D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die divided some critics and fans, but similar to other games carrying the mark of SWERY, D4 enjoys a solid cult following and a treatment that not only demands attention, but commands it. SWERY's notorious blend of cinematic eccentricity and unique gameplay certainly leaves an impression, enough so that the Xbox overlords featured the game prominently in the consoles original reveal material.
Despite the initial announcement fanfare, D4 appeared out of nowhere onto the Xbox store, and some fans felt the game suffered under-promotion on the part of Microsoft.
D4 reviewed very well, despite an emphasis on the sometimes controversial Kinect motion controls. D4 is playable entirely using Kinect or controller, tasking you to guide Private Detective David Young through a thrilling supernatural mystery.
We caught up with SWERY of Access Games to discuss D4, future episodes, Kinect, and more in our latest dev Q&A.
Is Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing In Disguise a worthy successor to the cult-hit that was the first game?
Five projects? Get new details on Deadly Premontion 2, The Good Life, a "top secret" mobile game, and more from the one-of-a-kind Swery!
Yeah, me either. Will be interesting to see if it can recapture the weird appeal of the first one.
That's cool about DP2, I enjoyed the original mainly because of the Twin Peaks vibe but damn it was as rough as a badgers arse. More of the same but less janky sounds good.
If you really love Twin Peaks and David Lynch I think you would believe that Deadly Premonition doesn't work unless it has a good amount of jank. Twin Peaks the Return came out in 2016 and it still leaves modern special effects to the curb for a more handmade, practical feel. Down home yet surreal and existential.
I hope DP2 has a heavy helping of Twin Peaks as much or more than the first. So far it doesn't look that way. I'm concerned.
I loved Deadly Premonition! Such an odd wonderful game. Really happy it's getting a sequel!
Suda 51 has been at this for over 25 years and shows no signs of slowing down. Get the latest on No More Heroes III, Suda's horror collaboration with Swery, and more.
Ideally we get something similar in scope/complexity to early Yakuza games -- here's hoping.
Wasn't the first game kind of like that though, just very limited in size and where you could go?
The open world in the first game was kind of an abstract joke or something. It was my least favorite part of the game but looking back, it is kind of funny how purposefully bad it was.
Sounds like Suda, completely insane. I can't say I like the open world move though.
I love NMH but the open world was awful. No people. Nothing to do. Wasn't just a little empty. It was 100% empty.
Good question -- they might need a little too much work to be brought up to modern standards.
Game isn't selling well but that's what happens when you go exclusive with the xbox one. A game like this with little notoriety or big publisher to promote it didn't have much chance of selling gangbusters.