Which is a shame really, as the setting and world that Compulsion Games have created would be ideal for a more linear story based game. Procedural generation has become one of those phrases that sounds great in theory. A vastly different experience every time you play is one of the commonly fielded selling points, not specifically for We Happy Few but for procedural generation as a feature, but it’s rare that it actually comes to fruition. In reality, the love and care that goes into handcrafted levels and environments is often missing and a lot of textures get re-used, especially in the current state the game is in. Every street, house, tree looks nearly identical and it’s easy to become disoriented.

It’s not impossible to get procedural generation right. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, Rogue Legacy and Enter the Gungeon are three of my personal favourites that excel in the roguelike genre, with each attempt feeling like you’re making progress and unlocking things that can be used in future runs. With We Happy Few, there’s none of that. Every death means you start right over from the beginning, with the bare minimum items that spawn in your small underground den, and the objective is always the same every single time you surface: Escape.

Inventory management is key, with bigger items taking up more squares, similar to how it works in DayZ. It’s all very stylistic, but the downside of that is being unable to actually tell what each item is without mousing over it. Since opening your inventory doesn’t pause the game, trying to find something in a hurry is nigh on impossible as a lot of items look very similar with fairly simple icons. When you’re swiftly vomiting from food poisoning or bleeding to death, it’s handy that you take the correct pill or apply a bandage rather than mistaking them for a Joy pill or rotten apple.

That’s another gripe with the game in its current state; the survival elements are far too prominent. I’d only just left my den for the first time in one run when the game told me I was thirsty and within a few minutes, I was also hungry and starting to get tired. Arthur Hastings shouldn’t be a needy baby that requires tending to every couple of minutes. Drinking an entire canteen and eating some mouldy bread with a rotten apple for dessert should keep him going longer than the time it takes for another citizen to yell “Oh sod off!” at me as I pass them in the street. It’s understandable that a lot of the food in Wellington Wells is mouldy, but the risk of food poisoning should also be lowered. Neximide pills, the cure for food poisoning, aren’t incredibly plentiful and if you can’t find any, you’re quite buggered.

As a lot of the objectives in the game require specific items, but all the items are randomly generated, runs are decided mainly on pure luck. You need a full power cell to cross Lud’s Bridge which is the first main objective, but what if the game doesn’t spawn one? There’s nothing you can do. Journalist and YouTuber Jim Sterling faced a similar encounter in a video he did, where he required another Tough Linen to progress but couldn’t find one on the entire island. Forget about curing yourself if you somehow contract the plague early on too, as the cure doesn’t come until you cross the first bridge and requires multiple items to craft. Unless it works in your favour, having the entire outcome of your playthrough determined by complete RNG is frustrating, to say the least.

It needs a lot longer in the oven and they need to go back to the drawing board in terms of where they actually want to take the game. Two new playable characters are still to be introduced with stories that intertwine with Arthur’s, and more narrative is no doubt coming which will suit the rich and detailed environment they’ve created. I’d personally like to see the combat refined as it currently consists of simple blocking and swinging, with a shove or two thrown in for good measure. A cover mechanic with the ranged and thrown weapons, along with a way to dodge would improve it greatly. More textures are needed too, to stop every damn street from looking identical.

Saying all this, Compulsion Games haven’t done badly so far. We Happy Few is enjoyable in short bursts, it’s just been released to the public far too early. A lot of hype and excitement has surrounded the game and the pressure to release a playable game must have affected Compulsion Games, but hopefully they’re listening to the feedback and will take We Happy Few down a more impressive route. Nothing too drastic, but something that plays to the strengths of the world they’ve created and is considerably more polished. Still one to keep a keen eye on.