Deponia: The Complete Journey is now available on the Utomik game subscription platform. This award winning point and click series of Adventures reminds me of the quality of classic Lucasarts titles.  Deponia contains three games:  Deponia, Chaos on Deponia and Goodbye Deponia.  Gamers now have the opportunity to complete the entire journey through the whole Deponia collection.  For those who have already played the titles in the series, it's still worth playing as it contains a new graphic quest log, world map and excellent commentary from the development team.

Story

Deponia is a world which is covered in dirty, smelly trash. It's a garbage planet and Rufus wants to leave. He wants to travel to the paradise world of Elysium and schemes ways in order to do so.  This simple plot evolves significantly becoming a compelling and complex narrative where he attempts to win the heart of his dream girl - Goal.  The only barrier to achieving his hearts desire is that she is already engaged to Rufus' doppelganger - a truly awful character called Cletus. 

Rufus is a likeable character. He may be naive and unemployed, but throughout his journey he endures and overcomes so many hardships and difficulties it's impossible to look down upon him.  He's a relatable everyday character and as his myriad of plans fail we empathize with his disappointments. We become emotionally connected to Rufus and we actually care about his journey and what will happen to him.

The story is incredibly well written, the quality of the narrative and dialogue is astonishing. The characters which you encounter throughout the story are interesting and the whole tone of the story is compelling.  It's also humorous; At times I found myself laughing out loud at the dialogue and the various situations Rufus found himself in.

Gameplay

This is a classic point and click adventure: you click around the environment, collect objects and complete puzzles. Solving puzzles is a central element for this genre, and Deponia offers a specific goal to achieve at the end of each chapter. There's always something between you and that goal, an obstacle of some kind, which then leads to another obstacle and so on.  Generally the puzzles aren't difficult as long as you have found the correct tools. I found some difficulty when I have to combine objects or interact with objects which logically should work together but require a more esoteric solution.  I spent hours on chapter 5 not realizing that the button on the Radio Tower had nothing to do with the Radio Tower itself.

The game has a hint system and from the menu system you can access a chapter overview that helps you keep track of your objectives, so you never feel lost.  Pressing the space bar on your keyboard will show the areas of interest on the screen, which really helps to distinguish what can be interacted with and what is just background.  

Graphics and Sound

Deponia is full of beautifully drawn environments. The shading and animation is absolutely stunning.  The characters are imaginatively designed and emote perfectly and the graphical tone blends perfectly with the narrative.  

The Talent of the voice actors and actresses in this game are staggering, helping to bring an air of realism to the world of Deponia. It’s honestly exciting hearing such clear voices and no over-acting for any of them. There are a few with wilder voices, but even then, it doesn’t detract from the characters at any point.

One special feature of Deponia: The Complete Journey over previous versions is that it features commentary by the developers of the game. I love listening to the developers explain their decisions over some of the design and some of the lore of the game. They usually chat with an in-game character during their commentary parts, which is quite funny to listen to.

This game features a lot of dialogue and you’ll get used to just listening to them through several long events. Couple this with nice and clear sound effects and music for the game where the music isn’t too overpowering, and you’ve got a great game. 

Verdict

Give this game a go if you’re a fan of the old school point and click adventure games such as Monkey Island, (Especially The Curse of Monkey Island)  We needed a modern day LucasArts and it seems that Daedalic Entertainment has stepped up. The developers have crafted a truly entertaining game with some memorable characters.