POSTAL Redux is a top-down shooter with an unbelievably edgy premise and relatively mild gameplay. You clear each level by defeating a certain amount of hostiles, with the optional task of killing civilians.
Story
POSTAL Redux is about an unhinged man that has become so disillusioned with society that he decides to go on a murderous rampage. While this type of story can be told in a tasteful, or at least interesting, way, POSTAL is merely trying to be controversial. The plot is explained by one or two sentences before each level, barely totaling a few paragraphs by the end of the game. There isn’t even a cohesive narrative to what little story you’re given. 90% of the plot involves the main character saying, “Society is a cancer, and I’m the cure,” slightly rephrasing it each time. It doesn’t even maintain its shock value because it’s so repetitive and tedious.
In a lot of ways, POSTAL reminds me of the Sharknado movies. Sharknado is modeled after low-budget B-movies, but it isn’t done sincerely. It’s a movie that is purposefully bad rather than a failed attempt at a good movie. In contrast, The Room is a movie where the creator tried to create a masterpiece and failed, but it’s enjoyable because it feels genuine. It’s entertaining to see someone put their heart into a project, even if it doesn’t turn out how they wanted it. When it comes to POSTAL, it has no soul. Its subject matter is reprehensible, but you can’t even get mad at the developers because they don’t really mean it. The game doesn’t have a message since the creators have nothing to say. Its only purpose is to generate controversy.
Gameplay
Unfortunately, POSTAL‘s gameplay is just as bland as its writing. You mindlessly roam each level, killing people until you reach the minimum death count needed to leave. Sometimes levels would be over quickly, but a handful of them have enemies hidden in corners of the map, forcing you to slowly search for them in order to progress. You can find weapons and ammo scattered around each map, but most weapons aren’t satisfying to use. This is caused by a combination of factors, but the most noticeable is the difficulty. Playing on easy allows you to waltz through every level without trying, while the harder difficulties force you to play cautiously. Disappointingly, there isn’t a good middle ground because of the enemy AI. The AI is always quick to shoot and rarely misses. Damage is affected by the difficulty setting, but because you’re always getting shot, it doesn’t have much of an effect except when set to easy, where you’re almost invincible.
Trying to play co-op is even worse because there isn’t a difficulty setting at all. It’s unclear if it scales with the number of players, but at least with two players, the game becomes brutally hard. Enemies deal heavy damage, and thanks to their near-perfect accuracy, it’s almost impossible to fight more than a couple of them at once. The problem is that it’s still easy to win, but only by playing carefully, which is antithetical to what POSTAL tries to be. If you want to win without restarting numerous times, you have to slowly meander through each level, picking off enemies one at a time. This could work in a different game, but here, it’s a boring slog.
Presentation
Visually, POSTAL is extremely dated. The original game is from 1997, so it’s understandable, but the remake is from 2016 and is barely passable as a remaster, let alone a full remake. I understand that the developers are trying to emulate the original, but the graphics are so awful that it’s awkward to look at. Enemies clash with the background and appear to be walking on top of a picture, rather than inhabiting the world. This seems to be due to POSTAL being a top-down shooter presented in an isometric view. Oddly, a couple of levels are actually in a full top-down view, but the majority of them involve a 3D character walking on a 2D background. These visual issues make it difficult to tell what part of the world has collision and what is just set dressing.
The soundtrack is the best part of POSTAL and even then, it’s only okay. Most tracks are barebones ambient tracks that easily blend together. Initially, it seemed like the entire game was scored with only a few alternating tracks, but surprisingly, every level has its own unique track. Each song is sparse and unsettling, but it never felt like it meshed well with the gameplay. This type of subdued and eerie music would work better in an atmospheric horror game, not a game where you play as a mass murderer. Conversely, rampage mode, where you try to get a high score, has a different set of tracks that make much more sense. They are high-energy, fast-paced songs that perfectly fit a gory murder game. Still, they suffer from the same repetitiveness as the campaign mode’s music and are hard to distinguish from one another.
Verdict
Ultimately, POSTAL Redux is a game that never lives up to its potential. The dark subject matter is handled lazily. The gameplay should be its biggest strength, yet it gets boring within an hour. There isn’t much reason to play it outside of morbid curiosity. I wouldn’t recommend POSTAL to anyone unless they are dying to experience the origins of this notorious franchise.
