We Happy Few – Prologue review

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Title: We Happy Few
Developer: Compulsion Games
Publisher: KaleidoGames
Website: https://compulsiongames.com/en/10/we-happy-few
Genre: Action adventure
Platform: Windows, Xbox One and PS4
Audience: Fans of action-adventure games
Price: £54.99 on the Xbox Store.

I first played this game back in July 2016, when it was released as an early access title.  I remember at the time, thinking how weird and strange the game was.  Obviously, I mean weird and strange in a good way.  The game left you wanting to learn more and asking many questions.

With the release of the full game, hopefully, these questions will be answered.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlStNvR2fY4]

The following is just my review of the introduction of the game.  I will be posting a full review when I have finished the game.

Introduction

The titles introduce you to a bright, technicolour world filled with rainbows and happy people dancing and smiling from ear to ear, literally.  The soundtrack sounds like a Beatles song and has you humming along cheerfully.

You’re made to make a big decision right at the start of the game, do you take joy or do you remember? I decided to remember. This led to my character throwing his suspicious-looking happy pills onto the floor. Calls of “Arthur, Arthur” can be heard in the background.

In through the door walks a strange, slightly intimidating lady, asking what you’ve been up to and she suspiciously asks if you’ve forgotten to take your joy. The strange looking lady threateningly tells me not to be too long and to join them in the conference room for a party. She proudly announces that they’ve even got a piñata.

You’re then given the option of accepting or censoring newspaper articles. There are no reasons given as to why you should censor the articles or not, however, during the loading screen it does say that “happy people have no past“. I decided to censor anything that could be construed as bad news. I decide to accept the happy news, and then a voice-over is heard saying “A happy society is built on a happy past.” Already, it’s obvious that someone, or something, wants you to forget the real past.

I complete a few more newspaper articles before my power cell runs out and then I get up and explore my surroundings a bit more. My office looks like a 1960s show home. I notice that there’s an employee of the year certificate on the wall. The time is 4:20, but I don’t know if this is am or pm.  The calendar on the desk states that it is Friday 9th October 1964.

Out of the window is a strange statue of what looks like a lion eating an eagle. Union Jacks adorn the buildings, and there’s another famous symbol of London, the red bus.

There are British symbols everywhere, crowns and Union Jacks.

As I walk out of my office, I notice a room named Inter-network which has some old computers, and lots of shoots with canisters flying around in. Where are they going?

Walking through the corridors feels very much like walking through the vaults in Fallout.

I enter the office of a Clive Birtwhistle. A note drops to the floor as I open the door. The office is very messy, and there appears to be a smashed bottle of gin and what looks like water marks on the wall. Or could it be blood?

On the floor is a warning, telling visitors to the office that it is a restricted area.  Why?  I hope to find out later.

“The little shit. He wants my view!”  There’s a poster on the wall with a picture of Arthur that has been graffitied all over. Why does Clive dislike me? Is it jealousy?

Continuing my journey through the corridors, I examine a door and see that the name Prudence Holmes has been covered over. As I enter, I can hear flies buzzing around, always an ominous sound, and there’s a basket of rotten fruit on a trolley with welcome back cards around it.

There’s a summer holiday collage on the wall, and Arthur says to himself “why did you go?” “you’re not coming back are you?”  I am left asking myself, “Who’s prudence and where has she been?”

There are some certificates on the wall which shows that she must be, or must have been, a loved/respected member of staff.

A clue as to the time frame of this mystery is found on her desk, Wednesday 2nd September 1964.

Next up on this magical, mystery tour is the office of Hopkin Jones. He’s smiling happily at me through the windows, when suddenly, a somewhat sinister-looking man, dressed in a black coat and wearing one of those freaky masks, walks towards the windows and closes the blinds, stopping me from looking inside. I instinctively try to open the door to see what’s going on, but it’s jammed.

Entering Prudence’s office and approaching the office of Hopkin, the screen changes to a sort of blue tint. Are these real-time events or is it a sort of flashback? I’m sure I’ll find out sooner rather than later…

I make my way down the corridor and come to an office.  There are piles and piles of what look like newspapers, strewn all over each desk.  Something has obviously stopped the workforce from doing their jobs.

A video can be heard, coming from outside, of a man who looks like a Doctor.  He is wearing one of the smile masks and is spewing out propaganda of sorts.

From what I could make out, he is talking about people putting a lime in their drinks and not eating two vegetables!  I’m sure it’ll make sense later in the game…

Finally, I arrive at the Conference Room. It’s here that the most disturbing scene of the prologue takes place.

There a couple of people, all wearing the weird masks, and they appear to be celebrating the birthday of someone called Deirdre.  They’re all very joyful and are very excited about the piñata on the table.

The partygoers insist that I take a go at hitting the piñata, to make the “sweets” come out.  Upon hitting the piñata, I see blood splatting everywhere, and spleen and sinew spew everywhere, instead of sweets.  As I wretch at the sight, It becomes apparent that I’m the only one who notices the blood and guts.  They discover that I haven’t been taking my joy and that I’m what they call a ‘downer’.  With this, an alarm is sounded, and I run out of the room, blocking the door with a broom.

Making my way over filing cabinets and under desks, I find myself blocked off by two men, who appear to be Policemen, although the law that they are upholding seems totally opposite to the law that I am aware of.

The policemen chase me down the corridor, and I am backed into a stairwell which I consequently fall down.  I pick myself up and continue to run through a tunnel.  I come to a door, which is locked, and I am cornered by the baseball bat-wielding Policemen.  I grab a pipe off the wall in my panic. However, it is too late, and I am struck down.

I wake up a little while later, in the same tunnel, and standing by the same door.  Now the story really begins…

Conclusion

This was indeed a really exciting and gripping start to the game, and it certainly left me wanting to explore the world of Wellington Wells.  I’m sure that I’m in for quite the trip.

Rapid Reviews Rating (So far!):  Yeah, yeah, yeah!!

Keep an eye out for my full review.