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Goodbye Deponia Review for PC

Goodbye Deponia Review for PC

All Good Things Must Come to an End

The final chapter of developer Daedalic Entertainment’s award-winning point-and-click adventure series is sadly coming to a close. Goodbye Deponia completes the trilogy following the exploits of one of the most hilarious antiheroes ever to grace the gaming scene. Since the first game, Rufus has failed in every attempt to escape the garbage world of Deponia and enter a life of luxury on the floating spaceship city called Elysium. Does Goodbye Deponia finally see our “hero” achieve his dream? Well, no spoilers here. You’ll have to finish the story and see for yourself.

What I can tell you is that Goodbye Deponia keeps the exact gameplay formula from the past games, but cranks up the insanity to stratospheric levels. I wouldn’t have thought it possible after some of the jaw-dropping moments found in the second game of the series, Chaos on Deponia . After all, we saw Rufus offer a shoe to a homeless person to eat, purposely get our leading lady (and sometimes girlfriend) Goal struck by lightning, and knowingly had baby dolphins chopped up and processed into cans of tuna.

Goodbye Deponia Screenshot

I kept wondering whether Goodbye Deponia would finally see Rufus mature, and even find his moral center. Nope. Rufus is just as egotistical, self-congratulatory, and selfish as ever, with a horseshoe shoved firmly up his arse. At times, you’ll be ashamed at yourself for laughing at some of his pranks, but it’s impossible not to. The scriptwork in this final chapter is absolutely flawless, and delivered pitch perfect by the veteran cast of voice actors.

But it’s not just Rufus and his antics that deliver a gold-star performance. The entire ensemble is crafted with loving care, each character with their own personality that after two games you will have found yourself emotionally attached to: Doc as the master tinkerer that Rufus is always trying to belittle, Bozo and his pacifist nature, even Rufus’ snobbish “twin” Cletus, whom you’re never quite sure who’s side he’s on. And lest we forget Goal, whom Rufus tries to charm to no end (unless it would benefit him not to), who is more adorable than ever… you’ll see why.

Goodbye Deponia Screenshot

As a point-and-click adventure game, Goodbye Deponia follows all the standard conventions. Gameplay consists of jaunting through areas, searching for items to pick up and interact with, with puzzles scattered around that require solving in order to advance the story. However, the Deponia series crashes through conventional realism barriers due to the nature of the story and the idea that any item can be plausibly accepted by the player since the action occurs on a planet comprised of trash. Thus, Goodbye Deponia requires you to think outside of the box… way outside. Any obtainable object can be placed in Rufus’ coat pockets, no matter the size, whether it’s a living creature or an open flame. These objects can sometimes be combined to create new items. You can examine any item or hot spot in the environment to glean information about it, usually in the form of a wise crack from Rufus. But hidden beneath the sarcasm are potential clues on the purpose of the object. Characters help at impasses by retaining any conversation options that provide hints to solving the particular dilemma.

Goodbye Deponia Screenshot

Chatting up characters goes far beyond solving puzzles, though. Goodbye Deponia is by far the most text-heavy game of the series, and much of it is simply to become more familiar with each memorable character and their growing (or deteriorating in many cases) relationship with Rufus. It’s more for storytelling, but considering the quality of humor, you’ll find few complaints of the game being too “wordy,” certainly not from this reviewer.

Visually, Goodbye Deponia is as gorgeous as ever. It’s not so much a technical improvement over the last two games, but rather a clear sense of style and creativity that comes from Daedalic’s artist, and the dedication that goes into each hand-drawn scene. The background animations in each area depict the dilapidation of the garbage world, although the actual travel of each character has set animations that at times feels out of place. For example, there is an amusing chase scene in a hotel between several characters, à la Scooby Doo. However, instead of running around frantically, everybody walks with the same bearing that they do in every other part of the game. These recycled animations do tend to break up the intensity of certain scenes, but at least they depict each character’s attitude to a tee.

Goodbye Deponia Screenshot

The music and sound effects feel genuine to the backdrop. Everywhere you go there are oddly constructed gadgets and poorly maintained appliances that fizzle, rattle, and chug along. The ambient music is filled with industrial-style synthesized beats, all very appropriate to the scene. And of course, the break in between each chapter is one I eagerly look forward to, where our banjo-playing bard of a narrator regales us with a jovial recap of the action and the manly chorus closes it out, followed by an epic orchestral climax

I apologize for anyone hoping for more tidbits about the story itself, but as the final chapter in a cult-inducing series, I have little doubt that fans will want to experience each sidesplitting moment of Goodbye Deponia for themselves. It is a great finish to a truly original tale, and a trilogy that anyone not already familiar with the series should absolutely purchase and enjoy. The only tragedy of Goodbye Deponia is that it truly is the final farewell to all our friends on Deponia.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.2 Graphics
The hand-drawn artwork is reminiscent of something from a Dr. Seuss book, only filled with crudeness. The animations, however, could have seen a little more variety. 4.6 Control
It’s simple and precise. Use the mouse-wheel to open the inventory, and click what you want to interact with. No fuss, no mess. 4.7 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Great melodies, authentic effects, and voice actors that have found their characters after two previous games make for a great audio combination. 4.4 Play Value
It’s roughly ten hours long, but a great conclusion to one of the wackiest adventures out there. 4.6 Overall Rating – Must Buy
Not an average. See Rating legend below for a final score breakdown.

Review Rating Legend
0.1 – 1.9 = Avoid 2.5 – 2.9 = Average 3.5 – 3.9 = Good 4.5 – 4.9 = Must Buy
2.0 – 2.4 = Poor 3.0 – 3.4 = Fair 4.0 – 4.4 = Great 5.0 = The Best

Game Features:

  • A classic point-&-click adventure in a unique world, in the tradition of Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, and Matt Groening.
  • From the makers of Memoria , Edna & Harvey: The Breakout , A New Beginning , and Edna & Harvey: Harvey’s New Eyes .
  • An epic conclusion to the iconic Deponia series.
  • Unique comic style with hand-drawn HD 2D graphics.
  • Cutscenes set to music with lovingly realized animations

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