"We Happy Few" made a few waves last year, although it was still in early access. The dystopian survival horror game was financed on Kickstarter and will surely be in line to receive a big increase in content because of it being picked up by Gearbox Publishing.
'Brave New World' meets Bioshock
"We Happy Few" is a strange little game to explain. Aesthetically, it is similar to "BioShock", with a really colorful visual design and the 1960s setting. It attempts to create that same unsettling atmosphere that is associated with that series.
In terms of plot, Compulsion Games' clearly know their dystopian novels, especially "brave new world" and "1984".
Set in 1964, the story follows an alternate timeline which saw Germany winning World War II. To be precise, they launched their final solution plan a few years earlier, leading to disastrous results. In the aftermath, a new country rose known as the Aryan Union, which went on to successfully capture Great Britain.
As the Union occupied Britain, this resulted in the spread of chemical contamination due to some experiments that went wrong. This brings us to Wellington Wells, a city which was forced to do something truly terrible. Unable to cope with their guilt, the civilians developed a drug called Joy, which suppresses these negative emotions in favor of bliss and ignorance.
With nearly everyone using the drug, Wellington Wells turned into a dystopian society, with the drug users constantly wearing white masks to show that they are happy.
The city is completely isolated from the rest of the world, leading to some incredible technological advancement, similar to "BioShock".
Players control Arthur Hastings, a newspaper reporter whose job is to make sure only happy stories make it to the papers. One day, he discovers an old newspaper clipping about a disastrous event that happened long ago.
Arthur decides to not take the pills in favor of remembering what really happened, which ends up reversing his distorted world view. Before he knows it, he is Wellington Wells' most wanted outlaw.
Price will be increased to $60
As Gearbox are publishing "We Happy Few", the indie game will now be priced at $60 but should feature a substantial increase in content and production value. The game will be available to purchase on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
As to not neglect their Kickstarter backers, they will receive the full game and, perhaps, even some DLC.
