‘We Happy Few’ Gets Final Early Access Update As Official Release Is Announced

We Happy Few has toiled away in Steam Early Access and the Xbox One Game Program for a year, but developer Compulsion Games and publisher Gearbox Publishing announced a release date Wednesday. The survival indie horror title also received its final early access update before it officially hits the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Gamers reacted positively to the strange mix of 60s British psychedelia and a dystopian setting when We Happy Few first debuted in a crowdfunded Kickstarter campaign in 2015. Compulsion Games has set an official launch date of April 13, 2018, with both retail and digital offerings at a price point of $59.99.

Gearbox also has a $149.99 Collector’s Set planned for We Happy Few that includes a replica Bobby mask, “You Look Smashing” Lamp, the We Happy Few soundtrack on vinyl, a Joy alarm clock, and more. What it does not include is the actual game. The announcement explains this was done so Early Access players can purchase the Collector’s Set separately.

When We Happy Few gets its official release, players will find a much-expanded experience over what has been available in Early Access. The full-length campaign will be available featuring three protagonists with their own strengths and weaknesses. Compulsion has more than 250 unique encounters planned for the protagonists to encounter and attempt to survive.

“As they attempt to survive encounters with their drug-addled former neighbors, old friends, ex-lovers, and even each other, they may dig up some long-buried secrets of Wellington Wells itself,” the press release states.

DLC

The announcement of Compulsion Games’ publishing partnership with Gearbox comes with another bit of news. The developer does have DLC and a Season Pass planned.

Details on the DLC beyond the plan to release some eventually. Compulsion has no current plans to begin work on additional content until the game is finished and also explains that the scope of We Happy Few already exceeds what was originally planned. Paid DLC and Season Passes are always a touchy subject within the gaming community, but the developer at least appears to be going in the right direction by waiting until development is done.

Life in Technicolour

The official launch date announcement for We Happy Few coincides with the final update to the early access version of the game, titled the “Life in Technicolour” update. Compulsion reveals a major AI overhaul that makes the title an all-new game in their eyes.

The Joy drug mechanic has also been re-worked to include five stages — regular, on Joy, overdose, crash, and withdrawal. This creates different visual and audio effects in We Happy Few along with new game mechanics on how often Joy can be used before the player loses control.

Other changes include updates to the stealth and conformity mechanic, rebalancing of both loot and item prices, an overhauled player UI and inventory screens, plus just over a dozen new encounters and more. You can check out the full release notes for We Happy Few’s “Life in Technicolour” on Steam.

For those who are unfamiliar with We Happy Few, here is the official description of the game.

“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. In this alternative 1960s England, conformity is key. You’ll have to fight or blend in with the drug-addled inhabitants, most of whom don’t take kindly to people who won’t abide by their not-so-normal rules. Discover the retrofuturistic city’s dark history as you play through the intertwined narratives of three quietly rebellious citizens of Wellington Wells, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, as they face their pasts, prepare for the future, and engage in activities that aren’t exactly status quo in the artificially enthused society.”

[Featured Image by Compulsion Games]