Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise announced for Switch; Deadly Premonition Origins available now
Publisher Rising Star Games and developer Toybox Inc. have announced Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise exclusively for Switch. It is directed and written by Hidetaka “Swery” Suehiro and will launch in 2020.
Additionally, the original Deadly Premonition is available now for Switch via the Nintendo eShop as Deadly Premonition Origins. A physical Collector’s Edition of Deadly Premonition Origins will be released via publisher Aksys Games in November.
Here is an overview of each game, via Rising Star Games:
About Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise
The developers, Toybox, are bringing back the original masterminds to give the game the same aura that the fans fell in love with the first time around. Scriptwriter / director Swery and producer Tomio Kanazawa return, with art direction by Shuhou Imai and music composed by Satoshi Okubo bringing their distinctive styles to the series.
“After completing the Director’s Cut, Swery and I discussed in-depth about the ways we could continue the world of Deadly Premonition. In reaching here, we shared some laughter together and at times quarreled, but we persisted with our voyage and I am thrilled that we finally made it to this point,” said Toybox COO and producer Tomio Kanazawa in a press release.
Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise is an open-world game set in the small town of Le Carré. Your story starts in Boston, where it turns out FBI Special Agent Francis York Morgan will have to revisit the case he thought was solved in 2005. You will be solving various murders and crimes while jumping between 2005 and 2019 in true Deadly Premonition fashion.
“Only a few games have managed to stir up emotions the way the original Deadly Premonition did,” says Brjánn Sigurgeirsson of Rising Star Games. “Ten years later we’re literally thrilled to continue down this path to find out where Swery and his team take us.”
And finally, a note from Swery: “Roughly 10 years have passed since the original was released in 2010. Now, a miracle has happened, and I have a chance to reunite with my best friend—something I never thought would be possible.
“I’m working hard day and night while also looking back on the past to make sure this becomes something that doesn’t change no matter how much time passes, while also adapting to and interlocking with the current era – a game that encompasses all. Please get yourself a cup of coffee and wait for it to be completed!”
Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise is published by Rising Star Games in Europe, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand, while Toybox will publish the game in Japan and the rest of Asia.
About Deadly Premonition
10 years ago, the original title was awarded “Most Polarizing Survival Horror Game” by Guinness World Records, set an industry ablaze and left a wake of chain-reaction recommendations amongst gamers and critics alike.
To date Deadly Premonition has split reviewers down the middle—Destructoid awarded it 10/10, saying: “Judged as a piece of entertainment, as a game that consistently surprises and amazes and leaves jaws hanging, I have no choice but to say that Deadly Premonition goes above and beyond.”
At the other end of the scale, IGN named it “terrible,” awarding it just 2/10. It said: “Awful in nearly every way… Terrible controls. Terrible pacing. Terrible sound effects. Terrible visuals.”
However, gamers have been making up their own minds—on Metacritic the average user rating is 8.3/10.
The Japanese Nintendo blog offers further details:
Although the story of Deadly Premonition 2 is set nine years after the original game, this sequel actually takes on the form of a “pre-sequel” as players will jump into the memories of 2005 as told by the protagonist to relive the “incident five years before the Greenvale incident of the previous game.” As young FBI investigator Francis York Morgan, players will visit the peaceful rural town of Le Carre, New Orleans to investigate a strange serial murders case.
Deadly Premonition 2 features two heroines. Alija Davis is a young and passionate FBI investigator who interrogates the protagonist in 2019, while Patricia is a 10 year-old girl and daughter of the police sheriff in the world of 2005. A mature girl, she plays the role of Watson and follows York around the open world.
As it would turn out, the 2005 case that was seemingly resolved will gradually drag the 2019 protagonist and two heroines into madness.
The 2019 part of the story begins in Boston. During these parts, the player takes on the role of Aliya, interrogating a “former” gifted FBI investigator shrouded in mystery. By interrogating him and acquiring key information, the story will shift to 2005. During the interrogation, you must break through the walls of the man’s heart and get his testimony by showing evidence and making observations about things in his room.
The story itself is divided into chapters, and each chapter begins in 2019. By completing each 2019 part, you will jump back to 14 years ago in 2005 New Orleans. In 2005, you become York, who gets wrapped up in a serial murders case happening in this town, which will be resolved in his memories. These parts make up the main systems of the game, where it becomes an action adventure title set in an open world. Run around the four kilometers square rural American town of Le Carre and solve the legendary “Le Carre Serial Murders Case” said to have taken so many victims.
Watch the teaser trailer and first footage for Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise below. View the first screenshots of Deadly Premonition 2 here and Deadly Premonition Origins here. Visit the Deadly Premonition 2 official website here.
