New consoles? Shiny VR possibilities? Custom controllers and jiggery-pokery involving Windows 10 and Cortana?
Whilst all of these are potentially intriguing in their own way, there was one particular game that really stood out as something worth watching during Microsoft’s E3 briefing.
We Happy Few is a first-person stealth-thriller game set in a dystopian city in an alternative England. It’s the year 1964 and the city appears warped around the concept of joy. Consistently being amused and enjoying the way of life earns nowt but a smile and a greeting from the friendly police. Any less than that though, and you’re instantly accused of being a Downer and an enemy of the state.
I guess the police must really be the ‘Fun Police’ in this game. You’ll see them with all their smiley faces in the gameplay reveal above that was shown during the briefing.
A fair few have drawn some comparisons to the juggernaut that it is BioShock when checking out We Happy Few. Yet this constant requirement to appear joyful really sets it apart from its supposed influence. In Bioshock you could easily consider 90% of Rapture’s inhabitants as your enemy, on account of varying levels of addiction to plasmids. In We Happy Few, it looks like there’s more of a stealth element to it. So long as you’re joyful, you won’t arouse suspicion. I guess that’s harder than it sounds though.
We Happy Few is due for an Early Access Release on Steam on July 26. It’ll also see an Xbox One release in the future. Definitly worth keeping an eye out for.
