The Unapologetic Nostalgia of Deadly Premonition 2 on PS5: A Love Letter to the Past

As I booted up Deadly Premonition 2 on my PS5, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia wash over me. The game's retro aesthetic and antiquated mechanics are undeniably a love letter to the past, and I'm not just talking about the '90s. No, this is a game that embodies the spirit of gaming's early days, warts and all.

But you might be thinking: it’s not 1995, it’s 2020! And I realize that. The PS1-era was rife with these kinds of bug-ridden fairweather adventures that I had some of the best times of my life with. Having played games since the ’80s, this is jank I can deal with. There’s even a few good old fashioned vague scavenger hunts that are going to elicit myriad walkthroughs for years to come. (Thankfully, fast travel is unlocked quickly enough.)

The time mechanic returns from Deadly Premonition, which means a lot of waiting around, going to sleep at your hotel, or using plenty of cigarette items to advance the clock. Riding around on a skateboard beats the hell out of driving that car in the original, but it’s still trying at the best of times. Running around the sunny (“searing light” as York calls it) Le Carré is equal parts tedium and joy. This is Swery to a tee, but I also get massive Clover vibes with Deadly Premonition 2.

Like the original, this is an open-world joint (Le Carré, which is “just outside of New Orleans,” is the setting), complete with a skateboarding traversal system and minigames dotting the landscape. But while the story conceit takes a certain kind of patience and open-mindedness to enjoy (shots fired), the actual gameplay is much more down-to-earth.

In short, Deadly Premonition 2 on PS5 is an unapologetic celebration of gaming's past, with all its quirks and flaws intact. If you're looking for a nostalgic fix or are simply in the mood for something different, this might just be the game for you. So go ahead, download Deadly Premonition 2 on your PS5 and get ready to embark on a wild ride full of bugs, glitches, and good old-fashioned fun.

Download deadly premonition 2 ps5