great presentation? Are you kidding? the walk speed is an absolute crawl, and the run speed can hardly be called powerwalking. You're given a camera to use as a light source, then immediately given a flashlight (you only really need one of them). There are tons of rooms that go unused and might as well be completely absent from the game (The dining room, bathrooms, museum, several guest rooms, etc.). and the part where you use the microphone was a nightmare. Rant about design flaws aside, I was severely disappointed by the story of the game. As the game progressed, I was hoping for the story to play out more like; "A girl who looked up to her father uncovers the truth that he was a malicious predatory monster", and the big reveal would be that HE was the one who killed Rachel. Not only revealing his true nature, but also displaying that these types of relationships are predatory and abusive rather than painting them as romantic and loving. Day 9 is when I started to feel sick. Before the reveal, I really liked these characters. I loved Nicole and Irving, and I wanted to see them escape and run off into the sunset together, but instead they both fuckin die. This game sucks. It had so much potential, but it ended up with a horrible story and a nasty theme.

I think my least favorite part of this game is the randomly generated maps, especially since the map changes in the different acts. My first playthrough I had a mission almost 2000 km away in the garden district, and I had to run back forth which took a really long time. I almost put down the game just for that

We Happy Few is one of the most underrated video games I've played. Although it had a lot of glitches and bugs, I love the story.

Yes

This game is garbage 😂😂

Your prasise of some of the narrative elements of the storyline, which I was actually pretty engaged with by the end of your review, makes me really urge you to reconsider a proper review of the DLCs. I haven't already checked If you have done so. but I imageing if it is more of a focused adventure, perhaps it really explores the themes and elements of we happy few that the base game failed to. who knows? edit: btw fantastic review. Im looking forward to pouring over your other videos. I can see where the creative effort in the story is and I like that you can see it too, while coming away with a feirce recommendations against it.

Ended the game today, great video bud

I do recommend that you play the nicolightbearer. DLC and the we all fall down. DLC both pretty awesome. They were done a lot better than me.Actual game was

The fact the open map just leaves you to sprint straight across right after any of the dramatic flashback scenes is so stupid.

I always wondered why my favorite let's players would only play this game for one or two videos and then quit for seemingly no reason. Makes sense now.

If the game got remade maybe i dunno

I have mixed feelings because: a) I agree writing sucks at places, and it's not gonna be the game I'll remember for long; b) I don't get where the author of that video saw that it tries to excuse something at all It is a story told by a daughter who expresses jelousy about the fact that her father's with another young girl. For me whole plot seems much more Freudian - the conflict where not just father groomed young girl, but that his daughter would like to be on her placed, to own her father mentally and physically. Recall how she speaks of her mother - she's not really interested talking about her. Then grasp Jung's "Two essays on Analytical Psychology", with the approximately close story of a woman that goes histerical and how it traverses deep into her relationship with her father The way Nicole tries to remember some memories involving her father and Rachell - usually is brought with sense of disgust to him. Yet, she represses such memories, that's what Irving wants to uncover there, not just to tell her the truth straight away but to reconstruct this whole thing so she accepts the truth. Inasmuch as she represses this, she also represses her memories of an evil-father, that's why we see him being that "kind, bright person" Hockey stick murder, and the scene with mannequins implying that the first thought should be "So Nicole killed Rachell, alright", cause there's no chance you'll figure that it was her mother. That thing might just mean about a representing situation where Nicole was even more aware of everything, that she indeed wanted to kill Rachell herself, subconsciously It's lame we didn't figure more about Claire's motivation and character And in general I'd say next - I think that's what game writers were trying to say, but the game is still badly written, it's just not that reason you're trying to uncover here. It can't have both "I am a bad writer" and "I'll write and construct so well plot that leads to the fact that Leonard is a good guy hence we here excuse grooming"

Actually, about running: you have upgrades! If you upgrade, people will turn their head and won’t care about you running.

I'm playing it now, as a Far Cry fan, and for me it's a 7/10 (because I feel like being nice). My issues is it's so bloody easy. Capturing a strike point is not difficult at all, and once you do the game becomes even easier. Eventually you'll run around with no resistance at all. Taking a base it Far Cry is much more difficult,requires more tactics, and is more satifying. I'm in the 4th area but it all feels the same. The enemies are all the same. My second biggest complaint is that the game lacks personality. You can run around an entire area and you'll never find individuals who grant side quest, just some job board distractions. The characters are so bland. Still the game serves as a mild distraction if you've played all the Far Cry games and want something else. I would honestly say even my least favorite Far Cry game is more fun then this.

It makes me slowly realise that I'm wasting my time, for every day is precious and time is as well. You're told to cherish your time, but you never truly do until you lose it. Then you think back on what you wish you could've done different, but you have to move on. It's this cold hard truth of having to move on that I push to the back of my head all the time. That I should value my memory and moments more, that life is precious and you should make the best of it. This video felt like a reminder of that, and I can't put into words how I feel. I'm still quite young and have so much potential, yet I look back and think, "Huh, I could've done something more signifcant. Something more memorable." I see now that, even if this really isn't a clear goal, I just want to be remembered. I want to create and use my imagination and skills to bring something memorable, something that will stick with you forever. It's why I'm able to remember famous games such as Undertale or OMORI, for they had an impact on me. They shaped who I am, they gave me a new perspective. In the same way, just like this video has done for me, I think I would like to do that. Thank you for creating this video. You deserve more recognition for it.

I don't get you. I just played the game, and at no point did it feel like what happened was encouraged or even accepted. I'm ok with a dark story and I don't need the villain to grin and laugh maniacally. Real people are also not clearly defined, and I thought that made the game more compelling. It's a game about bad people/decisions. That's the point. Meanwhile, I also don't understand how can the same people who took issue with the above praise the presentation. So many game mechanics make no sense. Dedicated buttons for flashlight, camera flash and microphone... you barely use them. Hidden passages that are barely traveled through. A whole hotel with almost no meaningful exploration of the areas.

Wow, the intersped moments of solid writing with schizophrenic gameplay is so bizarre.

Thank you so so much for this video and for sharing your story and Spiral <3 I can happily tell you that most bugs you've encountered (particularly those that you needed to reload) are not there anymore, hahaha, and we're going to have another big patch early in October for any left ones; thank you for fighting against those, to meet the end. I know they weren't kind at all and really frustrating <3

this game, and i love this game, would’ve worked so much better as a film/series- not a video game. because the plot? the setting? the world building is where this game shines. the GAMEPLAY is where it falls into the ditch so why make it a video game when that kind of story would work so well in film.

There's only two comments until now

spoilers?

I swear to dog I kept hearing "spyro" instead of "spiral".

Cool to see you highlight smaller games like that even if it's sponsored

This is likely just a coincidence, but the mention of a ''Permanent solution'' as one of the NPCs puts it reminded me of ''The Final Solution''. The Final Solution or ''the Jewish Question'' was the code name for the Holocaust. I sincerely hope they weren't intentionally alluding to this by using such similar terminology. I feel it'd be very bizarre if they did? Even given the game's setting. Fantastic video btw! It's really unfortunate how... not good this game is. I remember looking forward to it when it was first announced. It sucks things turned out this way, but at least I have something to complain about.

I haven't played the game so I can't really say much about the mechanics, but the story was one of the reasons I never got the game. Its not funny enough to be lighthearted and whimsical, but its also not heavy enough for the darker moments to hit as hard as they should. It sits in this weird middle area for me. I can tell what they were going for, but it just doesn't work for me. I think the main theme of trauma and fitting in would have worked better if, funnily enough, the game took more of a risk and wasn't procedural generated. That mechanic was popular at the time and it really doesn't add much to the game. They could have just focused on making the social aspect of the game as polished as possible. Find a way to make that interesting because it blends so much into the story, and make sure the story fits that as well. I think the synergy is there if they would have been willing to go for it.

Very, very honest review. I LOVE this game, but your criticisms are on point. I have been more than willing to overlook certain issues, but I could see how some would not. It’s dirt cheap most days, and well worth a spin if hit-and-run combat is your bag. It’s mine.

You must be playing some pretty good games then bro, cuz We Happy Few is pretty decent.

You need to play more games if *this* is the worst you've played *this year.*

Im all for psychological horror like Little Nightmare, Blair Witch, or Yamowari but this looks just bad. Thr first part is almost like the beginning of RE7 without any real payoff. Then we get The Shining and looks like it to lead to Nicole being the killer while glossing over a 50 yo grooming a child.

September 15th? I remember September 15th was the day Pryo said the darkwood video would come out. Darkwood? Pyro is working hard to get us the video on September 15th. September 15th? I remember September 15th was the day Pryo said the darkwood video would come out. Darkwood? Pyro is working hard to get us the video on September 15th. September 15th? I remember September 15th was the day Pryo said the darkwood video would come out. Darkwood? Pyro is working hard to get us the video on September 15th. September 15th? I remember September 15th was the day Pryo said the darkwood video would come out. Darkwood? Pyro is working hard to get us the video on September 15th. September 15th? I remember September 15th was the day Pryo said the darkwood video would come out. Darkwood? Pyro is working hard to get us the video on September 15th.....

00:46:23 Lol

I like the beginning but honestly I got to the game show part and I never picked it up again

wow, every time you showed a genuinely impactful cutscene, it made me even sadder that there was such a shit game leading up to each one maybe this should've been a movie, or they should've even just made it a lot more linear? weird thing to say but like, imagine how much harder the story might hit if you werent faffing about the procedural generated bullshit in service of such a direct story

I never saw aiden as a good/ likeable guy, i thought that it was like breaking bad, that watching a character get worse and worse was the point of the story. He goes deeper and deeper into anger, losing more of "aiden peirce" and fully becoming "the vigilante", an identity that feels like the embodiment of his revenge, and even the end credits playing a cheerful song and pointless choice of maurice's fate at the end made me feel like "congrats, you sacrificed everything you had for revenge. you did it. now what?". I liked that aiden was a piece of sh, feels like a rotten guy in a rotten world story. the gruff tough asshole part always felt to me like it was on purpose, an overcompensation to lie to himself

Oh man, it's Saints Row 3 all over again.

I feel as if Abbsynthe did a good job making a video delving into the story of We Happy Few, the story is personally one of my favorites, the gameplay was borderline nonexistent but I would say it was well worth it for the story.

I watched this whole video in one go. I love this analysis. Really well done

I really wanted to love we happy few, but it was just so incredibly hard to play... I made it through Arthur's story and the twist was heavy. I liked the story, really! All the bugs made it borderline unplayable at times though and when I got to the next chapter and was constantly depressed I just gave up. that mechanic was clever in theory, but ffs I could not handle it one bit. I felt a bit of emotional connection to Arthur but Sally none at all. and reading up on the third chapter I'm glad I didn't make it, diabetes apparently making it even harder than the depression. this could've been so good, I really think so, but well... 🫠

It took me till 2024 to finally play this one. And tbh, I really enjoyed it. Despite the bugs, the experience was pleasing; the graphics were beautiful, the sound design while hit-and-miss with some of the dialog, was on point (punchy guns, ost, and ambients), and the gameplay just kept me in the game.

As someone whos loved We Happy Few to the point of playing it twice, all i gotta say is that the game can be summed as this: An amazing game concept with amazing story writing, blinded by terrible gameplay and business practices. From what i remember, the game started off from an indie team- but then got involved with gearbox who wanted to make it triple A. Gearbox pushed the creators to release the game at an unreasonable deadline, and the game got released for 75$, it went downhill. The game was buggy, gameplay was just trash, and yeah... And it sucks cause the game had so much potential to explore different themes and concepts at a deeper level, such as trauma and repressing things. But i feel like because of how things turned out, the game never really got a chance to do that. Anyways i could be wrong, i wrote this at 3am so my brain is completely fried. Anyways great vid! Edit: also to mention, the DLCs actually do manage to kind of delve into the themes of the joy pills, and world building! Espically the light bringer and down they fall one! They fix a lot of the issues the first game had such as the eating mechanic and story pacing.

This video is about 8 years too late. You must have been living under a rock. Or stuck in some internet Explorer simulation.

I remember being so hyped for this game. When i died and respawned in a whole new island, i started losing intreast. This game needed a consistant map imo, maybe have loot containers change contents and such.

This game mechanically wants to be Pathologic 2 so bad

Arthur sounds like Chris Chan when he sighs

If you get it for free its a fine game. I enjoyed it wirh my Xbox pass