Happy Game - The Story Explained 

I truly feel bad for the child while playing the game. No matter how many scary things he encountered,he always tried to find something to smile at. I thought that he would finally get a happy ending when he got his toys and his dog back but the creepy smiley face kinda implied something else....

At the end, the boy showing he is trapped inside something while hitting "glass", it kinda feels like breaking the fourth wall, he can never escape these nightmares because we can play the game from the beginning whenever we want.

The smiles are all about faking a happiness that no longer exists. Also I really love the art of this game.

If we look at the story with a different perspective, it seems like we were actually helping the monster instead of the boy given the warning signs of it's presence and how the toys were used to lure him throughout the game.

this game is very weird and horrifying and now we get to know its symbolism the meaning what it's trying to say with its imagery and frightening narrative,Incredible story explanation as always SuperHorrorBro happy thanksgiving to all

the entire smiley mask part represents antidepressants, and no longer needing them after finally accomplishing something, so he gives them to somebody else. this gives him the courage to retrieve his rabbit from the river (the black pit, which also represents withdraw from the antidepressants) the monsters he destroyed represented his fears. the part with the baby doll that gives chase to him for his ball represents that the bully beat him for standing up for himself, and eventually held the ball over his head to keep it away from the boy, and when the boy finally got the ball, the bully gave chase, but tripped and fell (and possibly broke their neck), the other boys on the spikes represent his failed attempts to get the ball back after finding his dog in the forest, the dog is injured, but the boy is so happy and he doesn't notice, and the dog dies of it's wounds in from of the boy, who is scarred forever, even after getting another dog. also, the games with the rock in the forest represent how the boy felt after finally finding a landmark, a vantage point, and a place to rest, but while he was on the rock he was still afraid of the forest around him, and he felt trapped within himself. the ending represents how he tried to replace everything he lost, which in the end drove him to drugs and insanity, the melting and the red thing coming out of his chest represents how he eventually died from a heart attack, an overdose, and traumatic stress, meaning that his tortured soul was never set free, and it died with him

Fun fact: That killer guy who was torturing the rabbits is called "Scientist" in the game files

I remember genuinely crying at the end of this game, because it hit me so hard from within. i’m ashamed to say it’s something I relate with heavily (maybe a bit more heavy on the drug usage when it may have not been exactly the forefront of the meaning of the game but i still think it applies) and I would revert to my childlike mindset when trauma was triggered with many different drugs, other substances, and self harm, yet over time that trauma entered my euphoric headspace i was trying to use to escape from it, therefore warping said trauma into abstract images and symbols, which worsened and became more disturbing and ended up just making it more prevalent in my mind. Yet when I would have even an ounce of conscious sobriety, all I wanted and thought about was to return, until it became less of a want and more of a need and obligation to feel like myself when in reality i was losing myself, my identity, and on many occasions with the abuse and my worsening health, quite literally my quality of life. i’ve always appreciated abstract games that display mental health issues for that reason and I appreciate that this game got fairly popular so that it can provide some insight to those who have not experienced it and closure to those who have, understanding that they were not alone or crazy and are understood. to anybody else who relates, I send all my love to you. I wish there was a specific formula i could provide on how to get out of it but unfortunately it really is a journey from within. you are loved, you are heard, and you are not alone.

This was a truly weird and horrifying game I’m already excited for the explanation !

I thought he killed himself in the end but the theory of him using drugs (legal or not) just makes it worse. Really want a sequel with him in adulthood called "SAD".

I noticed something else... the humanoid figures at the field before the forest all wear polka-dot clothes like the kid in the flashback, but with the colors inverted (it's possible to see it right about here 14:34). I think the protagonist blames himself for the possible pain his dog went through after getting lost and never returning... (or at least that's how he sees it in his head).

I feel like this might represent a child’s mind and dreams during cancer… I’ve been to child hospitals before a lot of fluffy toys and faces hiding something depressing and horrifying. I’ve seen smiling faces representing childhood cancer, it most times shows them laughing. Loosing toys due to a smiley face, then getting bullied for no reason possibly at the start of treatment. Him gaining his toys back may be him gaining his childhood back, but the pain never seeming to go away in the end.

I realized we never get to "save" the dog properly And we proceed to the "real world" quite instantly, I can't put it together by now.

There's also the fact that his eyes changed after each dream. That's got to mean something, right?

I have a theory, the smiley face entity that appears at the start and throughout the game might not be bad and might be trying to help the boy cope with all the trauma he has experienced, and by putting him back to sleep that’s how the smiley face helps him cope with more traumas he has experienced, another part that backs up my theory is as you said, the smiley face creature destroys the smiley faces in the 2nd part that have the smiley face hearts.

I find it cool they made the boys' eyes change as he goes deeper into insanity, and depression.

Has anyone noticed how the child’s eyes change every dream? From rather normal eyes to the colors completely reversed.

to me, the smiley face seems to me like a image of the parent, that doesnt take the boy's fears, pain and worries seriously, telling him to be happy constantly.

I have another interpretation for the toys in the ending. When he's angry, my little brother always says "it's nothing" even if it's obvious he ain't fine. So him (the man from the game) being unable to admit his problems and hiding it is alot like being a big kid. Except it now features harmful substances.

I have a feeling that this child may be trying to break out, and isn’t as helpless as we first expected. Taking back his ball from a bully, befriending said bully, confronting his trauma, and calling out to the player for help. Maybe this story can have a *Happy* ending.

This game just shows how easily a small kid can be traumatized, my mom watches a lot of horror movies in the living room where I can walk in on them. Because of that I can’t sleep without my cat in my bed with me or another person, because my mind wonders and turns any small shadow or sound into something that wants to eat me. I’m still like this even now. It’s one of the reasons I’m so attached to my cats bc when I wake up from nightmares they are always there and it calms me down. When they aren’t i have a harder time seeing what’s reality, and what’s not.

I don’t have much evidence for this, just a thought I like to think the smiley face could represent his parents, trying to help their kid with their trauma. Except they don’t know how to go about it, so they buy him the toys taken from him and try to keep him from bullies. But if this is the case, then it would seem that wasn’t the best approach and may even have cause more trauma or maybe paranoia? Again just a thought, feel free to say otherwise I am open to other opinions :3

I don't think the ending was necessarily a bad one. The smiley face that he draws doesn't look like all of the pained, messy ones that we see up to that point, and instead of it being on a monster or forced onto him externally, he makes it with his own breath. He might not *be* happy yet (also he might possibly be dead and in some kind of afterlife?), but he can find happiness now, instead of just trying to relive times when he was less sad.

I think the giant rabbit could also represent the guilt that he lost his rabbit so, when he's being caught he's being swallowed by guilt does that make sense?

You know, seeing that the "kid" is melting at the end and that we can finally see reality, it is implied that the he died from overdosis

I'm so excited you actually tackled this game's obscure and bizzare story! I absolutely love you're story explained videos and theories they all make a lot of sense and this one is no different

"This is your brain" * Shows computer monitor * "This is drugs" * Shows Steam * "This is your brain on drugs" * Shows Happy Game *

I feel like I can sort of relate to the boy in a way. As someone who is currently nineteen and with autism, I for some reason have strong reactions to littler things. Like when I watch somebody on TV suffer or go through trauma, I'll feel almost like I'm that character suffering. My brain even manufacturing dark ideas that are not my own.

The worst part is that there isn't an good ending. has it would eventully lead him to the bad ending

Maybe the smiling face represents escapism? It helps him sometimes but keeps bringing him back to his trauma, he try’s to make him happy but his other thoughts/trauma keeps ruining his dreams.

With the revelation of drug abuse themes, the other corpses in the dream sequences could've represented his attempts to reform and relapses.

I like this explination, but the part in dream 2.2 where you do a few weird things to get your rabbit back and all of the little sequences have a smiley heart; is it possible that, since we're aware of the fact that the yellow and red smiley face is more of a mask than true emotion, this represents that the boy has tried to excuse these memories as happy rather than traumatic, or was convinced of this? For example: when you tell a story from your past with say family and believe it to be a normal or universal experience, but the response you get shows that the things that happened to you were, in fact, not a normal occurance

Minus the drug use I relate to this game, a lot. It’s kinda scary lol. Sometimes memories or just general anxiety can only be helped with distraction. I loved the horrror and oddities of the game before, but damn, this hits close to home.

I've been waiting for this! This really was a trip to watch you play. Now I get to see what symbolism I potentially missed.

This is how my dad explained clowns to me when I was a kid. Broken people with no hope, hiding their pain behind stupid actions and wide smile

The game felt a little bit one-note to me: scary things that are smiling, pretending to be happy and friendly but aren't. Because of this, the one thing that really stood out was the grumpy face. That one was the only openly hostile thing that didn't try to hide the fact that it was hostile: it looked grumpy and WAS grumpy, but in a strange way felt like it was actually helping. This makes more sense when you see what happens later: after he hurts you, you hurt him back, and then you *comfort* him. Doing so seems to make the boy happy, too - and I don't mean any sort of manic happiness as we see many times during the game, but a simple, quiet happiness. In the end, nothing horrific happens to the grumpy face - sure, he gets gum blown up in his face and cries, but in the end he is left peacefully sleeping and even takes the fake mask off the boy. This part more than any other is important to me because it shows how he might have escaped his trauma - and indeed, how any of us might deal with it. Rather than running away from pain and pretending to be happy, if the protagonist acknowledged his pain and shared comfort with other hurt souls, he might have been able to gain some measure of peace. Showing vulnerability rather than covering it up, sharing sympathy with other sufferers who want to heal; these are real-life ways of dealing with pain and trauma. Although the grumpy face might be... well, grumpy, sometimes accepting negativity is exactly what we need. One could go so far as to say that this game is a comment on the toxic nature of false positivity, which I feel is *very* prevalent. Your real feelings might not always be pleasant, but coming to terms with them is necessary for the sake of your mental health. Also, I feel it's important to mention: coping mechanisms and behaviours aren't always bad. They are generally split into two groups, healthy and unhealthy, or adaptive and maladaptive. Healthy coping behaviours are also called adaptive because they take into account what caused the issue and do something to address the problem; you change your behaviour to help adapt to your situation. Something as simple as learning to ask for help when you need it is an example of adaptive coping. Maladaptive coping strategies are those that seek to distract from the problem rather than deal with it; they remove the user from pain for the short term, but ultimately do nothing to solve the problem in the long term. Maladaptive coping is very often associated with learned helplessness, where the person has been taught in the past that nothing they do will change anything for the better; taking any sort of practical action at all, even if it results in only small improvements, can have a huge positive effect on your mental state because it proves to you that you are an agent of change in your own life, not just a victim that things happen to.

1st Dream - While I mostly agree that this whole section represents the trauma around having beloved toys taken/destroyed by bullying peers, I also think it's not just about other children. The doll that the child has to escape from later on in the segment looks a lot less like another child and more like an adult woman, perhaps the child's own mother. It's possible that the parents (or the mother at least) also used the toys as a means of control, taking them away from of them whenever they did something that displeased her. Now, if the child was misbehaving, taking a toy away seems like a logical punishment, but given the rest of the dream, most likely it was a punishment taken to extremes, perhaps even going so far as to break the toys in front of the child. 2nd Dream - The first section is definitely about the loss of the toy rabbit and how that affected the child, but I think the whole section about the mask is a bit more to it as well. While the mask the child wears is one used to hide their true feelings, pretending everything is fine even when it isn't, I think the other entities we encounter represent OTHER people. For example, the angel masks are people who are genuine, trying to actually help the child - hence the angelic appearance. Maybe teachers or health professionals trying to give them a "push" in the right direction. Meanwhile the angry entity we encounter is someone who takes pleasure in hurting others in order to cover up their own suffering. The problem here is that the child doesn't "give" them the mask so much as it takes the mask from them after breaking it, so perhaps this represents the child being forced to give up whatever is making them "happy" for the world to see. It could be representing anti-depressants and the fact that they either no longer worked (hence being broken) or whoever prescribed them decided to stop supplying them for some reason, perhaps because "others need them more", hence the mask being forcibly taken from them. The huge entities with hands coming from their eyes and mouths are "toxic" people, predatory fakers who have given in to their own darkness and want to drag others, like the child, down with them. If we go with the overdose theory, they might be the dealers/other users who introduced the child to the very thing that would be their downfall. The football scene is interesting because, technically, the child ISN'T the one being celebrated because they are simply the ball in that situation, not the player, so that bit could represent the feeling of being used, that you're only worth having around so long as you are useful and the only way to BE useful is through the mask, the "fake happiness". In other words, the feeling of being unwanted if you're not pretending to be what others want you to be, like how sometimes people will turn their backs on those with mental health issues because "it's bringing them down" and thus the ill person feels like they have to constantly pretend to be fine.

I love it when he makes story explained videos

The boy's imagery picturing the toys he once love in psychedelic way is a symbolism of depression that makes you no longer capable to have joy from what your source of happiness was.

I have a theory: what if the story is going backwards through his life? The end of it symbolised at the beginning and the beginning at the end. (Big doll representing someone kidnapping him and bringing him to the place where we see him at the end. Mask smily sequence symbolising abusive parents)

I'm betting its probably a metaphor of taking Anti-depressants. The boy gained lots of anxiety and depression from each moment in his life that didn't play out right. Rather than learning how to cope with lost, he was prescribed Anti-depressants to help him overcome his anxiety. This had a damaging affect on his life, as it prevented his mind from developing further and perhaps developed Peter Pan syndrome as he still sees himself as a child. The real him is trapped behind the drugs and undeveloped mind he has, and only when he learns to cope with the trauma of lost can he escape

I LOVE the imagery in this game so much!! The designs come right from our nightmares and the symbolism is spot on 👌

I’m surprised I haven’t found anyone who commented anything about this yet, but I have a theory that the smiley face is indeed himself. I believe this kid is stuck in some sort of limbo which he’s trying to complete. After the kid died at the very ending of the game, we’re seen with him trapped inside a very dark room, scared and trying to break free from the screen, he’s unable to escape but it’s so dark that we can only see his head and hands. As he’s confused and frighted he draws in the foggy glass which is a smiley face, and as he is behind that smiley face, we see a tiny flash of the real smiley we’ve seen the whole time in the game. So that explains why this smiley face is trying so hard to keep him happy despite all the pain and suffering he had to go through to retrieve his lost childhood. He basically gave him what he needed as a child, which was happiness. And that is something he was unable to have.

I think the story is more like the man is rewriting his memories via drugs. Changing history in a way, and thereby finding happiness. He realizes that he could have avoided each of his 3 great losses in life if only he had been stronger as a boy. He's re-imaging events as if he had the courage that he didn't truly have. He fought back against the bully and retook his ball. He jumped in after the rabbit and was able to save it. He braved the woods to find his dog. But none of those revisions really happened.

Your explanations are always so cool and easy to follow.

This game was confusing,Thanks for making this easier for me to understand.

I've always loved games by Amanita Design, but this game in particular is one of the best (in my opinion); a cool story, cool visuals (even if there is a bit too many flashing lights), and overall a very cool game in general. Great explanation as always (and happy thanksgiving :) )

Hey shb, I think you should make an episode of horror games explained for "cooking companions " since you played it

When you said you may not do an explained when doing the play through my heart dropped. Thanks for doing this.

I know it’s dark, but i just love the fact that the second he sees the ball, he’s like “FORGET IT. JUST GET THE BALL.”

As someone who had a lot of repressed memories, I can say that the child's reactions to horrific events was very realistic. When all you know is pain, you aren't as disturbed by traumatizing events. Even when you are terrified, you forget what happened soon after and continue with your day. But the pain never truly leaves you.

This story is so sad. It truly shows how trauma can bring your life down.

It wasn’t a “Happy” ending.

I think the bunnies represent what the boy sees himself as when he wears bunny pajamas because the RU-vidr oldchild that shows images of happy game, there are two images of the boy wearing bunny pajamas on a image where a bunny corpse is on the ground and there’s a warning sign with a bunny replacing the sign person, and the other one where the regular boy is seen in tubes in a liquid and the boy in pajamas is worried by it

You know that every horror game can have backstory, lore or meaning! Even though the game was a bit scary and weird at first, but hearing SuperHorrorBro's explanaition make much sense!!

At first my theory was that you could see a dream catcher in the child's bedroom at the beginning and everytime you see the room, and i thought like that smile head figure represented the dream catcher like helping him guide through his dream or whatever... Oh well happy thanks giving

Basically the ending of this game tells a boy which is grown man from reality who has suffer a huge mental illness and depression from his past and doing drug to bring happiness to himself. Which led him to death that bring him true happiness.

Amanita Design always made weird Games and this one is really Neat!

Very disturbing, especially as a guy with a traumatic childhood. That being said, despite the childhood trauma feeling very familiar to me, parts of this game feels a bit pretentious

Something to note is the developers of happy game had also made a game a little while ago called Chuchel and it is basically happy game but... Happy! It is like if they got this game and removed the entire horror aspect.

Your voice is always perfect for this kind of thing

Ran upstairs to my room the moment I got a notification about your upload.

Him wearing the smiley face could represent him taking medications to suppress his trauma, although everything seems great sinister thoughts still lurk behind the scene.

I love how he said, ''falls face first into the fire'' so calmly lol 😂😂 (11:51)

Been waiting for SHB to make a video on this and my oh my is it worth the wait

I’m excited to watch this! I remember watching your playthrough when I was doing homework.

"Dream 2.2 - Wearing a Mask" [8:18] Damn, Dream's making another song ? The premise is really dark but look at the bright side, he doesn't have to hire an animator that makes his face look like a sweaty, glistening, 3D version of Ben 10

I am such a fan of your vids! They are so flippin good!

So uh me and my sis made a theory Abt therapy... But we can't really explain that ending. Here is how it goes: The smile represents the therapist putting the boy through his memories. As you can see, after every dream there is the positive note that he got his toy back. So the therapist is giving him new happiness by putting him through his memories and helping him overcome them. But that ending just throws it off. I like our rendition better but this theory is both more likely for the story and even realistic.

did anyone else noticed the child loses all his hair when he enters a dream?

I have to say, you are very articulate and always makes sure that everything makes sense when you explain horror games and etc.

I thought that this video made plenty of sense! I was surprised with some of your theories by how convincing they were! Great job! Thank You for making this fantastic video! :D!

Will you also do a story explained for the game cooking companions

This game is so sad. He lost his dog, and beloved toys,just so sad.

i love his story explained videos so much

I always get sad whenever anything sad happens to do with plush toys or rabbits so the second dream made me really sad

No wonder this game feels like a drug trip. Some parts feel out of place with the overall asthetic, the example being dream 2 being more colorful and bright, and as what I've learnt, colorful and bright imagery in an otherwise dark setting represents the use of drugs.

Now it all makes sense! That's so sad and so dark at the same time 😳🥺😢😭

So excited you made this! I really needed to know the story for videos- good job by the way!

Nice foreshadowing at 2:23 with the slight color change highlighting the last few words.

this is why you have to enjoy your childhood before life as an adult takeshold

Ohhhh boy I need to hear this

I knew it had to do with trauma, as someone who was traumatized very early on until late teens this definitely hit close to home in ways I'll never be able to explain

🥺This game looks so beautiful, I wish I could play this. This game made me feel a bit better about my own trauma, especially the way you explain it. Thank you, this really helped me.😔

I think on the part where he had to solve the 3 puzzles, the one with the brain couldve represented what the drugs did to him, his brain is all beat up and damaged but the heart beating faster and faster is the seratonin making him feel good

I still think that the White Smile was an eldritch abomination who fed on the despair of others who hid their depression

Super horror makes it sound so scary and the way he explains it just makes it good content keep up the good work!

Man this channel is supper cool. I really love how it feels like u are going on a very nice journey

I think the hearts may have represented the love he tried to find in his toys, perhaps implying a lack of love and neglect from his parents. Not once is anything adult portrayed in the hallucinations, and the boy is always alone/with other children.

Most of the lore comes from harrasing a wall

the child reminds me of issac. he uses enemies to show his fears and disgusts.

Happy 1 million subscribers SuperHorrorBro Mike! 🎉🥂

I knew that there was so much symbolism in this game. But it was hard to wrap my head around. Awesome video! Now I understand! Great video 😌

In the ending cutscene, the shading under the boys head looks like a smile, and where his mouth is looks like a nose. Am I the only one who sees this?

I like to imagine that the smile demon is just his mother making sure he gets his full 8 hours of sleep and consoling him.

You are the Best RU-vidr ever! I only know all of this because of your amazing videos! :)

13:46 definitely what I heard when I get distracted by a Spiderman toy in a supermarket and lost my mom.

i think the smiley face represents other people smiling and being happy, even though he himself is really sad. like the bully smiling and running off with the ball even though the main character is crying. so it is more of him associating (possibly) loneliness to the ominous smiling that everyone seems to be doing even though the world around them is falling apart. that's just my interpretation (also Im writing this before i watch the whole video, so if Mike says the same thing he gets full credit : ) )

i keep crying every time i see every scene of the dog and hearing what it truly means. The last part where the dog does into the upside down and hearing what you said just made my heart go: ⚓💔

I think the smiley face is somehow trying to push him to get through his trauma. It helps him, but shoves him back into dreams.