Contrast developer Compulsion Games is leaving the shadowy world of its last game behind for something far more sinister. We Happy Few, a first-person roguelite, is set in an eerie town filled with drug-addled residents teetering on the edge of violence. We sat down for a demo to push the residents of Wellington Wells over the edge, and it didn’t end well for our poor hero.
I emerge from my hiding place underneath the town. A panicked man runs toward me screaming, before a constable smacks him with a billy club and leaves him on the ground. I look down. His face is covered by a mask. Behind the smile, his eyes are wide. I think he’s dead, and I’m terrified.
I begin to walk around cautiously. Everyone has the same plastered grins on their faces. I don’t want to suffer the same fate as that poor man. He didn’t take his Joy. He realized just how wrong things are in Wellington Wells.
Everyone’s on the stuff, and you’d think it would make them docile. No, if they sense that I’m not high on Joy too, they’ll attack.
I’m hungry and hirsty, and there’s only one choice. I’ve got to break into someone’s house for supplies. I’ve got to be careful though, because people boobytrap their homes. I need to get in, knock out anyone home, lock the doors, and start looking.
Sneaking in allows me to get the jump on the occupant and, knock him out before he realizes what happened. I avoid the laser trap and find a bottle of water in the refrigerator. I guzzle it down before I realize that something’s wrong.
The colors are brighter, and from out of nowhere there’s peppy music playing. The water was drugged. At least I’m safe from the townsfolk for now, but why would I want to escape? Everything is so happy here.
After a time I come down from my high. Things feel sluggish and I’m suddenly even hungrier and thirstier than when I awoke. It’s too late though; someone saw me come out of the house. They know I don’t belong here. The mob closes in, and I know that I’ll never leave Wellington Wells.
Release Dates: Early 2016
I emerge from my hiding place underneath the town. A panicked man runs toward me screaming, before a constable smacks him with a billy club and leaves him on the ground. I look down. His face is covered by a mask. Behind the smile, his eyes are wide. I think he’s dead, and I’m terrified.
I begin to walk around cautiously. Everyone has the same plastered grins on their faces. I don’t want to suffer the same fate as that poor man. He didn’t take his Joy. He realized just how wrong things are in Wellington Wells.
Everyone’s on the stuff, and you’d think it would make them docile. No, if they sense that I’m not high on Joy too, they’ll attack.
I’m hungry and hirsty, and there’s only one choice. I’ve got to break into someone’s house for supplies. I’ve got to be careful though, because people boobytrap their homes. I need to get in, knock out anyone home, lock the doors, and start looking.
Sneaking in allows me to get the jump on the occupant and, knock him out before he realizes what happened. I avoid the laser trap and find a bottle of water in the refrigerator. I guzzle it down before I realize that something’s wrong.
The colors are brighter, and from out of nowhere there’s peppy music playing. The water was drugged. At least I’m safe from the townsfolk for now, but why would I want to escape? Everything is so happy here.
After a time I come down from my high. Things feel sluggish and I’m suddenly even hungrier and thirstier than when I awoke. It’s too late though; someone saw me come out of the house. They know I don’t belong here. The mob closes in, and I know that I’ll never leave Wellington Wells.
Release Dates: Early 2016