Game – Book Review: Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut

For the super fan out there we have the Deadly Premonition: Director’s Cut – The Official Visual Companion.

Consisting of 11 chapters:

• How to use the book
• The preface
• Welcome to Greenvale
• Character Biographies
• Secrets & Collectibles
• Inside Access
• Concept Art
• Cult Game. Superfans
• B-Movies & Records
• Games & Wallpapers
• Credit & Thanks

The first few pages are some pictures of creator Swery as well as a message thanking you for buying the book. It’s a nice touch that he says he is happy that you (the reader) love Greenvale enough to buy the book.

In the Welcome to Greenvale chapter you get an interactive map that has a few icons that can be pushed to play short videos, recordings or still images. Swery then takes you on a tour of Snoqualmie Falls, his inspiration for Greenvale. You then get another interactive map that shows locations found in Greenvale as well as the option to play some of the games music.

Character Biographies offer in-depth analysis of the important game characters such as Emily, Kaysen, York, George, Harry Stewart, Thomas & The Raincoat Killer.

You then get the full Greenvale map and a key that will assist in exploration as well as detailed explanation of were trading cards are located & how to get them.

Inside access is a fascinating section as it shows inside Swery’s notebook as the game was being worked on looking at his notes & pictures. A Swery 65 Hub gives a deeper insight into the man himself before 3 interactive storyboards end that chapter.

Concept Art follows & is self-explanatory with Location designs, character designs & character concepts making up most of it. The last section is concept art based off York & George specifically.

The superfan section showcases some fan art as well as an amazing take on Deadly Premonition Monopoly. A 10 question quiz follows that will stump even the most hard-core of fans.

All of the games music is playable in the next chapter as is 2 different trailers for the game. ‘Now Listen Here, Zach’ is an interactive soundboard that showcases some of the best conversations in the game.

The final section has several free wallpapers for you to enjoy, a word-search, a chance to colour in ‘cute’ Kaysen, 2 picture-slider puzzles, a maze game & a Deadly Premonition diorama.
You can’t fault the amount of content on show throughout & for big fans of the game wanting more it provides that in spades. It’s nice that it is interactive at times & that a lot of care has gone into the style. It feels very much like a book that belongs in the world of Deadly Premonition.