Whereas the Hotel Menetekel is refreshingly small in scope (the somewhat intimidating scope of Chaos on Deponia could be overwhelming at times), Porta Fisco is crammed full of locations, hotspots and characters. The three versions of Rufus eventually find a way to share items between each other and this is handled extremely well. Yet each Rufus has numerous tasks to accomplish and not all of these are made particularly clear. The end result is so much choice and freedom that the game all too often grinds to a halt. It doesn’t help that some of the puzzles twist logic almost to breaking point. When everything does start to click into place it’s immensely satisfying (and the majority of the puzzles are very well thought out despite their twisted logic), but I imagine most players will find themselves taking a peek at an online walkthrough at some point due to feelings of frustration. The Deponia series has never had a particularly strong focus on telling a deep and meaningful story – so it’s somewhat surprising that Goodbye Deponia not only feels quite story-heavy, but contains some genuinely shocking and emotional moments too. The mid-point plot twist is a genuine surprise that presents the previous two games in an entirely different light, and the Marmite ending will have players talking for a long time to come. Sadly, the humour misses its mark as often as it hits it. Some of the jokes are borderline racist/misogynistic, such as when Rufus ‘sells’ a black female character to become an organ grinder’s ‘monkey’, complete with jiggling, partially exposed breasts. I genuinely don’t think any harm or offense was meant by such jokes, but if Daedalic was aiming for ironic satire… they shot far too wide. The high definition, colourful and cartoony graphics are absolutely stunning and the world itself is a joy to simply look at and explore, soaking in all of the rich sights and sounds. The animated cutscenes are a satisfying reward for reaching certain points in the game and the voice acting is strong across the board. The music is charming and matches the mood of each area extremely well – Poki also returns to perform some more of his hilarious songs between acts. These musical segues never fail to raise a smile and go a long way towards repairing the damage of the more badly judged gags. Goodbye Deponia ultimately ends the series on a high, despite some moments of questionable humour and frustration due to a lack of direction during the middle act.
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