Postal III
The first 3 hours are a test
What the data shows
- In the first 2 hours most reviews are negative (69%); after 5h it's 1 in 3 (39%).
- Fully opens up by hour 5.
- The opening is criticised more than in 95% of games we track.
- 25% of players who start reach the ending.
- The biggest drop-off is between “DO NOT PUSH THE BUTTON!” and “THE CHOICE WAS YOURS!” (Choose path for the first time): from 87% to 44% of starters.
- Only 68% of owners have even the first achievement — the rest barely played.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 6,366 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 296 reviews: 6.3h for positive, 2h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (68.4% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
- Started playing 100%
- DO NOT PUSH THE BUTTON! Disobey orders, given to you, and see what happens. 87% −13
- THE CHOICE WAS YOURS! Choose path for the first time. Most players quit here 44% −43
- SPECIAL OLYMPIAN Beat the game once. No restrictions apply. Everyone's a winner. 25% −19
story milestone ending biggest drop-off
Story milestones were labeled by AI from achievement names and descriptions; mistakes are possible.
All achievements (35)
story milestone ending side
- EMO Injure yourself. 100%
- DO NOT PUSH THE BUTTON! Disobey orders, given to you, and see what happens. 87%
- THE CHOICE WAS YOURS! Choose path for the first time. 44%
- REPO MAN Return Thegways to the owner 28%
- SPECIAL OLYMPIAN Beat the game once. No restrictions apply. Everyone's a winner. 25%
- NEUROSURGEON 300 headshot/decap kills. 21%
- SCOFIELD Escape from prison. 18%
- AIN'T GOT COJONES! Finish your business with Krotchy. 17%
- SCHWARZENEGGER 200 kills using M-60. 15%
- COMMIES GO HOME! Make Venezuela peacemakers go home. 13%
- SAYANARA, TREE HUGGERS Arrest eco zealots leader. 13%
- ALL PERPS MUST DIE! Take out all the criminal scum infesting Catharsis! 12%
- DON'T TAZE ME BRO Taze 200 victims. 12%
- DANNY TREJO 100 kills using machete in melee. 12%
- SUCKTASTIC! Suck up 500 items with the shop vac. 11%
- WOLVERINES R GHEY 50 badgersaw kills. 9.5%
- FAIL ZOMBIE Respawn 20 times. 8.6%
- PSYCHO DUNDEE 50 kills using boomerang machete. 8.2%
- T.J. HOOKER Arrest 200 perps. 8.2%
- PROPERTY DAMAGE Smash 50 windows. 7.3%
- PRODUCT RECALL Destroy 50 cars. 7.2%
- CAMELBACK Piss 100 gallons of urine. 6.9%
- REAL AMERICAN Kill/incapacitate 235 terrorists. 6.7%
- KAVORKIAN Euthanise 30 elderly folks. 6.6%
- CAT WRANGLER 50 kills using cat. 6.4%
- I AM THE LAW Complete Good path without falling off. 6.1%
- PETA CHAIRMAN Kill no animals in one playthrough. 6.1%
- THERE IS NO SPOON Spend 900 seconds or more in catnip bullet time. 6.1%
- ARSONIST 150 kills using fire. 6.0%
- ENTOMOLOGIST 50 kills using bees. 6.0%
- JACK THOMPSON WAS RIGHT Kill 1000 unarmed bystanders. 6.0%
- DADDY NEVER LOVED ME Complete game killing only males. 5.8%
- EASTWOOD Complete game using only the pistol. 5.7%
- PERSONAL JESUS Beat game with zero kills.n(zombies and bosses don't count) 5.7%
- STALLONE Complete game using only melee. 5.6%