Would director and writer SWERY be able to replicate what was essentially lightning in a bottle? Did the first game even need a sequel? Which is why I was so excited that a second game was coming out, although I did have my concerns with a sequel. Rough around the edges and overflowing with character, it represents a type of game that doesn’t really come around anymore. Visiting townsfolk at the bar after 9 PM or going to get gas for your car during regular business hours only to stumble upon a side-quest specifically programmed for that time of day makes what is otherwise a fantastical and surreal experience believable and enjoyable.ĭeadly Premonition is one of the most fascinating games I have ever played. Soaking in the mundanity of it all reminded me a lot of Shenmue, a game that itself in daily life, the things that ground us in reality and meld the relationships between individuals.
I loved the town of Greenvale and its inhabitants, all adhering to a 24 hour day/night cycle with jobs and leisure locations. I was enamoured with the way he speaks to an imaginary friend, Zach, as an ostensible player surrogate. I found myself falling in love with the protagonist Francis York Morgan. Here was a game trying very obviously to replicate the experience of David Lynch’s seminal TV show Twin Peaks, and it succeeded. Those factors simultaneously amplified the game’s horror as well as its comedy. However, the low resolution textures, visual pop-in, sloppy frame rate, bundled with clunky controls and stilted voice acting meshed together to create a lo-fi experience akin to B movies or intentionally rough music. To me, Deadly Premonition isn’t “so bad that it’s good”, it’s just good, and the things that many people point out as flaws, I see as strengths that mutually reinforce the experience.ĭeadly Premonition released in 2010, and for its time, it wasn’t exactly cutting edge visually, let alone 10 years later.
I played Deadly Premonition for the first time this year on the Nintendo Switch, and I don’t fall in this camp. Since then, it has gained a cult following among those that enjoyed it, and many claim it is an example of a game that is “so bad that it’s good”. Upon release, it was met with very polarizing reception, with most either loving it for its endearing characters and world, and others decrying it for its poor performance and “anachronistic” gameplay. The original Deadly Premonition is seen as something of an anomaly in video games. It means many things to different people, and this only inflames the discussion surrounding the validity of video games as artistic statements. Hell, we still haven’t even agreed on what makes art… art. Are video games art? It’s a debate that has persisted since video games first evolved beyond their infantile beginnings.
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