We happy Few (2018) is a game that I simply cannot wait to play once it releases. While it is in Early Access, the current build lacks quite a bit — even with the big updates it received in 2017. As such, We Happy Few developers, Compulsion Games, have delayed it for what will hopefully be the last time.

The psychedelic horror survival game, which is set in an alternate 1960s England, will now release “sometime this summer”, from its original release date of April 2018. While that is arguably not a lot of extra time, many people are suitably a bit upset about it. As such, Compulsion has vowed to refund all users who found it unsatisfactory. I, for one, think that this is a good thing. I would rather they take their time with the title; similar to what Ubisoft have started doing.

In a video update, Compulsion Games states that the game, which had been in development for four years, will release later. They also say that, after review, the team decided to redo an entire chunk of the start of the game. “Throughout these stories, there are moments that are memorable and very funny”, they explain, but the first few hours of Arthur’s story “just didn’t match those moments at all”. Now, the team will redo the first few hours so that it matches up better with the other two, yet unannounced characters (one of whom, Sally, is teased within the video).

Changes include an entire rebuild of the first two hours or so of Arthur’s experience, as well as a few major late-game moments that have been brought forward. They also mention that the entire team will keep working on the game until it releases. They promise that there will be continuous update videos on a weekly basis, up to release and beyond.

Compulsion Games also reveals a bit of the narrative for the game’s second playable character, Sally. While we do not see much, it does look like she will have some power over characters. Perhaps to get them to do what she wants, or perhaps to make them forget that she was near. In the end, she meets up with Arthur, a stringy Englishman that has been playable since the game released onto Early Access.

We Happy Few is a survival horror game where psychedelic themes are prominent throughout. In Arthur’s story, players come to the realisation that the pills they take, called “joy”, are really mind-altering stimulants. Players will need to moderate their intake of the drug to really see the world around them. Players also need to scrounge for food to survive and fend off against unwelcome people. It is up to the player to get to the bottom of “Joy”, its creation, and ultimately escape the isles.

The game is now scheduled for release during the Northern summer period of 2018, which is winter for everyone in the southern hemisphere. It will be on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft Windows.

[Sources: Eurogamer, Engadget, Gamespot, Polygon, YouTube]

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Junior Editor at Vamers. From Superman to Ironman; Bill Rizer to Sam Fisher and everything in-between, Edward loves it all. He is a Bachelor of Arts student and English Major specialising in Language and Literature. He is an avid writer and casual social networker with a flare for all things tech related.