Ah, computer games.
I love you so, but the niggling doubt that you are a tremendous waste of time never shakes.
Luckily, as I'm recovering from an operation, I don't have to worry about that!
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| (C) Daedalic Entertainment |
So I'd been hearing about Daedalic's Games for a while, and had to admit the visual style was very appealing, plus any game with a sense of humour has got my attention.
Your mission? To play as Rufus, an inventor and a slacker, obsessed with leaving his garbage home planet, Deponia, to the promised paradise of 'Elysium'... but naturally things don't go to plan, otherwise it would be a really short game. Instead he is landed with an unconscious girl from Elysium, her shifty fiancé and a greater conspiracy surrounding Deponia and its future survival.
The result? A mix of zany LucasArts-ness, with some Full Throttle urban-wasteland-ness, and a touch of Douglas Adams satire sprinkled in to finish.
The game, though, manages to transcend its influences when it comes to its artwork and characters. Rufus is a fantastic anti-hero - he's self-absorbed, arrogant, infuriating, and creates imminent chaos everywhere he goes. But - of course - we also get to see the little bits of morality and maturity peek through as he toys with doing the right thing for Deponia... or the right thing for Rufus.
Rarely are other characters just left to be ordinary either, whether it's Rufus's (justifiably) jaded ex-girlfriend, the emo bartender, or the transvestite secretary at Town Hall. The gags are relentless too, whether verbal or physical, but its wide-eyed playfulness make it winning rather than annoying.
It's sort of astonishing, in fact, that the game has been translated so well from German. The humour and character of the game have transferred beautifully, and supported by some fantastic voice acting, it's (almost) flawless. In fact, it's the sheer quality of voice acting that reminded me of LucasArts the most, and how good casting can make a game feel like such a luxury experience.
The artwork is also beautiful throughout. Creating a garbage planet was going to be demanding, and the game delivers, with each location is filled with loving detail and interacted with in 2.5D.
The gameplay isn't shabby either. Although there is always some exploration to enjoy in each chapter, puzzles are relatively self-contained so there isn't too much back and forth. The production team also play with what you can and cannot do, and sometimes, in order to move the game forward, you must help Rufus do entirely the wrong thing. This might be annoying for some users but just made me grin - there seemed no better way to empathise with other characters' infuriation at Rufus, and find yourself shaking your own head at him.
There are a few buggy notes - dialogue options don't always match what's said, graphics slipped up once or twice, and once the original German slipped through in the subtitles, though weirdly that felt like an Easter Egg rather than an error. Animation is also a little weak on actions like handing over or combining objects, but they're always a bit complicated.
Music is pretty outstanding throughout. The composers play with the rubbish theme to create a fun, percussive, tin-pan soundtrack to reflect Deponia, but also manages to be beautifully poignant in the later scenes.
Overall, it's nice to see a game that has been so lovingly crafted that no area feel neglected. Particular plaudits for the ending that manages to be self-contained, while also setting up the sequels.
There are remaining questions - whether the plot actually makes sense, being the major one. But there are two more games, and if they're as fun as this one I have a suspicion that 1) the plot won't make sense and 2) it doesn't really matter.
Favourite line?
Apologies, as it's quite rude, but Bailiff Argus's line expressing his disbelief at his idiot co-workers had me just helpless with laughter, maybe for its incongruity more than anything.
"You two are shitting me, right?"
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