Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Postal²: Share the Pain picks up where the original Postal² left off, delivering its signature chaotic sandbox experience alongside a robust new multiplayer suite. In singleplayer, you once again step into the shoes of the Postal Dude as you carry out a bizarre series of errands across Paradise, Arizona. The pace feels brisk thanks to noticeably faster loading times, ensuring that the action never stalls and you’re back on the streets before you can say “Punch It!”

Share the Pain spices things up with new areas—Underhub and Tora Bora—each stocked with fresh sights, NPCs, and hazards to keep you guessing. Whether you’re raiding a subterranean facility or navigating a wartorn mountain enclave, the expansion broadens the original map layout and gives long-time fans new territory to explore. Throw in the Weapon of Mass Destruction and you have a late-game crescendo that elevates your havoc to cinematic proportions.

Difficulty levels now range from the familiar “Chill” up through “Insano” and the uniquely named “They Hate Me.” These higher tiers offer enemies that swarm more aggressively and AI that reacts with uncanny ferocity, challenging even veterans of the franchise. In addition, the level editor bundled with Share the Pain encourages you to build your own playgrounds of anarchy, extending replayability beyond the base campaign.

Multiplayer transforms Postal² into a free-for-all party of mayhem. The four modes—DeathMatch, Team DeathMatch, Snatch (a twisted spin on Capture the Flag), and Grab (bag-collecting bedlam)—bring varied objectives that reward speed, stealth, or sheer firepower. You’ll find live sessions easily via the built-in server browser, or you can host your own riot by loading up with bots. Unusual player models like Gary Coleman, a fundamentalist Muslim, or a holy priest add dark humor to every firefight.

Graphics

While Postal²: Share the Pain uses an engine that first saw light in the early 2000s, it still delivers a recognizable visual style that complements the game’s offbeat tone. Textures may feel dated compared to modern shooters, but the gritty color palette and cartoonishly exaggerated character models fit the anarchic world perfectly. New map sections blend seamlessly with the original areas, avoiding any jarring shifts in aesthetic quality.

Developers have tuned lighting and environmental effects to take advantage of contemporary hardware, making dynamic shadows and particle effects more compelling than before. Explosions and blood splatter look suitably over-the-top, reinforcing the game’s mature themes. Even on modest rigs, performance remains stable thanks to the engine’s legacy optimization.

The level editor empowers creative players to craft fresh environments and import custom textures, so the visual experience can evolve far beyond the developers’ original vision. User-created maps range from faithful homages to truly bizarre dreamscapes, and swapping them in is as simple as browsing your local folder.

Though you won’t mistake Share the Pain for a next-gen title, it strikes a balance between retro charm and modern tweaks. If you’re chasing hyperrealism, you’ll be disappointed—but if you appreciate stylized violence and a slightly rough-around-the-edges look that underlines Postal²’s irreverent personality, you’ll find plenty to admire.

Story

Story has never been Postal²’s strong suit, and Share the Pain continues that tradition with gleeful disdain for narrative conventions. The Postal Dude embarks on his weekly errands, which range from innocuous to psychotically destructive, all underpinned by dark humor and satirical jabs at modern life. Don’t expect a cohesive plot—think of it as a series of loosely connected vignettes designed to facilitate maximum chaos.

The introduction of new difficulty settings and the Weapon of Mass Destruction offer a pseudo-narrative arc—working your way from man-on-the-street antics toward an apocalyptic crescendo. It may feel like tacking on story elements, but the thrill of unleashing a WMD as part of your routine errands plays into the game’s “insanity escalator” motif. You’re always one step away from lawful mayhem turning into total anarchy.

Multiplayer adds its own brand of interactive storytelling: every match spins its own tale of alliances formed and betrayed, last-second comebacks, and absurd kill animations. The small touches—like hearing the Postal Dude’s deadpan one-liners when you snag the Snatch girl or cart a bag in Grab mode—help stitch these moments into a tapestry of shared lunacy.

True to Postal²’s ethos, Share the Pain flouts social norms and tests the limits of taste, making a “story” that’s as much about player expression as any scripted cutscene. It’s not for everyone, but if you relish sandbox shooters that prioritize player-driven antics over polished narratives, you’ll be in your element.

Overall Experience

Share the Pain offers remarkable value, especially for owners of the original Windows version who can upgrade for under $10. You get the full retail Postal² singleplayer campaign with faster loads and new content, plus a robust multiplayer suite that can sustain countless hours of frenetic play. For the price of a night out, you’re essentially getting two complete games.

The multiplayer community remains active, buoyed by the convenience of a built-in server browser and the fun of customizing bot rosters when servers run dry. Add in the level editor and user-made maps, and you have an ecosystem that thrives long after official support has faded. Whether you want spontaneous PvP mayhem or a private offline match, Share the Pain has you covered.

On the flip side, the graphics feel a bit old-school, and the storyline is intentionally thin. If you demand modern visuals or an emotionally resonant plot, this isn’t the title for you. But if you crave irreverent humor, open-ended gameplay, and unapologetic violence, Postal²: Share the Pain delivers—warts and all.

Ultimately, Share the Pain captures the essence of what made Postal² a cult classic: unbridled freedom to sow mayhem while poking fun at societal norms. Its blend of solo chaos and multiplayer bedlam, all wrapped up in an accessible price point, makes it a must-consider purchase for fans of sandbox shooters and anyone looking to shake up their FPS routine.

Retro Replay Score

7/10