We Happy Few

We Happy Few is an adventure-type computer game launched by a Canadian independent studio Compulsion Games. This is a combination of the elements of a psychological thriller, survival simulator and roguelike. We Happy Few uses the Unreal Engine 4 and the full version of the game was released on August 10, 2018.

The events place in a dystopian city of Wellington Wells, a place where citizens take psychotropic drugs and are forbidden to feel sad. The main protagonist Arthur Hastings works as a so-called editor in an organization called Ministry of Truth and his duty is to cut out the unhappy articles from the newspapers, magazines, and other documentation. The story begins at the moment when Arthur stumbles on the note about the tragedy that happened with his brother among these materials. Due to the personal involvement in a global situation, Arthur realizes that there is an awful truth to discover about the illusory world he used to live in before.

Characters

• Arthur Hastings (the main character) – a newspaper clerk, who becomes a rebel and tries to leave the city after discovering that the usual world lives in a dystopian nightmare;
• Julian Casey (Uncle Jack) – an unfathomable figure, who transmits a childish TV show to the city dwellers to allay their anxieties.

Gameplay

The main aim is to leave the city of Wellington Wells. The city dwellers take psychotropic drugs and suspect that Arthur doesn’t, therefore they attack him. The player has an option to take drugs to avoid confrontations, however, there is a risk that Arthur will forget about his mission because of their effect.

If the character dies, there is an opportunity to load a previous save. The city map is not fixed but generated for each new game. The location is divided into numerous districts with different customs and architecture. A player may hide from the enemies or fight with them.