Deadly Premonition, Did you hear that Zach?

[ScutigeraColeoptrata]

Greetings Fellow Bog Leeches,

Some of you may be familiar with the series Twin Peaks, which was created by David Lynch and Mark Frost and starred an FBI agent investigating the murder of a teenage girl in a small town. The series is now a cult classic, remembered for its compelling atmosphere, complex characters, intriguing story, and quirky weirdness. The show is really one of a kind. Just watching the intro is a sublime experience:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oDuGN6K3VQ

Many have been inspired by this series, including Hidetaka "SWERY" Suehiro, who wrote the game Deadly Premonition, which was released in 2010. Deadly Premonition has the look, feel and atmosphere of Twin Peaks, but features an original story that follows the investigation of FBI agent Francis York Morgan (just call him York, that's what everyone calls him), a rather eccentric FBI agent who constantly converses with his 'imaginary friend' Zach, who essentially acts as a stand in for the player. York comes to the small town of Greenvale to investigate a brutal murder of a teenage girl (sound familiar?), and uncovers a supernatural menace. The game features what is quite possibly the most compelling cast of characters ever realized in a video game. With all the side quests and character interaction, the plot is legitimately engaging from start to finish, and you may even find yourself invested in the fate of the characters.

I consider this to be one of the greatest video games ever made, at least in terms of story, and if it sounds interesting to you at all it is worth playing...or at least worth checking out the awesome 100% completion run by Super Great Friend:

http://supergreatfriend.com/deadlypremonition.html

Remember, don't trust the red seeds!

[dodoman1]

I liked the Spoony One's Let's Play of the first part of it, but sadly he seems to have abandoned it in favor of other things.

I agreed with his statement that it looks like a Dreamcast game that was never mass-produced and was left in a drawer for eight years until someone rediscovered it and ported it to XBox, but story-wise it does seem very interesting.

[ScutigeraColeoptrata]

It was created by a small Japanese studio, so the production values are a little spotty. The other main problems with the game are some rather archaic controls and a bit of repetition during the action scenes. There aren't many enemies besides the basic shadows, and you'll hear their few lines of dialogue to the point of monotony ("Don't want to diiiiiiiiiiiiiie.")

Still, had this game been produced by a larger studio it likely would have been very different, since the bigger budget would warrant a more mainstream audience and thus prevent it from being as esoteric and bizarre as it was intended to be. If you can get past the problems and the story grabs you, it is definitely worth seeing it through to the end.

[scythemantis]

I was first shown this game sometime last year by someone who was heavily into it only because he thought it was hilariously stupid. I don't think he quite grasped what it was going for.

Are the shadows ever explained? Why do they beg not to die?

[ScutigeraColeoptrata]

Yes, they are explained. The truth about Greenvale and the finale of the game really are mind blowing.

[Veninax]

I have never heard of this game until it was mentioned on this very topic. It brought up some sort of curiosity in me that I couldn't possibly avoid. As anyone new to something like this, I searched it up on youtube and found this piece of wonder:
sinner's sandwiches
This cutscene's weirdness makes me want to look into it further.. Or possibly even buy this game.

[ScutigeraColeoptrata]

Some people have tried the Sinners Sandwich in real life, and apparently it is quite good:

http://www.gameyayfun.com/2010/08/12/deadl...ndwich-tasting/

[Spivsy]

Do they wobble like that during the entire game or was there an earthquake in the diner?

[ScutigeraColeoptrata]

During the cutscenes the 'talking head' effect is usually pretty minimal, but some of the in game animations do look a bit...odd.

[Matamata]

Nice! Thanks for posting this
It very timely because I recently finished watching "Twin Peaks" & "Fire Walk With Me". (Which I enjoyed immensely)


I'm really liking what I'm seeing so far. All of the little homages are really fun.
The music is especially nice, very reminiscent of the soundtrack from TP; All of the the sax licks and what not.
Also, The opening song is VERY similar to "Falling" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhJo7aljnQg

This game is like a cross between Twin Peaks, Shenmue, and Silent Hill.
I'll post more once I finish watching the Let's Play.

P.S.
My "No spoilers" prediction....

Samefag! I'm calling it! I'm betting that these two are cut from the same cloth.

[ScutigeraColeoptrata]

So Swery wants to make a new game, but is having trouble securing funds. He has however made a list of reasons why a publisher should given him the funds:

I promise I’ll make something good!

Seriously!

I’ll work real hard!

I’ll work until it kills me!

I’m gonna work harder than anyone’s ever worked before!

But, uh, I will need some rest from time to time...

But, but, but, you definitely won’t regret it. I mean it. Please!! (Haha)

How anyone could not want to give this man all of their money escapes me. Let's hope that Swery does get the funding he needs.

Also, interview!

http://www.giantbomb.com/gdc-2011-the-swer...rience/17-3866/

[Matamata]

After two months I've finally finished watching SGF's play-through of Deadly Premonition.

It really is a fantastic story, even if the gameplay seems stale.
Do Swery and other small game producers a favor.
Put down your pokeymans and go out and buy a MAN's game.

[Matamata]

Please, allow me to post images from a little girl's show to better appeal to your sensibilities and tastes.


Looks like the forest is getting a new goddess.

[ScutigeraColeoptrata]

The fact that those pictures exist is amazing.

The Internet; you can learn everything about how it works in a month and in a hundred years it can still surprise you.

But yes, SGF's personality really enhances the already great story of Deadly Premonition. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it's the best LP I have ever seen.