"Chaos on Deponia" is a point-and-click adventure video game from 2012, so this one will soon have its tenth anniversary already. This is the second game from a quadrology of Deponia games starring the utterly chaotic Rufus, who is of course also the character you see at the center of this poster here on imdb. You can also see from my rating that I enjoyed playing this quite a lot. Before I go further into detail, let me say that I will just go with the title of the game and do some brainstorming about what I liked here and what I did not like (not a lot) and I will not make my statements in chronological order and there will not be a great deal of structure either. The writer and director as it says here or, more accurately, the key creator of this game was of course Daedelic's Jan Müller-Michaelis, better known as Poki, and he was the man in charge of all four Deponia games, even if there were many, many helpers too. This was the third time I played this game since its release and it is still a lot of fun. I particularly recommend that you play the edition that combines games one to three because this one has a commentary by Poki and you see his head as if he was a game character there in the top corner and you can click and he will tell a few details about almost every single screen. Very informative and insightful and also a nice tribute to animators and people who worked with Daedelic a long time ago. Back when he recorded this, he did not know yet there would be a fourth part even (because many players did not like the end of part three) or maybe he kinda knew it, but was telling things in a way as if it all ended after chapter three. It was also nice again to have little cameos from Rufus and Goal in this commentary even if the latter was mostly angry because of all the stuff that happens to her character. Rightfully so probably, but it still brought some comic relief. One thing I did not like too much was the inclusion of one of Germany's most famous Let's Players. One reason is subjective because I do not like the man, but the other is that I do not know if there were any contract deals like he would play the game on his channel and therefore he gets not only one screen to do the commentary, but even voices one character. Sadly, this character is featured even more in the third chapter.
But now we will talk about the second chapter. I will not truly go into detail on the characters. If you come here, I assume that you have already played the very first Deponia game/chapter/installment whatever you wanna call it. One key difference to the first game is that Goal is not unconscious from beginning to end basically, but we see her character a lot, hear her talk and she is clearly the one and only female lead now. This is mostly good. Sadly, the consequence is also that Toni is not a factor here at all. However, she appears briefly in the later stages nonetheless because Poki was missing her a bit too. Still, Goal takes over and she is pretty annoyed with Rufus too on a few occasions, so nothing has truly changed. And with virtually no Goal in the first game, we have up to three Goals in this one. This is because Rufus decides to go for a lollipop over high-quality disks and this is basically the bad decision that is the foundation for everything that follows afterwards. Goal's conscience is split into three and Rufus has to woo these three different Goals to convince them to go back to Doc, so he can repair her. Let's just ignore for now that we still don't know why Goal does not have a normal brain. Then again, the action does not take place on Earth, so maybe everybody has these things in their heads? Or only the females? Because another female character does so as well as we find out. It was still a lot of fun to move forward there. The scenes at the pub (yep, always pubs with Daedelic/Poki games) were so much fun and the dialogues are hilarious, especially when the barkeeper talks (mostly to Goal) about the questionable hygiene there. I laughed a lot. But it's also other moments during which the game shines like how Rufus once again creates his own reality by saying he beat up a few guys when the truth is it was exactly the other way around. These brutes by the way are taken care of by Goal later on when she shoots them in cold blood. Yes, people die in this game, even if it is not graphic or anything. Another funny moment involving these brutes was when one of them has a gun and he talks about his itchy index finger and then cites some medical reason for it.
I mean the story is fine too, but the heart and soul of this game is really the comedy. An uncountable amount of quotes I could list here that at least put a smile on my lips. The characters too. A few do return from the first game, especially Bozo who is always a nice inclusion with his Bud Spencer looks, but others don't. Just take the mayor, Lonzo or Wenzel. These are not a part of this game, but at least they are mentioned once or twice. It does make sense though because the location where it all takes place is entirely different. There is a parallel though. The first two thirds approximately in the first game were set in Kuvaq where Rufus lives and here the first two thirds are set in a place called the "Swimming Black Market" (I used the literal translation of the German name there). And I think these parts were those where the game was at its best. I mean it is not weak or anything afterwards, but a minor drop in quality happens, also because everything early on is just so great. I think this game here is a bit longer than the first one, which is also not a given for a sequel, even if it was always a given that it would not end after the first installment. You can play this game within one day if you replay it or if you are really good with these games, but there is not a lot left of the day afterwards. I highly recommend though not to rush things. Just enjoy it. Use all items with everything and maybe you can even find out about the easter egg this way and what happens when you have 26 items that do not fit inside the 5x5 inventory. Is that the right word? Anyway, of course I mean your coat basically where you carry around all the equipment. At the very start, there is also again a little tutorial, not that anybody really needs it I guess. Tutorial schmutorial! This time, it is not Wenzel in charge of instructing Rufus (or being trolled by Rufus), but Bozo.
As for the characters, there is also some development with the other folks. Rufus stays basically the same you can say, even if there is talk about him having changed. But when he deals with Oma Utz's home (and bird) early on, it becomes clear that nothing has changed. Or how Rufus builds this bizarre application with the rotor blades that has him end up right inside Goal's emm.. Hochboot. Don't know the English term because the German word is pretty fictitious too. The vehicle that is supposed to get Goal back to Elysium after the first chapter I mean. So yeah, the action here happens really fast. My thoughts after the first chapter were that Goal would get back to Elysium, then return, but it all just happens immediately after. Not sure if this was the right choice. Also of course it is crucial here to keep concentrating all the time, so you do not mix up the Goals and what they are doing. Especially when Donna got into the game too in the end, it gets a bit much. Surely it helps that she is who she is and not capable of talking anything other than random, frequently violent, phrases. So yeah, surely Donna is among the most memorable new inclusions here. Another contender for the title there is Janosch, the leader of the resistance, actually really a fighter towards the end. Who would have thought! But his inclusion was especially interesting to me because of my language background. The game where you have to explain your plan in a way that does not make you laugh afterwards was just one example of the massive creativity. I can go on and on about these, but let me just mention those games that were a bit different. One would be the fight sequence between Rufus and Goal. Another would be when you have to disable the sound, so the character can remember a certain code. And also simply being quiet and doing nothing to defeat a fisherman was a really interesting inclusion. But what is almost as good as all these games are the hints you get on how to solve stuff. It is not too difficult this way, but still smart and inspired and challenging. And encourages you to really talk to everybody because it will help you make progress.
Finally, I must of course mention the animals. Be it robot dogs, be it little birdies, be it dolphins, be it fish, be it cats... There are many more I probably forgot. Deponia may not play on Earth, but they are all there and add further quality. However, of course the biggest mention here goes to the platypuses (is that the plural)? They are included on so many occasions with all these riddles and the stuff you have to do to make sure they will not offer platypus anymore at the restaurant. Again, incredibly creativity there with the hatching and everything that surrounds this part of the story. I do not want to go further into detail there. You just have to experience it yourself. This was also quite challenging I remember when I played it the first time. Overall, a really great video game and especially with Poki's commentary you get many references to other games, but also pay attention to a poster etc. So I surely like the fact that this game also succeeded in terms of awards recognition and it's telling that a German video game has a triple-digit amount of ratings on an American movie website. Yes, it is this good! Music's great and the voice actors are spot-on from beginning to end too. I still think Monty Arnold sounds younger than he actually is. He was of course in charge of Rufus. Alright, that is it then, big thumbs-up. A must-play.
But now we will talk about the second chapter. I will not truly go into detail on the characters. If you come here, I assume that you have already played the very first Deponia game/chapter/installment whatever you wanna call it. One key difference to the first game is that Goal is not unconscious from beginning to end basically, but we see her character a lot, hear her talk and she is clearly the one and only female lead now. This is mostly good. Sadly, the consequence is also that Toni is not a factor here at all. However, she appears briefly in the later stages nonetheless because Poki was missing her a bit too. Still, Goal takes over and she is pretty annoyed with Rufus too on a few occasions, so nothing has truly changed. And with virtually no Goal in the first game, we have up to three Goals in this one. This is because Rufus decides to go for a lollipop over high-quality disks and this is basically the bad decision that is the foundation for everything that follows afterwards. Goal's conscience is split into three and Rufus has to woo these three different Goals to convince them to go back to Doc, so he can repair her. Let's just ignore for now that we still don't know why Goal does not have a normal brain. Then again, the action does not take place on Earth, so maybe everybody has these things in their heads? Or only the females? Because another female character does so as well as we find out. It was still a lot of fun to move forward there. The scenes at the pub (yep, always pubs with Daedelic/Poki games) were so much fun and the dialogues are hilarious, especially when the barkeeper talks (mostly to Goal) about the questionable hygiene there. I laughed a lot. But it's also other moments during which the game shines like how Rufus once again creates his own reality by saying he beat up a few guys when the truth is it was exactly the other way around. These brutes by the way are taken care of by Goal later on when she shoots them in cold blood. Yes, people die in this game, even if it is not graphic or anything. Another funny moment involving these brutes was when one of them has a gun and he talks about his itchy index finger and then cites some medical reason for it.
I mean the story is fine too, but the heart and soul of this game is really the comedy. An uncountable amount of quotes I could list here that at least put a smile on my lips. The characters too. A few do return from the first game, especially Bozo who is always a nice inclusion with his Bud Spencer looks, but others don't. Just take the mayor, Lonzo or Wenzel. These are not a part of this game, but at least they are mentioned once or twice. It does make sense though because the location where it all takes place is entirely different. There is a parallel though. The first two thirds approximately in the first game were set in Kuvaq where Rufus lives and here the first two thirds are set in a place called the "Swimming Black Market" (I used the literal translation of the German name there). And I think these parts were those where the game was at its best. I mean it is not weak or anything afterwards, but a minor drop in quality happens, also because everything early on is just so great. I think this game here is a bit longer than the first one, which is also not a given for a sequel, even if it was always a given that it would not end after the first installment. You can play this game within one day if you replay it or if you are really good with these games, but there is not a lot left of the day afterwards. I highly recommend though not to rush things. Just enjoy it. Use all items with everything and maybe you can even find out about the easter egg this way and what happens when you have 26 items that do not fit inside the 5x5 inventory. Is that the right word? Anyway, of course I mean your coat basically where you carry around all the equipment. At the very start, there is also again a little tutorial, not that anybody really needs it I guess. Tutorial schmutorial! This time, it is not Wenzel in charge of instructing Rufus (or being trolled by Rufus), but Bozo.
As for the characters, there is also some development with the other folks. Rufus stays basically the same you can say, even if there is talk about him having changed. But when he deals with Oma Utz's home (and bird) early on, it becomes clear that nothing has changed. Or how Rufus builds this bizarre application with the rotor blades that has him end up right inside Goal's emm.. Hochboot. Don't know the English term because the German word is pretty fictitious too. The vehicle that is supposed to get Goal back to Elysium after the first chapter I mean. So yeah, the action here happens really fast. My thoughts after the first chapter were that Goal would get back to Elysium, then return, but it all just happens immediately after. Not sure if this was the right choice. Also of course it is crucial here to keep concentrating all the time, so you do not mix up the Goals and what they are doing. Especially when Donna got into the game too in the end, it gets a bit much. Surely it helps that she is who she is and not capable of talking anything other than random, frequently violent, phrases. So yeah, surely Donna is among the most memorable new inclusions here. Another contender for the title there is Janosch, the leader of the resistance, actually really a fighter towards the end. Who would have thought! But his inclusion was especially interesting to me because of my language background. The game where you have to explain your plan in a way that does not make you laugh afterwards was just one example of the massive creativity. I can go on and on about these, but let me just mention those games that were a bit different. One would be the fight sequence between Rufus and Goal. Another would be when you have to disable the sound, so the character can remember a certain code. And also simply being quiet and doing nothing to defeat a fisherman was a really interesting inclusion. But what is almost as good as all these games are the hints you get on how to solve stuff. It is not too difficult this way, but still smart and inspired and challenging. And encourages you to really talk to everybody because it will help you make progress.
Finally, I must of course mention the animals. Be it robot dogs, be it little birdies, be it dolphins, be it fish, be it cats... There are many more I probably forgot. Deponia may not play on Earth, but they are all there and add further quality. However, of course the biggest mention here goes to the platypuses (is that the plural)? They are included on so many occasions with all these riddles and the stuff you have to do to make sure they will not offer platypus anymore at the restaurant. Again, incredibly creativity there with the hatching and everything that surrounds this part of the story. I do not want to go further into detail there. You just have to experience it yourself. This was also quite challenging I remember when I played it the first time. Overall, a really great video game and especially with Poki's commentary you get many references to other games, but also pay attention to a poster etc. So I surely like the fact that this game also succeeded in terms of awards recognition and it's telling that a German video game has a triple-digit amount of ratings on an American movie website. Yes, it is this good! Music's great and the voice actors are spot-on from beginning to end too. I still think Monty Arnold sounds younger than he actually is. He was of course in charge of Rufus. Alright, that is it then, big thumbs-up. A must-play.
