Deadly Premonition
Deadly Premonition
Deadly Premonition is an open world adventure game with some horror elements developed by Access Games in 2010. The game follows Francis York Morgan, a Special Agent with the FBI, who is investigating a series of murders all involving mysterious red seeds and cult symbology. In addition to York, the game features an equally charming and ridiculous cast of characters residing in the town of Greenvale with their own schedules and routines which helps bring life to the game. Ultimately, it is up to the player to investigate the town and study it’s citizens to solve the mystery of the raincoat killer.
Janky Features
Technical Bugs and Glitches
Ironically, the best way to experience Deadly Premonition is often considered to be through emulation. Although the game can be played on multiple platforms (Including Steam, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and even Nintendo Switch), each is plagued by a unique variety of bugs ranging from minor graphical glitches to complete crashes on the Steam release making the game nearly unplayable. Fixes and patches have been released to help resolve these issues on PC, but their effectiveness is inconsistent. Regardless of which version of the game you play, you’re likely to encounter bugs.
Ridiculous Characters
If you’re looking for a game with an over-the-top cast of characters in the best way, then Deadly Premonition is one to check out. The star of the show is of course Francis York Morgan. Although the main story of the game handles some serious topics, York always lightens the mood (even when he arguably shouldn’t) with his one liners and absurd psychological profiling. York is supported by a great group of characters belonging to Greenvale’s sheriff department, each with their own quirks which play off each other to add to the game’s charm. Finally, the game has multiple great side characters who each bring their own personality to the game with a slew of side quests for York to tackle to unlock items or knowledge about the town. There are a whopping 50 side quests featured in Deadly Premonition for players who are looking for more of the great characters and jank that the game has to offer.
Real Time Clock in a Living City
One of the most notable mechanics of the game is its real time clock, dynamic weather, and food/rest systems. The game runs on a clock where one hour of in-game time is equivalent to one hour of real time for the player. This clock dictates when missions will take place, when NPCs will be conducting specific tasks, and when certain shops will be open for business. Additionally, the weather system determines if the city will have clear skies or rain on any given day. Lastly, the player must manage York’s hunger and energy levels by eating food and resting throughout the game to make sure he remains in top shape. While these systems are interesting, they aren’t implemented without a bit of “jank” for Deadly Premonition. Specifically, sometimes the player will need to wait/wander around for multiple hours before they can proceed with a mission. While it’s possible to sleep or smoke cigarettes to pass the time, these will lower York’s hunger/energy meters which the player will need to refill before the mission to avoid failing the investigation. Additionally, the shops of Greenvale refuse to open if it’s raining outside. Because of this there will be times which the player will be unable to obtain items they want until the rain subsides further adding to the jank.
Rough Driving Mechanics
The city of Greenvale is fairly large for a game of this era. In order to assist in traversing the relatively large world York is able to drive vehicles around the city. Unfortunately for the player, the driving mechanics in Deadly Premonition are pretty rough. The vast majority of cars are obscenely slow and have terrible handling. This often makes getting from point A to point B feel like a chore when the vehicles perform as poorly as they do. To add potential insult to injury, each vehicle has its own “sound track” that plays while driving. So hopefully you enjoy the music of your vehicle of choice. Easily the best of aspect of driving is the conversation York has with his inside voice “Zack” about movies and general happenings in the city. York will often reminisce about movies he’s seen and loved including Tremors, Jaws, and Blue Thunder. These conversations are a joy to listen to and help ease the slog of driving in the game.
Legacy
Even when it initially released the janky nature of Deadly Premonition was apparent to all who played it. That jank has since marinated with time and has cemented the game as a strong cult classic due to it’s charming characters, intriguing mystery, and generous supply of “good” jank. Despite it’s technical issues, bugs, and often times nonsensical plot, it is often regarded as one of the best “bad” games around. The love for York and the general themes of Deadly Premonition were strong enough to allow the production of a sequel known as Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise in 2020.
Jank Rank
Aside from the Steam release of the game with its propensity for crashing, Deadly Premonition is a janky game that is absolutely worth playing if you’re a fan of mystery games and can appreciate a humorous but simultaneously serious plot supported by a magnetic cast of characters. Although the driving and combat mechanics of the game can feel cumbersome, the jank they provide often yields more laughs than curses. Ultimately, the game will likely leave the player with multiple great memories and laughs of all the ridiculous (both intended and unintended) events that take place over the course of their time with York and the citizens of Greenvale.