We Happy Few

We Happy Few’s focus on story over survival is a good choice, and at its best when dropping bombshells of truth that the drugged people of Wellington Wells have tried so hard to ignore. In its Early Access, I felt like wandering between procedurally-generated islands to stay alive wasted the intriguing setting and premise of its opening act.

For $60 I needed to see more quality, and instead became overloaded with quantity. Despite the game’s shortcomings, I am excited for the season pass, which promises to explore more characters and take a deeper dive into the world. Hopefully we’ll also be treated to a smattering of patches to add more polish to the experience. In its launch state, however, We Happy Few pleases the eyes and ears, but much like the fictional drug it features, the Joy is great… until it wears off.

Precisely because the story and the world stunned me so much, I can forgive it for some of the more technical issues that popped up here and there. A wonky framerate, cookie cutter NPCs - I must have seen the same little old lady a hundred times - and animation glitches were all dotted through my hours and hours (and hours) of gameplay, but at worst they were a distraction, a tiny pinch on the arm from the real world.