Postal 2 is a notoriously bad videogame. Some people liked it when it launched back in 2003: PC Gamer, according to a Metacritic roundup, scored it 79%, calling it "a nonstop tour de force of insulting insanity." Computer Gaming World, on the other hand, handily summed up the more common consensus, rating it a flat 0 and declaring that "until someone boxes up syphilis and tries to sell it at retail, Postal 2 is the worst product ever foisted upon consumers."
The situation is somehow clearer yet more confusing on Steam, where Postal 2 has amassed an "overwhelmingly positive" rating across more than 71,000 user reviews. Irony is obviously a factor in that, with user reviews like "better than Cyberpunk" and "you can piss on people," which is doable when a game is regularly available for $1 (and sometimes free), as is the case here. Still, that's a lot of people who own Postal 2, and according to Steam Charts it's put up better player numbers over the past 12 months than Marvel's Avengers.
That may in part be why, 20 years after Postal 2 first came out, developer Running With Scissors has released a new update creatively entitled the 20th Anniversary Update. And it's not just a handful of minor fixes and tweaks: This is a significant reworking of the game that incorporates the fan-made xPatch, improves Steam Deck compatibility (for the record, Postal 2 is rated as "playable" on Steam Deck), adds the Paradise Lost expansion as a new game mode, "Ludicrous" difficulty, and something called the Cat Launcher "as a cheat-only weapon."
Perhaps the most Postal-esque addition to the update is the addition of David Eddings, the original voice of Claptrap in the Borderlands games, as the voice of Pisstrap. Pisstrap, in fine Postal fashion, is very obviously a Claptrap knockoff with a urinal as a body—in fact, Pisstrap robots were originally designed as mobile urinals but eventually rebelled against their creators because collecting piss is not a great job. According to the Postal wiki, Eddings—who also appeared in 2019's Postal 4: No Regerts—was intended to voice the robots when the Paradise Lost expansion came out in 2015, but wasn't able to because of "unknown circumstances." His less-than-amicable split with Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford in 2019 may have helped clear the way for this new role.
"We've also made some significant changes to the game, such as restoring the original number of particles for blood effects, improving Muzzle Flash Effects, and adding new weapon options like Cat Silencers now being usable on more weapons, and dual-wielding Sawn-Off Shotguns," Running With Scissors said. "During the apocalypse, bystanders will now use more weapons too, making for a more thrilling and chaotic experience!"
For those who prefer the unsullied purity of the original Postal 2 experience, a "classic mode" option will make the game playable "closer to how it was at launch," minus the "modern updates" but with quality-of-life improvements like widescreen support still in place. For those who like to get really granular with their Postal experiences, it's also possible to make individual original-or-updated selections.
Postal 2's 20th Anniversary Update is live now. If you can't see the patch notes on Steam because you happen to live in a country where the game is still banned (which is apparently a problem), you can check them out in full below:
Additions:
- fully compatible with Steam Deck!
- 'Two Weeks In Paradise' game mode! (Paradise Lost)
- Classic Mode! (+ 'Options' Menu)
- Reworked New Game menu with brand new Day Selection and Skip Intro options!
- New difficulty!
- “Ludicrous”
- Added Quit to Desktop option!
- David Eddings as the voice of Pisstrap in Paradise Lost! (The original voice of Claptrap from the Borderlands series)
- Crackola (dual-wield power-up) and Weapons Vending Machines added to P2 levels!
- The Flipping the Bird feature from PL is now available in P2! This can be performed with a new dedicated button or by pressing Fire with Empty Hands or Alt Fire with the Petition and other weapons that replace the hands
- Added a few new cheats: ChugIt, ParadiseIsLost, SeekritWeaponzPls, DoubleTheGun, PeeAll, PukeAll, HereKittyKitty
- Added unique behavior for Cat Silencers made out of experimental cats! (Apocalypse Weekend)
- When you pick up a thrown Scythe or Sledgehammer, it will now auto-switch back to this weapon!
- Added support for customizable Weapon Selector and Inventory Menu!
- NPCs weapon variety option! (random chance of using Eternal Damnation guns)
- Restored some unused POSTAL Dude voice lines!
- Expanded Crosshair Customization!
- Saves with * mark for cheating or Workshop Game are now displayed in yellow color to be more noticeable!
- New effects for Catnip and food use!
- Added Cat Launcher! (Super-fun cheat only weapon)
Changes/improvements:
- Restored original amount of particles for blood effects
- New weapon selector and inventory menu default design
- Weapon Selector now selects the last used weapon in group if it's switched by the weapon group key
- Improved Muzzle Flash Effects and viewmodel positions for all weapons
- Cat Silencers can be now used on almost every gun in the game
- Beta Shotgun now uses actual beta hands skins and sounds and has a brand new alternative fire
- SMG and Machine Pistol now share the same ammo type
- SWAT units are now equipped with Submachine Gun and Machine Pistol by default
- The longer you hold burning Dynamite the shorter it will take to explode after throwing, additionally restored alternative attack
- Axe has a new alternative charged attack
- Restored unused Chainsaw alternative attack as well as clean and bloodied skins
- Sawn-Off Shotgun has been reworked, it can now be dual-wielded, dismember zombies and explode heads from larger distances but uses 2 shells per shoot now
- During the apocalypse, bystanders now use the new weapons too
- Added a few new positions to the Stats Screen
- Cat Silencers on gun are now also present in 3rd person view / mirrors
- Restored unused Dynamite explosion sound
- New textures for Revolver
- Revolver deals a bit more damage and can explode heads on headshots
- Grenade multiplies itself into 3 after throwing
- Sniper Rifle deals both explosion and bullet damage
- Grenade Launcher doesn't need to reload, cat-silenced can shoot off 9 cat-grenades
- Fixed being unable to update Workshop Content via POSTed
- Fixed OGG files from downloaded Workshop Content being incorrectly assigned as UMX and not being detected by the game
- Added support for custom Weapon Selector and Inventory Menu
- Added proper support for reloadable weapons
- Added custom text and highlight color support for menus
- Added support for more than one bolton attachment for clothes
Fixes
- Fixed game randomly crashing while opening a game menu as well as several other often occurring crashes
- Fixed game not connecting with Steam in certain cases
- Fixed missing Workshop menu options in localized game versions
- Fixed the same Workshop game modes appearing multiple times in some cases
- Fixed wrong or missing load screen appearing while starting a New Game after playing P2, AW or Workshop game mode
- Fixed various visual issues related to POSTAL Dude’s head model
- Fixed FOV during cutscenes getting messed up if the player was zoomed in with Rifle at the moment it got triggered
- Fixed skins of cats stored in player's inventory not being kept through level transitions
- Fixed being unable to pick up back thrown items on POSTAL difficulty and above
- Fixed sound stuttering and other minor issues with Submachine Gun and Machine Pistol
- Fixed hands skin not changing accordingly to currently worn clothes for certain weapons or while dual wielding
- Fixed rewards icons for the Bass Sniffer radar minigame not being scaled
- Fixed 3rd person weapon attachment disappearing after level transition
- Fixed missing fire effects for dismembered head lighted on by Napalm
- Fixed missing or incorrectly scaled effects for Molotov, Shocker and Dynamite
- Napalm projectiles no longer explode in your face due to its own fire damage
- Fixed Baton hit cancelling out paralyzed state of NPCs electrocuted by Shocker
- Fixed Cops not reacting to flipping them off
- Fixed helmets protecting Military from Sledgehammer damage only in AW but not in P2
- Fixed camera glitch after charging Grenade, Dynamite, Krotchy Grenade, and other grenade-based weapons for too long
- Fixed "PAUSE" text being positioned incorrectly on widescreen resolutions
- Fixed HUD changing its color when subtitles or boss health bar pops up.
- Fixed POSTAL 2 game mode using outdated HUD and Player class which caused kill counters, boss health bar, and other HUD-related features implemented in Apocalypse Weekend and afterwards not showing up
- Fixed Inventory Menu being accessible when it should not. (During cutscenes, Map Screen, etc.)
- Fixed being unable to kick dismembered head while it's burning
- Fixed dead people blinking after loading a saved game
- Fixed puke not pouring out of the neck after cutting off or exploding NPC's head
- Fixed Bali playing wall hitting sound while stabbing people
- Fixed Axe and Shears not sending attack alert to nearby NPCs when they should. SWAT, Military, and other pawns can now properly block player's attacks
- Fixed Restore Defaults option sometimes breaking for Video and Performance settings menu
- Fixed "I am legend" and "I don't need virgins for this" achievements being impossible to obtain in Enhanced Game mode
- Fixed misaligned Rifle texture and missing sounds
- Restored missing Napalm sounds
- Fixed control settings showing blank box if an icon for the currently bound key is missing (Now falls back to the old method of showing the key name instead)
- Fixed dual wielded ED Weapons fire-mode not always matching
- Fixed broken cat-silenced animations for Shotgun
- Fixed weapon playing next weapon's load sound while adding cat silencer (Machine Gun playing MP5 sounds etc)
- Fixed Shears alt-attack exploding cars
- Fixed Sawn-Off Shotgun destroying player's head without killing them
- Fixed Flash Grenade dismembering dead bodies (Paradise Lost)
- Fixed that completely broken secret Hammer weapon (Paradise Lost)
- Fixed screen constantly flashing white while using HUD modifiers (Paradise Lost)
- Fixed left hand covering subtitles while “Flipping the bird” (Paradise Lost)
- Fixed Enhanced Mode Revolver sometimes destroying heads but not killing people (Paradise Lost)
- Fixed Paradise Lost going into the POSTAL 2 Main Menu when leaving a workshop game.
- Fixed WMD and Nuke Launcher in Tora Bora during Apocalypse not being possible to pick up (Paradise Lost)
