There are a good number of games out there that I never would have heard of if it wasn't for Backloggd, and Deadly Premonition was one of them. I found out about the game around the time I first made my Backloggd account, and I was interested in it because of how varied the opinions on it were, as well as how suspiciously similar the basic premise was to Twin Peaks. Since I love the original series and consider it to be one of my favorite shows (along with Twin Peaks: The Return being my all time favorite TV series), I became really eager to get the game, and after listening to The Woods and the Goddess endlessly and even making the Sinner's Sandwich at one point (it was honestly pretty decent), I finally got to play Deadly Premonition after ordering it on eBay a few weeks ago. Despite the amount of non-spoilery stuff I've heard about the game, nothing could've prepared me for Deadly Premonition, and it was one of the best experiences I've had playing any game.
A lot of people described Deadly Premonition as a so-bad-it's-good game, but I honestly thought that it was just a phenomenal game through and through. While the visuals would look bad on a PS2, let alone an Xbox 360, no aspect of Deadly Premonition felt outright bad to me as much as they were charming, and I even thought that the supposedly awful controls were fine (aside from the driving), although that might be because I just finished playing Resident Evil 4 and these two games have very similar control schemes. The highlight of this game was easily the writing, as it strikes a perfect balance between being bizarre, campy, and endlessly compelling, along with how it was all told through some great dialogue. It definitely starts out as a Twin Peaks clone, but after the first few hours, Deadly Premonition turns into something entirely unique in its surreal, twisty storytelling. Not only was the plot incredibly engrossing, but the characters were also incredible, and I especially consider Francis York Morgan to be one of the best video game protagonists ever. Not only that, but the music in Deadly Premonition was flawless, as practically every track perfectly encapsulated at least one aspect of the game and its many tones.
Out of all the aspects of Deadly Premonition, people seem to be torn about its combat the most, and I honestly thought it was decent. Even if the shooting mechanics were clearly riffing on Resident Evil 4, I really loved the atmosphere that these moments had, and they got especially tense whenever the Raincoat Killer showed up. Deadly Premonition is brimming with passion, creativity, and heart at every corner, and despite how it's not exactly an "objectively" perfect game, I wouldn't have it any other way.
A lot of people described Deadly Premonition as a so-bad-it's-good game, but I honestly thought that it was just a phenomenal game through and through. While the visuals would look bad on a PS2, let alone an Xbox 360, no aspect of Deadly Premonition felt outright bad to me as much as they were charming, and I even thought that the supposedly awful controls were fine (aside from the driving), although that might be because I just finished playing Resident Evil 4 and these two games have very similar control schemes. The highlight of this game was easily the writing, as it strikes a perfect balance between being bizarre, campy, and endlessly compelling, along with how it was all told through some great dialogue. It definitely starts out as a Twin Peaks clone, but after the first few hours, Deadly Premonition turns into something entirely unique in its surreal, twisty storytelling. Not only was the plot incredibly engrossing, but the characters were also incredible, and I especially consider Francis York Morgan to be one of the best video game protagonists ever. Not only that, but the music in Deadly Premonition was flawless, as practically every track perfectly encapsulated at least one aspect of the game and its many tones.
Out of all the aspects of Deadly Premonition, people seem to be torn about its combat the most, and I honestly thought it was decent. Even if the shooting mechanics were clearly riffing on Resident Evil 4, I really loved the atmosphere that these moments had, and they got especially tense whenever the Raincoat Killer showed up. Deadly Premonition is brimming with passion, creativity, and heart at every corner, and despite how it's not exactly an "objectively" perfect game, I wouldn't have it any other way.