We Happy Few - PS4

ESRB Rating:
Release Date: 2018-8
Critic Score (1-100): 73
Genre(s): Action, 1st-person, Shooter, Puzzle elements, Stealth, Thriller, Survival, RPG elements, Direct control, Cold War, Europe, Alternate history
Media Type(s): Physical

IMPORTANT: As the game is in Early Access phase, please read carefully the Early Access disclaimer before buying the game to make sure it matches your expectations.

We Happy Few is the tale of a plucky bunch of moderately terrible people trying to escape from a lifetime of cheerful denial in the city of Wellington Wells. Set in a drug-fuelled, retrofuturistic city in an alternative 1960s England, you’ll have to blend in with its other inhabitants, who don’t take kindly to people who don’t abide by their not-so-normal rules.

"Right out of an Orwellian nightmare" - IGN

***What is available in the Early Access game so far:***

1960s Dystopian England
Set in a retrofuturistic 1960s, you will find a city ravaged by war and rebuilt by delusionally happy people. Everything appears to be happy in Wellington Wells, including the roads, the people, and its omnipresent television personality, Uncle Jack! However, it’s a beautiful world on the brink of collapse. You will discover the history of this world, and how it came to be just so beguilingly happy.

Suspicion and Joy
We Happy Few is about surviving in and escaping from a procedurally generated world, where you must learn to hide in plain sight. If you act out of turn, or you’re not on Joy (the local happy pills), the locals will become suspicious and will rapidly turn your frown upside down! Forcefully. You will need to practice conformity, stealth and combat if you want to survive long enough to escape.

Play it your way:
* fill your basic needs (hunger, thirst, and sleep) to survive, * learn how to interact with the other members of your society, and choose stealth, conformity or combat, * encounter dozens of in-game unique events, * conform to the specific local habits by learning to behave accordingly, and taking your Joy, * collect recipes, scavenge items and craft dozens of weapons, tools and devices, * fight with your bare hands or the crazy weapons you create, and * watch out for traps, or learn how to use them to your advantage.

"A mad, mad world to explore, made anew every time" - iDigitalTimes

***What will be available only at full release:***

A Mature Story
We Happy Few’s characters are not typical video game heroes. They are flawed and not particularly heroic, warped by the trauma their world has been through. Each character has their own storyline that reacts to the events of the world around them, and their place within it. Our stories are definitely not appropriate for children, but are laced with dark humour, hope, and even a spot of redemption.

In the final version of We Happy Few, you will experience:
* a procedurally generated world, meaning that everyone’s experience will be unique, * a range of difficulties for new and experienced players alike, * permadeath, if you want to satisfy all your masochistic needs, * three modes: sandbox, story and Wellie mode, * a unique soundtrack, and * a fully voiced, cinematic, first person story.

"Visually unmistakable and genuinely amusing" - The Guardian

We Happy Few is a single-player survival action game with shooter and stealth elements. The story takes place in Wellington Wells, a retrofuturistic English city recovering from wartime trauma. Society is held together by the widespread use of a hallucinogenic drug called Joy, which suppresses unhappy memories and enforces a state of artificial bliss. Those who refuse or fail to take Joy are branded as “Downers” and hunted by the authorities. The player experiences this dystopia through the perspectives of three different characters, each with their own past, motivations, and narrative arc. Their shared goal is survival and escape from the oppressive system that demands conformity.

Gameplay blends first-person exploration with stealth, crafting, and survival elements. Players must manage hunger, thirst, fatigue, and Joy intake, since refusing to conform makes non-player characters more suspicious and hostile. Movement through the city involves scavenging for supplies, crafting tools and weapons, and engaging in melee combat when avoidance is not possible. The open environments range from the decaying Garden District to the orderly but watchful city streets, each presenting unique challenges. Dialogue and narrative choices influence encounters and how other characters respond, though the overarching story remains structured around the main protagonists’ arcs.

Combat emphasizes improvised weapons and stamina management. Fights can be direct, but stealth and distraction often provide safer paths. Outfits and disguises play a significant role, as dressing appropriately for each district influences whether the player can move unnoticed or attract suspicion. Lockpicking, hacking, and environmental manipulation provide non-lethal alternatives to confrontation.

Completing main objectives advances the story, while side quests and random encounters provide opportunities for resources and deeper world-building. Character abilities can be enhanced through skill trees, offering improvements in stealth, combat, or social manipulation depending on player choices.

The procedural generation of areas ensures varied layouts between playthroughs, altering item locations, patrol routes, and environmental hazards. Permadeath is an optional mode, reinforcing the survival aspects by making mistakes final. Managing Joy use is both a mechanical and narrative system: taking the drug reduces suspicion but impairs perception, while abstaining uncovers the world’s grim reality at the risk of exposure.

*** Data by MobyGames.com ***

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