Game Insider Game Insider We Happy Few Cover Issue | Page 52

either force-feeding them the drug or calling in a
Joy Doctor to administer a liquid form of Joy,
provided both parties do not beat the Downer to
death and the Downer does not escape.
Furthermore, the city's dystopia and isolation
from the rest of the world after the end of the
German occupation, led to Wellington Wells
making resounding advances in technology,
including Tesla-styled weapon systems, mobile
power cells, and home security systems, all
designed with 1960s aesthetics.
While most buildings retain a quaint English
exterior architecture and have 1960s interior
styling and furniture, much of the exterior streets
have notable differences as a result of the city's
transformation; some examples include Joy-
related propaganda, red telephone boxes
retaining their looks but with added red lights,
and cobblestone streets with psychedelic colors.
As mentioned before, the game features three
different playable characters, which affects the
prologue of the story. One of the games primary
character is Arthur Hastings, who works to censor
archived newspapers within Wellington Wells of
anything that might have citizens recall the
terrible events of the war. As he is processing
articles, he comes across one that includes an
article of him and his younger brother for their
previous achievements, causing him to break free
of the Joy-induced state he was in.
Eventually a co-worker comes in, reminding
him to take his Joy before joining a birthday party
for a co-worker. As he wanders through the
offices as the effects of Joy wears out, he then
notices the inundated state the offices are in with
piles of unfinished papers compared to what Joy
would have otherwise suggested. On arriving at
the party, it initially seems that the other office
workers are beating on a pinata and taking its
candy, but he sees that in reality they have beaten
to death a giant rat and feeding on its guts. The
worker see that he has not taken his Joy and
when asked if he would like her's refuses,
resulting in him being labeled a "Downer" and
chased by two policemen. Arthur escapes to a
sewer but is knocked unconscious, however due
to a gas leak the policemen cannot pursue Arthur
which allows him to escape to a nearby safe
house.
Players initially begin the game with an
interactive prologue upon selecting their
character, allowing them to go through the
events that happened after their character stops
taking Joy, until their eventual escape to the
outskirts of the city.
Beyond the prologue, players have the
freedom of exploring the city's open-world
environment and the various districts that make
up Wellington Wells during the day and the night,
although at the beginning players are restricted
to one district and must complete tasks that can
help them unlock new areas. To escape and win