Deadly Premonition Spotlight Review

The first Spotlight Review of the new year goes to Deadly Premonition, perhaps one of the most bizarre and polarizing games ever released. Deadly Premonition wasn't exactly a commercial success, though it did achieve a level of cult popularity that rivals some of the greatest in the medium. Critically, the game was also largely scorned, but did manage to impress a fair share of people with its sheer lunacy. It is by no means a good "game," mechanically speaking; but what Deadly Premonition ultimately conveys is a profound and emotionally riveting narrative with enough wit and charm to impress even the biggest naysayers.

The Short Version

Why You Should Play This Game: Stomach through the poor controls and abysmal graphics, and you'll be handsomely rewarded with a fascinating story.

What You Can Play It On: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC

Published by: Ignition Entertainment/Rising Star Games
Developed by: Access Games

Released: February 10, 2010 (Original launch on Xbox 360)

The Long Version

In a quiet town tucked away deep in the heart of the Pacific Northwest, the sudden and bizarre murder of a local girl sends the villagers of Greenvale into hysteria and panic. The conditions surrounding her death require the aid of one of the FBI’s most dynamic investigators, Special Agent Francis York Morgan, whose interest in the case connects to several dozen other murders across the United States. As you investigate the murder with the local Sheriff’s department, the links between this and the other murders quickly start to surface, and the real threat that haunts the town of Greenvale is beyond what anyone imagined.

Deadly Premonition makes no secret that its story and characters were strongly influenced - some might even say shamelessly ripped off - by the television show Twin Peaks. Certain bits of dialogue, various important plot points, and even the quirkiness of the local color and of York himself are all very reminiscent of that show. But I find it hard to believe the developers have anything but the utmost respect for Twin Peaks, and it shows in the development of the story. It is not an exact copy, but what it does take, it uses as effortlessly as the cult show did before it. Characters are all genuinely memorable, unique unto each other, and fascinating. The town itself is as bizarre as the eponymous Twin Peaks, and the story makes all the best uses of the paranormal phenomena that haunted the background of a seemingly mundane murder mystery. It’s a shame that the story is so absolutely engrossing, because the same cannot be said for nearly the rest of the game.

To say that the game handles poorly would be a great disservice to games that actually handle poorly. Deadly Premonition handles abysmally. York runs only in a single direction at any given time, and to turn you usually have to stop and readjust your position or do a quick turn. Furthermore, when shooting a gun, you have to stop completely. It plays like the original Resident Evil games, and as iconic as that series has become, the controls are not something that should be replicated. When shooting, you don’t just simply aim with one trigger and shoot with the other. You have to aim with the R1 trigger and use the A button to shoot, adjusting your aim with the left analog stick (which is normally used for movement). It’s a very weird system to get used to, but luckily enemies rarely put up the fight that will have you battling more against the mechanics than against them.

Most of the game takes places in bizarre locations within the town inhabited by strange ghosts of citizens-past. You’ll explore these locations to better understand the mystery surrounding the death of Anna Graham, amongst the previous connecting murders that York has investigated. The town itself is a sandbox, not as free as some of the biggest names of that style, but free and lively enough that exploring every nook and cranny could actually prove useful to your investigation and also fleshes out the local color. York can not only solve the case, but he can lend a hand with a personal crisis, too! You’ll meet various people across Greenvale who are in need of help, and should you put your FBI-mind to the task, you will be handsomely rewarded in the form of cash (used to purchase guns or ammo from the local shops) and also with information that may aid in your investigation.

The town can be traversed on foot or in a vehicle. Travel in vehicles is interesting, to say the least. The cars actually handle rather responsively, despite the horrendous on-foot controls. But they also consume gasoline and take damage. Neither meter goes down quickly enough that you constantly have to refill at a gas station or swap out for a new car, but it is an interesting mechanic that makes you alert of how long you may have been using a particular car for. In addition to those meters, York himself has a hunger and sleep meter which slowly decrease as you move through the game. You’ll find or buy various items that can offer minor increases to each when you’re out on a mission, such as snacks or coffee, but the real boost is either having a meal in town or resting in one of the many locations in the game. Resting will decrease your hunger meter, though, so if you choose to rest for a long time, make sure there’s some place to eat nearby. 

Among the traveling, shopping, and helping you can do, you can also collect various trading cards throughout the game. These all reward you with a nice sum of cash per find, and there are a lot of them to collect. They add a little charm to exploring the town but are certainly not necessary or even pivotal to the investigation. Along those same lines, you have the option to shave or change suits every now and then, and should you not take the game up on those offers, you may notice some interesting things happening to York.

 Deadly Premonition handles abysmally and looks no better. There were early PS2 games that sparkle prettier than this. Colors are washed out and faded, character animations are stiff and the small variety of enemies that you’ll fight are repeated throughout. The sound overall is not too impressive either, and that’s putting it lightly. Gun effects and the death wails of enemies will bore you or grate on your nerves and the music, though sometimes very catchy, is often misplaced or drowns out conversations between characters. Luckily there are subtitles, and you can even lower the volume of the background music from the menu, but that should not have been something you had to do in the first place. 

The one saving grace of the game’s entire presentation is its voice acting. I won’t say it’s superb, because it’s far from it. But it’s exactly the type you’d expect from each character: York’s snobby but quirky wit, the Sheriff’s rough and rugged reluctance. All of it comes together very nicely and make the already-interesting characters that much more fascinating to listen to and learn more about. Certain character personalities shy away from their Twin Peaks counterparts, but all of the oomph and emotion behind them is still there. York is no Dale Cooper, but he doesn’t have to be. He’s fine in his own separate, unique way.

 Deadly Premonition is one of this generation’s most bizarre titles. The game was launched at the bargain price of $19.99, controls like titles from 15 years ago and looks like ones from 10. So why, then, is it still such a fascinating game? It’s quite simple, really. You will never find a story in a video game as unpredictable as this, nor will you find characters as interesting. Sure, Deadly Premonition should have been subtitled “The Twin Peaks Game,” but why should that be a fault against it? If it can show homage respectfully and do proper justice to the source, then more power to it. And guess what, it does. Deadly Premonition didn’t win any major game of the year awards, but it did garner an intense cult following behind it, enough to propel it into the 2012 Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition as the “Most Critically Polarizing Survival Horror Game.” And it without a doubt will remain one of my most memorable experiences of this generation.