Deponia (video game)

Gameplay

Core game play is focused around 2.5D levels of varying sizes, in which the player must interact with objects in a variety of different ways, including picking up smaller items, activating machines and combining objects together, all in the pursuit of solving puzzles to further advance the plot line.

Rufus

"There is a lot to say about Rufus, but not much of it positive. He is a selfish, ill-tempered egocentric who believes that he is destined for something better. He has no regard for others and when somebody gets hurt during one of his poorly conceived and constantly backfiring plans Rufus is totally unable to admit that it is his fault. Rufus is surrounded by chaos. He is a magnet for catastrophe. The nicest thing you could say about him is that he does not intend to harm anybody, but this is only because he does not care about anyone but himself. In short, Rufus is a narcissist. That is, until he meets Goal…"

Goal

"Goal is the iconic girl from the upper spheres Rufus falls in love with. She is beautiful, amiable, goodhearted and clever. But Rufus wouldn't know in the first place, because she is rendered unconscious after she falls onto the surface just before their first encounter. Her brain implant is damaged. Due to this he can project his idea of perfection onto her: a noble maiden from above in need of rescue."

Toni

"Toni is Rufus’ ex-girlfriend and has little good to say about him. She enjoys seeing Rufus suffer severe injuries in his attempts to escape from Deponia. But in her heart, Toni is basically a good person. She continues to support Rufus, not having the heart to leave him out to dry. After all, he wouldn't last two days, if he didn't have her to mooch off."

Wenzel

"Wenzel is Rufus’ sidekick, at least that’s what Rufus thinks. In fact, Wenzel is more like a parasite: He supports Rufus in his attempts to escape from Deponia only because he wouldn’t want to miss Rufus’ spectacular failures, crash-landings, explosions and painful bone fractures. He also fancies it a good way of getting rid of Rufus once and for all, having had an eye on Rufus’ possessions – as pitiful as they may be – for quite a while."

Gizmo

"The small community of Kuvaq likes to keep its bureaucratic apparatus slick and efficient. That’s why the positions of police inspector, doctor and fire department are all united in one person: Gizmo. He fulfills his duties – more or less – admirably and both he as well as his equipment are very versatile."

Bailiff Argus

"The obtuse bureaucrat Bailiff Argus is a practical man of respect with military manners, devoid of humour. He is the right hand man of the evil Chief Control Council Shellert, who rules the powerful bureaucratic force only known as “the Organon.” Argus and his cronies are sent to hunt down Rufus and return Goal to the Elysian spheres."

Plot

The plot commences after a short tutorial featuring Rufus and Wenzel.

Part 1 - Kuvaq

The game begins proper in Rufus's bedroom. It is revealed he is leaving soon, and after packing up a few items he exits the house to a makeshift launch deck. It is there he is joined by Wenzel and Toni, who mock his attempts to leave before he attaches himself to a rocket and fires himself towards an approaching train belonging to the Organon. After his 'rocket' breaks apart mid-flight, Rufus eventually ends up on the airship, where he retrieves his supplies and attempts to gain further access to the ship. It is at this point that the Elysian Pixie, Goal, is introduced, being harassed by the Organon guards on the ship. When Rufus tries to rescue her from her predicament, he inadvertently knocks them both off the ship and back into Kuvaq. Rufus, who has been separated from Goal, now proceeds to search for her, and eventually finds her unconscious in the town hall, with a long line of people queuing up outside for the honor of looking after her. After meeting Gizmo and taking a number from the waiting machine, Rufus causes chaos in the city by detonating explosives, causing the people to disperse and allowing him to skip to the front of the line. To awaken Goal, he then has to use a particularly potent coffee made from a long list of bizarre ingredients. During this quest, Rufus inadvertently gives Wenzel his Dad's water diviner which he then uses to find clean water, thus making him rich and leading him to believe that Goal will now be entrusted to his care. Rufus eventually finds all the ingredients for, and makes the coffee, but when he attempts to give it to Goal, he is stopped by an assortment of people, who he manages to distract in a variety of ways. Upon taking the coffee, Goal wakes up but after learning about Rufus, punches him in the face. When he finally wakes up and tries to talk to Goal, she can only talk gibberish, but Rufus manages to determine that Cletus is the fiance of Goal, and that he will reward him handsomely for her return. By sabotaging the post office, Rufus manages to contact Cletus and convinces him to take him to Elysium. They arrange to meet at Lower Ascension Station on the top platform after sunset tomorrow. At this point, Rufus is arrested by Gizmo, and Bailiff Argus arrives to pick up Goal. Rufus escapes and saves Goal once again, before blowing up Wenzel's house and escaping into the Garbage Mine.

Part 2 - Garbage Mine

Upon arriving in the garbage mine loading area, Rufus begins to search around. Goal is still unconscious at this point, and so when a bridge collapses they are separated by the resulting chasm. Rufus uses a crane to collect Goal from the other side, and then continues on to the Mine Railway Control Building. He discovers a Mine Bike which he believes will be able to transport him and Goal up to the Ascension station, but on closer inspection, he discovers some key parts are missing. After meeting 'Doc', a handyman/spare parts dealer/brain surgeon, Rufus learns how to fix the bike, and proceeds to take it on a joy ride. He is able to ride the bike to the upper level, through use of a convenient switch in a control room, where he is able to check a map of the railway, and then ride the bike back down to the bottom with a couple of key components which he needs to switch on some of the lights in the dark outer tunnels. Rufus returns to Goal with the bike, loads her onto it with the crane after taking some meditation lessons from Doc and then drives himself and Goal to the Lower Ascension Station through a difficult maze.

Part 3 - Lower Ascension Station

Whilst Goal is still asleep, Rufus attempts to find a way to the upper platform to meet Cletus. After revealing that this was where his father left him (to leave for Elysium), he begins to search around. Once he has reprogrammed a lift, and risen to the top platform, Rufus overhears a conversation between Cletus and Argus in which it is revealed that they are plotting together, and that Goal is only needed because there is information stored in her malfunctioning brain implant. The Prime Controller, Ulysses, is also in on the plot. Rufus follows Cletus, with whom he shares a striking resemblance, eventually confronting him and discovering that Deponia is to be blown up, and that Cletus is in possession of a backup memory implant for Goal which contains no memory of it. Rufus declares that he hates Deponia in a similar style to that of his father. He then tries to head back down, only to be stopped by Argus, who he can't pass by for fear of the Organon. Disguising himself as Cletus, Rufus is able to slip through, only to discover that Goal is missing. After following the trail, he ends up at Captain Bozo's Trash heap, where he is reunited with Goal and Doc. After sorting out her implants, Goal awakens, and is brought up to date by Rufus. They discuss their plan, and return to the station, taking out a group of soldiers with the crane. After taking care of Cletus, Goal and Rufus ascend to Elysium, while Rufus comes clean about everything to Goal, who demands her memory implant back. Rufus returns to the planet, where he meets Cletus again and gives him the memory cartridge. Goal wakes up, and she and Cletus return to Elysium. Argus decides not to let Rufus go because he knows too much, and so Rufus returns to Captain Bozo.

Reception

Deponia received generally good reviews from critics. Review aggregator Metacritic gives the game 74% (based on 33 reviews) and describes it as "a fast-paced comedy of errors and one of the most unusual love stories in gaming history" set in "a unique game world in the style of Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and Matt Groening."

Some critics such as "Strategy Informer" slammed the game, saying "The plot moves glacially, and seems to be held up by puzzles that fail to complement it." Destructoid agreed with this point, saying "The game prolongs dialogue with bad joke after bad joke, at times".

However, the majority of critics and gamers liked the game overall, with key points of praise being "A brilliantly absurd story, a fitting comic style and strong speakers." (GamingXP), "Deponia is an incredibly funny, affectionately designed adventure." (4players.de) and "Deponia is one of the most entertaining point & click titles we've seen in the last couple of years." (xgn.nl)

Kotaku gave the game a positive review, saying "The first in a planned trilogy of games that I like to think of as the Rufus Saga, Deponia is sharp, pretty and quirky-as-hell".