Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut

About Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut

Deadly Premonition is a horror mystery directed by Hidetaka Swery Suehiro at Access Games, first released for Xbox 360 in 2010. The Director's Cut, sold on Steam since 2013, adds HD graphics, reworked controls and a new framing story from the director. On Nintendo Switch the game is sold as Deadly Premonition Origins.

You play special agent Francis York Morgan, called York by everyone, who drives into the logging town of Greenvale to investigate the brutal murder of a local girl. He talks constantly to Zach, a companion only he can hear, reads omens in his coffee and quickly links the death to the Red Seed Murders. The town is open to explore: you drive between its diner, hotel, sheriff's office and outlying farms, meet its odd residents, and take on side quests and mini-games on a clock that runs from day to night.

The horror comes when the case turns. Crime scenes shift into a dark Otherworld, where York shoots his way past shadow people who bend backwards and crawl through walls, and the Raincoat Killer appears with his axe in chase scenes you survive by running, hiding and holding your breath. Clues gathered there let York profile what happened.

It is a famously uneven game: clunky combat and driving sit beside a strange, funny and sad story that players still argue about. Players who loved Twin Peaks, small-town mysteries and offbeat characters tend to love it; those who want polished survival horror will find it rough.

How to play Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut

1. Buy The Director's Cut on Steam, or Deadly Premonition Origins on Nintendo Switch.
2. Follow the case from the sheriff's office, driving York between locations in Greenvale on the map.
3. In the Otherworld sections, shoot the shadow creatures and collect the clues that let York profile the crime.
4. When the Raincoat Killer appears, follow the button prompts to run, dodge and hide from his axe.
5. Between story chapters, talk to residents, take on side quests and watch the clock: places and people keep their own hours.

Tips

• Keep an eye on York's hunger and sleep meters; eat and rest before long story sections.
• Side quests unlock useful items and weapons, so do some between chapters.
• Hold your breath when hiding from the Raincoat Killer, and let go before the meter runs out.
• The story pays off at the end; push through the slower investigation stretches.

Questions