Postal 4: No Regerts is the latest entry in the famous series.
Out of all the games that have stoked controversy in the industry, none stand out more than the Postal series. Developed by Running With Scissors, the Postal series has always had a darkly satirical take on violence in video games. Rather than apologies, Postal goes for shock and awe.
It was recently given an official console port to the PlayStation 4 and 5 so everyone can enjoy going postal. Admiitedly, the game is not high in quality. What it lacks in polish, though, it makes up for with freedom.
The Postal games have always had a long-running hallmark of being so bad that they’re good. Postal 4 skates that line and doesn’t pretend to be something it isn’t. That’s not to say that makes Postal 4 beyond criticism, but the game does stick to its tried and true formula.
Just Another Day in Arizona
[Image via Running With Scissors]
Postal 4 takes place sometime after Postal 2 and Paradise Lost. We say that because as we all know, Postal 3 never happened. The Postal Dude and his dog, Champ, loiter in the town of Edensin after Dude’s car and trailer got stolen. Now he’s stuck in this town to complete odd jobs in the hopes of getting his mobile home back.
After that, players are pretty much given the keys to the toy box and can do whatever they want. The whole premise of the Postal series is that they’re only as violent as you make it. Most of the quests are very mundane tasks. For example, Dude works in the sewers, gets people to sign a petition, makes a delivery, and installs bidets.
You can play through Postal 4 without having to fire a single bullet, much less kill a single person. However, there are a lot of weapons to play around with, tempting players to dive into that satirical, over-the-top violence. There are even some collectibles to get if you’re a completionist.
Different Flavors of Dude in Postal 4: No Regerts
[Image via Running With Scissors]
What makes Postal 4: No Regerts interesting is the character you play. He’s not Doomguy or Duke Nukem. No, he’s just the Postal Dude, a guy in his bathrobe who can’t even get a decent meal and just wants to live in peace. Even going all the way back to Postal 2, the Postal Dude’s only as violent as the players make him.
Behind the Dude are his voice actors. There are quite a few variations of this, too. By default, John St. John has voiced the Dude since Postal 4 went into early access. Since then, RWS added Rick Hunter. Hunter himself has been the Postal Dude since the first game. There’s also Corey Cruise, the one good thing to come out of Postal 3. Plus there’s Zack Ward, who played the Dude in the 2007 Postal movie.
After players pick their voice, they can also unlock new outfits to dress up Dude. There are many bathrobes to unlock, as well as some of the iconic outfits from the older games. Even if players get stuck in first-person, it is a neat touch to the game. You can even get a police uniform!
Postal 4: No Regerts’ Many Fun Guns
[Image via Running With Scissors]
What makes Postal 4: No Regerts fun is the number of weapons they give you. There are several pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, rocket launchers, and explosives. There are even some melee weapons like the Dude’s trusty shovel, a mop, machetes, chainsaws, and sledgehammers.
The revolver returns from Paradise Lost, letting players take enemies out cowboy style. There are also unique weapons like a squirt gun, an M60, the Rattler, and a four-barrel shotgun called the Fournicator. You can even throw a pigeon mine and send birds to attack your enemies! Before you complain about how there are too many weapons in this game, remember that Grand Theft Auto 5 and Saints Row had a lot of guns too.
There’s also your own… ability, so to speak, to pee on everything. Yes, this is a thing. Since Postal 2, being able to pee on everything at any time has been a unique function of the Postal series. Again, satire and so-bad-it’s-good.
Old Faces (and New Weirdos) in Postal 4 : No Regerts
[Image via Running With Scissors]
Throughout your time in Postal 4: No Regerts‘ Edensin, Dude meets some very interesting characters. Some of these characters return from the old Postal games. For example, Vince Desi and Mike J reprise their roles, which seems rather fitting considering they are the main faces of Running with Scissors. (Now maybe someone could explain why Mike J isn’t a mad cow demon guy anymore?)
There are also plenty of characters that are more or less a big parody or stereotype of some sort. They range from a gang leader with a Bane mask to a bellhop who seems to be more or less like the G-man from Half-Life. There’s even a character doing his best Game of Thrones parody who names himself “Tinklage,” a clear allusion to Peter Dinklage. There’s even an actual DJ you encounter as a boss in a very women-parts-themed amusement park.
Sure, sme of these jokes are very low-brow and not exactly clever. Still, this is the kind of humor you would expect in a Postal game.
Varying Degrees of Jank
[Image via Running With Scissors]
The thing to note about the Postal games was that they are not perfect. As in, they run awfully, even on the best-made PCs. Postal 4: No Regerts runs on Unreal Engine 4, which has always had a stigma in gaming. Here, it runs about as good as Postal 2, which is to say: just barely working at all.
Even when Postal 4 runs fine, players will encounter long loading screens. Ragdoll physics make no sense. Sometimes the game crashes with no warning. These problems even cross over to the PS4 and PS5 versions, so everyone can experience what a barely finished game looks like.
The thing is though this is the kind of quality people expect and accept. Postal 2 was always riddled with bugs and glitches and after all this time, nothing has changed. Yet no one seems to put up much of a fuss over it. At least it’s better than the Grand Theft Auto Definitive Edition, right?
Regret Nothing in Postal 4: No Regerts
[Image via Running With Scissors]
It’s no surprise that Postal 4 would become a target of controversy and divisive views. It has always been Running With Scissors goal to make the most violent video games. You’d think that might kill the studio, but Postal has a loyal fanbase.
Honestly, these games are not for everyone. Some might be offended. The toilet humor and stereotypes might get old way fast, and shooting anything that moves isn’t everyone’s idea of a good time. Not to mention that one mechanic you can do with cats. That said, anyone who does take this game too seriously probably is missing the point.
Postal 4 is a niche game, but that’s part of its charm. It does things that no game tries to do. It’s always inspiring to see a studio with a ‘never say die’ attitude never die or compromise.
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