Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut

If you have yet to play Deadly Premonition, the Director's Cut is the way to go. And go you should, as this is an excellent game that should not be missed.

Nothing can quite prepare you for what it's like to actually play Deadly Premonition. [Issue#231, p.78]

Highly recommended to those not afraid of experiments and wanting to play something truly unique.

Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut is a delightfully weird game that, despite all of its many faults, has more heart and soul than any other budget title.

Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut has made me think about the things that defines a good or bad game. Sure, the presentation is truly terrible, but beneath the technical flaws I find a game that offers a deep, involving story and tons of weird humor. It's a game unlike any other, in the best way possible.

Not for everyone, but it's a unique survival horror oddity and as brilliant as it is barmy. [June 2013, p.83]

The foundation of Deadly Premonition, the stuff that matters, is still absolutely perfect as far as I am concerned. It is true, of course, that this perfection has been scarred somewhat by the faults found in The Director's Cut, and there's no denying that longtime fans may not be getting what they hoped for in this package. To newcomers or the severely dedicated, however, this is still a bloody great time, and remains one of those games that truly, desperately, must be experienced to be believed.

As unique a vision as video gaming has ever seen and one able to use its many incompetencies – including the new ones – to entertain and surprise.

It's not perfect, but it certainly is a unique experience that stands out from the crowd.

Deadly Premonition has its faults, but the quirky dialogue, self-directed exploration, and perfect pacing form an addictive and fascinating mystery unlike anything else in gaming. If you’re a newcomer to Agent York’s adventures in Greenvale (or found the controls too awful to tolerate on Xbox 360), you should definitely try Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut. It asks players to overlook a lot of problems, but if you can do that, it pays even greater rewards.

A parade of oddities that’s definitely worth checking out, because the impressions – whether positive or negative – are unforgettable. Terrible visuals are improved a bit in The Director’s Cut (so now it can compete with average PS2 games), but scarcity of new content is disappointing. [CD-Action 07/2013, p.61]

Deadly Premonition's saving grace is its main character York, who obviously has more than one screw loose and grants the game its unique and confusing sense of humour. He talks to an invisible friend, reads mysterious signs in his morning coffee and talks about people as if they aren't standing right next to him. [May 2013, p.84]

Deadly Premontion would score way higher if there were no guns. An amazing narrative and lovingly crafted universe brought down by archaic gameplay and weird pacing. Absolutely worth your time if you appreciate the sublime.

At once unforgivably terrible and accidentally brilliant, Deadly Premonition remains a gaming anomaly. And no amount of directorial cutting is going to change that. [Issue#135, p.115]

The last creature of Hidetaka "Swery" Suehiro keeps its promises only partially, offering unacceptable graphics, a survival horror game that doesn't scare at all and not so brilliant mechanics. Nonetheless, there's something invisible, an empathic link making the whole thing an oiled mechanism. Survive to the first 20 minutes, and you'll never forget your stay in Greendale.

Again, this is an impossible game to sum up into so many words, and the polarization on how “good” it actually is will never die. One thing is certain though, this experience will not be forgotten for years to come.

This Director's Cut fixes a few things and breaks some others, but Deadly Premonition is still a highly flawed, utterly memorable mystery that never stops surprising you.

If you haven't played it already - and are curious and very patient - it's worth suffering Deadly Premonition's rickety construction and lumpy pacing for York, and for Greenvale. If you're already a fan, this Director's Cut can be considered the definitive version of the game; it alleviates the worst flaws of the original but preserves most of the others for posterity - just as you'd want it, really. And there's still nothing else like it. Not in video games, anyway.

Deadly Premonition: Director’s Cut won’t win any awards for its visuals or mechanics, but the player will be completely immersed within a world just brimming with life thanks to the intriguing storyline and highly likeable cast of characters.

They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Where one gamer will see an ugly, boring, schizophrenic mess of a survival horror game, another will see the splendor of its expansive setting, idiosyncratic cast, and spellbinding mystery. Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut is the misfit’s masterpiece, offering an inviting and affordable chance to see which side of the oddball gamer fence you stand on.

A fantastic game and a memorable story hidden in a technical mess. Sadly, the PS3 version has done little to improve this.

There's nothing else quite like Deadly Premonition. Part surreal story, part murder mystery, part survival horror, it might swing from great to awful and back with alarming regularity but it's always entertaining and always captivating.

Despite any obvious technical shortcomings, it succeeds on the strength of its story, its characters, and its countless WTF moments.

The game is grim, gruesome, and if you can get by the fact the game is now over a decade old, it is quite engaging. One thing is for sure, if this is your first time meeting Agent York, this is the version to play for sure.

[It's] built on a shoddy technical foundation, but it's got ambition to spare. Its weirdness reflects and amplifies the underlying mystery, while a host of bizarre characters and the secrets they keep make its problems worth suffering. It may not be the prettiest dog in the show, but it's got heart, and it's one hell of a companion.

Although the "director's cut" edition is slightly worse than the original, Deadly Premonition remains on the most bizarre games ever made. If you are in the mood for something completely unique try it out, but be prepared for a strange ride.

Ultimately, that is the very core of Deadly Premonition’s appeal; underneath the poor visuals and poorer gameplay, it still manages to surprise you once players dig deep into the story, an analogy that holds true about the fictional residents of Greenvale. It’s just unfortunate that what could have been the definitive version of the game ended up being the worst performing.

A experience like no other, that feels terribly punished by the technical aspects. Anyway, it's a great option for survival horror fans.

This game is surreal. So much so we’re not entirely sure if it was rushed (doubtful, given the 360 original came out in 2010), or if the game designers are deliberately trolling us. [June 2013, p80]

It's too bad that this is the only way an English version of Deadly Premonition is available on the PS3, since it absolutely should not be played.