Compulsion Games opened its doors about a decade ago. The Canada-based indie studio has, thus far, shipped two titles–Contrast and We Happy Few. In a new documentary, creatively titled The Cost of Joy, the team at Compulsion chronicles its short history, highlighting the studio’s myriad highs and lows. With a less than 40-minute runtime, the documentary also delves into the lengthy development of We Happy Few.
Check out the full The Cost of Joy documentary in the video below:
Contrast launched late in 2013 as a cross-gen title at the start of this console generation. Charming and unique in its own right, the puzzle platformer received middling review scores. Still, Compulsion Games’ small development team went on to craft something even more ambitious with We Happy Few, a survival horror title set in an uncomfortably cheerful dystopian world.
The Cost of Joy covers all of the bases. Everything from Compulsion’s conception to the Microsoft Studios acquisition and We Happy Few’s subsequent launch earns due attention. Development on Contrast receives its deserved time in the spotlight, as well. While it remains unknown as to what Compulsion will work on next, the team made it clear that Microsoft’s acquisition is a massive stress reliever that allows them to focus on the creative process more than ever.
Compulsion recently completed development on We Happy Few’s final story expansion, We All Fall Down. The content launched in November to complete the game’s Season Pass offerings, which include two other story expansions. Both were released earlier this year.
