We Happy Few is a dark game set in an even darker world, where science has harshly changed how humanity deals with its past. The atmosphere is overbearing yet beautiful in the way only the decay of beautiful, war-torn cities could be. The people who inhabit this town, eloquently named Wellington Wells, are twisted visages of people in love with their utopia. They’ve become part of the very darkness that surrounds them. This is reminiscent of another game, one that many who lay eyes upon We Happy Few can’t help but compare it to: BioShock.
While there are some similarities, the two games are decidedly different. One must only take a look behind the torn veil of a utopia to see how far apart the games truly are.
Andrew Ryan and Uncle Jack
One thing that both BioShock and We Happy Few have in common is a grand, leading voice. In the world of Rapture, it was Andrew Ryan, a genius with lofty aspirations of a utopia held up by not religion and kindness but by science and art. One where the mind is the greatest asset and no god nor king will command your bidding. Andrew Ryan embodied that, exhibiting no fear of what the next man could achieve, respecting that each person had a choice, for “a man chooses, a slave obeys.”
We Happy Few’s Uncle Jack, on the other hand, is a bit of a creep. He tells stories of Joy and conformity, urging everyone to stay in line. Heaven forbid you decide to go the way of a Downer, someone free to make their own choice and risking the “perfect” world that has been put in place by your “loving” government.
The figurehead of each game carries a deeply message. While one opens you up to the possibility of true, unbridled freedom, the other condemns anything that isn’t in keeping with the norm. From these two figures the unique worlds of each game, both BioShock and We Happy Few, spring forth.
Rapture and Wellington Wells
Both cities clearly have the potential to be the perfect world. As you walk around, gazing upon what could be, it becomes difficult to resist the draw of each utopia. Rapture, and even Columbia, showed what great minds could do when put to task. Otherworldly tech, beautiful landscapes and indoor facilities, lavish party rooms, and more showcase a world begging to succeed. You can almost see the memories the walls hold, and it makes their ruin inviting in a sense. Even though Rapture was dark and dangerous, you wanted nothing more than to explore its every nook.
Wellington Wells is quite clearly the opposite. Everything is pristine and happy in an institutional sort of way. It’s not the work of geniuses, but of those seeking to control the masses. There are bright colors and beautiful trees, but they all seem to lack that life that free people provide. Everything is so… sterile. Compulsion games did a great job of building a perfect world that does nothing more than creep players out and repulse them.
The inviting nature of BioShock’s rapture is nowhere to be found in Wellington Wells. No wonder players are so eager to escape its unnerving confines.
Joy and ADAM
While Rapture and Columbia were brought about by a need to showcase the power and ingenuity of man, Wellington Wells depicts its cowardice. This cowardice comes in a readily available pill called Joy. For those lucky enough to never be trapped in the world of We Happy Few, Joy is a drug that erases your past and provides a sense of euphoria. A person could easily bash a rat to death and feast on its innards and think nothing of it, because Joy makes it all better. Of course, Joy has led to rising bouts of paranoia and aggression as well. Those on Joy (known as Wellies) are threatened by those who choose to remember (Downers).
This creates a society where everyone is a slave to the past, either avoiding it through the use of substances or embracing it and facing crushing depression as you helplessly try to escape. The splicers in BioShock may seem just as twisted, gorging on their ADAM, but they at least knew exactly what they were getting into. They are aware of their choices and they still choose to seek their perfection. There’s a sort of honor in that, an honor that the Wellies can never hope to understand.
Gameplay
On top of narrative differences, We Happy Few and BioShock are two very different games mechanically. The BioShock series centers around first-person shooting and action in a game that is mostly linear but does offer some exploration. There is a clear plot that you are to follow, with NPCs guiding your adventure and a magnificent confrontation awaiting your one hero. Irrational Games had a clear story in their minds as they put together each of the three adventures, weaving them into one consistent plot for the player to follow along.
We Happy Few is all about survival and escape. While there is a form of a story right now, and a full-on narrative will be added for characters when the game is fully released, it is there as an option. One can choose to live among the citizens of Wellington Wells for as long as they see fit, scavenging, exploring, watching. You are free to create your own experiences as you move through the world learning exactly what lies beneath the dark surface. That freedom provides a much different feel from what you experience in the BioShock trilogy, especially when you consider the first game’s ending.
Both BioShock and We Happy Few aim to tell different stories and provide notably different experiences. They have so far proven to be great at creating these dark worlds full of potential and hidden horrors, but their dark corners are not the same. Of course, as time goes on, and We Happy Few has more added on, we may see the game shift closer to that of the underwater utopia that captivated so many fans. Until then, tough, it’s very much its own nightmare.
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