We Happy Few

 PlayStation 4
User Score
5.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 126 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 45 out of 126
  2. Mixed: 37 out of 126
  3. Negative: 44 out of 126
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Amleida
    Aug 11, 2018
    7
    I really wanted to like this game. It has a few original ideas, and the overall game clearly had a lot of potential, but it's somewhat ruined by gameplay mechanics that leave a lot to be desired, coupled with highly unpredictable AI (not in a good sense), and an almost constant need to replenish food/water/sleep, that seemed intriguing at first, but quickly starts feeling like a chore.I really wanted to like this game. It has a few original ideas, and the overall game clearly had a lot of potential, but it's somewhat ruined by gameplay mechanics that leave a lot to be desired, coupled with highly unpredictable AI (not in a good sense), and an almost constant need to replenish food/water/sleep, that seemed intriguing at first, but quickly starts feeling like a chore. Speaking of chores, a good amount of the optional quests are fetch-quests, and they're the old-school type of fetch quests that will likely bore you to death, whether you're a completionist or not. I did enjoy some of the optional quests in We Happy Few. Especially the ones that encouraged exploration that weren't all about picking things up and bringing them back to the quest-giver. Certain optional quest were actually refreshingly original and interesting. However, like with many other things, the overall quality in this respect was unfortunately sub-par to what I had expected from this game.

    Again, I really wanted to like We Happy Few, but it has a bit too many fundamental shortcomings and clearly wasn't play-tested or polished enough to iron out the many kinks that drag it down. Another minor annoyance was that I ran into quite a few graphical bugs that made NPCs get stuck to the ground, or buildings disappear completely for brief periods of time. They didn't bother me too much, but they can be quite frustrating in certain situations.

    A well-designed stealth mechanic punishes you when you make mistakes, but the stealth detection of the NPCs in this game is simply too inconsistent, and it's definitely not a good feeling when it seems like you've been detected because the game had a sudden "hiccup" for no apparent reason. Stealthing around can be fun at times, but the occasional frustration of being spotted for something that's completely out of your power, can ruin one's entire experience of the game. And don't get me started on the clustered inventory and crafting feature that they clearly forgot about while they were adding a thousand useless things for you to meaninglessly fill up your inventory with. Inventory management of this level is not fun. It's not my idea of fun, at least. We Happy Few is not an outright bad game by any means, but it lacks the polish necessary to qualify as a truly good game, in my book.

    I feel a bit bad for criticizing a game that a crew of indie developers clearly put a lot of love and effort into making with their attention to the finer details that triple A devs tend to not care much about. I appreciate that "little bit extra". I do wish they'd spent more time polishing the more substantial mechanics, though. The world of We Happy Few would have been so much more memorable if the world wasn't quite as large and barren, but felt more cohesive and motivating towards progress from start till finish. It's really unfortunate that the main issue of the game often feeling like a chore, overshadows an interesting story and concept that could have been so much more. Even a blind person can see that it has tons of potential.

    Don't get me wrong, I had a good time during certain points in this game. The voice acting is very good, and I found the story and premise interesting, although it's hampered by awful pacing and a pretty massive, charming world that sadly doesn't quite compensate for the vast amounts of barren land and and unnecessarily frustrating trips to the nearest wells. The final, overall impression left quite a lot to be desired, and I genuinely wish they had polished the game a bit more before releasing it. At least, I learned not to mindlessly spend another £60 on an overly ambitious, crowd-funded game. That's not intended as an insult towards the developer, but rather my mistake of having too high expectations towards their product.    … Expand
  2. Drawnimo
    Aug 11, 2018
    7
    We Happy Few is a great game, but it has its serious issues. There's an amazing, unforgettable experience here, but unfortunately, it's tampered with game-breaking bugs, grindy gameplay, an empty open world, and bare bones combat. If you can see past its flaws and put in the time like I did, however, you will find a worthy game of your time. The only problem is that you need to be on aWe Happy Few is a great game, but it has its serious issues. There's an amazing, unforgettable experience here, but unfortunately, it's tampered with game-breaking bugs, grindy gameplay, an empty open world, and bare bones combat. If you can see past its flaws and put in the time like I did, however, you will find a worthy game of your time. The only problem is that you need to be on a little Joy beforehand.… Expand
  3. kwstas
    Aug 13, 2018
    5
    another indie game with some potential and big promises but only a little to give at the end . performance and graphics are really poor , combat is just terrible . everything i ever hoped for this game is falling apart real quick ! i cant say that has anything at all to do with bioshock or anything similar .
  4. BITESCREEN
    Nov 14, 2018
    6
    Das dystopische We Happy Few malt eine unangenehme alternative Realität: In einem 60er-Jahre-England haben die Nazis den Krieg gewonnen und aus Großbritannien einen repressiven Inselstaat gemacht. Regierungstreu stapfen seine grinsenden Bewohner voll auf der Gutelaunedroge Joy durch rauschbunte Städte. Wer seine Medizin nicht schluckt oder sonstwie ausbricht, wird von Bobbys und bravenDas dystopische We Happy Few malt eine unangenehme alternative Realität: In einem 60er-Jahre-England haben die Nazis den Krieg gewonnen und aus Großbritannien einen repressiven Inselstaat gemacht. Regierungstreu stapfen seine grinsenden Bewohner voll auf der Gutelaunedroge Joy durch rauschbunte Städte. Wer seine Medizin nicht schluckt oder sonstwie ausbricht, wird von Bobbys und braven Bürgern zu Tode geprügelt. In drei separat erzählten Storysträngen spielt Ihr hintereinander den Zensor Arthur, seine Ex-Freundin Sally oder den alten Schulfreund Ollie. Alle finden irgendwann zueinander und kooperieren für eine bessere Welt. Minimal unterschiedlich, ist das Gameplay im Kern immer gleich: Wie in Dishonored – Die Maske des Zorns entscheidet Ihr stets zwischen Stealth und Action, wobei beides durch miese Bugs und eine noch schlechtere Künstliche Intelligenz gerne mal zum Teufel geht. Trotzdem motiviert das wunderbar britische We Happy Few durch seine schön gestaltete zufallsgenerierte Open-World, die vielen oft lustigen Sidequests und den enormen Umfang. Nur den für den Final Release ohnehin abgespeckten Survivalpart des ehemaligen Early-Access-Spiels hätten die Entwickler von Compulsion Games getrost weglassen können.… Expand
  5. Daniel0809
    May 30, 2020
    5
    I bought this game in 2018 when it came out and I returned it back to gamestop within a few hours because the game had so many bugs I just didn't want to waste my time. Now here in 2020 ive kinda wanted to go back to the game and see if anything has changed so I can maybe give a better rating.
  6. PictoPirate
    Aug 21, 2020
    5
    I have such mixed feelings around We Happy Few. The world is absolutely fantastic, the voice acting is top-notch, the story is great and some of the missions are gloriously insane. Unfortunately, despite being two years old the game is still a buggy mess.

    One mission is completely borked and if you don't do the right thing first time the item you need to progress vanishes and you're    I have such mixed feelings around We Happy Few. The world is absolutely fantastic, the voice acting is top-notch, the story is great and some of the missions are gloriously insane. Unfortunately, despite being two years old the game is still a buggy mess.

    One mission is completely borked and if you don't do the right thing first time the item you need to progress vanishes and you're trapped forever and I lost count of the number of times the game just blue screen of deathed halfway through a mission losing me tons of progress. The criminally long load times, terrible pop-in and glitchy AI I could live with but come on guys you've had two years to make this stable enough to play!

    It's such a shame too because the game itself is brilliant fun when it is working, it just doesn't work enough to allow me to recommend it.    … Expand
  7. sityoazzdown
    Nov 5, 2019
    7
    Pretty good game that was ultimately marred by techincal issues and gameplay that didn't have much legs over this 20-30 hour game..give or take. This game has a very interesting world with pretty good strories and likeable characters. I also respect how there are multiple ways to attack a mission..almost rpg like. The gameplay consist of melee combat, stealth gameplay, and looting sourcesPretty good game that was ultimately marred by techincal issues and gameplay that didn't have much legs over this 20-30 hour game..give or take. This game has a very interesting world with pretty good strories and likeable characters. I also respect how there are multiple ways to attack a mission..almost rpg like. The gameplay consist of melee combat, stealth gameplay, and looting sources to craft items/weapons. The twist is that you must be conform to the world, if you're in the city you must take the drug joy to blend in, and if you're out of the city, you must act like a bum or you will be attacked. I found the gameplay loop of story/side missions, combat, light puzzle solving, to be initially unique and interesting, but it waned slowly; however the story carried me throughout even though the gameplay loop got stale. I also think this game was marred by technical issues, game frequently crashes, framerate chugs along pretty frequently, some bugs, etc. Other cons include a bloated crafting system with alot of items you will never or even need to use. Gameplay also never truly evolves (apart from some unique side missions), you'll be doing the same thing (gameplay wise) first mission as last. Also this game bugged out on me, 3/4 of the way through arthurs campaign (there are 3), I no longer needed to take joy, as bobbies and civies did not get mad at me while I was in the city (but down dectectors still went off). My glitched game aside, the joy mechanic was a hit or miss, unique.. but also annoying.
    Pros: Very interesting world, pretty good stories, likeable characters, unique gameplay.
    So-So: side missions are decent, survival elements
    Cons: a lot of technical issues, gameplay gets stale quick, joy mechanic and restrictions like running and jumping, going out at night is really annoying (in the city).
    This game has potential, they just need to iron out the technical issues, improve gameplay diversity and mission diversity. This game is more fallout than it is bioshock, but it is still a good one with a lot of potential to grow into something big.    … Expand
  8. TravisFinn
    Aug 17, 2018
    7
    It seems like I'm one of the titular happy few who've enjoyed Compulsion Games' second project. However, it's a smile that's waning as I look back after finishing the campaign.

    We Happy Few is enjoyable at parts for it's very well written story and presentation, however, gameplay wise it seems like Compulsion decided to change very little after seeing people's responses toward the    It seems like I'm one of the titular happy few who've enjoyed Compulsion Games' second project. However, it's a smile that's waning as I look back after finishing the campaign.

    We Happy Few is enjoyable at parts for it's very well written story and presentation, however, gameplay wise it seems like Compulsion decided to change very little after seeing people's responses toward the disastrous and boring Early Access version. The survival mechanics as well as it's procedural generation level design were huge red flags and have remained so - their implementation in the game slows the experience down at best and is otherwise downright broken at it's worst.

    Their are three acts - Arthur, Sally and finally Ollie. Arthur's is by far the best and the longest. Sally's campaign is the worst by far, as her quests are extremely boring and her main survival mechanic (which I won't spoil) is way too inconvenient at times. Ollie's comes close to being as bad as Sally's but is only better by a small margin with a much more interesting story arc, and the benefit of his main survival quirk being easily manageable once enough supplies are in your hands. Either way, it sure does feel like Sally and Ollie's campaigns were last minute throw-ins for the developer to pad out the game a couple more hours. It would have been more interesting if their stories actually intersected and jumped us from character to character, instead of simply having you finish one's story to unlock the next.

    The PS4 version is playable, thankfully, which is why I even picked up the game on Day 1. However, the game is poorly optimized, a fault of both Compulsion and publisher Gearbox. The product should've been delayed, especially for PC as I hear of more bugs and crashes occurring on there instead of console - although I've had my fair share of 5 crashes on my first playthrough.

    We Happy Few was enjoyable, though I highly disagree with it's $60 price tag, especially in it's current condition. $40 should've been enough but Gearbox most likely pushed Compulsion into this direction for a console release. Some will hate this game no matter what for it's survival mechanics and that's more than fair. But if you're willing to push past that as well as some clunky combat and occasional buggy performance, their is a lot to like here. I'm disappointed for sure but I'd be damned if I didn't say I'm looking forward to whatever project Compulsion Games tackles next.    … Expand
  9. Dr-SAM-BHR
    Dec 14, 2019
    5
    NO SPOILER:- The game is fun especially the gameplay, its the best in this game, the story is just OK, graphics is cool considering its indie game. BUT, the thing that made me hate this game and give it 5 out of 10 is because the loading is sooo annoying in this game, there's loading screen everywhere, when you walk in cities there's loading and sometimes it takes soo long and gamers hateNO SPOILER:- The game is fun especially the gameplay, its the best in this game, the story is just OK, graphics is cool considering its indie game. BUT, the thing that made me hate this game and give it 5 out of 10 is because the loading is sooo annoying in this game, there's loading screen everywhere, when you walk in cities there's loading and sometimes it takes soo long and gamers hate waiting. the drop frame also is a huge problem, whenever you run too fast will will absolutely gonna face drop frame issue. i played it for more than a week, 5 hours a day, i was liking it at the beginning but now i just want it to END.… Expand
  10. lostsol
    Nov 25, 2019
    6
    This game has so much potential if it was in the right hands. Slow based, story that lakes polish, games play optimized for keyboard and mouse, but not supported on Xbox or PS4.
  11. Berrlett
    Jan 7, 2019
    7
    The most unfortunate thing about this game is you can see there is potential, story, idea and the world is combined to conceive something special set in UK 60's Funk style and bizarre hair dos but the game is simply as of right now is broken it needed a lot more time to get it to a running state, fighting system is most of the time annoying and you can tell from your first fight the gameThe most unfortunate thing about this game is you can see there is potential, story, idea and the world is combined to conceive something special set in UK 60's Funk style and bizarre hair dos but the game is simply as of right now is broken it needed a lot more time to get it to a running state, fighting system is most of the time annoying and you can tell from your first fight the game asks you to stealth instead which is not bad. if you must play it, wait for an 80% price drop which am sure it will come very shortly.… Expand
  12. David_reviews4l
    Aug 18, 2018
    7
    This game gives a vast and gripping open-world and has array of character development it is sort of a very cartoony/semi-realistic looking game which find to be very unique but in terms of how it develops the story is very intriguing.
    This game when it comes to quality is quite poor because there are so many glitches and everything seems clunky but I would recommend picking this up after    This game gives a vast and gripping open-world and has array of character development it is sort of a very cartoony/semi-realistic looking game which find to be very unique but in terms of how it develops the story is very intriguing.
    This game when it comes to quality is quite poor because there are so many glitches and everything seems clunky but I would recommend picking this up after a price drop because the story almost makes up for the bad mechanics    … Expand
  13. GameStopGamer
    May 16, 2019
    6
    This game disappointed me. It had an interesting story up until the first chapter ended. Then it went all downhill from there. The missions felt to padded out and so did the story. It’s and interesting concept that should have been developed by a different studio.
  14. GlarkCable
    Mar 19, 2023
    7
    Flawed for sure, but saved by its fairly unique concept and its (occasionally) fun gameplay.
  15. Ziopickalod
    Oct 28, 2020
    5
    We happy few has an interesting premise but ultimately fails to entertain enough past the opening sequence. 52/100
  16. davidthesloth
    Aug 1, 2022
    7
    Huge potential and interesting game undercut by how underdeveloped and unoptimised it actually is. First off, loading screens are a complete joke! I kid you not, it takes more than a minute for the main menu to boot up for some reason and another minute to load into the game and this was on a PS5! Framerate was horrendous and choppy while gameplay was buggy and glitchy. However despite itsHuge potential and interesting game undercut by how underdeveloped and unoptimised it actually is. First off, loading screens are a complete joke! I kid you not, it takes more than a minute for the main menu to boot up for some reason and another minute to load into the game and this was on a PS5! Framerate was horrendous and choppy while gameplay was buggy and glitchy. However despite its unpolished flaws, this game's story, characters and acting is what you stay for. The grim bleak tone juxtaposed bright vibrant cities and landscapes it really captures your attention.

    DLC is very fun and a joy (pardon the pun) to play especially the last DLC "We All Fall Down". Really fun, light and investing gameplay. The game immediately attained my attention by creating unique side stories of the already established narrative with an interesting spin on things. All playable characters are well written except for the gay couple featured in the "We Came From Below" additional content as it depicts their relationship as tumultuous, petty and stereotypical that adds very little plot wise and more of a burden/hindrance on the game as whole.

    Overall fun game but very poorly optimised. Definitely recommend a play through if you're a fan of Fallout or Bioshock or even dystopian/Orwellian settings.    … Expand
  17. kruci
    Dec 12, 2020
    7
    Nie jest pozbawiona błędów. Zalatuje drewnem, w pewnym momencie staje się powtarzalna. Ale na koniec dnia sprawiła mi sporo radochy. Grałem za darmo w game passie, wiec lżej podchodzę do tematu niż osoby kupujące w pełnej cenie.
  18. M41_SPNKR
    Jan 3, 2022
    5
    This is the the first PS4 game that I couldn't bring myself to finish. While the premise is interesting, there are simply too many missions that devolve into fetch quests. The performance on PS4 is subpar; the load screen time is too long and quite often, my game will suddenly start to stutter and then pause and enter into a another load screen as if to save my PS4 from crashing. ExceptThis is the the first PS4 game that I couldn't bring myself to finish. While the premise is interesting, there are simply too many missions that devolve into fetch quests. The performance on PS4 is subpar; the load screen time is too long and quite often, my game will suddenly start to stutter and then pause and enter into a another load screen as if to save my PS4 from crashing. Except that sometimes even after exiting the load screen my PS4 does in fact crash!… Expand
  19. squarefenix00
    Apr 22, 2023
    7
    Jamás pensé que llegaría a terminarme un videojuego con TANTÍSIMOS bugs y una IA tan nefasta (es difícil en ciertas ocasiones porque los enemigos son tontos hasta para perderte el rastro). Aún así su historia y originalidad me hicieron disfrutarlo y aguantar estos aspectos del juego hasta el final. Una idea muy buena ejecutada muy mal. Ojalá hubiera recibido algo más de cariño, puesJamás pensé que llegaría a terminarme un videojuego con TANTÍSIMOS bugs y una IA tan nefasta (es difícil en ciertas ocasiones porque los enemigos son tontos hasta para perderte el rastro). Aún así su historia y originalidad me hicieron disfrutarlo y aguantar estos aspectos del juego hasta el final. Una idea muy buena ejecutada muy mal. Ojalá hubiera recibido algo más de cariño, pues prometía mucho más de lo que ofrece. Recomiendo pillarlo barato (yo lo conseguí por unos 6€).… Expand

Awards & Rankings

55
#55 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. GameCritics
    Oct 2, 2018
    50
    Overall, there are some incredible ideas in We Happy Few‘s dystopian world, but the tedious gameplay gave me the feeling that a project like this has more potential as a story-driven adventure in a more compact world. With greater focus on its excellent narrative, sound and visuals, and an addition of moral choices, it would rise above the unsatisfying mixed-genre affair that it currently is.
    Read full review
  2. Gaming Nexus
    Sep 17, 2018
    65
    The ideas of power, giving in to hegemonic cycles just to feel safe, and other gameplay systems are unfortunately overshadowed by the technical hiccups found in the game's software. It's a shame, because this game could have been good.
    Read full review
  3. Video Chums
    Sep 7, 2018
    58
    We Happy Few is an ambitious title with an interesting premise but it fails to deliver on the things that make a video game fun to play.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »