Back when I thought We Happy Few’s was just a 1984 or Brave New World ripoff, I thought its concept was charming. There’s something lovely about weaving together the hysteric whimsy of ‘60s Mod culture in Britain, a country going mad in its fashion and design to avoid looking at the world falling all around it, with a tale of masked emotions, drug abuse, and dystopia.
It seemed like a harmless enough premise: a dystopian society grown dependent on the mind-numbing effects of a drug, aptly called “Joy” in We Happy Few, with denizens addicted to the bliss it produces. Ultimately a benign if referential concept. Perhaps it’s a commentary on the opioid epidemic rampant in lower-income areas, I thought, or maybe a postulation on the effects of celebrity drug culture.
When I found out Compulsion Games’ true inspiration, my opinion on We Happy Few instantly soured.
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