Paranoia: Happiness is Mandatory

The game is completely unfinished, buggy and unpolished and the way this was released with almost no-one who were actually excitedly waiting for it even knowing it did, clearly shows the devs knew this. (As does the court case against the dev from the original creators/rights holders.) Everything seems to barely cross the barrier of minimum effort. Sure the characters can be moved, but there is close to zero tactical reason to do so during combat. Without that there really isn't much of a game here beyond moving a clump of characters across a map occasionally stopping to shoot/heal. Graphics seem placeholder more than finished product, and all the characters are so flat and lifeless they had to put a thick black outline on them to make them not become part of the background. Character selection is 5 or 6 preset faces with portraits that look like they were made by a mediocre 4th grader. All the layouts, fonts and UI design/layout seems more like minimum effort placeholders rather than finished design with almost comically large lettering to fill up the space were substance should have been. Only the computer seems to be voiced, and even this is done badly, with even getting the p…

This game is dumb and silly and a ton of fun. It definitely has a mid 2000's feel, but the atmosphere is fantastic. I got it on sale for $2.99, and it was well worth that price.

Developed by Black Shamrock and Cyanide Studio and published by Nacon, Paranoia: Happiness is Mandatory is a tactical role-playing game based on the long-running tabletop RPG Paranoia. Set within the bizarre dystopian society of Alpha Complex, the game blends dark humor, science-fiction satire, squad management, and tactical combat into an experience unlike most modern RPGs. Rather than presenting a traditional battle between heroes and villains, it places players in a world where loyalty is mandatory, independent thinking is dangerous, and the all-powerful Friend Computer watches every action. The result is a game filled with creative worldbuilding and memorable concepts that frequently stand out even when some gameplay systems fail to reach the same level of quality. The setting is unquestionably the strongest aspect of the entire experience. Alpha Complex is an underground city controlled by Friend Computer, an artificial intelligence that claims to protect humanity while simultaneously creating endless layers of bureaucracy, surveillance, and paranoia. Every citizen is expected to remain happy and obedient at all times. Questioning authority is treason. Possessing unauthorized…

A bad game trading on the Paranoia brand. Avoid.

Right now it is 95% off. For that price it is a steal. The game has the atmosphear from the RPG. If you like that enough then you should try it out. It is buggy but so far I have not run into a bug that wrecks my run. You can always restart the missing and unless you managed to find a start of day bug then that should set your save straight.

Bought this when it was heavily on sale because I like the TTRPG. It takes way too long to get into any of the action It's baaaaaaad. Combat is clunky and lacks strategy or depth. Plays like an RTS with no RTS mechanics. Humor is highly subjective, but the jokes I encountered are not funny. Very first joke is shamelessly lifted from a youtube skit. Too much reliance on "haha get the reference" and not enough original ideas.