LogFAQs > #933400819

9. Deadly Premonition

If you asked me "what is Deadly Premonition?", I wouldn't be sure where to start. Best I can think of is to link you to the wikipedia pages for Twin Peaks and Stockholm Syndrome and use that as a launching point.

Deadly Premonition has the worst gameplay of any game on this list. Shooting is boring, driving controls are abysmal, everything is just so...janky, and I adore this game. Somehow none of the shoestring budget gameplay matters. I can't just say 'it has a great story, atmosphere, and characters' because while it definitely does, there's plenty of games with a great story and poor gameplay that I didn't connect with. But Deadly Premonition has this infectious, unique, off-kilter charm that is impossible not to be drawn into. You never have an idea of what to expect from this game, and despite everything being weird as hell it all makes sense in its own Deadly Premonition sort of way. By the time I was 1/4 of the way through Deadly Premonition, I had stopped caring that game was a PS2 game with better graphics, and the bugs started to become features. Unnecessary upkeep on my hygiene and facial hair just made sense. Poor driving controls were funny. Facial expressions straight out of GMod were REALLY funny. Deadly Premonition doesn't just walk the line between 'I can take this seriously' and 'I can't take this seriously', it tapdances across it while inviting you to join.

This reaction isn't just a 'me' thing, either. This game reviewed and sold terribly on release and still managed to build up a devoted fanbase by virtue of the unique experience it offers. My favorite description of this phenomenon comes from the Two Best Friends - at one point they were LPing this and The Last of Us at the first time, and stated that they felt guilty because Last of Us was this pitch perfect, immaculately crafted experience and they still found themselves being drawn to Deadly Premonition just as much if not more.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.