Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise

B-movie aficionados will fall in love with this title. Like the films it has been influenced by, TOYBOX Inc. has kept the unpolished, anti-establishment feel of the game in honour of those auteurs who go by their own rules. As a result, you are left with a diamond in the rough which rightfully will deter some gamers. Fans of the original will not be disappointed with a trip to Le Carre whereas newcomers may feel like the game is not only set in 2005, but created then, too.

The scattered blessings of Deadly Premonition 2 are often disguised by the game's many blemishes, but I'm still more than happy that I got to drink in another adventure with York and company. [Issue #49 – November/December 2020, p. 67]

Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise is exactly the sequel to Deadly Premonition a fan of the original should expect. This is a game that really respects the player’s intelligence, but puts a lot of faith into their willingness to keep an open mind.

Dear developers, you can't treat us like this. Deadly Premonition 2 has a great story with excellent characters that are held back by an abysmally bad technical side. Fans will accept this and have fun. Everyone else will avoid DP2 at all costs.

You have to play it to feel the impact: Technically horrible action-adventure with a small, but open world that draws ist string from ist absurd characters.

Deadly Premonition 2 is a real hymn to the principle that "graphics aren't everything". Stopping at the disastrous graphics of the game could deprive you of a very interesting experience, especially if you loved the first chapter. Narratively rich in cues and revelations, this sequel by TOYBOX is expressly dedicated to fans of the first Deadly Premonition, of which it captures history, characters and suggestions. Difficult, otherwise, to fully enjoy the one element that barely holds the entire production together: a fascinating story, framed by a surreal aura, deliberately over the top and quoting to the point of exhaustion.

The truth is Deadly Premonition 2 is like watching Nicolas Cage act: an incredibly divisive experience. There are things it does well and there are things it apparently doesn't. There are even elements of it where you just can't tell whether it's genius or nonsense. No video game has ever been so good and so bad at the same time.

Despite technical hiccups and awkward moments, the gleefully bizarre characters, twisted and intriguing story, quirky dialogue and loads of fun content to fiddle around with in Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise provides an experience worth checking out, albeit one you may find yourself questioning at certain points.

Veterans of the first game won’t be expecting a technical tour-de-force, but Deadly Premonition 2 still manages to underwhelm in pure performance terms. However (and this is a big however), it's a game with real character and it's very tough to dislike, even as you stutter your way around Le Carré on your skateboard. If you've ever been intrigued by the original, we'd recommend giving this a go. It’s janky and derivative, yes, but it’s also irresistibly wonderful and strange, and there's no other video game quite like it.

Deadly Premonition 2 feels like a step forward from the first game. It still has the same quirky and unusual humour, but this sequel brings with it improved combat and better visuals. It's a shame it's held back by poor performance on Nintendo Switch, but fans of the original are going to love Deadly Premonition 2, the city of Le Carrè and the story it has to tell.

Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise is messy, bizarre, and ultimately exactly what it needs to be: A great sequel to a cult classic.

Deadly Premonition is worth the wait for the fans of the first chapter, but it's an overall worst game than that one was and it still retains many of the original problems, such as a weak technical and clunky gameplay.

Deadly Premonition 2 is not Swery's gaming maturity, but it is perhaps his consecration as a screenwriter, storyteller of the bizarre, creator of unforgettable characters. His ambition, however, clashes with the limited budget and, probably, with Toybox's modest ability to create gameplay. But these are works that must be left to rest, metabolized and then perhaps rediscovered, like a nice b-movie, ready to become one of our favorites when the time is right.

Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing In Disguise is an earnest attempt to conclude the story told in the original game ten years ago. It’s engaging, the characters are a joy to observe, and the trademark zaniness is as intact as ever. Unfortunately, it’s hard to deny that the game’s egregious performance issue hinders it from standing on the shoulders of it’s predecessor.

This is an unlikely sequel that inherits all the good things about the first one, like a great story and a charismatic protagonist, but also repeats the same mistakes, even making them worse sometimes, becoming very tedious at times.

It's possible, and even likely, to walk away from Deadly Premonition 2 absolutely loving it. Few directors can construct a world or a cast as curiously compelling as Swery does. Yet it's hard not to desperately wish that these charms were presented with more capable craftsmanship. There is a special flavor that Swery games have, and that sometimes comes across in spite of the jank, but there has to be a better way of preserving that flavor while also making a stronger game overall.

What is certain is that the charm of the first chapter has not been replicated as we would have hoped: net of its obvious flaws, this second episode still has its own gritty b-movie personality, full of potential, unfortunately, strongly unexpressed.

Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise is a transcendent pile of garbage. It's both strikingly ambitious and laughably incompetent in every regard, which is somewhat fitting given the iconic status of its predecessor. But all the campy brilliance aside, it's difficult to overlook its monolithic performance problems and decrepit approach to game design.

All in all, Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in disguise is definitely a mixed bag. I enjoyed the story, love the characters, and I’m happy to see more of Francis York Morgan’s weird adventures. But actually playing the game to get to the good stuff never feels great either. Technical improvements would help a lot, but wouldn’t completely solve the mundane mission design, tongue-in-cheek fetch quests, or subpar combat encounters. So altogether, I can’t wholeheartedly recommend this game to everyone. I think you’ve got to come in with a willingness to look over a lot of issues just to get to the good stuff, and considering how many amazing games are available right this second, that’s going to be a pretty hard sell.

The hardest part about reviewing Deadly Premonition 2 is that in a lot of ways it’s exactly what fans of the first game wanted. It’s a broken mess that controls like a dog on roller blades that looks ugly and runs even worse, with the bizarrely charming writing that only somebody like Swery65 could bring to the table. Nobody in Le Carré feels quite Greenvale levels of weird, but they’re all a bunch of weirdos all the same. Well, except David, he’d fit in Greenvale pretty well. If you like the first Deadly Premonition you likely already know what you want and what you’re getting into, and you’ll likely be pretty happy with this sequel. Your everyday average player should probably weigh how much jank they’re willing to put up with before giving this game a shot, though.

The existing fanbase will be more than happy with FBI Agent Francis York Morgan’s latest outing, as it adds another unintentionally terrible sequel to the canon.

Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise is as bonkers as you’d expect and fans will no doubt enjoy catching up with Agent York, but a lack of atmosphere, dull action, serious technical issues, and the creeping sense that Swery is becoming a touch too self-aware conspire to kill the fun. Deadly Premonition 2 is for the hardcores – most other folks can safely close their investigation after finishing the first game.

Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise could have been a good game and a worthy successor to the original, if the developers did not try to copy “True Detective” (unsuccessfully), but create more interesting characters and non-standard atmospheric stories. Future patches can fix the framerate, errors and bugs, but they can't change the artificially prolonged plot and a very limited number of characters. And this is completely disappointing.

Deadly Premonition succeeded because it was fascinating to watch the story unfold through a series of arcs that would eventually involve everyone in the town by the end of the game. For the sequel, many of its characters are little more than obstacles to overcome and when you do, you barely hear from them ever again unless the story calls for them to make an appearance out of convenience. When you get right down to it, A Blessing In Disguise’s attempt to recapture lightning in a bottle largely fumbles because of its severe banality and ho-hum drama.

Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing In Disguise is another messy, frustrating and at times broken experience… but then again so was the first game. The story once again is a highlight with a cast of strangely acting characters sure to make you chuckle or downright confused. Unfortunately, seeing the tale unfold is slowed massively with dull and tedious quests aplenty. Big fans of the original will likely find exactly what they’re looking for here but for others, there are just too many issues technical or otherwise sure to prevent you from actually enjoying yourself.

Deadly Premonition 2 is not as surprising as the original. York and Zach are still there and are adorable, but a predictable plot and a lack of surprise and risk does not compensate all the technical issues. Not this time.

Deadly Premonition is both very hard and very easy to recommend. For fans of the series it’s a no-brainer. It’s another 30 hours with York and his gang of nutty friends. The story is Twin Peaks meets True Detective put through several extra filters of oddness. For newcomers to the series the gameplay, graphics, animation and loading times may simply be insurmountable obstacles. For those that can look past it there are so many interesting ideas at play and the game can be genuine fun. In short it sucks, but it may also be one of the more interesting games of the year. It’s destined to be a Let’s Play classic.

The problem with Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise is that it aspires to be a cult work from the first moment, something quite pedantic on the part of its author, who wants to repeat the pattern of the original title: an unfinished, poorly done video game, which stands out simply for its great argument.

A technical disaster in almost every conceivable way, which obscures not only the hilarious characters but the fact that the game is considerably less compelling and nuanced than the original.

Deadly Premonition 2 : A Blessing In Disguise is a sequel for to the fans of the first game and them only. They endure the toughness of this episode to discover the true story behind it.

What is a bad game? Well, maybe the answer can be tricky, but Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise is a good start. In case it was not clear, I do not recommend playing this title, especially in its current state.

Deadly Premonition 2 isn’t good, nor is it so bad that it’s good (like it’s predecessor). It’s something much, much worse: it’s mediocre. And that’s too bad. I’m certainly grateful for the chance to spend some more time with the eccentric and ever enthusiastic Francis York Morgan, because he remains one of the funniest and most unique lead characters in all of gaming. But I found myself less tolerant of Deadly Premonition 2’s technical issues and half-baked combat this time around, and its central mystery is ridiculous without ever going far enough off the rails to be truly surprising or memorable.

It’s bound to be another polarizing title, which ultimately shouldn’t come as a big surprise. I just wish I could have counted myself among its defenders this time.

Deadly Premonition 2 is up there with Travis Strikes Back levels of weirdness, but much like Suda 51’s hack ‘n’ slash Switch exclusive, Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise isn’t really a blessing for Nintendo’s hybrid console. If this second title in the Deadly Premonition series sacrificed its Switch exclusivity and had more development time, it may have been saved from being a sloppy mess that doesn’t deserve its otherwise fantastic story and loveable cast of characters.