Tom The Postgirl Review – Signed, Sealed, Delivered, Vandalised

Whatever you may think about Tom the Postgirl, it’s not going to prepare you for what you’ll experience. It’s from Oopsie Daisies and ARTE France (To Hell With The Ugly and Gloomy Eyes). I haven’t played anything quite like it, and I play a lot of games. Actually, scratch that. I have a comparison for you: Thank Goodness You’re Here.

Tom has just been hired as the new post girl for the local area. Much like the above comparison, she simply has to show up, then see where the adventure takes her. Obviously, she has to deliver some parcels, as that’s the purpose of the game; only, there are some… odd things going on.

Whether that’s the residents or Tom’s own quirkiness, well, that’s up to you. Without hesitation, Tom will peer through every available window, questioning whether this should have been called Peeping Tom instead. However, that’s at the bottom of the list: they have a vindictive streak, too.

Tom will destroy property, steal items and enter competitions with other competitors’ gear, tread on flowers and insects, gate-crash parties, and elevate their peeping to a very extreme level. There is such a thing as poetic justice, and it appears that Tom is also being watched.

Grey, Gorgeous, and Slightly Sinister

The art style in Tom the Postgirl is brilliant. It’s grey tones throughout with hints of reds indicating points of interest, subtle animations that don’t necessarily have anything to do with the story, but have tons to do with world-building, and the sound production is beautifully subdued throughout.

Interactions are playful and easy to pick up. You take direct control of Tom, loaded up with parcels from your new employer. The first round is from the perspective of a trainee, so you peer through some windows, knock on the door, and then hand over the deliveries.

Soon after completing this, she’s given full rein and can then decide whether she delivers the goods or opens them. The prominent red and certain angles of Tom’s bow make her look like the Devil, and she unquestionably has a nasty streak. Well, that’s actually on you.

Tom the Postgirl has a ton of achievements to work towards, and they can’t be done in one playthrough. The requirement might be to destroy so many flowers, or the alternative: not step on any. The replay value alone is well worth it, as, like Thank Goodness You’re Here, there are so many hilarious skits, yet the characters don’t speak.

Crashes, Lost Saves, But I’d Still Recommend It

The art is nuanced and comical, but also very dark, and the reds only make it pop even more. I can’t fault it and absolutely love how twisted the comedy is, and how the story takes a sharp but somewhat predictable turn. I won’t comment on that as it’s fun to experience. What I didn’t like was the save game experience.

So, Tom the Postgirl crashed a number of times for me, and twice I lost my saved games – both times from Chapter Four in the game. As much as I didn’t like it, I started the game again and earned new rewards, experimenting with the odd option here and there.

However, having to repeat it again so quickly took away the impact, as well as time I didn’t necessarily have. That said, while I’d prefer not to have to experience the crashes and saved game issues, replaying was actually fun, and I do really like the game.

ARTE France always has a knack for finding unique IPs, and Tom the Postgirl is my favourite of the bunch. I know that the above comments might put you off, and I do believe these things happen more so with early builds (I got this before the release date); it’ll be fixed by the time you read this. Even if it isn’t, it’s still a recommendation from me. My only suggestion would be for a manual save rather than an autosave.