This is one of those games I always wanted to play and never did. Well, I finally got to and what a fucking delight this title is.
After watching this cutscene on youtube, and taking in how absolutely absurd it is, I decided... fuck it.
Immediately the game is noticeably rough around the edges, looking more like a low budget PS2 game than a 360 title. However, I think this adds a lot to both tones the game does very well. That is to say that the lofi aspect, whether intentional or not, simultaneously makes the game funnier in its goofy moments, and more disturbing in its scarier moments. The low res, low poly graphics definitely make everything more creepy and reinforcing this is other recent titles like Paratopic using the same aesthetic. I think that's also a testament to just how well this game executes in both regards.
One moment you're dealing with gutbusting moments like the intro cutscene, and the next your knee deep in terrifying horror.
There's layers of humor and recurring gags, like York constantly lighting cigarettes, even at the most inappropriate times. One of the better moments of comedy is when the team is discussing the legend of the raincoat killer over dinner at the local diner while York segues into a non sequitur about pissing in skulls, to the dismay his companions. Then there's moments like the first time you enter the museum. There's no nasties or enemies during this segment. There isn't even any music. There's just silence paid with your footsteps as you explore the museum for clues during the night. It feels claustrophobic and desolate and had my eyes wide open during its entirety.
There's other moments, like..
When you go to the sheriff's department after the revelation of who the killer is and you're greeted with... this
The story itself is even a well written Whodunit and I found it pretty insane that the game straight up telegraphs the antagonist but it ends up getting lost in all of the game's aberrations. I think this is also by design and that the game intentionally obfuscates its ending after pretty much showing its hand early on. York's backstory is dripfed to the player and that kept me engrossed with his development while it still maintained an air of mystique until the very end. The story and its use of characters also go in some pretty dark directions that seem pretty personal (child abuse creates monsters and a cycle of violence.
Another aspect of this game I really enjoyed was the open-world structure. It's very reminiscent of Shenmue in that it makes great use of the mundane. Driving or walking around, interacting with the denizens of the town is wonderful and really helped the game demand my attention. Most of them offer some kind of side activity and it really scratched the same itch that game's like Yakuza do. I really felt like I was interacting with something meaningful and not wasting my time or doing busywork.
Overall, I'm amazed at how well Deadly Premonition executes on all fronts. Doing horror and comedy is both extremely difficult in video games and somehow Deadly Premonition is a shining example of both. It's impressive because going too far into either could ruin the other and damage the entire experience and playing Deadly Premonition is like watching a unicycle rider spinning plates over a fire pit on a tight rope.
Performance is still a mixed bag but it's mostly fine other than when driving, which can have framedrops below 20FPS and some occasional crashes (I had about 3)
This game is a masterpiece and I'm kicking myself for waiting this long to play it. I'm also anxiously awaiting the sequel.
Edit: I played the Switch version
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