First, let me apologise for the length of time it has taken, for this Review to be written.
The Playthrough of Deadly Premonition was such a lengthy affair, that we also had to put all our other games on hold. However, after completing the game, I realised that I was going to have to take even more time, to gather my thoughts about the game.
The story of Deadly Premonition is so dense, and by that I certainly do not mean stupid, that it was necessary to give myself time to digest what I had just witnessed and experienced. I also had to make a decision on whether to to a spoiler review or not. I decided, ultimately, that I would not spoil it for anyone reading and instead just give an outline of my experience playing the game, and what I personally felt about the story. So do not fear, if you have not played it yet, and do not want anything spoiled, you can certainly read on with confidence, knowing that will not happen in this review.
Deadly Premonition is a strange murder/mystery detective story, set in a small town called Greenvale. We play the character, for the majority of the game, of the charismatic detective York Morgan, who has been tracking a series of strange murders around the country, that all have one thing in common...red seeds at the crime scenes, or on the bodies of the victims.
We are then introduced to a vast array of characters, who all have their own quirky habits and personalities.
Spying on their daily routines, we end up traversing the length and breadth of the town, chasing the clues left behind by the killer. But who is the killer?
As much as I want to delve into the story some more (a lot more), I promised a spoiler free review, and that is what I will do.
The story at a foundational level seems fairly simple, and not too exciting, but as you delve into the world and history of Greenvale, you begin to be sucked into a story that gets stranger and stranger with every passing revelation. You finally find yourself playing continuously to find out what on earth is going on.
Its a complex story, with a complex ending...so get your thinking caps on if you intend to embark on this journey.
Story aside, the gaming mechanics were really not good at all, I would even go so far as to say down right awful, and the driving and use of the map can be very frustrating to start with, but once you get the hang of how to control your character and vehicle, the game becomes a lot simpler. There are some mechanics they could have removed, like the lock on targeting system, because it really did not work at all and actually make combat a lot harder.
The graphics were also a point of annoyance for many people who played the game. to be honest I personally liked the graphics because it took me back to what it was like to play many PS2 games that I enjoyed. Games like Fahrenheit and Clock Tower 3, so for the sense of nostalgia, I actually gave them a thumbs up for that choice. The script was somewhat quirky and silly, but again you could forgive these elements because of the story. The story is really what saves this game, despite the graphics and bad mechanics.
It is actually a shame that the game did not do well. The 2010 XBox 360 release was a flop in Japan, and also did not do too well in America, but it does however have a small cult following both in the US and in the UK. The newer release on the PS3, which was the Directors Cut, seems to be doing slightly better and is certainly much easier to find if you are looking for the game.
Overall, we gave Deadly Premonition an 8/10, basically for giving us a story that blows so many other big releases out the water. You become so involved in the tale, that you truly can forgive its shortcomings elsewhere! We recommend everyone play it at least once, even if you get it second hand, and intend to sell it on.
We will do a video at some point going over all the story elements in the game, and that will most certainly be a spoiler video. We are working on many different titles right now, and plan to add more to the list, so it may be a while before we get around to it.
Anyway, thanks again for your time guys!
All the best,
Winning Media HD
Its on PC now as of today! Perhaps you can post your review on the metacritic page, and modDB page.