We Happy Few

Feels like everyone nags about a few bugs like it is game breaking but the story and style is where this game shines, i never felt any big frustrations at any bug, and this has been one of the greatest games i've played in a long while, strongly recommend.

Even though this game has its many flaws, it is still by far one of the best games I have ever played in my life. It is beautiful in so many ways. The soundtrack is mesmerizing. The environment is stunning, both in the Parade and Garden District. The story is incredible. The characters are memorable. The only thing holding it back was the gameplay itself and its many bugs.

The best worst game ever made.
The story, world building and atmosphere are all perfect. Its dark, mysterious and nothing is what it seems.
The gameplay experience is where it falls apart. Theres crafting and survival elements, but they seem like an afterthought and are pretty underwhelming. The stealth is ok, but the melee combat isnt. The DLCs are a lot better than the base game, but you need to play the base game to understand them better.
Also the game doesnt run very well. Graphically, its about on par with subnautica, but doesnt run nearly as smooth.
The $60 price tag is a joke, but on sale its worth a playthrough for the story alone.

The reviewers weren't impressed on release, but this is a game it is easy to love. I have fallen head over heels for it after being chased through a derelict village by locals who disapprove of the rubber catsuit I am wearing.

Put simply, We Happy Few comprises one of my favorite narrative experiences in all of video games. Put less simply, I wouldn't call this game a "must play" for everyone, but it is most certainly something everyone should consider playing if they're big fans of video games as a storytelling medium.

From a purely gameplay perspective, We Happy Few is a bit of an oddity. It's primarily a stealth game with splashes of combat and survival mechanics, and many people find it a bit boring in that regard. It's true, there are large sections of map you'll be walking in between story destinations that have a whole lot of nothing really going on, but I wouldn't say that qualifies the game as being empty or dull, personally. I found the long open areas good places to sit back and ruminate on the story elements in between Doing Missions and Fighting Enemies. Here's why.

Set in 1950s-60s England, the story's primary theme is that very traditionally British notion of Keeping Calm and Carrying On. It's about unsavory topics like revisionist history, the pressure to conform, following a corrupt system that kind of doesn't really know what it's even doing anymore, and forcing everyone to swallow pills that let them pretend everything is peachy-keen, as if they didn't all just commit major atrocities in a massive World War, let alone this air of mystery regarding a Famine and Missing Children and all that.

And using that as set dressing, this idea that you must appear Normal around other people - pretend you're having a great day, don't go around running and jumping and climbing on rooftops like a lunatic, and eat your magic forget-me candy instead of actual food - lest you get jumped and beaten by the smile police, becomes more than just a cute plot gimmick. It becomes an integral part of the game's experience, and seamlessly ties the story themes to the gameplay elements. And as I've always said, you get out of a game what you invest into it, so if you're not the kind of gamer who can meet a game on its level and play along, you might not enjoy this one very much.

This ludonarrative experience extends to the other chapters in the game as well. Each one (including the three DLCs) follows a different main character with their own unique approach to "blending in", and each one follows different gameplay mechanics that fall in line with their individual story. I don't want to spoil surprises, but the way each one is carefully woven into the gameplay experience using such unusual concepts as the burden of motherhood, the dangers of low blood sugar, and wooing lovestruck fans in a parody of Beatlemania is simply masterful. I'm still agog over how cool these elements work as immersive gameplay mechanics!

As far as the concerns over "game breaking bugs" go, I never had anything like that in my 50 hours of play. Normal bugs and weird glitches, sure, but nothing catastrophic. No worse than an average run of Skyrim, if that means anything to you. If the threat of bugs is a dealbreaker for you then so be it, just know that most of those bugs were Day One problems, and the game has been quite well patched up since then.

Bottom line is: I LOVED this game. It remains one of my all-time favorite story experiences, and I wish I could wipe it from my memory just so I could play it for the first time all over again. Just phenomenal. I hope more people give it a fair chance as the years go by.

this game has a deep deep special place in my heart. The colors, art style, setting, and story are entertaining and unique with a psychedelic twist a brilliant 1984'esque social commentary. Lots of fun side missions, crafting, and exploration.

I made like 3 attempts at this game in the past. It's an awesome idea for a game, but I agree with what most of the negative comments are saying. The world is so completely unnecessarily bigger thant it should be it's actually painful. Even at the beginning you have to run through a pretty empty world. There is a house you can loot here and there, and city offers much more, but the world is tedious. The AI of cops is also terrible. You can just pretty much always hide in a trashbin and they will never find you. I even tested it by taunting them and hiding in the exact same bin multiple times, but they didn't manage to find me. All in all, concept is cool, quests are kind fun, but some aspects of physics, AI of NPCs, oversized world for absolutely no reason made the game unpleasant tbh. I will give it a positive review, but I wish steam would finally add neutral ones.