Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness
Best Visual Novels on Xbox One
Psycho-Pass is a well-known anime series, Mandatory Happiness is certainly one of the best visual novels on the Xbox One. The game is still plenty enjoyable for those that haven’t watched the show on which it is based. That being said, though, most of the characterization of the minor characters are left to the anime, and players would do well to at least watch a few episodes of the show before jumping in.
The story of this game plays out in the background of the Psycho-Pass anime, following the adventures of two characters that regularly interact with the characters from the show, but are on a completely different investigation. The player controls either Inspector Nadeshiko Kugatachi or Enforcer Takuma Tsurugi, two police inspectors living in a futuristic dystopian Tokyo. In this grim future, individuals’ emotional and mental states are monitored via their Psycho-Pass. Those who begin to have immoral or illegal thoughts are labeled criminals. The protagonists, both law-abiding cops, hunt these so-called “latent criminals” by using Enforcers, rehabilitated criminals who aren’t allowed to rejoin normal society.
The inspectors are on the hunt for a rogue AI named Alpha, who’s trying to force humans to be happy by unlawful means. Both are also battling their own demons; Kugatachi is missing memories of her past and Tsurugi is on the hunt for his missing lover. The visual novel is currently only available in Japan, but there is an update that provides the game with an English translation. Since the Xbox One isn’t region-locked, gamers can play the visual novel on a non-Asian Xbox One.
