And here we are. After a trilogy of titles we have reached the original ending of the Deponia Saga. I will not lie to you and tell you I was a big fan of this, but this is one of those rare cases where the story alone is enough to want to see how it ends... and.. wow... yeah... step inside.
Story: Rufus and his crew are back and proving to be perhaps one of the most tenacious band of outcasts in gaming. After the events of the last game, we catch up to them trying once again to reach Elysium, the floating city in the sky. Their goal from that point still remains the same: reach the high elders that run it and confirm for them that there are people on the surface of the planet so they don't blow it up in their mad plan to push the floating city to the planet of Utopia so they can live on another planet they haven't turned into one giant dump like Deponia.
But of course, this wouldn't be a Deponia game without Rufus somehow ruining everything in spectacular fashion, and this time, he decided to do it by "fishing" to get everyone breakfast... despite the fact his "friend" Bozo's (yes that is his name) cruiser was no longer in the water (also his doing), but high above the ground on an Organon travel line, or that he decided to use the cruiser's diving cable as the hook. That it didn't snag any of the supports along the way and rip the ship in half is a damn miracle, but luck ran out when an Organon transport heading for the same direction overtook them becoming that snag. Goal's (a young lady from Elysium who's mission it is to report back with this information) quick thinking and Rufus' brash and selfish behavior did somehow manage to save the team, but not the cruiser. Now on foot, they have to continue their journey. And with night descending and a very unfortunately named and serendipitously placed hotel just under the tracks close by, the quest to save Deponia continues.
This is not a quest that will change during the game, but there are a lot of twists and turns that get in Goal's and Rufus' way and in a hurry, starting with an old enemy (Cletus) and a Doomsday cult getting ready for the literal end of the world and just not being particularly inclined to be helpful to the team. Expect a lot of the same humor throughout this absolute mad-cap finality to the adventure started 2 games ago, but at the same time, the tone definitely changed along the way. What was originally light hearted and about a selfish jerk who hated his world and made wild schemes to leave it has now become a quest to save that world with some much darker stakes and situations on the way. Among the genuinely brilliant jokes and really good writing to carry them, you will find themes that will make many uncomfortable (even as Rufus somehow bumbles into making some of them absolutely hysterical even as they are actually horrific).
However, this is one of those games where the ending is what's going to stand out for you the most. It's not the first time the series gets serious at the end, but never to this point. Its a bitter-sweet ending to the entire series, and possibly one of the most I have ever seen in my life. Seriously it's both satisfying and somehow a square peg in a round whole, even as you sit there socked in the gut over a character who honestly begs you to hate him for how dumb, selfish, and generally an asshole he is. It's an oddball in just how perfectly that all slams together. If you played through to this finale, enjoy it.
8/10
Graphics: If you have played the previous games, you already know exactly how this game is going to look. For those who are new (and why you start here I have NO idea), the Deponia games are point-and-click titles drawn like a Saturday morning cartoon. Every location is drawn and painted with the love and passion for the project most games would dream of having. It can be bright, colorful, and even a little cheerful despite basically happening on a planet covered in junk. And yet other places can be bleak with decay and the miss care of decades exuding over it. Yet there are other places that are gloomy and forboding as the character of the very land demands.
And yet this title will give you glimpses into both the oppressively technical operation bases of the Organon with all their (usually red) glowing displays lighting up the control panels that are strewn about. You even get to see some Eylsium-based areas and the contrasted high-end classy and clean-cut world Goal lived in before this adventure began.
And you will find the people just as colorful and full of vibrant personality as the world itself. Rufus, for example is a trenchcoated guy with a 5 o'clock shadow, wild eyebrows, and an expression of anything from bewilderment to insane glee (especially when talking about his past exploits) to just plain smugness. But that flexibility of expression that just amplifies whatever situation he is in, be it silly, serious. Nor is he alone. Triumphant or just plain insane and everything inbetween, everyone looks their part and wears their internal feelings on the surface brilliantly.
Overall, this is just one charming looking game, as the rest of the series has been.
8/10
Sound: While the game soundtrack covers the entire game, most of it is more about mood music than anything you will remember long after you play. It fits any given moment of the game, but you wont remember it... with the exception of one track you will hear repeatedly. The narrator is, as always, a treat between acts as he serenades you about the events going on. Its jaunting, jovial (for the most part) and frankly sticks with you in the right ways.
Nor are the sound effects going to be anything special here. They serve what they are supposed to sound like brilliantly, but there isn't a lot this game needs to give sound effects to. Motors whirr, doors open and shut, screws squeal and metal clanks, but most of the time, what you are listening to are the voices of the different characters. And these are simply brilliant.
Rufus once again, takes center stage as the one you play. He's sarcastic, brutal, dishonest, selfish, unobservant, and frankly a little dumb.... and it all comes through absolutely amazingly. And everyone he interacts with behaves absolutely perfect for who they are, how they feel about him, and just ooze their characters. You will love them all (even if you hate them).
LucasArts in it's heyday would have been proud of these acts.
9/10
Gameplay: If you have played any point and click game in the past, you have a good idea of how to play this one. You will control Rufus through this adventure and be required to figure out several puzzles to progress the story and your mission to save the world. To do this, you will have a very easy to use mouse interface. Your cursor has two gears which are normally solid and appear as a nice point of artwork, reflecting the nature of the world. However, it hides some rather convenient functionality.
When you scroll over something you can interact with you will see the name of the item (or person) float over it along side the center of each gear lighting up to an icon: The larger icon will represent the action you do when you left click while the smaller one to the side is your right click action. If these are not filled in, clicking will simply make Rufus walk wherever you clicked. (And if you need to see where actual things you can interact with are, holding the space button will mark them with screw icons.)
However, you will also have access to an inventory you will need to use as you play and here the game continues to use the extra function of the previous title. If you use the default controls, scrolling your mouse wheel down and up will pull the menu over the screen or push it back into place. And while in the menu, the same interface for the world around Rufus applies as well, although in this case most of the time, the main option will be to select it so you can use it in that world itself. Your second option, like there, will most likely be an eyeball so you can give it a closer look, but on occasion it will be a small picture of Rufus which will let you change costumes (and you will need to do it from time to time).
These basic controls will be all you need to solve any puzzle the game offers, but the puzzles will not be a cake-walk. Sometimes you will find something genuinely clever, but many of them follow more moon-logic then make sense. It almost seems like you will stumble randomly into the solutions because you just happened to "try everything." It can be very annoying, making this the kind of game you will want a guide for at least an occasional clue, if not more since none of the puzzle make sense unless you think like Rufus himself and frankly almost seem to act more maliciously then objectively. Not that I didn't expect that. This is how the puzzles over the past 2 games also were as well. At least this time there are no meta-tricks (like game 2 did).
Although this is not all you will be doing. Like the previous games, they do try to spice up the gameplay with minigames as you go along, forcing you to take the roll of Rufus more directly on occasion. Most of these are going to be rough to try to even understand, much less complete. However, the game seems to understand how obscure they are, giving you both the option to skip them like the previous title, and now a panel to explain the rules of what you are doing should you want to give it a try. It is still often a frustrating mess to shuffle through some of these, but with this in mind, I would still say give them a try. You may not figure them out, but like the rest of the game, the humor embedded in some of these is something you need to see before you move on.
6/10
Bugs: This is a game that actually ran flawlessly from start to finish. Not a bug in sight.
Digital Rights Management: If you are playing through Steam, your copy of this game uses Steam as DRM. The Apple store is the same way, but any source that doesn't use these is DRM free.
Source: PC Gaming Wiki
Score: I was never a big fan of this series, and had I not bought them as a single package, I would likely never have played this game. Nor could it change my opinion on the series. However, I would have missed out on what is arguably one of the best "oh no" endings I have ever seen in a game. For that reason alone if you've made your way through the first two games, I would say to play this one too. Just get it on sale. It's definitely not worth the full price.
6/10
System Requirements:
- 2.5 Ghz single core or 2 Ghz dual core CPU
- 2 GB RAM
- Anything that supports OpenGL 2.0 and has at least 512 MB VRAM
- Windows Vista, 7, 8, or 10
- 5 GB Hard Drive space
System Specs:
- Ryzen 7 (5700X) 3.4 Ghz
- 32 GB RAM
- AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT (8 GB VRAM)
- Windows 11 (64 Bit)
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