By Renan Fontes 05.12.2017
The point and click genre has always felt a bit different on consoles due to the lack of a mouse for which to point and click with. A controller simply cannot offer the same fluidity of movement a mouse can. That said, with enough effort into mapping a controller properly, the point and click genre can still thrive on consoles. Five years after its initial release, this is exactly what Chaos on Deponia does. This is more than just a port; it's proof that adaptational changes from PC to console can, and should, be an industry standard.
What's particularly impressive about Chaos on Deponia's PS4 port is how natural it feels to play with a controller. Walking is as smooth as it was in its original release on the PC, and all the buttons have been properly mapped so that interacting with the world on-screen is never cumbersome. Shoulder buttons cycle through hotspots, the d-pad opens the inventory, and square, circle, and cross are all used to make direct contact with people and objects.
Gameplay is about what's expected from a typical point and click adventure. The main character, Rufus, interacts with the world around him, picks up an item, and uses said item to make progress or solve a puzzle down the line. While the general adventuring is standard for the genre, puzzles do come off a bit more difficult than the average. The main reason for this is simply how the puzzles are designed. Instead of ramping up the difficulty throughout the narrative, puzzles are fairly balanced from start to finish. The lack of a curve can be off-putting, but a more stable difficulty is welcome as it's rather uncommon in any genre.
No adventure is complete without a script, however, and Chaos on Deponia's stands out as particularly clever. It's not unusual for a point and click to rely on humor, but the comedy present feels subtler and more character based. A lot of the laughs in the script come from an understanding of the characters, which the story makes sure the audience has. Cast dynamics are well defined and Rufus' narration goes a long way in characterising himself and the world around him. The writing has a very homemade quality to it where the script, while not written by one person, has a clear, identifiable voice.
As strong as the script is, it isn't the star of the show here. Rather, that title belongs to the voice direction. It's one thing to cast good actors, yet it's another to direct them to the point where a dub no longer sounds like a dub. There are moments in the story where Rufus will stutter over his lines in a way that feels genuine. Kerry Shale's delivery breathes added life into an adventure already filled with it. Shale's performance isn't unique, though, as just about every character is perfectly cast and directed. Good dubs aren't as rare as they used to be, but it's still incredibly impressive when one manages to feel as synergised as Deponia's.
Praise directed towards the voice acting should also be directed towards the cut-scenes, especially in regards to lip synching. English is a Germanic language so it does lend itself to the original German synching better than it could have otherwise, but it's still an admirable transition that deserves recognition. Characters truly feel like they are speaking on-screen. While it certainly helps that the lip synching is so well done, the bigger reason as to why characters feel natural is the top notch animation.
Every action is incredibly fluid and wonderfully animated, giving genuine weight and personality to each motion a character makes. The way Rufus interacts with the world around him is equal parts realistic and cartoonish, perfectly capturing his larger than life, roguelike personality. Stiff cut-scenes can give the impression of a stiff character, but Chaos on Deponia animation makes an already endearing cast all the more loveable.
Witty, charming, and full of personality, Chaos on Deponia is an incredibly endearing point and click adventure that will make audiences forget they have been playing with a controller the entire time. Moving with the analogue stick is incredibly fluid and cycling through hotspots with either the shoulder buttons or the right analogue is an inspired decision that completely negates the need for a mouse. Puzzle solving still feels natural and the new control scheme never gets in the way of the action. With a hilarious script, beautiful animation, and fantastic voice direction, Chaos on Deponia is as enjoyable in 2017 as it was in 2012.
8/10
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