Editorial: We Happy Hellblade

We Happy Hellblade

          Last week we talked about how Bethesda seems to be content with the fact that they’ve begun a descent into the shadiness that the more infamous Triple-A game publishers are known for. This week it’s time to talk about a different game beginning a descent into the shadiness that the more infamous Triple-A game publishers are known for.

          Variety is the spice of life.

          Anyways, here’s a tale of two indie games and how one went horribly wrong.

          You’d think that recent release Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice and the upcoming game We Happy Few would have little in common, and you’d be right. The former is an action-adventure game set in a Norse inspired world, and the latter is a post-apocalyptic survival game with a darkly humourous edge to it. But when you step back and compare the two, the contrast becomes even larger.

          First off, let’s look at the facts. Hellblade is an indie game released by Ninja Theory, best known for their work on Devil May Cry and the Disney Infinity sequels, released earlier this month to critical acclaim. Costing only $32.99 currently on Steam, Ninja Theory has described this game as an “indie-triple A” game, stating that they wanted this game to be able to stand up against stuff released by the major publishers despite being made by a smaller team.

          On the other hand, there’s We Happy Few. Developed by relatively new indie studio Compulsion Games, We Happy Few has enjoyed a lot of early hype and love from gamers, especially after Microsoft aired a notably dark trailer for the game at their E3 2016 conference. Despite this, the game has met with a considerably rocky road on the way to its recently announced launch date of April 2018. To avoid receiving the No Man’s Sky treatment from gamers, Compulsion decided to release the game on Steam Early Access last year to ensure gamers knew exactly what the game consisted of and what the developers had in their vision. While some were satisfied with the early product, others were quick to point out the flaws in the survival system, such as how the food and sleep meters decreased too quickly. Even still, the final product remained hotly anticipated by many.

          And this is where the path divulged between the two games, as this month We Happy Few shed its indie shell and was purchased in full by Gearbox Software. A triple-A developer that has earned itself plentiful amounts of scorn from gamers, Gearbox is most famous for both their wildly successful Borderlands franchise as well as the lengthy controversy after Aliens: Colonial Marines released and much of the pre-release material was debunked as little more than lies coming from the mouth of studio head and certified insane person Randy Pitchford.

          For better or for worse, Gearbox is a triple-A company, making We Happy Few officially become a triple-A video game. And with that, changes are a-coming. First and foremost, the price. When the game first released on Early Access, it cost $30, close to what Hellblade costs currently (and don’t worry, we’ll get back to Hellblade in a second). Once Gearbox got its hands on it, they announced that they had bumped up the price doubly to $60. Pre-order culture has also been added to the game, including exclusive weapons for those who pre-order the game, as well as a free exclusive theme for PS4 owners, and, of course, a Collector’s Edition that costs you $150.

          The Collector’s Edition also doesn’t include a copy of the game. That’s sold separately, because these publishers hate you and everything you stand for.

          And of course, a Season Pass has been added into the game, meaning that We Happy Few is actively avoiding my beloved Splatoon Standard and will require you to pay up front for every little bit of content that is released post-launch. Ugh. I could go on about how awful Season Passes are with how they carve up the game and require you to pay up front for content you don’t even know if you’ll want, but I’ve gone over it extensively before and I’m sure I’ll revisit it another day when it’s more on-topic.

          My biggest point here is how sad it is that We Happy Few, a game that was crowdfunded into existence via Kickstarter, has fallen into the tunnel of gamer despair with how much extra useless garbage Gearbox has slapped onto it. It’s also worth noting that the second the buyout announcement went up these new “features” were also sent live, making me feel that stuff like expensive prices, pre-order bonuses and Season Passes are less because they improve the experience you have with the game (spoiler alert: they don’t) but rather a cheap and easy way to snag some extra cash from customers.

          And so we return to Hellblade, a game specifically developed to demonstrate that you don’t need publishers so greedy that Scrooge McDuck would shake his head at them to create a triple-A masterpiece. The game is currently enjoying a flurry of good press from both critics and consumers thanks to how it delivers an indie game for $30 indistinguishable from the big name stuff sold for double the price. Which would you rather buy? A game that costs extra and will require you to pay extra for eventual content up front that you don’t even know if you’ll want or not, or a polished and finished $30 adventure?

          Think about it.

Song of the Week

Ai no Uta - Pikmin