Review: Please Be Happy Is Comfy and Thoughtful
I have a bit of a bad track record with Studio Élan's visual novels: both Heart of the Woods and Highway Blossoms have sat unplayed in my Steam library for years now. That kind of sweet but subdued Yuri VN should be something I absolutely adore, but somehow I've bounced off each of the ones I've tried. That is until Please Be Happy, which I'm pleased to report finally managed to sink the studio's hooks into me. And it really is peak Élan, with a slow, cozy pace and a contemplative mood, with more than a few literary references sprinkled in. If you're looking for something more epic, intense, or even comedic then this might not be the game for you, but if you want something sedate and thoughtful then Please Be Happy is absolutely worth a look. The story follows Miho, an itinerant gumiho or fox spirit from Korea, as she travels in search of an unknown figure from her earliest memory. Arriving in Wellington, New Zealand, her initial plan to live in a literal hole in the ground and survive on purloined snacks is derailed when she is effectively taken in by Juliet, an aloof and graceful vampire, and Aspen, a local barista and aspiring writer. What follows is the mostly laid back, slice-of-life story of Miho integrating into a society she had previously only moved in the peripheries of, with a few complications both romantic and supernatural. Screenshot by Siliconera Please Be Happy originally came out back in 2021 for PC, but only made it to consoles this February, 2025. Gameplay wise it's mostly linear with a few low stakes choices along the way, later splitting into a route for each of the 2 love interests with 2 endings each. You'll also regularly get the chance to pick from a few locations to hang out in, mostly to give you a choice of which side stories and characters you want to engage with but you can also pick empty locations for a short little vignette of Miho on her own, which is nice. The accompanying art is also lovely with a nice subdued palette with lots of warm browns that fits the overall tone excellently. A few of the side characters have sprites that can look a little rough, but the main cast and backgrounds are great and I especially love Miho and Juliet's outfit designs. Miho herself is a fairly blank character, but at least part of that's by design. She's lived hand-to-mouth her whole life, surviving on instinct and her innate magic powers. So much so, that she struggles to figure out what to do with her time now that she doesn't have to spend it constantly on the hunt for food and shelter. As she adjusts to her new circumstances she shows herself to be curious and surprisingly empathetic, especially given her lack of significant social interaction, as she warms up to the new people in her life quickly. Perhaps too quickly, even, as I was kind of left wishing Please Be Happy had a little more friction and conflict as Miho struggles to unlearn the fight-or-flight instinct that has kept her safe so far. She thinks about it a fair amount, but beyond the first night or so it doesn't end up affecting things too much. She's cute and eminently likable of course, I just feel there was potential for some more characterful hijinks in there to contrast with the slow, slice-of-life moments that make up most of the game. Screenshot by Siliconera Meanwhile Aspen, the first of the two love interests, grew on me immensely during the story. She could have so easily have been shy and forgettable, but that's not her at all. She's kind and caring, yes, but also a bit patronizing and self-absorbed, which only makes her more believable as a character. And her dialogue is really elevated by Anna Chloe Moorey's voice performance, which gets across a lot of subtlety through her intonation and inflection. In fact a lot of the voice work in Please Be Happy is pretty stellar. There's even a few talents who would go on to work on much bigger projects, like Shara Kirby (who is 'Cinder' Carla in Armored Core 6, another game with fantastic voice work) and Molly Zhang (who's been in a few HoYoVerse games). My one gripe is that sometimes the recordings themselves could sound muddy, though I don't know enough about sound work to suggest whether it's a recording or mixing issue. Screenshot by Siliconera Lastly there's Juliet, who takes a while to come into her own as a character because she tends to be more reserved and mysterious. Her design felt absolutely laser-targeted to my tastes, but I imagine someone less into gorgeous women in princely outfits might not be as immediately interested because she can feel a bit absent or without motivation until a good chunk of the way into Please Be Happy. It feels a bit contrived, for example, that she would offer someone she barely knows free room and board especially considering how she and Miho meet, but once you start getting her backstory it does end up making sense. She was originally going to be the first love interest I pursued before I was swayed by Aspen
I have a bit of a bad track record with Studio Élan's visual novels: both Heart of the Woods and Highway Blossoms have sat unplayed in my Steam library for years now. That kind of sweet but subdued Yuri VN should be something I absolutely adore, but somehow I've bounced off each of the ones I've tried. That is until Please Be Happy, which I'm pleased to report finally managed to sink the studio's hooks into me. And it really is peak Élan, with a slow, cozy pace and a contemplative mood, with more than a few literary references sprinkled in. If you're looking for something more epic, intense, or even comedic then this might not be the game for you, but if you want something sedate and thoughtful then Please Be Happy is absolutely worth a look.
The story follows Miho, an itinerant gumiho or fox spirit from Korea, as she travels in search of an unknown figure from her earliest memory. Arriving in Wellington, New Zealand, her initial plan to live in a literal hole in the ground and survive on purloined snacks is derailed when she is effectively taken in by Juliet, an aloof and graceful vampire, and Aspen, a local barista and aspiring writer. What follows is the mostly laid back, slice-of-life story of Miho integrating into a society she had previously only moved in the peripheries of, with a few complications both romantic and supernatural.
Please Be Happy originally came out back in 2021 for PC, but only made it to consoles this February, 2025. Gameplay wise it's mostly linear with a few low stakes choices along the way, later splitting into a route for each of the 2 love interests with 2 endings each. You'll also regularly get the chance to pick from a few locations to hang out in, mostly to give you a choice of which side stories and characters you want to engage with but you can also pick empty locations for a short little vignette of Miho on her own, which is nice. The accompanying art is also lovely with a nice subdued palette with lots of warm browns that fits the overall tone excellently. A few of the side characters have sprites that can look a little rough, but the main cast and backgrounds are great and I especially love Miho and Juliet's outfit designs.
Miho herself is a fairly blank character, but at least part of that's by design. She's lived hand-to-mouth her whole life, surviving on instinct and her innate magic powers. So much so, that she struggles to figure out what to do with her time now that she doesn't have to spend it constantly on the hunt for food and shelter. As she adjusts to her new circumstances she shows herself to be curious and surprisingly empathetic, especially given her lack of significant social interaction, as she warms up to the new people in her life quickly. Perhaps too quickly, even, as I was kind of left wishing Please Be Happy had a little more friction and conflict as Miho struggles to unlearn the fight-or-flight instinct that has kept her safe so far. She thinks about it a fair amount, but beyond the first night or so it doesn't end up affecting things too much. She's cute and eminently likable of course, I just feel there was potential for some more characterful hijinks in there to contrast with the slow, slice-of-life moments that make up most of the game.
Meanwhile Aspen, the first of the two love interests, grew on me immensely during the story. She could have so easily have been shy and forgettable, but that's not her at all. She's kind and caring, yes, but also a bit patronizing and self-absorbed, which only makes her more believable as a character. And her dialogue is really elevated by Anna Chloe Moorey's voice performance, which gets across a lot of subtlety through her intonation and inflection.
In fact a lot of the voice work in Please Be Happy is pretty stellar. There's even a few talents who would go on to work on much bigger projects, like Shara Kirby (who is 'Cinder' Carla in Armored Core 6, another game with fantastic voice work) and Molly Zhang (who's been in a few HoYoVerse games). My one gripe is that sometimes the recordings themselves could sound muddy, though I don't know enough about sound work to suggest whether it's a recording or mixing issue.
Lastly there's Juliet, who takes a while to come into her own as a character because she tends to be more reserved and mysterious. Her design felt absolutely laser-targeted to my tastes, but I imagine someone less into gorgeous women in princely outfits might not be as immediately interested because she can feel a bit absent or without motivation until a good chunk of the way into Please Be Happy. It feels a bit contrived, for example, that she would offer someone she barely knows free room and board especially considering how she and Miho meet, but once you start getting her backstory it does end up making sense.
She was originally going to be the first love interest I pursued before I was swayed by Aspen, and I do think her story ends up working a bit better as the second route to play. That said, I couldn't help but wish for a route where Juliet and Aspen get together, with Miho as more of a daughter figure. As much as I liked each of the characters, the chemistry between Miho and the other two never quite struck me as romantic and some of the lovey-dovey parts could sometimes feel a bit unearned.
It's still sweet though, and watching Miho and the girls bond momentarily sated my endless thirst for Yuri, but I do appreciate that Please Be Happy is more than just a vehicle for the warm fuzzies. There's some good thematic meat to it, and even though it could sometimes be a little on the nose there was enough compelling stuff in there that my thoughts would linger long after I finished a play session. A big theme for Miho is finding out who or what she is, and who she wants to become after learning that, which I think should resonate with anyone who has ties to a diaspora, while Juliet's story often taps into the rich vein of pathos that is relationships between mortals and immortals. I'd have liked a few more moments of conflict and tension, but what is present there really added flavor to the slower, slice-of-life parts.
While there are brief moments of intense emotion, Please Be Happy is mostly a very gentle story that might not satisfy those looking for an excessively cute or romantic tale, because that's not what it is. It's a story about slowing down and appreciating what you have, looking at yourself and deciding what it is you actually want to do and be. If you can match its pace, you'll find a satisfying story in a pretty well made package. The pretty anime girls falling in love is just a bonus.
Please Be Happy is immediately available for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.
The post Review: Please Be Happy Is Comfy and Thoughtful appeared first on Siliconera.
