio??us and repetitive in anything approaching a long stretch.

For one, the survival aspects, particularly the bog-standard meters to measure hunger, fatigue, and thirst, aren't balanced too well, yet. At the moment my character loses water and food so quickly that I have to wonder if he's part-sieve, which puts a damper on most activities.?? The need to return to your safehouse to sleep also puts more limits on your travel range. Questing in the procedurally generated landscape makes for a lot of aimless wandering, as well, so you'll waste even more time tracking? back and forth looking for the resources you need to craft a needed item.

Of course, that's to be expected since the game is unfinished, so it doesn't feel right to pass judgment at this very early stage. And for what it's worth, what's there has stuck with me much more than pretty much every other survival game that I've tried. The need to blend into social situations through behavior reminds me of the more fun parts about playing DayZ (i.e. trying to get along with dangerous strangers who can murder you at any time), and the promise of the game's story mode (the gloriously disturbing intro is in the ??early access build) is enough to get my hopes up for the full release, which is due sometime next year.

Until then, though, it??'s best to hold off and wait.

The post We Happy Few puts a new face on survival, but it’s not ready for its close-up yet appeared first on Destructoid.

'We got a downer!'

Compulsion Games' We Happy Few was demoed live on the Xbox E3 stage today, and it still looks really great. It has this dark,? dystopian, drug-addled vibe about it -- a place that world that seems like an uncomfortable joy to be immersed in. The video hasn't been uploade?d yet, but there's a fantastic pinata scene that's worth watching.

The subtle news out of the presentation is that We Happy Few is slightly delayed. It was set for a June 2016 release, but we got word that an Xbox game preview is coming on?? July 26. Also, it's "first to console" then, meaning that a ??simultaneous PC launch is very likely. We'll surely hear more about this one in the near future.

The post We Ha??ppy Fe?w is slightly delayed, still looks amazing appeared first on Destructoid.

I laughed, I cringed, I gasped in horror

??If everybody was super happy all the time, the world would be a better place, right? But what if that happin??ess was forced upon society in the form of a drug? Things may not actually be as pleasant as they seem.

Compulsion Games' We Happy Few takes place in 1960s dystopian England. Most people get by on Joy, a drug that induces happiness. Those who do not take Joy are known as Downers. You are a Downer, and as such, you are cast out of the village and sent to a place with others like yourself, who are similarly psychotic. The story, complete with fully voiced cutscenes and plenty of lore to glean from the surroundings, is heavily inspired by the novel 1984, and the film Brazil, both of which explore similar themes.

For the most part, the world of the game is procedurally generated, with the exception of some story-related set pieces. The layout of towns will be different for each player, but the goals are the same. You must escape the city by any means n??ecessary: avoiding suspicion, blending in with others, resorting to violence, or whatever else you wish to do. If you trust the strange characters you encounter, then you can follow through with their instructions and see what happens. Otherwi??se, feel free to ignore them and do your own thing to see how that works out. Choice is perhaps the most important component at play here.

Even simple things like disarming traps can come with a lot of choices. Take the tripwires, for example; there are special tools which can disable them, but if those tools are nowhere to be found, there are alternative methods such as chucking some trash around to set off the tripwires from a safe distance, or if you're feeling skilled enough, you could simply jump over or crawl under them (provided you are not as cl?umsy about it as I was). I may or may not have set off an embarrassing amou?nt of tripwires, severely injuring myself while the developers assured me that I could, in fact, jump over them.

The most fun to be had comes from interacting with?? your fellow humans. People seem friendly enough at first, and they might just stay that way depending on how you treat them. But cross them even once, and they could become quite aggressive. Luckily, there are plenty of objects at your disposal to deal with unruly citizens.

With a bit of exploration, you'll eventually acquire an impressive arsenal of interesting weapons. These can range from lead pipes and electrified clubs to crazy things like vomit bombs, which will cause anyone in the vicinity to begin retching uncontrollably, allowing you to pass by unnoticed. Other items might cause people to become ?rabidly aggressive and begin attacking each other. My favorite was an item called Dick the Naughty Duck, a deceptively cute toy duck that attracts the attention of passersby, leading them away before exploding in their faces.

Or, if you don't wish to fight anymore, there are other options to deal with dangerous folk. Perhaps you could try sitting down at a bench and opening up a newspaper, pretending a??s though you never started any trouble at all and hoping your enemies will just pass right o?n by.

Aside from weapons, there are many other items to help manage your various stats, such as health, hunger, thirst, fatigue, and so forth. Everything you pick up is stored in a case with limited space, and can be rearranged to fit more in, in a manner similar to Resident Evil 4.

More items can be obtained through crafting after recipes are learned by reading books. You can even find those Joy pills you detest so much. Pop one of those bad boys, and the world will become noticeably brighter as you walk around ?with a skip in your step to a jaunty tune, waving at all the ??smiling people you pass by.

Everything I came across during the demo piqued my curiosity and made me want to learn more about this strange place. There's an interesting mix of sickly cheerful and depressingly grim themes throughout. One moment I'm disposing of a suicide victim's body, and the next I'm cruising down a colorful street full of smiling people jumping in puddles like children. Do I join in on their jovial behavior, or bash their heads in right then and there? Somehow, either option sounds equally appe??aling.

There are so many strange and interesting things to discover in We Happy Few, but I wouldn't want to spoil too mu??ch of it. A lot of the joy I? found came from testing things out to see what kind of havoc I could create, or how I could get myself out of trouble.

While a solid release date is yet to be decided, We Happy Few should be coming to Steam Early?? Access and the Xbox Game Preview program later this year.

The post We Happy Few is a roller coaster of? creepy vibes and eccentric humor appeared first on Destructoid.

So good

ID@Xbox head Chris Charla ended his segment of Microsoft's gamescom press conference by calling We Happy Few "one of the creepiest games in recent memory." Look at that trailer. He's not w?rong. It's not exactly fe??el-good material.

Xbox One users are going to get a head-start on getting creeped out. We Happy Few is going to be on Microsoft's console first. It's not clear whether it's just a timed-exclusive as far as oth??er consoles go and it'll hit PC at the same time. Whatever gets us playing this game as soon as possible, man.

The post We Happy Few is coming to Xbox?? One first, m?y fair lady appeared first on Destructoid.

Thank Joy for him

ScrewAttack Gaming Convention is going on right now, and some news relevant to longtime Destructoid readers has come out of it. Our old pal Jim Sterling put on Jimquisition Live there, and he made a few announcements during the panel. For those who missed it, Sterling put out an informative tweet to get people up to speed.

Chief among the announcements is his involvement with Compulsion Games' We Happy Few. He will be joining the voice cast in a currently unknown role. Sterling has done voice work in the past,?? but Compulsion's open-world survival title might be the highest profile game he has been involved with.

Coupled with the We Happy Few news is the announcement that an original game is being developed for mobile devices called Jim Sterling's Licensed Game Adventure. The full panel should be available to view online soon at The Jimquisition.

The post Jim Sterling doing voice work for Compulsion’s We Happy Few appeared first on Destructoid.

Definitely not creepy

It's getting late. Have you applied the minty paste to the exposed p??art of your skeleton? If so, let good old Unc??le Jack read you a bedtime story. It will be fun! You won't hav??e nightmares. Probably.

One of the neat things about We Happy Few is the inclusion of the live ac?tion? recording of the fictional television icon Uncle Jack. In the dystopian world, his broadcasts play in real time and can be viewed on any of the many screens around town. He's probably very charming for those hopped up on Joy, but he comes off as unsettling to any party poopers like the protagonist.

Developer Compulsion Games has recorded 32 episodes like the one above, and it has set a few stretch goals for bonus episodes. The Kickstarter campaign for We Happy Few is looking solid; it currently has about 93% pledged of its roughly $200,000 goal with a week left in the run. It won't be setting any records, but it should mak??e it??s base funding goal without much trouble.

The post Let We Happy Few’s Uncle Jack tuck you into bed tonight appeared first on Destructoid.

Pre-alpha access to higher backers

We Happy Few grabbed us with its announcement trailer, but it wasn't until PAX East this year that I got to run through an early build. I had to literally run, because the crazed inhabitants of Wellington Wells kept chasing me with malicious looks in their eyes and those creepy plaste??red-on smiles. I ended by jumping out of a high window and d??ying. Good times.

Compulsion's psychedelic, procedurally generated survival game is now up on Kickstarter ??with a base funding goal of $201,353. Backers at $60 CAD or above (about $48 USD) will gain access to what PAX East attendees had for a few sho?rt days in Boston: a pre-alpha version of the game.

To help kick off the crowdfunding campaign, Compulsion will be streaming We Happy Few starting at 9:30 Pacific time.

The post Compulsion’s We Happy Few Kickstarter is live appeared first on Destructoid.

Happy, happy, joy, joy!

For a while, the general aesthetic in games was dark and grimy, with muted colors to convey dismal feelings. The more recent counterculture of color was welcomed, bringing happiness back to the medium. But a funny thing happens when colorful palettes are taken a?? step too far. Add too many big smiles, bright eyes, and soothing pastels, and the mood turns from joyful to creepy.

We Happy Few cashes in on this uncanny area past whimsy. Its world i??s so bright that it feels alien. Indeed, behind the vivid color of Compulsion's newest creation is a dark place. It may be pretty, but it is eerier than any run-down mansion on a stormy night.

Compulsion was fairly tight-lipped on the story of We Happy Few, but did g?ive a few details to get me started. It takes place in a dystopian city on an island, where everybody exists in a constant state of euphoria thanks to a drug called Joy. At least, everybody except the player, who finds himself to be the only lucid person among the smiling drones.

The goal is to find a means and an opportunity off the island, but neither is clear from the outset. Without much obvious direction, the more immedi??ate concern is survival. The player has a few meters to keep track of, including hunger and thirst. Eating and drinking keep those at safe levels, but finding supplies is the tricky part.

O?r it's one of the tricky parts. Another thing to consider is that the government laces the town's water supply with Joy. It sets up a sort of push and pull, where drinking too little causes dehydration and drinking ?too much will put a lot of the upper into the player's system. This has some beneficial gameplay effects like increased stamina, but comes with a hard crash after a while. Overdosing can cause the player to black out and lose a day entirely.

Past basic need management, there are other supplies to be found in the world of We Happy Few, many of which can be crafted into more interesting items like lockpic??ks or weaponry. Fighting isn't always the best option; stealth is often ?preferable.

The interesting thing about We Happy Few's stealth is that it isn't about skulking in the shadows, but about blending in with the population. Walking down the street in broad daylight will garner no suspicion from the locals, but ?loitering in one spot for too long or sprinting will. I could almost imagine my character passing others with exaggerated arm movements and a forced smile just to avoid any second glances.

There is a planned day/night cycle?, with different events occurring at different times throughout the day. I was not able to see that in my time with the game, because I jumped out of a third?? floor window and broke my legs in a botched escape attempt before the day could turn to night.

It seems like it's meant to be a fairly short but replayable game,?? because the team at Compulsion is putting some effort into procedural generation for the city. Though the overarching story and player goals will remain the same from run to run, individual playthroughs may yield different buildings or events, and the layout of the city will always change after the player dies. Creative Dude Guillaume Provost didn't use the word "roguelike," but it did seem to lean in that direction.

Combat in the preview build was mostly melee-based, with angry Joy addicts coming at me with skillets and cricket bats. Unlike the crafting and stealth systems, straight combat didn't feel par??ticularly deep, but I didn't have enough time or resources to create any of the cool toys that were available in the menu.

Compulsion has already nailed the atmosphere for We Happy Few. As? it turns out, there are some cool ideas for a game under that too, and the way the gameplay and the narrative interact via the unique stealth system is a great touch. It certainly needs some more time to fully flesh out the ideas laid out, but so far this looks like one to watch.

The post We Happy Few’s bright exterior hides a dark secret appeared first on Destructoid.

New game from the studio behind Contrast

The creepy masked woman teasing Compulsion's new game was a start. Now there's an announcement trailer -- one of the best in recent memory -- and a name: We Happy Few.

"Set in a drug-fueled, retrofuturistic city in an alternative 1960s England, you'll have to blend in with its other inhabitants, who don't take kindly to people who d?on't abide by their not-so-normal rules." Strong premise. Hopefully there will be equally strong gameplay to back it up.

The studio says it is showing We Happy Few in a "way, way earlier" state than its last project, the shadowy platformer Contrast, in an effort to hear "great ideas" from the community before this next title is released, not after. "Starting at PAX, we're going to be opening up development to people who want to get involved. This means getting people playing the ?game early on, and pushing out constant content updates based on community feedba??ck."

I didn't play Contrast, but if the intrigue holds, I'm down for We Happy Few.

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