"Deponia Doomsday" is a video game from 2016 by Daedalic and the fourth and, most likely, final installment to the Deponia video game series that started back in 2012, so this final chapter here was released slightly under five years later. The man mostly in charge here was once again Jan Müller-Michaelis, who is better known as Poki. Unfortunately, there is no commentary from him for this one like there is for the three previous games, simply because those were released in some kind of edition long before plans for this game existed. The time gap between games three and four is pretty self-explanatory. No problem though. Even without Poki's audio commentary for almost every single screen, this is a fun ride from beginning to end basically. I will not include a great deal of structuring here, just brainstorm everything I remember and that comes to mind when it comes to this pretty creative video game from five years ago. The reason to some extent that this got even made was because the majority of fans was not too happy with the ending of the third part, mostly because it was not a happy ending for the key characters, most of all Rufus, the one you see on the poster here on imdb as well. For me, it was the second time that I played this video game here and I must say kinda enjoyed it. Admittedly, before replaying it this time, I thought it was not on par with the pretty great three previous games, but now after playing it again, I think it is indeed the exactly same high level. Maybe it is a bit darker than the previous games. I mean these have their fair share of serious moments too like when Donna's henchmen get shot, but nothing really on a level of how Goal for example says on one occasion that this place creeped her out. We see skeletons lying around. We have apocalyptical scenarios once again and even see Rufus in the opening sequence in a deserted world of snow many years after the action of Deponia 3, a world flooded with creatures that look like really big Gremlins in their evil form. Guess who's responsible for those. There even is a Gremlins-reference on one occasion in this game. Also there is no tutorial this time or let's say no tutorial the way they did it in the previous three games.
So, does Poki give Rufus his happy ending with Goal now? Spoiler alert! The answer is once again no. Just like at the end of the third game, Rufus is in space falling into nothingness. No way to save him. I must say honestly I was a bit more sad this time and maybe that is because now I care more about Rufus than I did back then? I still liked the explanation how it still makes sense and is perhaps better than reliving it all over again, making the same experiences all over again, only that with every single time they are a little bit less special. I definitely also liked some of the ways in which Poki poked (yep I went there!) fun at the background. Look at the fella very early on, who survives in the a serious accident in the water, but then the sharks come and eat him. This is for example something you will only recognize if you have played this game before. He gets a second chance, but the outcome is the same. There are more examples of that. Also spoken ones in which it is almost directly referenced how people were hoping for a different/better ending to the franchise, but they are not gonna get it. I think Goal said something on one occasion and looked directly into the camera afterwards, which was pretty nice. Surely also helped that I definitely really like the actress' voice. As for Goal, pay attention to how once again she falls unconscious almost immediately when finally united with Rufus for the first time in Elysium. And Rufus is the reason of course. Some things never change. As for Rufus, he is his usual self. Always full of himself, but the stuff he says is quite funny. Just like with the previous parts, I especially liked those moments when he talks stuff that seems to be about something or somebody specific, but then turns out that it is just connected indirectly to this person. This refers for example to a comment linked to McChronicle's hat if I remember correctly, even if that was a bit mean. Or to a ring that the Goal dummy is wearing for their photo.
There I mentioned McChronicle already and as this game is really totally all about time travel, this character seems like a really fitting inclusion, even if I have never been a huge fan of him. There's other characters I like more. For example Bozo we are sadly not getting this time. But I will get to that later. As for McChronicle, he maybe even had more lines and screen time than Goal because he was really included from beginning to end almost and Goal was not yet included in the very first chapter. She joins in later on with a pretty different style and haircut. She looked like a guerilla there pretty much. Oh and she has a piercing too! In this first chapter I just mentioned we also meet again many, many characters from Rufus' hometown. This includes Rufus' previous girlfriend Toni, who is already pretty fed up with him and they are still a couple there because it takes place before the events of Deponia 1. We even find out why she finally decided to leave him and what exactly happened to solidify this decision. Still I must say Rufus is right with the wine glasses standing out there. Come on, if you don't want them to break, this may not be a good place to put them. Not that it in any way justifies the chaos Rufus once again brings to his hometown. Still, it seems that at the beginning of Deponia 1, everybody had forgiven him again. Also interesting to see Rufus has a decent relationship with Toni's father and the two are buddies almost. Another character (one of not many) Rufus gets along well with is the barkeeper Lonzo. He is also included in here again, but no big impact on the story. At his bar, the maybe most interesting scene from this game is when we find out about Lotti's life-changing encounter. Another memorable transformation includes the "rat boy". Too good to explain. You must witness it yourself. In general, really amazing comedy and attention to detail on so many occasions. You will be very amused when playing this.
This has mostly to do with the characters. I must admit with the time travel and loops and everything they lost me a bit towards the end especially, but the dialogues are always so much fun to follow. Maybe one of my favorite parts when it comes to that was the inclusion of Rufus basically being a lecturer to three rising scientists. One of them we cannot even understand, but it was still hilarious. Rufus surely brought the arrogance needed for the job there and was disagreed with only once by his students I think when he compared a complex phenomenon to something simple. This happened on other occasions too, like with a pizza and its slices or something. Don't remember entirely anymore. This is also the chapter in which we meet McChronicle's father. However, what really, really stayed in the mind for me with this scene was the way how it ended. Maybe some people find it a bit kitschy, but I probably have a soft spot there and thought it was really cute how Goal with her negative attitude before that in the end reveals that she also created a Rufus dummy in the previous chapter, so the two are not that different. How we see her from very close and how her grumpy face expression turns into a cute smile is a definite contender for my favorite moment from the game. And the platypus symbolism basically standing for our two protagonists I thought was quite sweet too. Especially the way the female platypus resembled Goal and how the two are united in the end despite being caged before that. So close to each other, yet so far. In terms of animals, I remember Poki saying during his commentary in a previous game that if he makes another one day, he will include wombats. And well, he remembered too, so there are some wombat references. The biggest one perhaps being a retro fight sequence against a pretty strong wombat that took a ring from Rufus in an earlier scene. Rufus even recruits a little army to fight this wombat. So there are many characters here that can be described as antagonists. Another example is Ronny for sure. What can I say about him? (I think it's a male.) Maybe nothing. That little flower is one you have to experience yourself. Also the pink elephant (in the room) / Utopians.
There is a lot more to mention. Impossible to include it all. Most of all, that we meet Goal as a baby this time. It would have been so much nicer to enjoy this scene fully without the time pressure. Also this scene reminded me a bit of the final battle between Guybrush and LeChuck in one of the Monkey Island games. Not sure if this was intended by Poki as a little tribute there. Even a biblical component is in this game with the scenes in the desert and how the conflict seems solved, but then something else happens when Goal and Rufus are gone. Oh and Goal gets married to the wrong man on one occasion. And flashes her boobs to said man on another occasion. There we see two platypuses too to keep it kids-friendly. Rufus cannot really look elsewhere either that moment. Oh and we get to see Goal as an old woman too on one occasion. Her chemistry there with the still young Rufus was kinda cute and also the young Goal watching these two and how she reacts. By the way, the old Goal sharing these memories in this scene felt a bit like what happened at Bozo's family's home in the third game. Not too much music in this game from Poki, but he voiced a boat captain once again. And one of the peanuts. The dialogues in this bar scene were also pretty funny, especially the caveman. That's it then. Finally, I must mention that there is a half-hour making-of on the Daedalic Youtube channel that you can also check out. I give this game, the longest of the four, a very high rating, very positive recommendation. One of 2016's finest.
So, does Poki give Rufus his happy ending with Goal now? Spoiler alert! The answer is once again no. Just like at the end of the third game, Rufus is in space falling into nothingness. No way to save him. I must say honestly I was a bit more sad this time and maybe that is because now I care more about Rufus than I did back then? I still liked the explanation how it still makes sense and is perhaps better than reliving it all over again, making the same experiences all over again, only that with every single time they are a little bit less special. I definitely also liked some of the ways in which Poki poked (yep I went there!) fun at the background. Look at the fella very early on, who survives in the a serious accident in the water, but then the sharks come and eat him. This is for example something you will only recognize if you have played this game before. He gets a second chance, but the outcome is the same. There are more examples of that. Also spoken ones in which it is almost directly referenced how people were hoping for a different/better ending to the franchise, but they are not gonna get it. I think Goal said something on one occasion and looked directly into the camera afterwards, which was pretty nice. Surely also helped that I definitely really like the actress' voice. As for Goal, pay attention to how once again she falls unconscious almost immediately when finally united with Rufus for the first time in Elysium. And Rufus is the reason of course. Some things never change. As for Rufus, he is his usual self. Always full of himself, but the stuff he says is quite funny. Just like with the previous parts, I especially liked those moments when he talks stuff that seems to be about something or somebody specific, but then turns out that it is just connected indirectly to this person. This refers for example to a comment linked to McChronicle's hat if I remember correctly, even if that was a bit mean. Or to a ring that the Goal dummy is wearing for their photo.
There I mentioned McChronicle already and as this game is really totally all about time travel, this character seems like a really fitting inclusion, even if I have never been a huge fan of him. There's other characters I like more. For example Bozo we are sadly not getting this time. But I will get to that later. As for McChronicle, he maybe even had more lines and screen time than Goal because he was really included from beginning to end almost and Goal was not yet included in the very first chapter. She joins in later on with a pretty different style and haircut. She looked like a guerilla there pretty much. Oh and she has a piercing too! In this first chapter I just mentioned we also meet again many, many characters from Rufus' hometown. This includes Rufus' previous girlfriend Toni, who is already pretty fed up with him and they are still a couple there because it takes place before the events of Deponia 1. We even find out why she finally decided to leave him and what exactly happened to solidify this decision. Still I must say Rufus is right with the wine glasses standing out there. Come on, if you don't want them to break, this may not be a good place to put them. Not that it in any way justifies the chaos Rufus once again brings to his hometown. Still, it seems that at the beginning of Deponia 1, everybody had forgiven him again. Also interesting to see Rufus has a decent relationship with Toni's father and the two are buddies almost. Another character (one of not many) Rufus gets along well with is the barkeeper Lonzo. He is also included in here again, but no big impact on the story. At his bar, the maybe most interesting scene from this game is when we find out about Lotti's life-changing encounter. Another memorable transformation includes the "rat boy". Too good to explain. You must witness it yourself. In general, really amazing comedy and attention to detail on so many occasions. You will be very amused when playing this.
This has mostly to do with the characters. I must admit with the time travel and loops and everything they lost me a bit towards the end especially, but the dialogues are always so much fun to follow. Maybe one of my favorite parts when it comes to that was the inclusion of Rufus basically being a lecturer to three rising scientists. One of them we cannot even understand, but it was still hilarious. Rufus surely brought the arrogance needed for the job there and was disagreed with only once by his students I think when he compared a complex phenomenon to something simple. This happened on other occasions too, like with a pizza and its slices or something. Don't remember entirely anymore. This is also the chapter in which we meet McChronicle's father. However, what really, really stayed in the mind for me with this scene was the way how it ended. Maybe some people find it a bit kitschy, but I probably have a soft spot there and thought it was really cute how Goal with her negative attitude before that in the end reveals that she also created a Rufus dummy in the previous chapter, so the two are not that different. How we see her from very close and how her grumpy face expression turns into a cute smile is a definite contender for my favorite moment from the game. And the platypus symbolism basically standing for our two protagonists I thought was quite sweet too. Especially the way the female platypus resembled Goal and how the two are united in the end despite being caged before that. So close to each other, yet so far. In terms of animals, I remember Poki saying during his commentary in a previous game that if he makes another one day, he will include wombats. And well, he remembered too, so there are some wombat references. The biggest one perhaps being a retro fight sequence against a pretty strong wombat that took a ring from Rufus in an earlier scene. Rufus even recruits a little army to fight this wombat. So there are many characters here that can be described as antagonists. Another example is Ronny for sure. What can I say about him? (I think it's a male.) Maybe nothing. That little flower is one you have to experience yourself. Also the pink elephant (in the room) / Utopians.
There is a lot more to mention. Impossible to include it all. Most of all, that we meet Goal as a baby this time. It would have been so much nicer to enjoy this scene fully without the time pressure. Also this scene reminded me a bit of the final battle between Guybrush and LeChuck in one of the Monkey Island games. Not sure if this was intended by Poki as a little tribute there. Even a biblical component is in this game with the scenes in the desert and how the conflict seems solved, but then something else happens when Goal and Rufus are gone. Oh and Goal gets married to the wrong man on one occasion. And flashes her boobs to said man on another occasion. There we see two platypuses too to keep it kids-friendly. Rufus cannot really look elsewhere either that moment. Oh and we get to see Goal as an old woman too on one occasion. Her chemistry there with the still young Rufus was kinda cute and also the young Goal watching these two and how she reacts. By the way, the old Goal sharing these memories in this scene felt a bit like what happened at Bozo's family's home in the third game. Not too much music in this game from Poki, but he voiced a boat captain once again. And one of the peanuts. The dialogues in this bar scene were also pretty funny, especially the caveman. That's it then. Finally, I must mention that there is a half-hour making-of on the Daedalic Youtube channel that you can also check out. I give this game, the longest of the four, a very high rating, very positive recommendation. One of 2016's finest.
