History YMMV / Deponia

** '''Goal.''' The extent of her ordeals has to be seen to be believed. To recap, she's a fairly normal, sweet young woman from Elysium who [[RebelliousPrincess gets uppity]] and insists on accompanying her [[ArrangedMarriage husband-to-be whom she did not get to pick]] to Deponia, and gets entangled in a GovernmentConspiracy covering up a [[MoralEventHorizon genocide]] in the making. She is then accidentally knocked down to the surface, sustains serious injury and spends a few days [[TheLoad being carted around]] by an UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist. Once she regains consciousness, her would-be husband and Rufus mess with her memory and [[LivingMacGuffin treat her like an object]] until Rufus grows some conscience. Then, her return to Elysium is [[NiceJobBreakingItHero accidentally sabotaged by Rufus]], getting her seriously injured ''again'' and, through gross negligence on Rufus's part, causing her memory implant to [[SplitPersonality shatter her personality into three parts]], whereupon she becomes the victim of even more [[SlapstickKnowsNoGender slapstick]], up to and including being used as a living lightning rod after saying she's afraid of lightning. Finally, when things start getting better, [[HereWeGoAgain Rufus gets them captured once more]], resulting in [[spoiler:her getting strapped to a torture rack and very nearly getting killed via an overdose of sedative]]. And as if that was not enough, Rufus then [[spoiler:dies by performing a HeroicSacrifice to ensure her survival]], while she is [[spoiler:stuck with [[{{Jerkass}} Cletus]], and even though she [[IronicHell forces Cletus to keep up the masquerade from the ending of ''Goodbye Deponia'' and pretend he's Rufus]], she understands that the real Rufus [[StarCrossedLovers died just as she really fell in love with him]].]] And ''then'' ''Deponia Doomsday'' reveals that [[spoiler:with the destruction of Deponia averted and Elysium's launch thus cancelled, Elysium soon loses power and falls back down on the planet, with apparent heavy casualties among the Elysians. Goal survives and is then forced to set off, alone and heartbroken, to find a new life on Deponia.]] And she goes through [[TraumaCongaLine all this]] without being guilty of anything save for a little bit of well-justified rebellious attitude. Talk about harsh.

* DarthWiki/MostAnnoyingSound: The Organon in the first game easily become this every time they have a speaking role on-screen, including Argus. For whatever reason, their mask's voice modulation effect is amped up so absurdly high that they're several times louder than anything else in the game to deafening degrees. Which sucks given how much funny dialogue they have for mocking Rufus at every turn when you're trying to deal with them in the late game.

* DarthWiki/MostAnnoyingSound: The Organon in the first game easily become this every time they have a speaking role on-screen, including Argus. For whatever reason, their mask's voice modulation effect is amped up so absurdly high that they're several times louder than anything else in the game to deafening degrees. Which sucks given how much funny dialogue they have for mocking Rufus at every turn.

* MostAnnoyingSound: The Organon in the first game easily become this every time they have a speaking role on-screen, including Argus. For whatever reason, their mask's voice modulation effect is amped up so absurdly high that they're several times louder than anything else in the game to deafening degrees.

* EndingAversion: Some players declared the ending of ''Goodbye Deponia'' enough to make the entire trilogy up to that point almost not worth playing, if '''this''' is the conclusion it all led to.

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: The main conflict throughout the series (at least, in the original trilogy) is the clash between the Deponians and the Elysians, as they have different ideas about how to make the best out of the crapsack world they live in. However, critics take issue with the fact that ''Deponia'' engages in BlackComedy that undermines its setting and all the characters, making the whole story pointless to them. Most Deponians are either apathetic or incompetent to solve anything about their situation, and if there's some progress made by them, [[HappyEndingOverride it's quickly undone]] in the next installment. The Elysians are equally full of dim-witted, unlikeable folks, and those plotting against the Deponians show little characterization to at least consider them as WellIntentionedExtremist. Central to the controversy is the series' protagonist Rufus, commonly considered a DesignatedHero who gets more free passes by the story than he deserves, and [[EndingAversion the trilogy's ending that many see as a disappointment]]. Even as a black comedy, these issues made the players eventually stop caring about what happens in the game.

* UnfortunateImplications:
** Lotti, the game's only transsexual character, sparked some backlash in her appearances due to having heavily masculine traits (which are even lampshaded in-game,) speaking with an obvious falsetto, etc., with one transgender fan even writing to Poki and saying they would refuse to play any more games knowing their demographic was just going to be mocked. Poki insists in developer commentary that it wasn't the game's intention to make fun of Lotti in her appearances, but that the joke is always supposed to be on Rufus, who's mostly only liberal in that [[HeroicComedicSociopath he's an ass to everybody]].
** Several players became uncomfortable with the puzzle in the third game which had Rufus selling a woman into debt slavery to dance like a monkey, particularly when she was the series' only black character. Again, the developer covers by insisting that the players are meant to see this as uncomfortable.

** Over whether or not the conclusion of ''Goodbye Deponia'' was a satisfactory end for the trilogy (see below.) It's ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' all over again...

** [[spoiler: Due to the ambiguous nature of the ending of ''Goodbye Deponia'', many fans are standing by this for Rufus. We never see him die exactly, and the possibility of having him cloned again is somewhat likely. The outcry for the ending was so divisive that [[WordOfGod the creators]] had to reinsure that it's totally out there that Rufus could be alive in some form or another, though they want it to be up to the viewers to decide.]]

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: There is a moment in the [[spoiler: fourth]] game where, just once, Toni is not only completely supportive of Rufus, but also shows utter faith in his latest zany plan (something that nearly shocks him). To top it off, [[ItsAllAboutMe the typically narcissistic Rufus]] is ''literally'' bending space and time to vindicate that trust. [[spoiler: It all dissolves into a TearJerker when, despite his best efforts, he disappoints her not once, but multiple times. When he fails for the final time, she's so disappointed that she simply walks away without hitting him, and it's clear that her bitter disappointment hurt Rufus more than her fury]].
** In the second game, some of Rufus' interactions with Baby Goal and Spunky Goal count. Baby Goal voices her utter trust in Rufus and her readiness to follow him everywhere, whereas Spunky Goal simply seems to share Rufus' playfulness and humor; they really seem to enjoy their bickering in the pub, and both declare at the very same moment and with the same enthusiasm their plan to go ice-swimming, which apparently leads to an off-screen water battle between them.
** Also at the end of the second game, Rufus is terrified that the Resistance got slaughtered. He's relieved to see all of them, including Toni, alive. Then he warns them that they need to evacuate before the Organon base blows up, and they watch, with Goal in tow.
** After trying so hard throughout all three games [[spoiler: and [[EsotericHappyEnding infamously falling to his death]] within seconds of his goal at the end of the third]], Rufus finally, ''finally'' [[spoiler: makes it to Elysium]]. Even if [[spoiler: it doesn't last]], the look of joy on his face is a sight to behold[[spoiler:... for the five seconds it lasts]].
** After finally fulfilling his lifelong dream, (and thanks to a convenient time loop) Rufus is given the chance to live in an ideal paradise ''for all eternity''... which he quickly abandons once it becomes clear that he wont be able to spend any of it with Goal.
** In ''Deponia Doomsday'', in order to reach Porta Rustica in time, Rufus, Goal and [=McChronicle=] have to take a boat, but the owner only allows passage if Rufus presents a picture that proves he and Goal are in love with each other. Rufus goes off on yet another of his [[ZanyScheme Zany Schemes]], intending to take a picture with a fake Goal, but just as he completes it, he's interrupted by Goal herself, who reacts with surprised disapproval and tells him she'd [[CuttingTheKnot convinced the owner to let them pass]]. In Porta Rustica, however, Goal drops a photograph that Rufus picks up... which depicts Goal with a fake Rufus, meaning that Goal had successfully undertaken ''the exact same ZanyScheme'' while Rufus prepared for his. When Rufus is surprised by this, Goal gets [[NotSoDifferent a mellow smile on her face]].
** Likewise, [[spoiler:a version of Goal and Rufus end up together and alive, albeit in the age of dinosaurs. They decide to make the most of it]].
** Surprisingly, Bailiff Argus and his relationship to the rest of the Organon race; to his individual {{Mooks}} he's shown as being a BadBoss or at least a very harsh leader, but his main motivation in the game is to [[spoiler:provide the Organon with a better life -- or even a chance at living at all -- in defiance of the Elysian council's plans to use them as a disposable Mook race.]] In return, the Organon all love him and are allegedly enraptured by his speeches. To put it in perspective, [[spoiler:Argus' motivations are more selfless than ''Rufus's'' (at least before his HeroicSacrifice at the very end.)]]

* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome:
** Doc in game two. [[spoiler:He's been taken hostage, Rufus through a wild ploy saves him and Lady Goal from the Unorganized Crime Syndicate, only for Lady Goal to betray them and run off to find Cletus. When Rufus is hurt that she left, Doc as soon as Rufus unties him sobers up, says they have to go and stop her, and do the surgery to fix her brain]].
** Toni gets a slew of moments; she joins the resistance, trains dolphins, and proves to be a crackshot during the assault on the Organon Tower. BadassNormal, thy name is Toni.
** Though it costs him the trust of both Goals, Rufus comes clean when she asks who set off the tower countdown.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Goal at the end of game two, where [[spoiler:all her counterparts become convinced that Rufus is lying to her and leaves him to fall. Which he was, but she was still on the verge of leaving ''billions'' of Deponians to die and assuming she could trust Cletus to keep his word that he wouldn't let it happen. Cletus has been established as a liar, and even gloats to Rufus that the difference between them is Rufus can't lie to Goal. Lady Goal only changes her mind since Rufus still has Baby Goal's chip, and comes down to help ''after'' he took a long fall. That's just cold, and doesn't help that Rufus goes EasilyForgiven about how she would have let him die if he weren't MadeOfIron]].

** '''Goal.''' The extent of her ordeals has to be seen to be believed. To recap, she's a fairly normal, sweet young woman from Elysium who [[RebelliousPrincess gets uppity]] and insists on accompanying her [[ArrangedMarriage husband-to-be whom she did not get to pick]] to Deponia, and gets entangled in a GovernmentConspiracy covering up a [[MoralEventHorizon genocide]] in the making. She is then accidentally knocked down to the surface, sustains serious injury and spends a few days [[TheLoad being carted around]] by an UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist. Once she regains consciousness, her would-be husband and Rufus mess with her memory and [[LivingMacGuffin treat her like an object]] until Rufus grows some conscience. Then, her return to Elysium is [[NiceJobBreakingItHero accidentally sabotaged by Rufus]], getting her seriously injured ''again'' and, through gross negligence on Rufus's part, causing her memory implant to [[SplitPersonality shatter her personality into three parts]], whereupon she becomes the victim of even more [[SlapstickKnowsNoGender slapstick]], up to and including being used as a living lightning rod after saying she's afraid of lightning. Finally, when things start getting better, [[HereWeGoAgain Rufus gets them captured once more]], resulting in [[spoiler:her getting strapped to a torture rack and very nearly getting killed via an overdose of sedative]]. And as if that was not enough, Rufus then [[spoiler:dies by performing a HeroicSacrifice to ensure her survival]], while she is [[spoiler:stuck with [[{{Jerkass}} Cletus]], and even though she [[IronicHell forces Cletus to keep up the masquerade from the ending of ''Goodbye Deponia'' and pretend he's Rufus]], she understands that the real Rufus [[StarCrossedLovers died just as she really fell in love with him]].]] And ''then'' ''Deponia Doomsday'' reveals that[[spoiler:, with the destruction of Deponia averted and Elysium's launch thus cancelled, Elysium soon loses power and falls back down on the planet, with apparent heavy casualties among the Elysians. Goal survives and is then forced to set off, alone and heartbroken, to find a new life on Deponia.]] And she goes through [[TraumaCongaLine all this]] without being guilty of anything save for a little bit of well-justified rebellious attitude. Talk about harsh.

* CrazyAwesome: Rufus continually does things that other people tell him are impossible and/or will kill him. Despite all odds, his recklessness and arrogance lead him to victory time after time... albeit with a lot of collateral damage. It's even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in the third game, where people explicitly turn to him for a CrazyEnoughToWork last-second gambit.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Critics of the series take issue with the fact that Rufus is basically a completely despicable, utterly irredeemable JerkAss who blithely engages in KickTheDog moment after KickTheDog moment without remorse, often purely [[BecauseItAmusedMe because it amuses him]] (even if these actions do end up necessary to solve the puzzles and proceed with the game - or possibly ''[[ButThouMust because]]'' they do). Other characters aren't much better; most Deponians are either apathetic or just as incompetent as Rufus to solve any problem about their situation. Even the Elysians who might be considered WellIntentionedExtremist are dim-witted, unlikeable folks. Even though the series lives on BlackComedy, it's not hard to eventually stop caring about what'll happen to them.
* DesignatedHero: Rufus being seen as a selfish AntiHero is an intended reaction. A good number of players, however, don't share that opinion, instead seeing him as a straight, full-on VillainProtagonist. His first action in ''Chaos on Deponia'' is sabotaging Goal's travel to the Elysium, thereby undoing one good deed he made in the first game, and he spends the rest of the trilogy leaving a massive trail of victims in his adventure to "save" the Deponia (the most infamous one is, of course, splitting up a couple and selling a woman into slavery in ''Goodbye''). His relationship with Goal is abusive and manipulative at most times; at one point you're forced to make her struck by a lightning just to finish a puzzle. And yet he's still portrayed as a relatively good guy because there's always immediate bigger threat around the corner. The [[https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/11/11/wot-i-think-goodbye-deponia/ Rock Paper Shotgun]] review of ''Goodbye Deponia'' called it "a horrible game", with the reviewer absolutely ''loathing'' Rufus.

** ''Deponia Doomsday's'' ending only seems to make matters worse, [[spoiler:because the game makes it apparent that [[YouCantFightFate changing the ending with time travel will never work.]] It's quite clear that the creators do not want to change what they started, regardless of what the fans want. [[TrollingCreator It didn't help that]] the release trailer for the game [[NeverTrustATrailer made it out to appear]] it was going to fix everything from the last game when the actual game says otherwise.]]

* ThatOnePuzzle: The "knocking" puzzle in ''Chaos''. Rufus has to remember a secret code knock, but he keeps getting distracted by [[EarWorm the catchy music that plays in the marketplace]], making him forget the knock. So what do you do to solve this puzzle? Craft some earplugs for Rufus? Find a way to destroy the speakers? Nope! You [[spoiler: go into the game's settings and turn the background music off.]] Note that you are never called on to do anything even remotely like this at any other point in the series, making this a frequent sticking point for players trying to do a no-guide playthrough. The only thing can be somewhat seen as a hint is a completely optional, one-time-only dialogue with the pharmacist, where he says "That rhythmic background music drowns out everything" -- but, even if that line is slightly more direct, it's still a long shot, and you must remember that line when the puzzle comes.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Critics of the series take issue with the fact that Rufus is basically a completely despicable, utterly irredeemable JerkAss who blithely engages in KickTheDog moment after KickTheDog moment without remorse, often purely [[BecauseItAmusedMe because it amuses him]] (even if these actions do end up necessary to solve the puzzles and proceed with the game- or possibly ''[[ButThouMust because]]'' they do).
* DesignatedHero: Rufus being seen as a selfish AntiHero is an intended reaction. A good number of players, however, don't share that opinion, instead seeing him as a straight, full-on VillainProtagonist. His first action in ''Chaos on Deponia'' is sabotaging Goal's travel to Elysium, thereby undoing one good deed he made in the first game, and he spends the rest of the trilogy leaving a massive trail of victims in his adventure to "save" the Deponia (the most infamous one is, of course, splitting up a couple and selling a woman into slavery in ''Goodbye''). His relationship with Goal is abusive and manipulative at most times; at one point you're forced to make her struck by a lightning just to complete a puzzle. And yet he's still portrayed as a relatively good guy when his time comes to stop the conspiracy plotted by Elysium. The [[https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/11/11/wot-i-think-goodbye-deponia/ Rock Paper Shotgun]] review of ''Goodbye Deponia'' called it "a horrible game", with the reviewer absolutely ''loathing'' Rufus.

** EsotericHappyEnding: To wit, a lot of people consider the BittersweetEnding of the trilogy to be [[DownerEnding downright bitter]]. [[spoiler: Due to some [[CruelTwistEnding awfully contrived circumstances]], Rufus supposedly falls to his death moments before finally accomplishing his life's dream of reaching Elysium. Cletus assumes his identity [[TheBadGuyWins (thus also taking Goal back)]][[note]]provided Goal is up for this, which is rather unlikely[[/note]] with no one aside from possibly Goal knowing that it's not actually Rufus finally standing on Elysian soil. Elysium has crash-landed on Deponia, Argus may have survived, and even if he didn't, there are still 11,000 Organon on the highboat raring to take over Elysium, which at the very least is now fated to remain stranded on Deponia unless Cletus/"Rufus" can come up with a plan (which is implied to be unlikely due to not having the real Rufus' "spark".)]] The game tries to depict this as a positive thing by [[{{Anvilicious}} explicitly stating to the player]] that [[spoiler: Rufus ''chose'' to fall and let Cletus assume his identity (which technically makes it a HeroicSacrifice and supposed to represent some sort of redemption for Rufus) and that Elysium and Deponia ''might'' make it together]], but many players aren't buying it. Overall, things are actually ''worse off'' than the start of the installment and some fans have taken to calling it a cliffhanger for a sequel the writer doesn't intend to make.
*** It was worse before fans finally got the writer to concede that [[spoiler: Rufus may have actually survived the fall]] and that neither outcome is actually indicated to be canon, asking the players to use their imagination to fill in the blanks. This alleviated the flack somewhat, as it allows an end that some folks initially saw as outright depressing to be seen as more of a RayOfHopeEnding and [[AndTheAdventureContinues a chance for the story to go on past the games' end.]]

* HesJustHiding: [[spoiler: Due to the ambiguous nature of the ending of ''Goodbye Deponia'', many fans are standing by this for Rufus. We never see him die exactly, and the possibility of having him cloned again is somewhat likely. The outcry for the ending was so divisive that [[WordOfGod the creators]] had to reinsure that it's totally out there that Rufus could be alive in some form or another, though they want it to be up to the viewers to decide.]]

** ''Deponia Doomsday's'' ending isn't much better. In fact, [[spoiler: the ending of that game failed to fix anything wrong with the last one. [[WriterRevolt Nor did it intend to]].]]

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Critics of the series take issue with the fact that Rufus is basically a completely despicable, utterly irredeemable JerkAss who blithely engages in KickTheDog moment after KickTheDog moment without remorse, often purely [[BecauseItAmusedMe because it amuses him]] (even if these actions do end up necessary to solve the puzzles and proceed with the game- or possibly ''[[ButThouMust because]]'' they do). The [[https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/11/11/wot-i-think-goodbye-deponia/ Rock Paper Shotgun]] review of ''Goodbye Deponia'' called it "a horrible game", with the reviewer absolutely ''loathing'' Rufus.

** ''Deponia Doomsday's'' ending only seems to make matters worse, [[spoiler: not just because the game is pretty much [[WriterRevolt one big fuck you]] to anyone who disliked ''Goodbye Deponia's'' ending, but because it makes it apparent that [[YouCantFightFate changing the ending with time travel will never work.]] It's quite clear that the creators do not want to change what they started, regardless of what the fans want. [[TrollingCreator It didn't help that]] the release trailer for the game [[NeverTrustATrailer made it out to appear]] it was going to fix everything from the last game when the actual game says otherwise.]]

** [[spoiler:Actually, the very last scene shows Elysium landed on Deponia. The problem the Eysians have now is that they definitely won't get away anymore and have to learn how to live on Deponia.]]

-->The star, Rufus, is a defiantly unlikeable playable character, whose selfishness is his only motivation, and his offensiveness a source of glee to him alone. He’s clearly meant to be a form of anti-hero, and in the first game it was uncomfortable, but almost worked. By the second, brief and dreadful game, he had become outright repulsive. In this third and final chapter, he continues in the same vein, his unrelenting revolting attitude just a constant drain on the player.

** [[CloudCuckooLander Donna]], primarily due to her strange mannerisms, non sequiturs and her tendency to spew out [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment strangely creative torture methods out of nowhere.]] Expect to get a good chuckle out of her every time she pops up.

* ThatOneAchievement: "1001 Jackalopes" in ''Deponia Doomsday'' requires you to try every animal combination on the jackalope generator and clone them using one of the two available cloning machines. That's three creatures with five interchangable features for a grand total of 243 different variations. Even if you streamline the process by creating three unique variations on each use of the jackalope generator, that's still 81 clone/switch cycles. Not a difficult achievement, just absolutely tedious.

** For the brief moments we see of him, Cowboy Dodo sure does deliver with his [[EarWorm catchy music]] and humorous confrontation with our protagonist.

* ThatOnePuzzle: The "knocking" puzzle in ''Chaos''. Rufus has to remember a secret code knock, but keeps getting distracted by the catchy music that plays in the marketplace, making him forget the knock. So what do you do to solve this puzzle? Craft some earplugs for Rufus? Find a way to destroy the speakers? Nope! You [[spoiler: go into the game's settings and turn the background music off.]] Note that you are never called on to do anything even remotely like this at any other point in the series, making this a frequent sticking point for players trying to do a no-guide playthrough. The only thing can be somewhat seen as a hint is a completely optional, one-time-only dialogue with the pharmacist, where he says "That rhythmic background music drowns out everything" -- but, even if that line is slightly more direct, it's still a long shot, and you must remember that line when the puzzle comes.

* {{Earworm}}:
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-6gK-pZwok The Floating Black Market theme music]] is an in-universe one.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMuOv0GubfQ Good Morning Porta Fisco]].
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edvJNegWx84 The narrator songs]], even if the lyrics don't make a lot of sense.
*** Actually, they mostly recount Rufus' adventures or fill in gaps between the cuts, if in an idealized form that doesn't reflect on his moral dubiousness. The times they don't refer to the game directly, the narrator draws out a frame story about a failed relationship that develops parallel to Rufus' character over the games -- [[spoiler:from selfish uncaringness to repeatedly getting pointed to what is going wrong to finally accepting the situation and moving on]].
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SpIiAXiZQw Both Cowboy Dodo songs, let's not forget.]]

* MostAnnoyingSound: The cyborg dog's laughing in ''Chaos on Deponia'' is absolutely ear-bleedingly awful, and is made worse by the fact that you hear it with pretty much every interaction with the creature (so expect to hear it A LOT thanks to TrialAndErrorGameplay). Seems to have been done on purpose, as it's one of the only voice clips in the game that cannot be skipped.

** [[spoiler: Argus]] in the ending. [[spoiler: He backstabs Rufus and Cletus at a crucial moment, letting Cletus seemingly jump to his death and planning to leave Rufus for dead behind a spinning rotor for not joining him in his plan to take over Elysium. He also immediately gets his when Cletus appears alive and throws hims into the rotor. He is presumably killed once the jammed rotor starts up again.]]

* PainfulRhyme: Every one of the narrator's intro songs is a stumbling mess of lyrics. The page quote is one of the few times he rhymes.
** That is actually a translation problem; the developer ultimately gave the content of the songs priority over the rhyme scheme in the translation of the songs to English. In German, most of the rhymes are either flawless or fail deliberatly and in a humorous way.