An Investigative Report on Deadly Premonition [SPOILERS]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Say Zach, I'm having trouble thinking of what game I should play next next. I've already gone through most of the Silent Hill series, now those are some atmospheric towns, love the stories and directing in those games. I've also finished playing Chulip, and man the stuff those townsfolk talk about are so funny and charming. Well Zach, if you don't have any good ideas then I guess I'll just continue pouring cream into my coffee... Wait, look at this Zach! D P in the coffee. Now I've got it, the coffee is telling me to play Deadly Premonition! Isn't that a wonderful idea, Zach?

Well, that's at least what I like to think my thought process was for playing Deadly Premonition, but reality is way more boring as it tends to be. Basically I hear people say it's cool, see some funny clips on social media, and hear about the influences from Twin Peaks which all piques my interest. For better and for worse I've also heard a lot of stuff about the game's director and writer Hidetaka Suehiro, aka Swery, so I was interested in checking out his most iconic work. When deciding which of the various ports of Deadly Premonition to go with, I ended up settling with the Director's Cut on PS3. Would've been funny to try and get the PC version to work but I ain't downloading a 4gb patch just to still deal with crashes and save corruptions. And I don't have any Xboxes to play the original 360 version, which kinda sucks cuz that one has some cute fixed camera angles that the other versions don't have, and it's apparently less janky but I'm not as concerned with that. I also heard that the Switch version can be brute forced to run at 60 fps on Switch 2, so that might be the most accessible and comfortable way to get into the game if you only got modern hardware. Though if you're not playing Deadly Premonition at a single digit framerate, are you really playing Deadly Premonition?

Every game inspired by Twin Peaks is obligated to include a vibey diner

Being a fan of Twin Peaks it's hard not to notice the similarities and references to Lynch and Frost's beloved series. You have FBI agent Francis York Morgan being sent to a murder case in the small countryside town Greenvale, and by interacting with its strange residents he uncovers the dark underbelly of the place. You even have more specific elements like an equivalent to the red room with the recurring red forest area, as well as the characters having an absurd obsession over coffee. That's not to say that Deadly Premonition is only defined by its references, it's just that the elements that DP borrows from TP happen to elevate the tone and general direction it goes for. Detectiving inside homes and buildings, conversing with suspects and pondering events taken place, it's great stuff for world and character building. Even the supernatural elements are taken in a different direction more akin to Silent Hill, where representations of characters' psyche are used to help piece together the case. But in a way it does live out the fanfic dreams, going into the minutest of minute details of characters that realistically couldn't be explored in a tv show, which shows the sheer joy the devs had in creating this world.

What especially stuck out to me was how DP would often play and shift around the tone. You'll have York and the gang are dour over failing to save Diane from her gruesome murder, and then be immediately hit by a lol so random dog investigation section. Even in scenes solely focused on serious subject matter there'll still be the ever present casual whistle music playing in the background, and idk it evokes such a strong feeling in me. You could say that it kinda takes the piss out of these scenes, but to me it actually instills a sense of sincerity. It's as if "yeah these horrible things are happening, but with the right attitude we can make it right", which such a positive message to me, one of the many ways Deadly Premonition feels like a cozy cup of coffee in a calming afternoon. 

A rare playable Emily segment, wish there could've been more of these throughout the story

Ok lemme take a moment to talk about the introductory cutscene of York crashing into Greenvale, because I've been obsessively rewatching it and trying to comprehend the genius on display. First of all, there's the bold creative choice of opening a horror mystery game with god damn Tom and Jerry discourse. Secondly, the hilarious way York describes the duo as some depraved masochists, with "but that's fine, as long as that's what Tom wants" and "it's his partner's job, to fill that need. And Jerry knows that." Thirdly, the inter-dependency that York describes foreshadowing the reveal of him and Zach being alternate personalities. Fourthly, the way York says that the phone guy's interpretation of Tom and Jerry is wrong, insinuating that something earlier in the call sparked the other guy to give his deep reading of Tome and Jerry. Fifthly, the fact that York is even having this discussion with a physical person instead of Zach, meaning there's another freak like York in the Bureau of Investigation. And sixthly, the absurdity of York simultaneously smoking, calling on the phone, and checking photos on his laptop ALL WHILE DRIVING, which is especially insane if this is how he drives in the city.

If you look online you may find that Deadly Premonition has a reputation of being a "so bad it's good" game, but that's not how I'd view it. Sure the egregious stock sound effects and general jank would leave that impression, especially with the ports becoming increasingly broken, but the actual contents of DP with its design and writing are genuinely really good and create an inviting atmosphere to Greenvale. That sentiment also isn't particularly new or unique considering the cult status of this title, but I think it just says more about how I'm able to roll with all the faults with the game instead of treating it with shame. Not to say I'm the most gracious reviewer out there, but I like to think I have a more good faith approach to viewing any sorts of works of arts. It's a habit I've picked up of not assuming incompetence on the devs end, cuz you never truly know the kind of thought and intention put into these aspects, and the kinds of emotions they're meant to elicit. For example some of the jank and bizarre moments could possibly be channeling the feel of the low-budget B-movies that York talks at length in his car trips. I mean that's only thing that could explain all the awkwardly elongated scenes of enemies showing up. Even the finicky driving feels pretty realistic to navigating real life rural towns, York's in a whole different world he ain't ready for. 

 

 

Taking a morning walk through the Penis Plains

 

  

 

 

 Chilling at Mr. Stewart's McMansion

 

 

 

Even with the severe engine and budget limitations I do really enjoy how DP looks. It's almost like a Wii game that's been gussied up with a PS360 shine, a "hey we're modern, we can do bloom, we can do depth of field" type beat. It works well in conveying scenes of breezy trees blanketed in sunshine, or solemn roads drenched in the rain of night, with a lot of detail and care put into room interiors and their believability. Roaming through the halls of Polly's hotel, rummaging through every corner of the sheriff's department to find the correct squirrel keys, investigating the sleek exhibitions and statue laden gardens of the art gallery. The art design especially shines with the more surreal locales York visits, like the ethereal white rooms contrasting the red rooms, and the trippy darkened skies of some of the otherworld sections.

Unfortunately, what I do find pretty bad are the questionable ways the game handles certain themes and characters that end up being problematic, particularly with abuse victims and transphobia. I could go deeper into this but that's beyond the scope of what I feel like writing in this blog post, so I'm just gonna lay down that I both see what Swery was going for and believe that he had no idea what he was writing about. For taking so much inspiration from Twin Peaks, it's disappointing that they didn't carry the same level of tact when handling sensitive topics. I've heard that Deadly Premonition 2 is even worse in this regard, so it all does kind of paint a weird picture of Swery, despite how well meaning he seems. Also I find combat segments to bog down the pacing but that probably ain't the most concerning issue here.

Really though, despite the handling of themages blemishing the game a bit, I do adore Deadly Premonition quite a bit. Once again it's not just "so bad it's good", it's an experience that's so lovingly made and thought out that I can't help but be charmed. Though I gotta say the low bugdetedness and bizarre moments are also pretty hilarious, so in that way DP has it's cake and eats it too. Having been smitten by DP's mixing and melding of tones made me realize how much I value it in art, and I've began recognize it in a lot of the other games I play. So thank you Deadly Premonition, you've altered my taste just as you've had for many others. 

And thank you for reading this blog post! As a token of my appreciation, I will leave you with this message from the Milk Barn convenience store:

"If it is an idea of cooking, cultivation of vegetables, recommended cooking ingredients appetite and health. I OK anything!"