Something lost in the discussion about Deadly Premonition, imo, is the precise nature of its appeal. The common refrain is that it’s a “cult game” in the same way that there are cult movies, but the analogy doesn’t totally track.

In basically all the experiences I can think of, common factors in cult film are: 1, lowish production values; 2, healthy amount of goofy energy that makes it hard to take seriously, but in a fun way. Occasionally they also have some astute themes, but not consistently.

Deadly Premonition has all of these, certainly, but it’s biggest fans are a big fan for none of these reasons primarily. The thing about it is that it’s so empathetic towards its characters, and is willing to intersect that love with the weird ideas of its premise.

This is a common part of Swery’s games, and tends to be why people who like one more or less like them all. It’s also a big commonality with its major inspiration, Twin Peaks. The goofy weirdness is a lot of fun, but works so well because it contrasts with the emotional insight.

There’s a bigger discussion to be had here prob, because I think this is generally common among games’ “cult classics” (the Lisa games come straight to mind). It feels like games which wrestle with genuinely unusual emotions aren’t given a space in mainstream games discussions.