Once again the creativity gets to shine with great character design, embracing the swinging 1960’s tone mixed with the sort of strange cartoon world of the towns. We Happy Few looks great though and it comes with a lovely bit of a Bioshock vibe to it. That said, lengthy loading screens – especially those that kick in mid-action – can be a pain. It does get a bit glitchy at times though, but never enough to see the enjoyment spoiled.
If things do go wrong, the combat works well enough too, with some great use of unusual weapons from a cricket bat to electrical stick. It’s slightly tedious and in the end, I would just run, hoping that I could get away from the hordes of enemies following me. There is also a night-time curfew that grinds the experience down to a halt, leaving you to have to sneak around trying not to be seen. The bobbies who are looking for you, and the joy meter that is utilised are somewhat confusing, bordering slightly on the annoying at times. All this is fine and dandy, but there are bits that feel a bit jumbled and not quite right. They are all very varied and diverse in what they ask you to do, rewarding you with skills points and upgrades as you progress by completing missions and tasks.
The best moments occur as you move around this world, picking up items, and solving the main quest line and then the host of interesting mini quests you find along the way. Played in the first person with a heady mix of exploration, gathering items, crafting, survival skill utilisation and combat, it does at times feel like there’s just too much going on. Gameplay wise and we have a definite mixture of highs and lows. The tone and overall arc of the piece is a dark one with some quite heavy moments, but mostly it has a humorous tone with a slightly Black Mirror edge to it. I love the character of Arthur and his very English apologetic manner when knocking someone out or getting out of breath after running from danger. The writing is of an absolutely magnificent standard with great characters, sharp dialogues and plenty of stories. The story, narrative, writing and world building is where this game excels, delivering a number of high points as it demonstrates moments of excellence, imagination, and innovation. I was intrigued, but worried about what was to come… After this story-driven first part, you’re dropped into an open world village where it all becomes an experience focused on survival based mechanics and timed events. I loved the first half hour or so as it told an entertaining and intriguing story about a newspaper worker who refuses to take the mysterious drug ‘joy”, seeing the reality of the world in front of him – one that is not good.
WE HAPPY FEW XBOX SERIES X FULL
I first encountered We Happy Few way back in 2016 when it launched in Game Preview format, sitting there for a couple more years before being deemed fit for full release. We Happy Few is one of those games, one that has seen me bewildered, excited and, at times, a little bit sad. But there are other, slightly rarer experiences that surprise you at every corner, and just when you think you have things right in your head, they pull you in another strange direction and turn your thoughts upside down. There are some games in which you know what to expect from the first five minutes and that viewpoint doesn’t change or alter eight hours later.
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