Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise Critic Reviews

The Last of Us 2 epitomises everything about overly-produced, mass market-friendly content that many of us are becoming exhausted with. SWERY, knowing full well that his game will be castigated on Metacritic and widely mocked, has satirised every mainstream expectation of a video game in Deadly Premonition 2. There’s nothing that suggests that anything within this game is not an entirely deliberate, surrealistic subversion of expectations, and while Deadly Premonition 2 is not for everyone (and potentially offensive to some), games as an art form are better off having works like this to exist in parallel to mainstream entertainment.

Deadly Premonition 2 just wants to tell its story, tell it well, and be its own weird, little self. Your ability to either live with that or not will determine how deeply you fall in love with the citizens of Le Carre.

While Deadly Premonition 2 suffers from technical shortcomings, the oddball characters, endearing dialogue, disturbing atmosphere, and emotional rollercoaster-like story are where its artistic elements shine through the brightest. Simply put: If you’re a fan of the original, you’ll love this.

A worthy sequel to the 2010 cult classic, Deadly Premonition 2 retains the series trademark charm with its oddball characters and outlandish story. The open world frame-rate isn't good enough, but if you can overlook that there's plenty of intrigue and laughs to be found in Le Carre.

An adventure that, like the original, you won't know if it's a joke. You'll love it, or hate it. Unpolished, rough around edges... but still an adventure unique on its own terms. If you connect with it, you'll enjoy it till the end, with a delightful script, crazy situations that will hook you on and all the craziness you can hope from Francis York.

Deadly Premonition 2 has technical problems, a design of yesteryear and several questionable points, but it's a game that stands out for more than the sum of its parts. This isn't a case of "so bad, it's good", it's good because of the inexplicable force that holds each of its sections together. In the end, Deadly Premonition 2 is an oasis of irreverence and rebellion in an industry that is sometimes quite comfortable with its molds. This game breaks them all, unpretentiously and honestly as no other.

How many times can you say that you hexed an old widow so that you could go bowling in the past...oh say decade or so?" Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise is another trip. You've been warned.

Ultimately, Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing In Disguise is not about what you can tolerate but what you can accept. If you think you can look past the broken in service of a great story, this might not be for you. If you can embrace and enjoy the tedium, the bugs, the weird tone, the absurdity - you may have a new favourite title. I’ll remember this one for a while.

The sequel to Hidetaka "Swery65" Suehiro's most memorable creation rests entirely on the same things that made the former a cult game. For better and for worse.

It’s a bold, funny, scary, unbelievably intense way of getting closure for the previous game. As such, it’s a masterpiece that’s difficult to recommend because it can only be fully appreciated by those who are already deeply invested in Zach’s story. Still, I have to recommend it because it provides a more powerful ending to the Deadly Premonition story than I ever would have expected, and a better experience than we probably deserve.

Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise somehow manages to recapture all the magic of the beloved cult favourite. As long as you can handle jank, you should thoroughly enjoy your peculiar adventure through the Deep South.

On a technical level, Deadly Premonition 2 can be criticized for lots of things, but it would be a shame to rely on the game for that. Technical imperfections matter little if a game is so fascinating that it's hard to put it down. Deadly Premonition 2 you play for the bizarre plot lines, eccentric characters and obscure references to pop culture. They provide such a fantastic and quirky experience that we can forgive this second part for its shortcomings.

It’s not enough to simply be familiar with the original Deadly Premonition to really get the sequel, you need to be “in” on many things that Swery is into, like music, games and movies.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.