We Happy Few

 Xbox One
User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 108 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 45 out of 108
  2. Mixed: 28 out of 108
  3. Negative: 35 out of 108
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  1. Xbox_Alive
    Aug 19, 2018
    6
    I absolutely loved the presentation side of the game because both the visuals and sound design have a lot of charm and in some ways a bit of uniqueness as well. Each individual character story has been done to perfection and reaching the conclusion of each story was a very interesting and satisfying experience The combat doesn’t have a huge amount of depth to it what’s here is actuallyI absolutely loved the presentation side of the game because both the visuals and sound design have a lot of charm and in some ways a bit of uniqueness as well. Each individual character story has been done to perfection and reaching the conclusion of each story was a very interesting and satisfying experience The combat doesn’t have a huge amount of depth to it what’s here is actually pretty good and being in combat can definitely be fun at times. Unfortunately the game suffers with an array of technichal issues and these issues do harm the enjoyment levels quite considerably.
    Whilst there is quite a lot you can craft none of the items you craft actually feel important.
    Some of the mechanics that are in the game feel out of place and ultimately they don’t combine together very well. The quests fail to pack a punch and the lack of variety in them means that they do end up becoming tedious quite quickly. Sometimes the world in which the game takes place in doesn’t feel alive and this can take the excitement out of things. Does We Happy Few do enough to get a recommendation from me? All in all it seems like a lifetime ago when We Happy Few entered the Xbox preview program and at first it was a game I had a lot of excitement for, but unfortunately that excitement didn’t last long. The idea of the preview program is to see the game improve over the months but I haven’t seen many improvements since it first came out and I must admit that I was little surprised to see it getting a full release when the game quite obviously suffers with a lot of shortcomings. Thankfully it’s not all bad and it does get some things right but at the end of the day it just gets too much wrong and when you combine that with the technichal issues it means I can’t recommend We Happy Few to you. It' once of of those maybe games, maybe rent it 1st?    … Expand
  2. BrettSiebenhaar
    Aug 13, 2018
    5
    The game means well. Nothing has really changed since the early access version. The game is still buggy, and it gets boring very quick. The makers of the game had a great idea, they just didn't execute it very well. The graphics are cute, and that's all I can really say about this game. I have played it since the early access days and I am just done with it, meh.
  3. BigEvilSquirrel
    Aug 11, 2018
    6
    3 out of 5.
    We Happy Few feels like it is full of potential that it just never lives up to. The survival aspects of the game (eating, drinking, sleeping) feel like they could have been done away with. The crafting system is well implemented was was a JOY to use. Combat is ok, nothing special. Overall there just feels like a lack of polish. The story feels good so far, and will probably be    3 out of 5.
    We Happy Few feels like it is full of potential that it just never lives up to. The survival aspects of the game (eating, drinking, sleeping) feel like they could have been done away with. The crafting system is well implemented was was a JOY to use. Combat is ok, nothing special. Overall there just feels like a lack of polish. The story feels good so far, and will probably be the driving force to completing this game. It just feels like a couple of design choices and a lack of polish are holding We Happy Few back from true greatness.    … Expand
  4. GamerJosh0137
    Aug 16, 2018
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The real meat and potatoes here is the story. I was legitimately engrossed in what the protagonists wen't through and will go through. By now I'm sure you get the basics. You play as Arthur, Sally or Ollie in a dystopian setting. In order to conform to society you are forced to take a drug called joy which masks the post world war 2 scars in a town called Wellington Wells, making all who take joy unaware or ignorant of their war torn world. The only thing I can say I enjoyed besides the story is the crafting mechanic. The loop of finding the right materials to craft a new weapon or piece of clothing can be quite satisfying. Unfortunately actually using the weapon in combat can be super tedious and repetitive. Stealth is really important in this game and even that can be cheesed real easy. If you are caught you can simply run to the nearest hiding spot (and there are many) and hide until everything dies down, which makes you wonder why stealth is even a thing in this game. If you are expecting to play a new version of Bioshock, you will be disappointed. If I were to recommend picking this game up I would HIGHLY suggest waiting for the price to drop a bit. At least to 30 bucks.… Expand
  5. CoolDadTx
    Apr 24, 2020
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm not really sure why this game got such low review when it came out. I particularly enjoyed it. It was an interesting concept with some memorable characters, quests and interesting art style. The overlapping stories, while a little confusing, were also a nice change of pace. The first story was particular good while the second story was more interesting and the last story was just dull. Based upon the merits of all this it is easily an 8 or 9. Unfortunately there are aspects of the game that are so bad that I felt it important to lower the score.

    Overall the 3 stories was interesting but it really felt like a gimick. While the skills mostly seemed to overlap it might have been clearer to have the stories intermixed as you went along. This would have caused some challenges with the maps and inventory but ultimately I think it would have made more sense. Ollie's story in particular was really dull and unfortunately is what ultimately brought the score down so let's start there.

    I played through without killing anyone. It was easy with the first 2 stories but the very first mission of Ollie puts you in combat immediately with no weapons or healing. Unless you run there is no way to complete this without kiling someone. And it just gets worse. The second mission requires that you gather materials that takes quite a while in the other stories. But you are on a time limit so you have to find them in random containers quickly. It just seems forced. This is for Ollie's diabetes which I took a point off because of the gross misrepresentation of this disease. I get game mechanics but taking a real world disease, changing it to meet a game requirement and then forcing it on you is utterly insulting. Does anyone on the team even understand diabetes. Your body doesn't produce insulin or your body rejects it (depending upon type). The net result is that you cannot get your blood sugar down without exercise, counting carbs and insulin. Yet Ollie's blood sugar drops continuously. Medical news: you aren't diabetic if you cannot hold insulin. Yes, if your blood sugar drops too low you slip into a coma but that would only be an issue if you overdosed on insulin. Inversely having a high blood sugar doesn't have any short term consequences. The game could have easily picked a made up disease and easily avoided this very insulting game mechanic.

    Ollie himself is an ex-soldier but he cannot run 10 feet before running out of breathe which makes the constant attacks from citizens painful. You continually play a game of running around a corner and climbing up on something so the AI times out. You cannot outrun anyone so it isn't an option. The other characters are fine. Ollie just seems too wimpy and it breaks the gameflow. The other aspect of Ollie is that even when you are wearing the right outfit, doing the right things you will quite frequently suddenly aggro a random citizen. I've literally walked by 3 bobbies and a handful of citizens just to walk around the corner and aggro a citizen. Combat overall is awful and it is better to avoid it. Enemies seem to have really, really long reaches with their weapons.

    Arthur's story is interesting but ultimately he is unlikable. A self-centered, bitter, all-about-me personality. It makes you not care about him or his story. The wrap up of the game doesn't make this any better. Since you have no control over the story the decisions you might want to make you can't. You're stuck with a guy you really just want to jump off a bridge with.

    The glitches are numerous. Most are funny such as characters using the sit animation in the middle of the street or characters starting to aggro and it permanently leaving them like that. The TV shows also stop working after a while. A reload is the only workaround.

    The worst bug I found was a crash in the early stages of Sally's story. When I restarted it had wiped all of Sally's saves so I had to start over. I was only a couple of missions in but it was frustrating. Speaking of Sally, her special need that is at the start of the game is frustrating as well. It gets a little better but a glitch basically makes it meaningless. If you sleep the "special need" meter goes away and doesn't come back until you activate it again. Technically all the characters' need for food and water did the same thing.

    Finally the save system is odd. You can save just about anywhere but when you reload it always starts somewhere out in the open nearby. Sort of defeats the purpose of saving.

    Ultimately I hope the devs make another game along these lines, but fix the isssues and bad decisions of the first.    … Expand
  6. CamyVero
    Jan 14, 2021
    7
    if you like games like Fallout 3, you like games where the mechanics of exploration, accumulation, crafty and stealth are the main ones, as long as you have the patience to tolerate the deep technical problems the game has, the story is drinkable and there's no denying that some missions have memorable moments, good production design and originality. At a good price in sales it can giveif you like games like Fallout 3, you like games where the mechanics of exploration, accumulation, crafty and stealth are the main ones, as long as you have the patience to tolerate the deep technical problems the game has, the story is drinkable and there's no denying that some missions have memorable moments, good production design and originality. At a good price in sales it can give you about 25 or 30 hours of fun. But only if you are tolerant of bugs.… Expand
  7. aljirik1992
    Aug 31, 2018
    5
    Не сдохнуть бы от радости. (WE HAPPY FEW)

    Настроение... Пожалуй это единственное слово за которое можно зацепиться, когда проходишь данное творение. В отличие от душевного состояния ГГ, которое можно приподнять пилюлей "Радость", очень малому количеству геймеров игра сможет предоставить такую же возможность. Отдалённо проект Compulsion Games напоминает Dishonored, где-то рядом эхом    Не сдохнуть бы от радости. (WE HAPPY FEW)

    Настроение... Пожалуй это единственное слово за которое можно зацепиться, когда проходишь данное творение. В отличие от душевного состояния ГГ, которое можно приподнять пилюлей "Радость", очень малому количеству геймеров игра сможет предоставить такую же возможность. Отдалённо проект Compulsion Games напоминает Dishonored, где-то рядом эхом доносятся антиутопичные нотки Bioshock. Эти два мира как будто сталкиваются лбами в неком аналоге города Бэнтон из фильма "Трасса 60". И вроде бы, что ещё нужно для счастья? Геймплей... Который едва ли соответствует продуктам такого рода. В целом всё нормально, но как раз таки это и выбивается из общей структуры творящегося по ту сторону экрана умилительного ужаса, где история с каждым часом обрастает новыми подробностями, а финал попробует подарить некую, призрачную лёгкость. Так сказать позволит влиться с матюками в струю, где последней каплей будет та самая злосчастная таблетка.    … Expand
  8. emporio2866
    Mar 10, 2019
    6
    Я это осилил - выбил все ачивки! Почти 100 часов времени потратил!!!
    We Happy Few - игра из раннего доступа с Kickstarter, которая ушла таки на релиз, но так как игра чертовски противоречивая и из-за того, что подняли дико стоимость (в нашем сторе цена выросла с 600 рублей до 4000) - она провалилась в продажах.
    Позже Майки покупают перспективную студию и выкатывают игру в свою подписку    Я это осилил - выбил все ачивки! Почти 100 часов времени потратил!!!
    We Happy Few - игра из раннего доступа с Kickstarter, которая ушла таки на релиз, но так как игра чертовски противоречивая и из-за того, что подняли дико стоимость (в нашем сторе цена выросла с 600 рублей до 4000) - она провалилась в продажах.
    Позже Майки покупают перспективную студию и выкатывают игру в свою подписку Game Pass, которую я взял за 30 рублей по акции… то есть мне игра обошлась дешевле более чем в 100 раз!
    Не успел пройти её до окончания льготной подписки и уже думал продлевать по обычной стоимости за 600, но вспомнил о неиспользованном коде из коробки с приставкой Xbox One X, который вроде как просроченный (до конца 18 года), но сработал + ещё дали халявный месяц за автопродление, то есть я получил халявную подписку ещё на два месяца до 8 апреля сего года!
    В итоге игру я прошёл и выбил все достижения, благодаря щедрости Microsoft на своей любимой приставке с лучшим геймпадом из всех выпущенных в истории, за что спасибо этим американцам:)
    Игра получилась отличная, несмотря на большое количество багов и криво реализованных механик от маленькой независимой студии, но зато игра ни разу не зависла и не вылетела, а это огромный плюс, ведь даже Bethesda не смогла выпустить Fallout 4 стабильнее и она у меня постоянно тормозила на PS4 и вылетала раз в день стабильно, а тут лишь небольшие проседы кадров раз в пару часов, так что ок! Единственная серьёзная претензия - это завышенная цена, ведь 4к это нереально дорого, максимум 2к, но я халявно поиграл, поэтому не обидно ни разу.
    Ещё есть претензия к боевой системе - очень часть не регистрируются удары, да и в целом боёвка очень нудная, долгая и бесячая, и всё бы ничего, проходи в стелсе, но стелс тоже довольно корявый, поэтому в узких помещениям и в сюжетных заданиях приходилось терпеть, а городе проще убежать и спрятаться в баке мусорном. К счастью противники тупые и не могут додуматься посмотреть в единственной помойке в переулке и думают, что герой испарился. Драться с ними нет никакого смысла, так как никакой награды существенной не дадут и опыта тоже:(

    6,5 из 10 моя оценка - хороший сюжет и побочные квесты; три играбельных персонажа со своими геймплейными особенностями и с грамотно пересекающимися сюжетными линиями; уникальный визуальный стиль; неплохо проработанный игровой мир, представленный в виде Британии после войны с Германией в альтернативной версии развития истории (хорошая интерпретация, не хуже Wolfenstein: New Order); харизматичные персонажи… в общем, плюсов гораздо больше минусов и этой игре я смело говорю ДА    … Expand
  9. Horrorseeker
    Aug 30, 2019
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A alternative way to video game world in the mid 1960s go through three acts but prepare for joy journey… Expand
  10. Mephistofun
    Sep 19, 2020
    6
    This is a definite ‘Try before you buy’ title for me. What begins as an imaginative ‘Bioshock-like’ alternative history sci-fi romp quickly falls into the trap a lot of survival genre games fall into and drowns in its own crafting system. The narrative and world building elements had enormous potential and they do occasionally shine through, but they get drowned out by the monotony ofThis is a definite ‘Try before you buy’ title for me. What begins as an imaginative ‘Bioshock-like’ alternative history sci-fi romp quickly falls into the trap a lot of survival genre games fall into and drowns in its own crafting system. The narrative and world building elements had enormous potential and they do occasionally shine through, but they get drowned out by the monotony of managing multiple survival mechanics that do nothing other than provide busy-work for the player and push those fun moments further apart than they need to be. We Haapy Few needed a little more time to distil it down to a more focussed experience in order to be great.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

26
#26 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2018
25
#25 Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
64

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 17
  3. Negative: 2 out of 17
  1. Official Xbox Magazine UK
    Oct 21, 2018
    50
    There's a general technical ropiness. [Nov 2018, p.80]
  2. TheXboxHub
    Sep 12, 2018
    80
    Even though the gameplay comes with its occasional glitches, has a bit too many things going on and is run by some strange mechanics, the story, characters, and overall tone are all brilliant and extremely well put together.
    Read full review
  3. TrueAchievements
    Sep 4, 2018
    60
    If We Happy Few had all of these problems while in Xbox Game Preview and a pre-release state, you'd be more likely to excuse it, but it's rare to encounter so many issues in a full game release. While none were game breaking, they spoil what can be a decent game, with a unique world, interesting characters, and a convincingly damning depiction of the perils of taking hallucinogenic drugs. It's a world to which you want to return, but it's also a world that throws up a new problem with every visit. With several patches, this game could be a fun experience, but right now it can often be an exercise in frustration.
    Read full review
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