One of 2016's most frustrating releases leaves early access a very different game than when it started – but has it changed enough

The premise and setting is great and the art design is fantastic; All three characters have interesting and distinctive stories

The game is absolutely no fun to play, with highly repetitive quests and a survival element that seems wholly unnecessary; Overcomplicated crafting, weak combat, and lots of bugs

Despite being set in an alternate 1960s where World War II ended very differently, We Happy Few could be just as damning an examination of what a post-Brexit Britain might look like.

Perhaps the oddest thing about We Happy Few's Xbox and Steam Early Access Preview release, then, is that it's so very different from the game you might have had in mind. The prologue sequence repeats what you saw in the E3 demo, establishing a world in which society has undergone some kind of...

Yeehaw tom Hanks and a good old dog named hooch are good friends

Great game if you like what if scenarios, something different

Although it has been in development for a number of years and available to play as an Early Access release as far back as two years ago, this year proved to be especially fruitful for We Happy Few getting back into the minds of interested players. Especially for those of us in Australia.

We Happy Few tells three compelling stories in a one-of-a-kind, dystopian world that is brilliantly inspired by real-world events and twentieth century literature. Sadly, it fails to translate its vivid ideas into an enjoyable experience.

Wellington Wells is full of appealing backstory

The technical issues and poorly-designed gameplay

a rich and dizzying social satire that is seldom great fun to play

Dystopian futures are often drab affairs covered in shades of brown and beige, immensely depressing, and full of cliches and tropes that bleed from one version to another. In a world filled with existential dread and horrifying rules, does everything really need to look like a cheap pair of khakis

Interesting story and characters; Great use of colour and visuals

Frustrating systems; Experience breaking bugs; Let me hide in the red bushes too; yellow just isn't my colour