I think this is the best game I have ever played. Often unsatisfying, often infurito make a game ating, consistently interesting. The entire mystery could have been spoiled for me and the narrative would still be enthralling.

The weird combat is mostly mitigated by the fact that it's mind-numbingly easy and fast-- you can practically skip through most of the game's dungeons by just running in a straight line to the next door, especially if you get the wrench early on. Also, I would not have finished this game if not for looking up how to find the radio-- be warned.

In my honest opinion, this is the closest I've ever seen a game come to true literature. Verbose, convoluted, unwieldy. I'll avoid saying much more since I don't want to spoiler-tag this review. Above all else, I'm glad I stuck with it for a bit. It almost lost me early on more than once.

P.S. Arguably, Deadly Premonition spoils a few plot elements from Twin Peaks, so maybe watch that first if you care. The game is heavily inspired by it, maybe even to the point of plagiarism, and it contextualizes many of the game's themes and visuals. Also, Twin Peaks is simply the best show to ever air on American cable, so please check it out anyway.