PSYCHO-PASS: Mandatory Happiness Reviews
To conclude, PSYCHO-PASS Mandatory Happiness offers a really great story and amazing representation of the PSYCHO-PASS universe, letting us dive once again into this crazy world. It shows new aspects of this world, asks new questions and expands the universe, story-wise it´s pretty much what I expected. On the other hand, it suffers from a weak 2nd protagonist, a lackluster and boring presentation and some little problems within the story. It just never feels like the presentation PSYCHO-PASS needed to convey its world and their problems, resulting in a worse experience than necessary.
Commonly speaking, Visual novels are not really adored by everyone and only a few people enjoy playing them but all these aside, Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness is a proper recommendation for those who want to enter the world of Visual novels and also for the fans. A mysterious mixture, trying to provide the player with an enjoyable time which makes it a “good” game and that’s all and it will also be a memorable experience for the fans of the series.
Review in Persian | Read full review
All in all I would recommend at least one playthrough whether or not you are a fan of the anime. It is filled many thought-provoking themes and moments and I cannot wait to dive back in!
Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness is a decent example of game from a niche genre. Just don't expect to be doing much more than advancing through dialogue screens and you'll enjoy yourself.
Psycho-Pass seems like a re-run of the first anime season, but that was enjoyable so it works out okay.
Anyone who doesn't enjoy Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness clearly needs to get their Hue checked. The story is enthralling and compelling, with enough routes and flags to warrant replays. It manages to add more depth to the characters and universe, which were already well developed, and is a better accompaniment to the superb first season of the anime than the movie or second season. There have been some phenomenal Visual Novels over the years, games like Steins;Gate, Danganronpa and the Zero Escape series, so there's no higher praise than to say this is easily on par with those gems.
Established fans of Psycho-Pass can revel in spending another few hours with their favorite characters and might even be considered a mandatory assignment for those interested in the CID.
While mostly appealing to fans of the original series, Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness is able to present an immersive world and appealing narrative to newcomers - but come prepared to learn.
A decent visual novel that could have been better with a little more polish and attention to detail.
The visual novel installment to the Psycho-Pass universe fits perfectly into season one, rarely stumbling along the way.
Overall, if you’re happy to sit down and have a good read, Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness is an extremely well-told story with an incredibly well-written antagonist. The lack of animation and interactivity will be off-putting for some, but if you can look past that you’re in for an engrossing experience that moulds itself around your choices.
Visual novels have rallied hard over the last few years, not only showing up in North America but also having moved from PC exclusives to showing up on consoles more readily. Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness is the latest such visual novel from NIS America and 5pb and it delivers exactly what you would hope for from the genre: stylish visuals, excellent voice acting and most importantly an engaging story.
Whether you’ve been a fan of Psycho-Pass for years, or you hadn’t even heard of the series until you saw this review, Mandatory Happiness is well worth checking out. Though you can play it as a newcomer, it’s a far more rewarding experience if you’ve watched the anime.
In the end, Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness is a worthy companion to the original series and one of the better Visual Novels available on consoles. It doesn’t quite have the narrative force that can hook people in like Steins;Gate or Danganronpa, but it is definitely the best possible medium for adapting the cyberpunk setting of the original series while letting fans spend more time with Akane and her team.
All-in-all, Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness is a well-crafted, dark, gritty and edgy, detailed visual novel that I would happily play through a couple of times whenever I get bored of other visual novels such as Phoenix Wright or Danganronpa. The visuals are crisp and clean, voice acting (Whilst only in Japanese) is still top-notch, and the plot is tense and thrilling. My only concern is that I fear it will stumble near the end.
This mild sense of disappointment at Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness' production values can't obscure the fact that its most important component, its writing, succeeds, and largely captures what made the anime feel special. It may not exceed or even meet its source material's heights, but it does it justice, which is, considering Psycho-Pass' world, more than can be said for most cases.
Visual novels rarely come as deep and thought provoking as this one.
A deep plot and dramatic, and interesting characters, make Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness a must-have for any fans of the original series and of visual novels.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness does a great job and bringing the world that fans have come to love to a visual novel and while it could have been better in areas it’s definitely an enjoyable experience. I reviewed the game on PlayStation 4 but it would feel more at home on the PlayStation Vita which, thankfully; it is also available on. I actually spent a good deal of my time with it using remote play as it’s just a much more comfortable experience when you’re having to spend a lot of your time reading. Ultimately, I feel the enjoyability of this game really comes down to how much you like reading, though there is a minigame to mix things up a little but that’s only necessary to unlock gallery items.
Poignant and dense, Mandatory Happiness is a game that will require additional runs to absorb but only one to be endlessly captivated.