We Happy Few: What Taking Joy Does

Taking Joy in We Happy Few

Joy is the drug that has everyone so “happy” in We Happy Few. It twists their faces into nightmarish smiles and clouds their heads so that they don’t have a care in the world. Of course, to folks like you and I who know exactly what’s going on, Joy is bad news. It’s a horrible drug that does nothing more than allow society to be controlled and kept on a very short leash.

There are times, however, when a leash is a good thing. When you need law enforcement and the controlled masses to turn the other way because they see you as one of them. When those times arise in We Happy Few, you need to pop a Joy yourself. But what exactly happens when you take one of those pink little capsules?

As soon as you take a pill, your world will light up both literally and figuratively. Colors become more vibrant, you’ll develop a pep in your step, and a rainbow will stretch across the clear sky. Even the world sounds happier as you move about “snug as a bun on a rug.” When on Joy, none of the Wellies (the NPCs who stick to their medical regiment) will be suspicious of you. As far as they’re concerned, you’re just another happy face in the crowd.

You’ll notice that when you pop one of these pills you’ll see a new meter appear in the upper left of your screen. This white circle denotes the amount of “happiness” you have left. Once it depletes, Joy’s second set of effects set in.

While coming off of the drug’s pleasant effects you’ll instantly become hungry and thirsty. On top of that, time will move forward at a rapid pace for a little while, showing how disorientated you’ve become. The world suddenly returns to that bleak pallor you’ve become so familiar with in We Happy Few, and the despair and depression come crashing down once more.

We recommend only taking Joy when absolutely necessary, such as when you need to pass a Joy detector to get somewhere else. Other than that, you can mostly get away without consuming it, as NPCs won’t get suspicious of you unless you’re actively misbehaving.

Be sure to check our wiki for more information on We Happy Few.