Postal (franchise)

Postal is a series of shooter video games created by Running with Scissors known for its high-speed gameplay, violence and off-color humor. The series' mainline games span several shooter sub-genres, including top-down shooters (Postal and Postal Redux), first-person shooters (Postal 2 and Postal 4), and a third-person shooter (Postal III). The series has spawned several spin-off games and other media, including an eponymous film adaptation by Uwe Boll.

Postal
Developer(s)
  • Primary
  • Running with Scissors (1997–present)
  • Trashmasters (2011)
  • Secondary
  • Avalon Style Entertainment (2005)
  • HeroCraft (2009)
  • Ministry of Fun (2009)
  • Hyperstrange (2020)
  • CreativeForge Games (2020)
  • RWS C Team (2023)
Publisher(s)
  • Primary
  • Ripcord Games (1997)
  • Loki Entertainment (2001)
  • Whiptail Interactive (2003)
  • Akella (2005–2011)
  • Running with Scissors (2012–present)
  • Secondary
  • HeroCraft (2009)
  • GlobalFun (2009)
  • Hyperstrange (2021)
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, Classic Mac OS, J2ME, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
First releasePostal
September 24, 1997
Latest releasePostal: Brain Damaged
June 9, 2022

Games
Aggregate review scores
Game Metacritic
Postal 56/100[1]
Postal 2 50/100[2]
Postal III 24/100[3]
Postal 4: No Regerts 30/100[4]
Postal: Brain Damaged 71/100[5]

Main series
Year Title Platforms Notes
1997 Postal Android, Dreamcast, Linux, Mac OS, macOS, Microsoft Windows
1998 Postal: Special Delivery Mac OS, Microsoft Windows an official expansion adding four additional levels and improved Netcode for the multiplayer.
2003 Postal 2 Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows the sequel to Postal, firstly introducing a first-person perspective.
Postal 2: Share the Pain an official expansion, which adds PvP multiplayer and two new areas to the single player.
2005 Postal 2: Apocalypse Weekend an official expansion continuing after ending of the base game.
2011 Postal III Microsoft Windows the sequel to Postal 2, developed by Russian developer Trashmasters in cooperation with Running with Scissors and published by Akella, which introduced a third-person perspective. Upon release, the game was panned by critics and fans of the series, which resulted in Running with Scissors publicly apologizing for the release and mishandling of development. The game was made unavailable to purchase on Steam in November 2022.[6]
2015 Postal 2: Paradise Lost Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows an official piece of DLC for the Steam version of Postal 2. It tells of the Postal Dude's adventures after Apocalypse Weekend, and retcons Postal III, referring to it as a "horrible vision of a future gone wrong."[7]
2016 Postal Redux Linux, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 a remake of the original Postal, featuring renewed textures and multiple changes made to adapt it to modern games.[8][9]
2022 Postal 4: No Regerts Microsoft, Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 described by Running with Scissors as the "true sequel" to Postal 2. The game was announced and released on October 14, 2019, as an early access game and left early access on April 20, 2022.[10]

Spin-offs
Year Title Platforms Notes
2005 Postal 2: Corkscrew Rules! Microsoft Windows an official spin-off and expansion to Postal 2, developed by Avalon Style Entertainment and published by Akella. The plot concerns a man named Corkscrew, who wakes up in an asylum to find that his penis has somehow been amputated and goes on a mission to find it.
2009 Postal Babes Android, J2ME a mobile video game spin-off developed and published by HeroCraft. It tells the story of two "Postal Babes" who must rescue hostages from their local university which has been taken over.
Postal Mobile a mobile video game developed by Ministry of Fun and published by GlobalFun. It tells the story of the Postal Dude who has to fight his way through a town filled with corrupt police officers and street thugs in order to retrieve his stolen car.
2022 Postal: Brain Damaged Microsoft Windows an official spin-off of the Postal series, developed by Hyperstrange and CreativeForge Games and published by Hyperstrange and Running with Scissors. The game is a retro-styled first-person boomer shooter. A demo was released in October 2021, the game was released on June 9, 2022.
2023 POOSTALL Royale Microsoft Windows an official spin-off of the Postal series, developed by the RWS C Team and published by Running with Scissors. The game was released on April 1, 2023, as an April Fools' Joke.[11]

Film
Main article: Postal (film)

A film adaptation of the Postal series was directed and co-written by Uwe Boll. Though the film shares the title of the first Postal video game, it is more heavily drawn from the sequel, Postal 2. New characters are introduced in the film, such as Faith (Jackie Tohn), a young barista who joins the Postal Dude in his adventure, and former U.S. president George W. Bush (Brent Mendenhall).

Books

Two books were published only in Russia. In 2011 published book Postal. Реальный Чувак (Real Dude), which was written by Andrei Shlyachov and published by AST.[12] In 2012 published book Postal. Чувак и надувная свобода (Dude and inflatable freedom), which was written by Igor Gradov and published by AST.[13]

A book based on the first Postal game in the series, named after the game's expansion pack, Postal: Special Delivery, was written by Alisa Bogodarova and published on October 29, 2015, by Publish Green in the form of an Amazon Kindle eBook. The book retells the game's story and the various events leading up to it and introduces several new characters including the Postal Dude's high school friends and teachers as well as original fantasy characters.

On April 15, 2020, a documentary book about the franchise was published – Postal – written by Brock Wilbur and Nathan Rabin, which included an interview with Vince Desi and Mike Jaret.[14]

See also

References
  1. "Postal for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on March 1, 2010. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  2. "Postal 2 (pc: 2003): Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on May 18, 2008. Retrieved May 23, 2008.
  3. "Postal III for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  4. "POSTAL 4: No Regerts for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  5. "Postal: Brain Damaged for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  6. Murray, Sean (November 21, 2022). "Postal Devs Are Actually Happy That Postal 3 Has Been Taken Off Steam". TheGamer. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  7. Phillips, Tom (April 17, 2015). "Postal 2 expansion Paradise Lost announced, out today". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  8. Lugris, Mark (September 25, 2020). "After 23 Years, The Original Postal Game Is Coming To Nintendo Switch". TheGamer. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  9. Gorgas, Tracy-Mark (July 1, 2016). "Postal Redux, a time capsule in HD". wgrz.com. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  10. Romano, Sal (October 14, 2019). "Postal 4: No Regerts announced for PC, available now via Steam Early Access". Gematsu. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  11. Wisniewski, Dominik (April 3, 2023). "POOSTALL Royale - darmowa gra akcji na Steam. Miała być żartem na Prima Aprilis, a okazała się małym hitem" [POOSTALL Royale - a free action game on Steam. Supposed to be a joke for April Fools' Day, it turned out to be a small hit]. PurePC (in Polish). Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  12. Шляхов, Андрей (2011). Реальный Чувак. Russia: AST. p. 320. ISBN 978-5-17-068915-6.
  13. Градов, Игорь (2012). Чувак и надувная свобода. Russia: Astrel (AST). p. 320. ISBN 978-5-271-41291-2.
  14. Wilbur, Brock (April 7, 2020). Postal. Rabin, Nathan, 1976-. Los Angeles. ISBN 978-1-940535-22-7. OCLC 1111973438.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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