I saw this new game made by Amanita, and I just got curious about it, especially knowing it was a short experience.

Even though I recommend the game, it's more because I think that overall it's good and creative, but to be honest I enjoyed it less than expected.

Starting with the good, the atmosphere is on point, u have these creepy vibes mixed with a warm/calm feeling, the aesthetic is creepy as u would expect, and the sound design is great.

Overall it creates a nice fantasy and the situations you will have to resolve are many and different, even though following a specific theme based on the current "stage", that makes it feel more cohesive and immersive.

The solutions to the "puzzles" are easy but "funny" to perform, and I think it was good that the game didn't take a hard path with them, it would have ruined the pace.

That said, my biggest issue is that it is too abstract and it tries too hard to be weird.

Starting with the title, it feels like they wanted to look cool, and then u start the game and it says "happy game is not a happy game", ugh, kinda edgy and cringe, I was not expecting it from the same studio that made Machinarium. And this is a feeling I have about the game too, it tries maybe too much to be creepy just for the sake of it, and even though is the point of the game, it put me off a bit. I've to say that this is also because, coming from Machinarium, I expected more while this feels like a bit banal. Not that it isn't original but it feels like the typical "look at me I'm weird" game.

I also think that the first part was better done, where the first "stages" gave me a better sense of progression and involvement, while the last ones felt like it was just a lot of things put together. The second half is also less interesting puzzle side, where basically u have to do very very little to progress.

I'm really interested in reading some thoughts on the meaning of this, it's not easy to grasp, and even though I have some idea, I don't feel like getting it as I would like it. Maybe is something about faking happiness? Or like child abuse, where parents show a happy face while underneath they are corrupted? I'll see about that.

To conclude, Happy Game is a nice and fun attempt at doing something provocative, even though it ends up trying too hard, but for a game that it's just 2 hours long, I won't really think about playing it or not too much if you are into these kinds of experiences.