postal is not a fun game. the subject matter itself is obviously enough to put most people off but even in it's actual gameplay it is repetitive, unsatisfying, janky, and at times simply frustrating. for me, it's hard to write this off as completely unintentional. unlike the subsequent and much more famous postal 2, this game takes it's premise of unmotivated mass murder completely at face value, presenting itself as a descent into madness not unlike a nine inch nails album or a von trier film with some pitch black humor thrown in not to entertain the audience but instead to make them even more uncomfortable with the actions they are committing. the inter level artwork of twisted bodies and demonic faces mixed with the dilapidated and dirty look of the gameworld gives everything this really disgusting feeling, a noxious vibe that i think gives this game the "survival horror" tag more than anything in the actual gameplay. the game's ending also gives it the real thematic gutpunch that level after level of senseless violence really needs, positing "going postal" as a reaction to the alienation and brutality at the heart of american society. it's not exactly a subtle, deep, or new idea, but it was an idea i wasn't expecting this game to try to pull off and i think it does so quite admirably. it's not a game that i would say i enjoyed or had fun with, but it's a game i respect for pushing itself so far so early in the medium's life, and being just so brazen in its own depravity.

full disclosure, the game crashed on me during the very last level and i lost all my progress so i just watched the ending on youtube lmao