Kickstarter Shout-out: We Happy Few



Are you feeling down? Did you do something incredibly horrible that you wish to forget? Want to be eerily chipper while wearing a painted-on mask? I mean, you don’t want to be a downer, do you? Well, why not help back today’s Kickstarter Shout-out, We Happy Few, a first-person narrative survival game made by  Compulsion Games, the creators of Contrast. Now then, shall we take a trip and be happy?



The game is set in a dystopian city in England in an alternate history of 1964 called Wellington Wells. Basically, something happened after the Germans took over a majority of England, and a lot of the city around you is in ruins. Everyone in the town was a part of this really bad event. However, you wouldn’t get that feeling since everyone in Wellington Wells, is, well, well. This is due to a miracle drug called Joy. The residents take it, and act like everything is Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah. Unfortunately, you are not like them. You play as a downer, an individual that isn’t taking the Joy drug. It is your job to find out what happened many years ago without getting spotted or killed. I really like the set-up for this game. In a flooded vile sea of first-person games with zombies and prepaid Unity assets, it’s refreshing to see something more unique in terms of first-person survival games.



We Happy Few is a first-person narrative survival game with a few twists. Each time you die or beat the game, the world will randomize itself so each experience will be different from the last. Instead of avoiding zombies or other unoriginal creatures that are in so many first-person survival games, you will need to avoid the townsfolk. No one likes a downer, and if you happen to be one, well, they are going to bring a beating with them. Instead of sneaking around the whole city like Solid Snake, you will need to blend in. Don’t do anything to stand out, and make sure you interact with everyone. However, be careful of certain civilians in the town because they might put you in quite a pickle. You can play this game by either blending in without raising suspicion, fight, or take the Joy pill. Just don’t overdose on Joy.



I love the graphics and art style in this game. It has personality, and the character designs remind me of something from Dishonored and Bioshock Infinite. It’s realistic, but has a cartoony stylized edge to it. The music is being composed by a company called Signal Space, who have worked on music and sounds for games like Civilization V and Deus Ex. The music is a mixture of perky 60s pop, and lounge. It helps bring this fully realized world together. It’s nice to see this developer go the extra mile with the presentation, so you can feel as immersed as possible in the game’s quirky world.



I will be interviewing the developer in the future. As always, be on the lookout for the interview. I really love this Kickstarter. The team behind it already has experience with making a game, and the overall look and feel of the game is unique. If you love surreal worlds, and want something different with your first-person survival games, then you should take some of that Joy, be happy, and feel like a room without a roof. The game’s funding goal in US currency is over $200K. Currently, they are over $107K as of June 2015. Congrats, Compulsion Games, We Happy Few gets my Kickstarter Shout-out!

(If you want to support this project, go to this link!)

 

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