Deponia Doomsday

Lore & Background

The game's story begins with a prologue summarizing the history of Elysium, a spaceship meant to blow up the trash planet Deponia to reach a new planet. Rufus, a Deponian, sacrificed himself to prove the planet was inhabited, making the original plan unconscionable. The prologue shows Elysium falling onto a snow-covered Deponia, where an old Rufus activates the planet's explosion mechanism. The main game then follows a young Rufus who awakens from a dream of the first three games and the prologue, using his knowledge of the future to try to prevent his breakup with his girlfriend Toni. He teams up with Professor McChronicle, an expert in temporary physics, and Tuck, a local drunk. McChronicle's car is a time machine that saves a point in time, allowing them to return later; turning back time resets everyone's memories except for those wearing special tinfoil hats or who are immune.

Reader's Guide

Deponia Doomsday is significant as a 'paralellic' sequel that expands the Deponia universe through a convoluted time-loop narrative. The game's story involves multiple timelines, time machines, and characters like the 'pink elephant' (two men in disguise) and the Utopians, who try to preserve the original timeline. The plot weaves through various settings including Elysium, an abandoned shopping mall, a run-down amusement park, and 'interim time,' a space connecting wormholes where trash from Deponia's past piles up. The game's reception was 'generally favorable' according to Metacritic, with Adam Beck of Hardcore Gamer giving it a 3.5 out of 5, calling it 'a charming adventure that brings back all the' (the quote is cut off in the source). The game's legacy lies in its intricate time-travel mechanics and its resolution of the Deponia trilogy's story, ultimately allowing time to move forward and saving both Deponia and Utopia through Rufus's sacrifice.

Did You Know?

• The game features a parody of the Morlocks from H. G. Wells' 1895 novel The Time Machine, called Fewlocks.
• The time machine in the game is a car that saves a point in time to which characters can return.
• The 'pink elephant' is actually two men in disguise who do not want to reveal their identity.