Deponia Doomsday Review for PlayStation 4

The fourth major installment in the Deponia series by Daedalic Entertainment, Deponia Doomsday continues the journey of Rufus and his life on the once heavily inhabited planet, Deponia. Jumping into this final game of the series can be a little confusing as there is obviously backstory that plays into this game, but overall the plot is simple to follow.

Rufus lives on the trash planet of Deponia after a group of people left ground to live in a space station called Elysium. Rufus has one goal: to get up to Elysium at whatever cost.

And this is where everything goes so wrong for Rufus.

Poor Rufus cannot get anything done correctly, seemingly being the type of person that attracts failure, destruction, and misfortune wherever he steps. And that is why when he meets a time traveler, he sees his opportunity to make everything right. With countless chances to turn back time and make sure he interacts with people properly and affect his environment the right way, he’ll reach his goal.

But we know that’s not the case, as the beginning of the game tells you. In the intro, we saw an old Rufus abandoned on the planet, all alone, destroying Deponia once and for all.

So, what’s the truth? Where is Rufus?

That’s the point of Deponia Doomsday — it makes you question what is the right timeline, what the heck is going on, and even if given countless chances, can you make everything perfect in your life?

This point-and-click adventure implements a journey of time travel, puzzle solving, and critical thinking to the maximum possible level. During the hours you will spend on this game, you will travel with Rufus to the future, his home, to see the dinosaurs, to the middle of space-time, back to his home (a few times, actually), and hopefully in the end, to his happy ending. Whether or not he actually achieves this is something you’ll have to find out for yourself.

Actual gameplay, I must say, felt a little lacking to me. Repetitive in nature due to the time loops you experience, even Rufus’ snarky comments and personality as the anti-hero becomes boring when you spend hours trying to figure out a specific combination of heteroclite objects in order to advance in the game. Sometimes, it reaches out right frustrating. I personally spent over an hour during the first sequence of Deponia Doomsday, which just set up the basis of the rest of the plot which was much more interesting.

Discovering different cultures on Elysium was fascinating, and the many different environments and landscapes Rufus takes you to are some of the most creative places I have seen in a game.

The characters were diverse, all strong in their own way, and all contribute to the looping journey Rufus sets everyone on.

The ending as well definitely picks up an already intense adventure, and makes all of the craziness and chaos Rufus causes almost worth it. I am one to prefer more action-packed games versus this elongated, confusing journey, but I do appreciate all the hard work that went behind the creation of Deponia Doomsday as well as the convoluted thinking this game required to complete it.

I do feel like I must mention this game is not for kids. End score: 7/10

Check Out the Deponia Doomsday Trailer:

Deponia Doomsday is available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC via Steam, and heading to Nintendo Switch March 23, 2019.