We Happy Few unbanned as Australia’s state nannies come to their senses
Australia's notoriously censorious ratings board had refused the satirical game about state-mandated drug use classification, but a review board reversed the decision
WE UNHAPPY FEW has just been un-banned in Australia after country's video game classification board had its earlier decision reversed on review.
The Bioshock-inspired game centres around Wellington Wells, and a small cadre of "moderately terrible" residents who refuse to continue popping state-mandated happy pills and try to escape.
It is described be developers as "a game of paranoia and survival, in a drugged-out, dystopian English city in 1964."
It is this drug that was central to the censors' objections when they refused it classification in May.
The original just indicated that the game's content dealt with "sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena" in such a way that it "offended against the standards of morality, decency and propriety."
In response to that ban, Compulsion Games said We Happy Few's "overarching social commentary is no different than Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, or Terry Gilliam's Brazil", pointing out that use of Joy is mandated by the authorities, and that "the whole point of the game is to reject this programming and fight back".
It seems the message got through, as the censors have now decided to let the game through. They awarded it an R18+ rating, meaning it can only be bought by adults, for "fantasy violence and interactive drug use".
In the full report the state nannies explain the ban was down to "drug use related to incentives and rewards" -- the same reason that they saw fit to deny Australians access to Fallout 3 and Saints Row IV.
Detailing their objections, the board detailed one scene they came across where residents "beat [a woman] with steel pots and a shovel, until she is implicitly killed" for refusing to take Joy.
They also explain the drug is responsible for "improving speed and visibility for the player" in-game.
A central mechanic in the game involves Joy; if you opt not to take it, the game does get significantly harder. Characters in game responsible for ensuring all residents take their daily dose of happy pills can detect when you have not, while withdrawal symptoms from it make the player generally easier to spot when attempting to sneak out of the village to freedom.
"A player that takes Joy can reduce gameplay difficulty, therefore receiving an incentive by progressing though the game quickly. Although there are alternative methods to complete the game, gameplay requires the player to take Joy to progress," the censors say.
The game is , and is due for release on August 10. It is rated PEGI-18 in Europe.
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