WhenDeadly Premonitionwas released back in 2010, few really knew what to make of it. The game, which heavily borrowed themes and plot points from the television seriesTwin Peaks, was baffling and riddled with bugs. Despite this,fans lovedDeadly Premonition,earning the game cult classic status. In 2020, fans are less forgiving of buggy games with poor framerates and insensitive characterizations, so the first patch forDeadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguiselooks to address these issues.
The first game in the series ascended to legendary status with an off-the-rails plot, clunky programming that somehow made the game more charming, and an engaging protagonist in FBI agent Francis York Morgan.Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguisecontinues in that same framework, as players follow York to Le Carre, Louisiana on another case.
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This time around, reviews are similarly a mixed bag, with many folks pointing out the framerate issues, minor glitches, and bugs. There has also been considerable criticism focused on transgender character, Lena Dauman, and their dialogue. DirectorHidetaka “Swery” Suehiro has formally apologizedfor the characterization and is addressing this in the patch released for the game.
With the patch now live, some problematic dialogue has been removed and edited, and a first pass has been done on fixing theframerate issue withDeadly Premonition 2. Reporting indicates that the patch doesn’t do much for the framerate crawl, but it is likely this patch was expedited to address the more pressing issue of transgender representation, and Swery does indicate that an additional patch will be released down the road to further fix the framerate problems.
The game has also been plagued with endlessly looping sounds, missing textures, and complete crashes, but these issues appear to not have been addressed yet.
Issues aside,Deadly Premonition 2still delivers on the quirky content that made the original so much fun. Francis York Morgan still shines in this one, and the game is filled with goofy asides, likethe Chef of Tradition sidequest, where finding the ingredients for a dish at Alexus' Diner, players are rewarded with the Jambalaya de FBI.
Deadly Premonition 2was high on the list ofanticipated games for the month of July, and despite some hiccups out of the gate, it seems likely the game will settle in nicely alongside its predecessor as a truly unique experience.
Deadly Premonition 2is out now for Nintendo Switch.
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