Goodbye Deponia Review – A Chaotic Farewell

Goodbye Deponia Review

Goodbye Deponia is the third instalment of the adventure-filled Deponia series which involves more humorous banters and classic blunders from our favourite characters and our one and only anti-hero Rufus. As a point-and-click puzzle game made for the Switch, Goodbye Deponia introduces easy and familiar controls to the new console while still maintaining its chaotic charm. Like an animated comic book with fully-voiced characters and colorful visuals, Goodbye Deponia is a treat for the ears and the eyes. A story with twists and turns and a satisfying ending, Goodbye Deponia is definitely not to be missed by those who have followed the series faithfully.

We follow our egotistic inventor Rufus as he sets out to stop the Organon, save Deponia from being blown up, and enter the city of Elysium. Right from the beginning we find ourselves in trouble as usual, and is the point where the game slowly introduces us to its clever puzzles. Playing as Rufus, we help him accomplish his tasks by doing a bunch of random things that may seem illogical. From accidentally unscrewing some bolts to indirectly endangering the life of his friends, we help Rufus find ways to save the day and fix the messes he caused. However chaotic and unpredictable the mission may be, the entire situation always ends up the way that it should, meaning there is not much to worry about except trying to find out what to do. Luckily for those who need a refresher, the in-game tutorial is very helpful in learning the controls, especially with funny instructions and uncalled for side remarks that remind you of the lightness of the game.

Filled with maddening yet innovative puzzles, we wander around different locations searching for random items, stealing objects from public spaces and unsuspecting NPCs. We utilize these items to achieve different goals in the game and to spark a seemingly useless conversation between characters. In order to move forward in the story, we are forced to be innovative by using these stolen objects at the right time, and even combining them together to form something new. We also have the option to prompt stupid comedic dialogue between characters by handing them the wrong object, which can be fun to do (or if you’re like me desperately trying to get a positive reaction from somebody).

For those new to the series, it could be hard to start Deponia with this game – doable, but can be confusing to begin with.  While anyone can quickly pick up and play the game, it would be much more enjoyable if you had background knowledge in what has happened thus far. There is a helpful recap given by Rufus’ fan Barry, where you can ask him what he knows about Rufus and he will gladly go into detail to remind you (or to teach you) what events had taken place prior to the beginning of the game. A clever way to incorporate the plot, but nevertheless difficult to follow if you have no idea who the characters are or what the story is really about.

Extremely well thought out and creative in every sense, all the actions you make in Goodbye Deponia follow a logical sequence. Sometimes there are areas where you think you have exhausted your options, but after prompting several dialogues from other characters new scenes will open up. Luckily, most of the time the actions you take have minimal consequences, meaning you can’t get caught even if you wanted to. It’s less stressful and that way you just focus on the puzzles and moving the story forward. On the other hand, the game requires a lot of thinking outside the box, especially since the story takes place in a fictional world where anything is possible. With this, you will just have to look for as many items as possible and try your luck when all else makes no sense. This can be a pretty frustrating, but as long as you have some patience everything will slowly fall into place.

Real Talk

There is never a dull moment in the game, but oftentimes there are one too many bad jokes. Rufus can talk to anybody for ages, and sometimes I would select the wrong option and have to click through an entire conversation between characters that I have read once already. Those times can be tedious, especially if the information you seek was not part of the long and pointless dialogue. However, if you read through some of them, there are hidden gems that made me chuckle, so it’s not always a bad idea to try every prompt you can possibly get.

With its creative puzzles, fully-voiced dialogue, and an ending that is open to interpretation, Goodbye Deponia is an excellent point-and-click adventure to go on at any time of the day. While this is the third instalment, I am sure even if you did not play the previous games you will be able to pick up on what has happened in the past. However, fans of the Deponia series will definitely have to play this game to find out the ending of this trilogy. Fairly straightforward with plenty of thinking and goofing around, Goodbye Deponia wraps up the Deponia trilogy in a satisfying way and leaves us players curious yet content.

*** A Nintendo Switch code was provided by the publisher ***