I can say for certain that you have never played a game like Deadly Premonition. Released in 2010 by Access Games, this bizarre and surreal game has both a cult of devoted fans as well as an equally large group who consider it the worst game of all time. If you play it, or even watch someone play it, you will come away with a strong opinion. I fall into the love it category mostly because it will always entertain you, even if it does not always make sense.
Francis York Morgan is a FBI agent who is investigating the death of a young women in the small Washington town of Greenvale. The town has a lot of secrets, and a lot of odd characters in it. York will have to investigate, make sure his basic needs are met, fight zombies, and try to figure out who in the town is a killer. He had better work fast, as the killer is not going to stop at one victim. York might not also be all there, as he constantly talks to someone named Zach that no one else can see.
If the plot of this sounds a lot like an early 1990’s television show, well there is much more similarities to Twin Peaks to be found in this game. At one point, York calls a meeting of the entire town and some of the characters are very similar to ones in the television show. This is not a knock on the game, people have been wanting a Twin Peaks game forever, but Deadly Premonition uses it more as a jumping off point to tell it’s own story. The biggest compliment is that while you might not care about the first victim, by the time body number three shows up, you are terrified who it might be.
The game is a mixture of everyday life and the supernatural. York must eat, drink and even change clothes so that he will not smell. Areas suddenly twist and change, and York must fight his way through supernatural enemies. The town of Greenvale is one of the most alive computer cities I have ever seen. NPC’S don’t just sit and wait for you to advance the story, they move around and you have to find them. Just don’t go out at night or when it’s raining. There are worse things then zombies out there.
Deadly Premonition is a game you have to experience at least once. A director’s cut come out a few years after the initial release and does add a little bit of context to the story. The game is fun, funny, scary and heartwarming sometimes all at once. You will have a strong opinion about it. There is just nothing quite like it.
