History YMMV / Postal

** If your health dips down to a lower level in ''Postal 2'', the Postal Dude will say "[[Film/AvengersInfinityWar I don't feel so good.]]"

* ScrappyMechanic: The [[KarmaMeter Karma system]] in ''POSTAL 3'' has been near-universally reviled by the Postal community, mostly due to how it is anti-thesis to what people loved about the second game, and how it punishes players for going postal. The fact that due to buggy code, regaining karma points is extra-ordinarily difficult to do led most people to install mods that either fix it or remove it entirely.

* ScrappyMechanic: The [[KarmaMeter Karma system]] in ''POSTAL 3'' has been near-universally reviled by the Postal community, mostly due to how it is anti-thesis to what people loved about the second game, and how it punishes players for going postal. The fact that due to [[IdiotProgramming buggy code]], regaining karma points is extra-ordinarily difficult to do led most people to install mods that either fix it or remove it entirely.

** The same can be said for the use of offensive stereotypes. The immigrant running the local grocery store turns out to be a secret Taliban supporter with several heavily armed veil-wearing wives at the back of his house. This would be disgustingly racist if other groups were portrayed as idealized or even just neutral. But next to that you have the cops being gun-toting thugs who gleefully abuse their authority, the military are thugs with even bigger guns, rednecks are inbred gun-toting sexual deviants, political protestors are hypocritical idiots who turn violent at the drop of a hat... Even seemingly normal civilians walking down the street can suddenly pull out a gun and start shooting for no reason. What you end up with is "[[HatesEveryoneEqually I'm not a racist, I hate everyone equally]]: The Game".[[labelnote:note]]Postal Dude even says almost exactly that, particularly when he kills a black person[[/labelnote]]

* BestBossEver: The Thin Bitch fight at the end of Wednesday. She's fast but not overly so, attack only with a katana which means you can make it a melee fight if you wish, and there's an awesome song during it.

* BreatherLevel: Lower Paradise and the retread of the Publisher Office Complex in ''Apocalypse Weekend'', since they come right after the hair-yankingly frustrating Military Base. After a full, boring complex with only a few worthwhile weapons to replace everything you lost and no medical supplies where their presence is actually needed or would even make sense, these two are one last chance to for the most part just cut back and chop unsuspecting bystanders apart with a machete with little fear of being ventilated by the entire National Guard.

* ThatOneBoss: A great majority of them in ''Paradise Lost'', especially Champ and The Postal Dude's ex-wife. The third and final fight with the Bitch is especially agonising. For starters, [[spoiler: she is now a huge demon, and all of her physical attacks really hurt. As you may expect, her damage-taking capabilities [[DamageSpongeBoss have greatly increased]], to the extent that it may well take everything you've got to finally put her down. While her physical attacks may really hurt, she can now breathe fire and randomly spawn disease gas. Both of these are even worse, since the fire is ridiculously accurate and will suck your health alarmingly quick. And if she spawns the gas, then [[YouAreAlreadyDead kiss your ass goodbye]], since you'll often be dead before you can even fathom what hit you. The only "attack" of hers that isn't horrible is when she sucks you into her mouth, with your health slowly draining until you can shoot the weak points to get out. Taking all of this into account, she'll also start spawning [[FlunkyBoss mooks for you to avoid as her health drops]], including [[ActionBomb kamikaze-bombing]] [[DemBones skeletons]]. AND she can make herself invincible by spawning Gary Coleman heads to act as a shield. And she will. Not. Stop. Yelling. At. You. Get ready to see her [[FlippingTheBird flipping you off]] [[TheComputerShallTauntYou after you die]] a LOT]]. It makes [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome the Dude blowing her to kingdom come with an I.E.D]] so much more satisfying after that horror!
** [[spoiler: Granted, almost all of the bosses can simply have the [[OutsideTheBoxTactic Chompy the Voodoo Fish]] cartridge used on them to take them down with ease, but the thing [[PowerEqualsRarity isn't exactly easy to find]]. The Revolver's secondary fire isn't much help, either, as only a small handful of the bosses are vulnerable to it - essentially just Two-Ears on Thursday and [[EasterEgg Phraud Hogslop]] on Friday - and one of those two you ''don't'' want to immediately kill with a powerful weapon because he drops a fixed amount of money with every hit he takes; what you really want to do is [[DeathOfAThousandCuts deal as little damage as possible per-hit]] and make up for it with MoreDakka.]]
** Champ is fairly difficult, due to his size and the power of his attacks. You must quickly drain his health, use the syringe on him, the repeat two more times. If you are not quick enough with the syringe, Champ will regain his health fully, forcing you to waste ammo draining his health again. [[spoiler:[[EasyLevelTrick One hint for you:]] try the machete's alt-fire. It damages him for as long as it's passing through him, and since he's giant-sized he doesn't [[CatchAndReturn catch it in his mouth]]. At least on Average and below, you can shave off half his health in one throw; even then, though, you then have to beware of the open area letting the machete travel ''much'' further than normal before it starts returning to you for another shot.]]
* ThatOneLevel: The brewery in ''Postal 2'', since [[NoGearLevel you start it out with none of your items]], meaning that you have to go get them all back yourself. Made worse on Hestonworld and higher difficulty in that those first two guys also have guns while all you have is a shovel. Alleviated somewhat by the fact that items you missed return to your inventory at the end, though.
** Meat World, specifically the final stretch where you have to fight your way back out of the building that is now swarming with cops and SWAT. After you've likely used up all the health items in the area and the SWAT are much tougher and better equipped than the butchers you just fought. [[spoiler:[[EasyLevelTrick Unless you already went in wearing the Police Uniform, then you can just waltz on by without getting shot up, or using the catnip to avoid the bullets.]]]]
** The Military Base to the end of the game are a long string of these in ''Apocalypse Weekend''. Starting at the Military Base, like the Brewery, [[NoGearLevel all of your items are stripped upon starting the level]]. Made worse by the fact that, unlike the Brewery, a lot of the items you were using don't appear in the base at all, meaning that they are officially [[PermanentlyMissableContent lost]]. Plus, the Military Base is [[MarathonLevel LONG]], clocking in at four parts altogether. Adding on to that, the entire level is absolutely ''swarming'' with [[DemonicSpiders the National Guard]], all of which are resilient enough to survive a ''direct hit'' from a grenade (albeit not the Rocket Launcher or a Hunting Rifle headshot), ''don't'' drop body armor if felled with a headshot, are immune to [[YourHeadAsplode their heads exploding]] from the Sledgehammer or Baseball Bat, and all carry machine guns. To make it worse, medkits are [[DroughtLevelOfDoom far too sparse for the kind of punishment you'll be taking]] (this one almost seems to be on purpose, since after three of the four levels the Military Base goes through, with a small handful of medkits to tide you over, you find '''''an entire shipping container full of them all in one spot'''''). These traits all put together mean that you'll be torn to shreds faster than you can say "I regret nothing!" Oh, and all those GameBreaker melee weapons you were having so much fun using? The only one you get back before the final five minutes is the sledgehammer, which the soldiers are completely immune to. Hope you can find the Axe or Machete in there, since they're the only practical melee weapons in the level!
** The following levels aren't too bad in comparison, since most of them will be full of zombies, who still die immediately if you inflict YourHeadAsplode on them. The Dog Pound is where the game starts to ramp up again. The main enemy type in this case will be Rednecks (who are, incidentally, the same type of enemy that appeared in the Brewery). Although they will also be happy to use their two-handed weapons to block your melee strikes, they aren't as resilient as the National Guard. The real problem in this case arises from the swarms of [[GoddamnedBats dogs]] who are fast moving and hard to hit.
** Then there's the final stretch before the end... the Bridge. The Bridge is mostly full of the aforementioned zombies. Not too bad, right? Except the game throws in more National Guard on top of it, as well as some crazed civilians, who all attack you on sight. As a plus, some of them are flinging around [[StuffBlowingUp grenades]], along with the bridge being bombed from time to time. Was it mentioned that explosions do huge amounts of damage? This wouldn't be too horrible, if the bridge wasn't cramped, leaving very little room to avoid the damn things. And at the end of it all, you have [[spoiler: [[FinalBoss Mad Cow]] [[DamageSpongeBoss Mike J]]]]...
** ''Paradise Lost'' gives us Gary Coleman's [[StealthPun Coal]] Mine, primarily the part where you must escape it. The section where you must outrun Gary's drill while avoiding {{Mooks}} is infuriating.
** Escaping the Running With Scissors Church in ''Paradise Lost'' is maddening, especially if you have the game set to Average difficulty or higher. The zombies in ''Paradise Lost'' are annoying as all hell, due to the constant projectiles they spew at you with insane accuracy, and that their attacks drain your health ''fast''. Expect to take a lot of cover more often than any other point of the game during this point.
** Hell, primarily because zombies make a grand reappearance, and the bridges over lava you have to cross have the tendency to lose planks while you walk on them, to unfair degree.
* ValuesResonance: In Postal 2, Generic RWS Employees are the only always friendly faction in the game, and the only one to intentionally fight alongside the Dude (While even RWS named staff members get mocked in Postal 2), considering how the gaming industry has had many issues with Employees being overworked and abused in several big companies, having the actual "small" developers be respected and not just some big name developers has arguably aged well.

** As the EasterEgg entry on the [[VideoGame/{{Postal}} main page]] points out, there is a house containing ''Postal III'' posters, a fat guy [[DrivenToSuicide who hanged himself]], a fallen chair, and a computer. The computer was running ''Postal III'', crashed, and has a message that says "[[BlatantLies Amazing Game Development]] has caused the program to stop responding", with the options being "wait for the game to get better?" and "uninstall and install Postal 2 and hope for Postal 4". Fast forward to 10/14/2019[[note]] 14/10/2019, for non-Americans[[/note]], RWS announced ''Postal 4: No Regerts'' and released it on Steam's early access platform. If only that fat guy went for the second option and waited.

%%* SoBadItsGood: All the games, really.
%%** The Uwe Boll film can also count, surprisingly.
* SoOkayItsAverage: The general consensus of ''Apocalypse Weekend'' seems to be that it misunderstood what made ''Postal 2'' fun and made a game based around it. The linear structure of the levels [[NonindicativeName ironically removed almost all of the ability to go postal]] (even when you can kill masses of people in quick succession, it's usually because they're shooting you on-sight), and were seen as not very interesting and occasionally repetitive regardless. The tasks were very non-mundane, from cutting down elephants to make wastebaskets out of their feet, fighting off waves of zombies, and "[[DeadlyEuphemism relocating]]" mad cow-infested cattle, to invading a terrorist training camp in search of a nuclear weapon, breaking out of a National Guard base, and placing the nuke at the heart of a competing game developer's offices, where part of the base game's charm came from performing everyday tasks (like cashing a paycheck and returning a library book) that would go spectacularly wrong (like getting caught in a bank robbery or the library being set on fire). The weapons and engine additions, as well as the plot, are seen as positives, however.
** ''Postal III'' is considered "The Average Joe" of the series to some, being not worth the [[DevelopmentHell wait]], but not worth the [[{{Sequelitis}} ire]] either.
* SpiritualAdaptation:
** The series as a whole, with its basic premise of a man [[RageBreakingPoint snapping over everyday stresses]], is about as good of an adaptation of ''Film/FallingDown'' as you could hope for in a video game. ''2'', ''3'' and ''4'' in particular are PlayedForLaughs[[note]]A notable difference is that the Postal Dude in the second game is implied to be a HenpeckedHusband, with some of his errands being things that his wife wants him to do, while in ''Falling Down'', D-FENS is not only doing everything under his own volition, but is strongly implied to have an endgame of ''murdering'' his ex-wife.[[/note]], while ''1'' and ''Redux'' play it for all the NightmareFuel it's worth.
** And in turn, ''VideoGame/{{Hatred}}'' can be seen as the true ''Postal III''. Running With Scissors even included that game's VillainProtagonist as a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWtYZGrwnBE bonus character]] in ''Postal Redux'', complete with voice acting, while the options menu includes a DeliberatelyMonochrome effect that's called "Just Like That Other Game".
** Given its vulgar, deliberately offensive, satirical view of... well, everything, ''Postal 2'' was probably the best ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' game before ''VideoGame/SouthParkTheStickOfTruth'' came out.
* {{Squick}}/NauseaFuel: Tons of it.

* VindicatedByHistory: For the longest time, the series had dwindled in popularity due to the bane of the movie and third game hovering over the series (that's on top of all the controversy the first two games got upon release, which is considered "tasteless" and having low production value). The series was rejuvenated however thanks to how it's one of the early example of combining WideOpenSandbox with FirstPersonShooter, also the UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} release of the first two games and the fact that the game's violent content is pretty tame ("Remember, it's only as violent as you are!") compared to many contemporary games. The series is now hailed as a CultClassic, with the second game continuing to receive official updates and fan mods to this day.

* Anvilicious: In a case of Administrivia/TropesAreTools: the disclaimer that the events depicted should NOT be reenacted in real life makes sense as ''Postal'' is not meant to be taken seriously. The characters are meant to be seen as fictional more or less and the setting is a parody of a highly dysfunctional society where even a simple errand can turn into a life-or-death battle.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The disclaimer that the events depicted should NOT be reenacted in real life makes sense as ''Postal'' is not meant to be taken seriously. The characters are meant to be seen as fictional more or less and the setting is a parody of a highly dysfunctional society where even a simple errand can turn into a life-or-death battle.

* CrazyAwesome: The Postal Dude is possibly this trope ''given form''. A trailer-dwelling, deep-voiced, incredibly psychotic LowerClassLout with a total bitch of a wife who can, among many other things, throw a machete like a boomerang, carry around an absurd amount of stuff, use dolls as grenades, weaponize anthrax-ridden cow heads, withstand explosions to the face, use cats as silencers for his weapons, and heal himself by smoking crack. And that's not even counting the stuff he does in the actual story, such as [[spoiler: nuking the entirety of Paradise for a publicity stunt]]

** The same can be said for the use of offensive stereotypes. The immigrant running the local grocery store turns out to be a secret Taliban supporter with several heavily armed veil-wearing wives at the back of his house. This would be disgustingly racist if other groups were portrayed as idealized or even just neutral. But next to that you have the cops being gun-toting thugs who gleefully abuse their authority, the military are thugs with even bigger guns, rednecks are inbred gun-toting sexual deviants, political protestors are hypocritical idiots who turn violent at the drop of a hat... Even seemingly normal civilians walking down the street can suddenly pull out a gun and start shooting for no reason. What you end up with is "[[HatesEveryoneEqually I'm not a racist, I hate everyone equally]]: The Game".

* AcceptableTargets: ''Postal 2'' lets you shoot Islamic (Hindu? [[FridgeBrilliance Maybe Pakistani?]]) terrorists, MoralGuardians, [[SelfDeprecation the game's developers]], [[AsHimself Gary Coleman]], and shotgun-wielding rednecks, among others. The ''Apocalypse Weekend'' expansion also includes a PETA-like organization.
** ''Postal III'' has all that plus violent anti-porn Hockey Moms ([[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed the leader of which looks suspiciously like]] UsefulNotes/SarahPalin), a fully-killable Creator/UweBoll and [[TakeThatAudience annoying video]] [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd game nerds.]]
** ''Paradise Lost'' adds plenty of new targets to have fun with, such as [[Creator/ElectronicArts EA-style]] game developers, a Creator/TimSchafer lookalike, ''another'' [[AnimalWrongsGroup PETA like group]], [[FormerChildStar Zack]] [[Film/AChristmasStory Ward]] (AsHimself), [[CrazySurvivalist doomsday preppers]], [[NewAgeRetroHippie hippie versions]] of UsefulNotes/{{Islam}}ic terrorists, [[FormerChildStar Gary]] [[Series/DiffrentStrokes Coleman]] ''[[RunningGag again]]'', [[MemeticMutation soulless gingers]], Milo Yiannopoulos (playing himself, incredibly) and the Postal Dude's [[PsychoExGirlfriend fat ex-wife]].
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: While the manual of the first game hints that the townsfolk of Paradise are under the effect of [[TheVirus The Virus]] and that the Postal Dude is trying to get to the bottom of it all, the presence of a moving truck outside your house in the first level has led some to conclude that he's gone insane because he was foreclosed upon. The intro to ''Postal III'' confirmed this, though given the events of that game are now [[CanonDiscontinuity just a bad dream the Dude had during an eleven-year coma]], it's hard to say for sure if that's still the case.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: ''Paradise Lost'' have some pretty nice songs. The menu theme and the thin Bitch fight's songs for instances are quite cool.
** ''Postal III'' may not be the best game in the series, but its soundtrack deserves a special mention for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCpJakDrNjQ ''Going Postal'' by Secondhand Child]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60k4Mf5jRuA ''Didgerivoodoo'' by Stands With Fists]] (which their track ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ryMb3Re3as When It Comes On]]'' is also featured as the credits theme for ''Paradise Lost'') and, of course, the remixed version of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPnLh6WRoS4 ''Goodbye Almond Eyes'' by Tokyo Rose]].
** Postal Redux's Rampage mode has absolute kick-ass music. Sure, it's still horrifying to commit mass murder, but now you're committing mass murder with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA2E771-XU0 badass grindcore]] in the background [[https://youtu.be/B-Eiu5mnXbA and]] [[https://youtu.be/q21EU0NmnMU much]] [[https://youtu.be/qQO9b4jVvAc more!]]
** There's also Uncle Dave's Room and the Map Menu music from ''Postal 2''. The former being a frankly bitchin' metal instrumental and the latter being an easy listening piece that teeters on SugarWiki/SweetDreamsFuel material, and both clashes with [[NightmareFuel the morbid and occasionally disturbing nature of the game]] and fits with the LighterAndSofter tone compared to the first game.

** In ''Paradise Lost,'' [[spoiler:a bomb shelter is opened beneath the Lucky Ganesh, and a horde of gimps come out, vowing to "kill all post-apocalyptic abominations." The Postal Dude either kills them all or runs past them, and nothing is ever seen or heard of them again.]]
** On Tuesday in ''Postal 4: No Regerts'', The Dude ends up inhaling a lot of noxious drug fumes at one point, leading to him hallucinating that he is a literal cat. This event lasts for a few 'chores' that ultimately ends with the Dude coming to.

* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: General consensus is that the M16 Assault Rifle is the only useful weapon in ''Akella's Postal Spin off''.

* CriticalDissonance: ''Postal 2'' has an "Overwhelmingly Positive" consensus when it comes to User Reviews on Steam (basically, the vast majority of reviews were positive). That said, according to [[http://steamcommunity.com/id/thewalruswaspaul/recommended/223470/ this review]], critics were much harsher during the retail, pre-Steam days.[[note]]For reference, that Computer Gaming World review was [[BrokeTheRatingScale the first ever zero-star review they gave]] - only two others received such a dishonor.[[/note]]

* CultClassic: Mainly ''Postal 2'', as it is the most well developed compared to the first and ''especially'' the third game.
* EvenBetterSequel: ''Postal 2'' can be seen as this by those who either didn't like the first game, or simply enjoyed the many gameplay additions the second game had. ''[[{{Sequelitis}} Postal III]]'', [[{{Sequelitis}} however...]]
* FanonDiscontinuity: Fans of the previous games wished that ''Postal III'' never happened, thanks in no small part to [[ObviousBeta having serious glitches that ruin the whole experience]]. RWS themselves not only [[CreatorBacklash disowned the game]], but the second expansion for the second game, ''Paradise Lost'', made it [[AllJustADream nothing more than a bad dream the Dude had]], [[CanonDiscontinuity thus officially erasing it from continuity]].
* FunnyAneurysmMoment: In ''Postal 2'', you have the option to kill Gary Coleman (canonically, he dies whether or not you kill him), which, if you killed him, has the Postal Dude ask his wife how much an autographed book can sell for. Remember this game did star Gary himself, and was made before his death...
** There’s a sign in the mall reading: “Closed for Renovations, reopening June 2016.” That very month, Music/ChristinaGrimmie was murdered at an autograph signing in Orlando.
** Although the ''Paradise Lost'' expansion shows that he got better, even leading a cult of midget miners against the "tall ones"... for him to die ''again''.

* GoddamnedBats: Dogs in ''Postal 2''. They're fast, small, usually come in numbers and can drain a lot of your life if you are not careful. A good swipe with a bladed melee weapon can dispatch them quickly, though this is not totally recommended when there are large numbers of them around you.
** The mutated spinning cats in ''Apocalypse Weekend'' can be a little annoying, though not to the extent of the dogs.
** The zombies in the ''Paradise Lost'' are much more annoying than their ''Apocalypse Weekend'' counterparts. This is mainly because of their increased tendency to spit projectiles at you from a distance repeatedly.

* GuideDangIt:
** When you're off to get the Krotchy doll in ''Postal 2'', [[BossInMookClothing Krotchy]] himself decides to fight you if you're on your way back from the back of the store. And he has a rocket launcher with him. Of course it's easy to defeat him prior to fetching the doll, and [[GoodBadBugs spamming the gas can and setting him on fire literally breaks his ability to use the rocket launcher for a while.]] Of course, you can trade him a signed Gary Coleman book for a Krotchy doll to skip the entire sequence. Or just buy it off of him (any amount of cash seems to do, but he'll take all the money you're carrying). (Though you may have to fight him in the Steam version of the game whether you like it or not).
** In the first game, many players clearly had trouble figuring out that pressing [=F1=] was how you moved on to the next level after you completed all objectives, given that the Steam version has an achievement called "Oh, you press [=F1=]!" for reaching the second level.
** The Postal 2 achievement "Michonne ain't got nothin' on me". All it says is "resurrect a zombie for your own nefarious purposes" but there's nothing in game that tells you how, let alone that it's even possible. To do this you have to bisect a zombie with the scythe at the waist then smash its head off with the bat or hammer. Now piss on the corpse to resurrect it as a floating torso.

* MemeticMutation: [[IRegretNothing "I regret nothing."]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhoBmUEy7as "Hi there, would you like to sign my petition?"]]
* MisaimedFandom: Postal 2 is usually brought up by conservative gamers as a "right wing game", and is used to put down "left winged games" like The Witcher 3 and Final Fantasy 7. Thing is, while Postal 2 ''does'' make fun of PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad liberals, it makes fun of them just as much as...well, anybody. Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement applies, of course.
* OvershadowedByControversy: ''Postal 1'' and ''Postal III'', though controversial in their own right, never caused the same level of moral backlash that ''Postal 2'' did. ''Postal 2'' was a huge target of hate by MoralGuardians for its vulgar content, and is as a result was [[BannedInChina banned in many countries]].
* PolishedPort: The Steam re-release of ''Postal 2'' has widescreen support, mod and workshop support, and plenty of support from the devs, though at the cost of non-workshop mods such as A Week in Paradise (it's integrated in the game itself, however missing the extras and weapons).
* {{Sequelitis}}: ''Postal III'' received far more criticism than even ''Postal 2'', mainly for its linear gameplay as apposed to ''Postal 2's'' open world, poor controls, [[ArtificialStupidity horrible enemy AI]], plethora of [[ObviousBeta technical glitches]] and for [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking changing the Postal Dude's voice actor]]. Even RWS has disowned the game, [[CreatorBacklash not even considering it a canon game in the series anymore]].[[note]]This is mainly because of the TroubledProduction Akella thrust upon the game during development. See the trivia page for more detail.[[/note]] When it comes to actual controversy generated however, ''Postal 2'' still holds that degree.
** ''Postal 2'' itself can be seen as this by fans who preferred the first game.
* SignatureScene: The Postal Dude trying to get people to sign his petition on Tuesday in the second game, being the most memorable moment in the game to most players.
* SoBadItsGood: All the games, really.
** The Uwe Boll film can also count, surprisingly.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks:
** Creator/JonStJohn [[TheOtherDarrin becoming the voice of]] Postal Dude in ''Postal 4'' hasn't been as well-received as Rick Hunter, generally considered his best voice actor[[note]]Rick couldn't reprise his role due to having a radio job, though he still makes a cameo in the game[[/note]]. Common criticism is that his performance sounds a bit too much like [[VideoGame/DukeNukem his most famous role]], and lacks the same energy and comedic timing of Rick.
** Some fans weren't happy that ''4'' switched the Dude's outfit for a purple bathrobe instead of his trenchcoat, but Running With Scissors were quick to clarify that his original outfit would be implemented in the future.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: In Postal III, the Postal Dude can go down a "heroic" route that involves him becoming a police officer. It's unfortunate that the execution is so shoddy, because an expansion or side-game where Postal Dude is tasked with enforcing the law in the most [[BloodyHilarious violent]] and [[HeroicComedicSociopath excessive fashion]] way possible is a great idea. If players were given a sufficiently open-ended map and a variety of choices when it comes to resolving the crimes PD was called on to resolve, it could potentially be a lot of fun.
* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: Despite ''Postal III'' being widely disliked, Corey Cruise is generally thought to have put in an admirable performance of the Postal Dude, enough that some people even consider him on par with Rick Hunter's portrayal of the character.

* WinBackTheCrowd: The ''Postal 2'' expansion ''Paradise Lost'' suffered a little due to the fact that the original Postal Dude voice actor Rick Hunter was being replaced and that the expansion would be delayed. This however changed when a March 2015 update by the developers not only revealed the official release date of April 27 for the game, but that Rick Hunter would return as the voice actor.

** In ''Postal 2'', you can pee on things. Peeing on people generally causes them to throw up violently, with some fairly advanced liquid physics for the game's time. In one level, the Dude gets gonorrhea, and his urine becomes green and burns when you pee, which guarantees that people you pee on will throw up in reaction. And it's possible to decapitate someone as they're vomiting, causing it to continue to spew out of their neck stump.

** The entire front porch of The Postal Dude's trailer home is covered in dog droppings, since his pet dog lives out front.

* ThatOneBoss: A great majority of them in ''Paradise Lost'', especially Champ and The Postal Dude's ex-wife. The third and final fight with the Bitch is especially agonising. For starters, [[spoiler: she is now huge, and all of her physical attacks really hurt. As you may expect, her damage-taking capabilities [[DamageSpongeBoss have greatly increased]], to the extent that it may well take everything you've got to finally put her down. While her physical attacks may really hurt, she can now breathe fire and randomly spawn disease gas. Both of these are even worse, since the fire is ridiculously accurate and will suck your health alarmingly quick. And if she spawns the gas, then [[YouAreAlreadyDead kiss your ass goodbye]], since you'll often be dead before you can even fathom what hit you. The only "attack" of hers that isn't horrible is when she sucks you into her mouth, with your health slowly draining until you can shoot the weak points to get out. Taking all of this into account, she'll also start spawning [[FlunkyBoss mooks for you to avoid as her health drops]], including [[ActionBomb kamikaze-bombing]] [[DemBones skeletons]]. AND she can make herself invincible by spawning Gary Coleman heads to act as a shield. And she will. Not. Stop. Yelling. At. You. Get ready to see her [[FlippingTheBird flipping you off]] [[TheComputerShallTauntYou after you die]] a LOT]]. It makes [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome the Dude blowing her to kingdom come with an I.E.D]] so much more satisfying after that horror!

** The series as a whole, with its basic premise of a man [[RageBreakingPoint snapping over everyday stresses]], is about as good of an adaptation of ''Film/FallingDown'' as you could hope for in a video game. ''2'' and ''3'' in particular are PlayedForLaughs[[note]]A notable difference is that the Postal Dude in the second game is implied to be a HenpeckedHusband, with some of his errands being things that his wife wants him to do, while in ''Falling Down'', D-FENS is not only doing everything under his own volition, but is strongly implied to have an endgame of ''murdering'' his ex-wife.[[/note]], while ''1'' and ''Redux'' play it for all the NightmareFuel it's worth.

* AcceptableTargets: ''Postal 2'' lets you shoot Islamic (Hindu? [[FridgeBrilliance Maybe Pakistani?]]) terrorists, MoralGuardians, [[SelfDeprecation the game's developers]], [[AsHimself Gary Coleman]], and shotgun-wielding rednecks, among others. The expansion also includes a PETA-like organization.

** Really, who's to say that ''Postal 2'' isn't just a psychosis that the Postal Dude is experiencing (in other words, his version of [[VideoGame/TeamFortress2 Pyrovision]])? Considering he was tossed into a mental institution for killing dozens of people in the first game, this actually makes more sense than a killer with a huge body count simply being free with no repercussions a few years later. That is however assuming the first ''Postal'' has it's continuity connected with ''Postal 2'', which is to say unlikely because The Dude is almost nobody in Paradise instead of a wanted mass murderer. [[spoiler: That said, ''Postal Redux'' retconned the first game to be set in 2017, he's out of Paradise with military grade guns and experience, and he's seen fucked up things thanks to his brain damage after his failed attempted suicide, which clearly worsens.]]

** Some fans weren't happy that ''4'' switched the Dude's outfit for a purple bathrobe instead of his trenchcoat, but Running With Scissors were quick to clarify that his original outfit will be implemented down the line.

** ''Postal III'' may not be the best game in the series, but it's soundtrack deserves a special mention for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCpJakDrNjQ ''Going Postal'' by Secondhand Child]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60k4Mf5jRuA ''Didgerivoodoo'' by Stands With Fists]] (which their track ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ryMb3Re3as When It Comes On]]'' is also featured as the credits theme for ''Paradise Lost'') and, of course, the remixed version of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPnLh6WRoS4 ''Goodbye Almond Eyes'' by Tokyo Rose]].

** The catnip can be used for BulletTime - the sort where ''you'' and your guns don't slow down while everyone else does, and VeryHighVelocityRounds are in effect due to most weapons being HitScan. This will allow you to shred groups of enemies and circle-strafe around them faster than they can get a bead on you, making what would normally be very tough encounters very survivable.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The disclaimer that the events depicted should NOT be reenacted in real life makes sense as ''Postal'' is not meant to be taken seriously. The characters are meant to be seen as fictional more or less and the setting is a parody of a highly dysfunctional society.

%%* TheScrappy: Pretty much everyone you'll face in all of the games, though given that these games were developed by [=RWS=] (with the exception of ''III''), this trope is Enforced.
** The Dude's wife, however, takes the cake for being an [[UngratefulBastard Ungrateful Bitch]] and never giving the Dude any respect whatsoever. You finally get to confront her in a showdown in ''Paradise Lost'' [[spoiler: [[TakeThatScrappy and put her out]] [[KickTheSonOfABitch of her misery]].]]

* TheScrappy: Pretty much everyone you'll face in all of the games, though given that these games were developed by [=RWS=] (with the exception of ''III''), this trope is Enforced.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: In Postal III, the Postal Dude can go down a "heroic" route that involves him becoming a police officer. Shoddy execution aside, an expansion or side-game where officer dude is tasked with enforcing the law in his trademark [[BloodyHilarious violent]], [[HeroicComedicSociopath over-the-top fashion]] is a great idea. If given a sufficiently open map and a variety of ludicrous options for how to stop crime, it could potentially be a lot of fun.

** ''Postal III'' has all that plus violent anti-porn Hockey Moms ([[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed the leader of which looks suspiciously like]] UsefulNotes/SarahPalin), a fully-killable Uwe Boll and [[TakeThatAudience annoying video]] [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd game nerds.]]