| 1 | %% Image kept on page per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1567638793074396800 |
| 2 | %% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread. |
| 3 | %% |
| 4 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/collectors_box.png]] |
| 5 | [[caption-width-right:350:''Welcome to Greenvale.''\ |
| 6 | [-[[https://www.deviantart.com/semsei/art/Deadly-Premonition-203469423 Artwork]] by [[https://www.deviantart.com/semsei semsei]] used for the Director's Cut.-]]] |
| 7 | |
| 8 | ->''"At times we must purge things from this world, because they should not exist. Even if it means losing someone that you love."'' |
| 9 | |
| 10 | [[JustForFun/DescribeTopicHere I'll let you describe Deadly Premonition here, Zach.]] |
| 11 | |
| 12 | [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17YzW3676KA Greenvale.]] Just your typical [[UncannyVillage unassuming small American town.]] Certainly not the kind of place you'd expect to find the mutilated body of a young girl, stripped and bound to a tree as if crucified, left to be found by two young boys. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | Francis York Morgan ([[CatchPhrase just call him York, that's what everyone calls him]]) is an agent of the FBI with a special interest in murder cases involving young women. He works alone, save for the company of his invisible friend and [[TheConfidant confidant]] Zach (don't ask). Neither of them have seen anything quite like the events unfolding in Greenvale, and all of the horrendously-mutated monsters are a bit of a warning sign too. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | But even the best agent can't deduce anything without information, so York sets to work gathering clues and profiling the eclectic residents of Greenvale, any of whom may be the culprit behind the "Red Seed Murders". But as the bodies pile up, and York comes closer and closer to the truth, he begins to discover that the murders aren't as normal as they seem... |
| 17 | |
| 18 | That's the basic gist of it. What that doesn't cover is the town's [[WorldOfWeirdness incredibly quirky citizens, and the mostly funny, always weird situations York finds himself in]]. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial Definitely does not resemble]] (or infringe upon the creative property of) ''Series/TwinPeaks''. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | ''Deadly Premonition'' is a game by Creator/AccessGames, written and directed by Creator/Swery65, originally for the Platform/{{Xbox 360}} (and Platform/PlayStation3 in Japan, called ''Red Seeds Profile'') released in 2010. An UpdatedRerelease ''Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut'' for the Platform/PlayStation3 (in all regions) was released in 2013, with MultipleEndings and other bonuses. It received a PC port via Steam later in 2013. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | A Platform/NintendoSwitch port was released in 2019 (under the name "''Deadly Premonition: Origins''"), alongside the announcement of a sequel titled ''[[VideoGame/DeadlyPremonition2 Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing In Disguise]]'', which sees Swery returning as writer and director. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | See also ''VideoGame/{{D4}}'', its Xbox One exclusive SpiritualSuccessor. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | ---- |
| 29 | !!This game provides examples of: |
| 30 | |
| 31 | * AbandonedHospital: The hospital in the "red world" is only inhabited by the shadows, but that could be said of the "red world" in general. |
| 32 | * AbusiveParents: |
| 33 | ** [[spoiler:George's mom]], who was mentally unstable and regularly whipped her son. |
| 34 | ** To an extent, [[spoiler:Harry "Stewart", George's father]]. He abandoned his son with the full knowledge that his wife was mentally unstable and did nothing about it for years. |
| 35 | * AffectionateParody: Of the PoliceProcedural genre. |
| 36 | * AlienGeometries: Several areas have this. The earliest, most obvious example is probably [[spoiler: Becky]]'s house- specifically, the bedroom. |
| 37 | * AllThereInTheManual: The developer's blog details a few key points not explained in the game, such as the relation between the Red World and Forest. |
| 38 | * AllWomenLoveShoes: Discussed. When investigating the scene where Anna's body was found, York finds a broken stiletto heel and asks George and Emily if they know anyone in town who wears such shoes. Emily replies that she's sure every girl in town owns at least one pair of stiletto heels, including herself. |
| 39 | * AloneWithThePsycho: Several Red World stages see York cornered by the Raincoat Killer and being forced to hide in a closet or under a desk in order to save himself, taking advantage of the latter's inability to detect him [[PressXToNotDie for so long as he holds his breath]], often followed by a frantic EscapeSequence. [[spoiler:Emily is left in a [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty similar situation]] when she unwittingly goes with Kaysen at the end of the story, which unfortunately ends with her in a much worse condition.]] |
| 40 | * AlphabeticalThemeNaming: With a few exceptions, the major citizens of Greenvale represent an entire alphabet. The case begins with the murder of '''A'''nna, which leads to the arrival of '''Y'''ork and '''Z'''ach, and everyone in between is a suspect. In case you miss it throughout the game, the end credits literally spell it out for you. |
| 41 | ** With the exception of [[spoiler:Thomas]], every character vital to the plot is between [[spoiler:A and H]]. |
| 42 | ** [[spoiler:All of the characters A through G die (except for Fiona), and Thomas is the only person outside that range who dies.]] |
| 43 | ** The Ingram family are clustered together (Isaach and Isaiah, Jim, Keith and Lilly make I-J-K-L). |
| 44 | ** Married couple Nick and Olivia Cormack are next to each other on the alphabet, as are father and son Quint and Richard Dunn. |
| 45 | * AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: In-Universe. The game begins with York providing his interpretation of ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'''s relationship as being both codependent and sadomasochistic in nature. |
| 46 | * AlwaysMurder: York muses that he always seems to get stuck with the very unusual 1% of crimes that involve serial murderers. Then again, he ''does'' work for the FBI, and solving serial murders happens to be part of what they do. |
| 47 | * AmazingFreakingGrace: Plays during the [[spoiler:original Raincoat Killer sequence]]. The game's version even includes some rarely-sung verses. |
| 48 | * AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield: You fight [[spoiler:giant Kaysen]], the final boss, in one. |
| 49 | * AmbiguouslyGay: Thomas, who has rather effeminate movements and is a surprisingly great chef. [[spoiler:This is either confirmed later on, or he's actually a trans woman.]] |
| 50 | * AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: While the [[http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kw03i8aShm1qzqgkn.jpg Japanese version]] gives you an honest idea of what to expect with a clear shot of York and a preview of the Profiling mechanic, [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c5/Deadly_Premonition_cover_art.jpg the American boxart]] is more suggestive of a DarkerAndEdgier game. Considering how much York adores old B-movies, this is unintentionally fitting. |
| 51 | * AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: One chapter has you playing as [[spoiler:Emily]], and another as [[spoiler:the original Raincoat Killer in the fifties]]. Later, the final boss fight has you playing as [[spoiler:Zach]]. |
| 52 | * AndTheAdventureContinues: [[spoiler:At the end of the Director's Cut, York and Zach seem to be headed out to investigate a mysterious occurrence in New Orleans.]] |
| 53 | * AndYourRewardIsClothes: Various sidequests have suits as rewards. Some of them do something, like extend your life bar, some don't. |
| 54 | ** The Directors Cut releases several new suits for York, and even some for Emily. |
| 55 | * AntiFrustrationFeatures: The explosive barrels cannot be set off by hitting them with a melee weapon. |
| 56 | * AnyoneCanDie: ''Anyone.'' It's scripted as to who dies when and where, but there's a reason you can backtrack to earlier chapters in this game; you wouldn't be able to get all the sidequests otherwise. In fact, it's possible to get all the sidequests done on one playthrough provided that you put off the story as long as possible. |
| 57 | * ArcWords: "At times we must purge things from this world because they should not exist, even if it means losing someone that you love." Is the very first line of the game, and gets repeated by multiple characters throughout the story. |
| 58 | * ArmiesAreEvil: [[spoiler:Harry reveals that the US Army gassed the entirety of Greenvale back in the fifties, inciting its citizens to kill each other. The gas then seeped into the soil, and is released whenever it rains in the town]]. |
| 59 | * AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: All the victims of the New Raincoat Killer, plus [[spoiler:Thomas (pressured/abused into becoming his accomplice) and Emily (killed by Kaysen) become Goddesses of the Forest. York ascends similarly, as does Zach in the Director's Cut]]. |
| 60 | * TheAtoner: [[spoiler:Mr. Stewart]] became this after he failed to [[spoiler:protect his son George from his abusive wife, turning George into a twisted powermonger]]. |
| 61 | * AttackItsWeakPoint: [[spoiler:George can only be hurt by attacking the scars on his back or his face; Kaysen's third phase can only be hurt by attacking the doll of himself]]. |
| 62 | * AudienceSurrogate: As mentioned in FridgeBrilliance, Zach is a stand-in for the player. |
| 63 | * BattleInTheRain: In the fight against [[spoiler:George]]. |
| 64 | ** The final boss fight also, though not as noticeable. |
| 65 | %%ZCE* BeardOfSorrow: Grow your own, or shave it off! |
| 66 | * BelatedHappyEnding: In the original release, only [[spoiler: Francis York]] got a truly happy ending; [[spoiler: Francis Zach]]'s fate was left hanging, and was much more open-ended, ambiguous, and melancholy. In the [[UpdatedRerelease Director's Cut]], however, he gets an unambiguously happy ending: [[spoiler: It reveals that he gets married and has a family, eventually having an adorable granddaughter named Louise whom he has a close relationship with. York was [[AlwaysWithYou Always With Him]] and watched over him his whole life, even when they couldn't speak, and after living a long and fulfilling life, he [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascends to the Woods of the Goddesses]] to [[DiedHappilyEverAfter finally be reunited with his two best friends]]... and to once again [[AndTheAdventureContinues join York in investigating Red World-related mysteries,]] this time presumably as a divine protector just like the Goddesses]]. |
| 67 | * BigBad: [[spoiler: George Woodman, the man responsible for Greenvale's murders. While Kaysen may be the bigger, badder threat in the story, he has no direct involvement in the murders]]. |
| 68 | * BigEater: York, probably due to whatever ridiculous metabolism causes him to be so hungry after a short nap. |
| 69 | * BishonenLine: Sort of. The final boss goes through a couple of grotesque transformations only to turn into a larger, creepier version of his normal self at the end. |
| 70 | * BittersweetEnding: Mainly in the original. The case is finally resolved, but several characters are still dead [[spoiler:including Emily and York]]. On the other hand, [[spoiler:Zach is finally freed from the Red Room]]. |
| 71 | ** [[spoiler:More like AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence for York. It's still bittersweet, however.]] |
| 72 | * BlandNameProduct: The Milk Barn's shelves are stocked with such favorites as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheerios Choorios]] cereal, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nescafe Wescafe]] coffee, and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crest_%28toothpaste%29 Cress]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colgate_%28toothpaste%29 Colgala]] toothpaste. Inexplicably averted in the case of Maxwell House coffee and Trix cereal, however. |
| 73 | ** Even extends to the Legendary Guitar Grecotch, which is a rip of the real guitar brand [[http://falajow.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/gretsch_g7593_white_falcon.jpg Gretsch]]. |
| 74 | * BlindIdiotTranslation: Just one instance, but a very glaring one. Examining a certain painting will have York note that it has a ''blue'' apple on it, while the player can clearly see it is ''green'' on the graphics, and as the color is relevant to a puzzle, it is very obvious it is supposed to be green. This mistake most likely comes from that Japanese uses the same word (ao) to mean both blue ''and'' green, with the specific color deduced from the context (obviously no one would claim the grass is blue and the sky is green). |
| 75 | * {{Blipvert}}: Each and every profiling sequence. |
| 76 | * BodyHorror: [[spoiler:The red trees growing out of people. It isn't just the trees that grow out of the victims, it's also the creepy visual of seeing their corpses immediately shrivel up into a near-rotten state]]. |
| 77 | * {{Bookends}}: George introduces himself to York at the beginning of the game with the words "Welcome to Greenvale". [[spoiler: In George's final scene late in the game, York confronts him after exposing him as the killer and he greets York with the words [[LargeHam "WELCOME TO GREENVALE! AGENT FRANCIS YORK MORGAN!"]] ]] |
| 78 | * BoomHeadshot: "Bullseye! Great. Great. Amazing! Headshot." Gives you extra Agent Honor after a kill. |
| 79 | * BootstrappedTheme: The actual theme tune of the game? "The Woods and the Goddess," the title screen music. The song everyone actually ''associates'' with the game? "Life is Beautiful," AKA "The Whistling and Kazoos Song." For the UpdatedRerelease, Rising Star Games used "Life is Beautiful" for some of the promo material outright. |
| 80 | * BossRush: The "Psychic Spot C" sidequest. |
| 81 | * BreakableWeapons: Only melee weapons, though this is balanced by them being much more powerful than the guns. You can earn unbreakable versions of melee weapons through side-quests though. |
| 82 | * BreakThemByTalking: [[spoiler:George]] gives a speech to York on power before his boss fight. |
| 83 | * BunnyEarsLawyer: Agent York is clearly more than a little unhinged, from the way he's always talking to the unseen Zach, the way he fixates on memorizing the directors and years of release for many movies, to the bizarre way he reacts to certain phenomena such as cracking inappropriate jokes during a grisly autopsy. However, he's also a surprisingly competent detective and his ability to fixate upon minute details to create scenarios in his mind is impressive. |
| 84 | * BuryYourGays: Played straight with the only confirmed gay person in town: [[spoiler: Thomas. Who goes insane first]]. Of course, this game has a huge death toll for major characters, so it isn't that obvious. There is a reason that multiple people in the second game refer to it as a mountain of corpses. |
| 85 | * ButForMeItWasTuesday: Played with. [[spoiler: Kaysen seems like he forgot who George was, before remembering that he was a part of his plans and insulting how simplistic it was to get him to join his cause, though it would make sense that Kaysen would forget who George is, considering [[ForTheEvulz his modus operandi]].]] |
| 86 | * {{Camp}}: Filled with it, and lampshaded almost every time. |
| 87 | * CanineCompanion: Willie, Kaysen's pet. [[spoiler: And, according to [[http://shshatteredmemories.com/greenvale/destructoid-interview-transcript#more-2412 Word of God]], the [[TheDogWasTheMastermind interpretor for the force that was giving Kaysen orders.]]]] |
| 88 | * CatchPhrase: Aside from York's trademark introduction, he also has "Zach, they're here" whenever he enters the Other World. |
| 89 | * TheChanteuse: Carol. |
| 90 | * CerebusSyndrome: Gruesome deaths aside, the game is still light hearted and funny in the non-horror bits. That is until [[spoiler: the reveal that Forrest Kaysen's the one behind all of this]]. After that, the tone pulls a 180 into drama all the way to the end credits. The horror bits stay horrific though. |
| 91 | * CityMouse: York's got a bit of a city mouse thing going on at the start of the game, acting like traveling to the countryside equals going among cavemen. He's wrong though, it turns out they're as far as the Middle Ages! |
| 92 | * ClimaxBoss: [[spoiler:The battle against George, the axe-wielding murderer that's been haunting you since the beginning]]. |
| 93 | * ClockTower: [[spoiler:Emily]] fights [[spoiler:Thomas]] in one. |
| 94 | * {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: |
| 95 | ** York, as you will realize when he starts casually informing Zach of the omens he finds in his coffee. Pretty much reaches BunnyEarsLawyer-status. |
| 96 | ** There are several townspeople with similar quirks. [[CrazyCatLady Sigourney]] comes to mind. |
| 97 | * CompanionCube: Sigourney's pot. It mustn't get cold. |
| 98 | * CoolCar: York's car, before he totals it in the prologue. [[spoiler:And after it gets fixed up]]. |
| 99 | * CoversAlwaysLie: The American Xbox 360 cover art makes out the game to be a complete horror gore-fest when it's instead part detective work, part action survival horror, the cover art for the [=PS3=] directors cut version of the game is more accurate. |
| 100 | * CreatorCameo: Sort of. A bar is named after him, the "SWERY '65". [[spoiler:He also appears in a trading card]]. |
| 101 | * CreepyCrossdresser: [[spoiler:Thomas.]] Partially subverted in that [[spoiler:Thomas]] is no more a villain than any of the other women in A-D, and is explicitly classed with them at several points in the story. |
| 102 | * CreepyTwins: Isaach and Isaiah. |
| 103 | * CreepyJazzMusic: Whether it's [[SoundtrackDissonance thematically appropriate]] or not [[BrokenBase is up for debate.]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvgCDk_tBiM Have a listen.]] |
| 104 | * CruelAndUnusualDeath: The murder that brought York here. |
| 105 | * CutsceneIncompetence: Both York and the Raincoat Killer, who seem to have more fun playing with each other than actually wanting to take each other out. |
| 106 | * DarkWorld: The Red World sections. Whether or not they take place in "reality" or are some sort of illusion or hallucination is left murky for quite a while. |
| 107 | * DepravedHomosexual: [[spoiler:Thomas]] is a ''tad'' obsessed with [[spoiler:George]]. Really, his [[spoiler:"G" tattoo]] should have been a big giveaway. |
| 108 | ** Don't make fun of [[spoiler:[[VisualPun his G-Spot]]]]. |
| 109 | * DecoyProtagonist: [[spoiler: York. Well for 90% of the game that is. Afterwards Zach is a permanent PlayerCharacter]]. |
| 110 | * DefiledForever: [[spoiler: A played straight undercurrent of one of the cutscenes with Emily preempting the final fight with Kaysen. Present mostly in ambiguous dialogue and in Emily's condition (being mostly undressed and having a Red Tree sapling inside her abdomen). Subverted in that Zach still considers her beautiful, that she manages to pull the tree out herself, and that she lives on happily with York in the afterlife]]. |
| 111 | * DetectiveDrama: A ''very'' closed one. |
| 112 | * DevelopersForesight: Certain events will only occur at certain times of day. For instance, the famous "sinner's sandwich" scene will only occur if you go to the event around lunch time. Otherwise, Harry Stewart won't be there. After all, who would get lunch at 3AM for instance? |
| 113 | * DidNotGetTheGirl: Somewhat--[[spoiler:York does, but the player-character does not.]] |
| 114 | * DieChairDie: The only fences you can get past are the ones that can be broken down by smashing. Ditto for the crates. You often get a little reward money for this, too. |
| 115 | * DisappearedDad: York, Emily and George all lost theirs one way or another at young ages. [[spoiler:Two of those have highly sinister reasons.]] |
| 116 | * DiscOneNuke: It's possible to obtain an infinite-ammo SMG early on from a sidequest, making combat go by a lot faster. |
| 117 | ** Even earlier than this, the infinite durability wrench can be obtained from a sidequest, which is far better than the initial pistol. |
| 118 | ** Just as early as the wrench is the [[ImprovisedWeapon Legendary Guitar Grecotch]]. All you need to do is play the Lilly sidequest, complete the level, exit the game, replay the second chapter, rinse and repeat, and there you go. Now hard mode is a total cakewalk until the last level, which still isn't too hard. |
| 119 | * DivingSave: York employs this to rescue [[spoiler:Diane]] who's hanging from the ceiling of the Muses Gallery. [[spoiler:And then George renders said rescue useless]]. |
| 120 | * TheDogWasTheMastermind: [[spoiler:Forrest Kaysen, the giddy tree salesman, is actually some sort of otherworldy demonic entity that's been literally planting seeds of chaos through Greenvale. Also, this is done literally with Kaysen's dog, who has been relaying orders to his "owner" from the Red World, a kind of alternate, hellish dimension. ''Seriously.'']] |
| 121 | * DoingInTheWizard: The existence of the Shadows, the Raincoat Killer and the Red World that manifests when it rains have all the bells and whistles of a ''Silent Hill''-esq supernatural explanation, but Harry Stewart reveals to Frank that [[spoiler:these are hallucinations brought on by an experimental gas the government tested on the town years ago. The Raincoat Killer was just one of many citizens who were driven homicidally insane from the incident, and what remains of the gas is dispersed into the air from the soil whenever it rains. Harry Stewart wears his gas-mask to protect himself from its effects, and it's implied that everyone else in town also suffer from similar hallucinations but are forbidden from sharing them due to a government gag order, hence why everyone in town acts eccentrically]]. |
| 122 | * DoubleEntendre: "Rosy Lips" Gina. Think about it. Naturally, almost everything that comes out of her mouth is this as well. |
| 123 | * DrivenToMadness: |
| 124 | ** Poor, poor [[spoiler:Thomas. Witnessing Becky's and Diane's deaths]] was just too much for him. |
| 125 | ** [[spoiler:The townsfolk of Greenvale]] that got into contact with the purple fog [[spoiler:released by Kaysen and the military]]. |
| 126 | * DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Zach's father puts his gun to his head after failing to [[MercyKill shoot]] his wife before the sapling planted in her sprouts.]] |
| 127 | ** [[spoiler:The player]] is given the option of direct suicide in the end. |
| 128 | * DrivesLikeCrazy: Oh dear God, York. His first scene in the real world has him talking on his cellphone, looking at files on his computer and trying to light a cigarette while speeding down a rainy road in the middle of the night. Surprisingly, it's only when [[spoiler:the raincoat killer]] darts in front of him that he actually crashes. |
| 129 | * DropDeadGorgeous: Anna. Lampshaded by people remarking on how beautiful she looked, and possibly subverted by Isaach and Isaiah [[CreepyTwins practically worshiping her in death]]. |
| 130 | ** [[spoiler:Emily]] gets this as well. |
| 131 | * EccentricTownsfolk: Not that the outsider isn't just as eccentric. |
| 132 | * EldritchAbomination: [[spoiler: Forrest Kaysen after Emily dies]]. |
| 133 | * EldritchLocation: The Red World. It's radically different than reality. |
| 134 | * EmergencyWeapon: The pistol York starts out with that cannot ever be dropped. |
| 135 | * EveryoneIsASuspect: York says this to Emily and George in front of the Lumbermill, stating that he considers everyone a potential suspect, until he can honestly clear someone. |
| 136 | * EvidenceScavengerHunt: As part of the profiling game mechanic. |
| 137 | * {{Expy}}: York bears more than a passing resemblance to [[Series/TwinPeaks Agent Dale Cooper]], quirky mannerisms and all. |
| 138 | ** Several of the other townsfolk have passing resemblance to characters from Twin Peaks. Thomas is Andrew the Sheriff's deputy. Quint is Bobby with elements of James. Becky is Donna. |
| 139 | ** Forrest Kaysen is directly imported from a previous Swery game, ''Spy Fiction.'' There, though, he was a scientist based off of Dennis Nedry in ''Film/JurassicPark.'' |
| 140 | * EyeScream: The American box art depicts such a picture. |
| 141 | * TheFaceless: York's father's face is always shrouded in shadow from the nose up, despite the rest of the room being adequately lit. |
| 142 | * FailedASpotCheck: You can visit [[spoiler: the back of the graveyard]] all you like, but York somehow never notices that there are red seeds strewn all about the place until the plot tells him to go there. |
| 143 | * FanDisservice: [[spoiler: The last time you see Emily alive she's wearing nothing but an open shirt and panties...and has a tree growing out of a gaping hole in her stomach.]] |
| 144 | * FastForwardMechanic: York can smoke cigarettes to make time pass more quickly. Also, any bed will allow him to sleep for three, six, nine, or twelve hours at a time. The amount of time you let pass will take its toll on your hunger, though. |
| 145 | * FatBastard: [[spoiler:Forrest Kaysen.]] |
| 146 | * FetishRetardant: In-universe - Gina's "sexy dance" while washing York's car leaves a bad taste in his mouth. |
| 147 | * FetusTerrible: Despite not being children, [[spoiler:Kaysen's red trees]] fit the bill. |
| 148 | * FishingMinigame: Available at various locations throughout town once York has purchased a fishing rod. Interestingly, fish only make up a part of what you can catch, as you can also fish up random items such as candy, ammo, [[FishingForSole useless junk]], and some trading cards which can only be obtained by fishing in specific locations. |
| 149 | * FogOfDoom: The purple fog coming from the red trees causes anyone who is exposed to it long enough to be driven insane. |
| 150 | * FormerTeenRebel: Emily is surprised to learn that York was a bit of a punk rocker in his youth. |
| 151 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: Being based on ''Twin Peaks'', this game is chock full of it. |
| 152 | ** The foreshadowing begins in the very first chapter, in the very first room, where you have to examine a number of items to proceed. All of them are appear irrelevant... until you begin the final boss fight and recall that one was [[spoiler:a doll of a fat man]]. The [[spoiler:final boss, which is a horrific version of Forrest Kaysen (the man represented by the doll), actually has the doll in his hands, and it's his weakpoint.]] |
| 153 | ** One of the very first scenes in the game hints that something is wrong about [[spoiler: George]] through the music. Once [[spoiler: George is introduced and his name is shown, the music turns dark and somber. He's the killer. Similarly, during the very same scene, soothing music plays while Emily is being introduced. Considering George seems like a bit of a jerk and Emily seems nice, it's not too odd. However shortly after, the dark and somber music is reused during Thomas' whimsical introduction and doesn't fit the scene... except for the fact he is also involved in the murders and working with George.]] |
| 154 | *** Speaking of George, [[spoiler: there's only one side quest available for him, and he is the only character who doesn't invite York inside their house. Later, you enter George's house and it's full of evidence pointing out that he's the killer]]. |
| 155 | ** York's very first profiling sequence rapidly flashes forward throughout the entire game and contains some images that are quite significant and spoilertastic when you know to look out for them, including [[spoiler:shots of both Becky and Diane's deaths, Zach's dead mother with the sprout growing out of her belly, and the scene where Emily is united with the other victims]]. |
| 156 | ** Perhaps the most damning piece of foreshadowing, that is probably the most easily overlooked, is the [[spoiler: glimpse of several red raincoats you can find in the police station storage room]]. |
| 157 | ** Also, if you look closely, you'll notice that [[spoiler:George's scar gradually becomes more open and featured with each murder]]. The game even calls attention to this [[spoiler:on your second trip to the museum - York notes that "something's different" about George, but he brushes it off as having a little alcohol]]. |
| 158 | ** [[spoiler: "The excessive loss of blood from her internal organs is what actually killed her", as the camera pans onto a squirming Emily...]] |
| 159 | ** [[spoiler: When York was talking about the Sinner's Sandwich, he said that Mr. Stewart was atoning for his past sins.]] |
| 160 | ** During one scene, York has dinner with Thomas, George and Emily. He says something that seems unimportant during a first playthrough but it's clear foreshadowing once examined closer after repeated playthroughs. York mentions that [[spoiler:the killer is probably having dinner right now as well. And he is. Because the killer is George. Thomas is also involved in the murders, too]]. |
| 161 | ** Gameplay mechanics are responsible for this one. It's possible to, through the in-game map, see where all the {{Non Player Character}}s are at any given moment. At some points during the story the player can see that [[spoiler: George is in the Galaxy of Terror, but is nowhere to be seen once you enter, meaning he's in the bar's secret room, which is opened up later in the game and contains some evidence involving George with the murders.]] Also, [[spoiler:after visiting the Lumber Mill, George claims he is tired and is going home, but he can be spotted wandering around the Greenvale forest at night instead.]] |
| 162 | ** Blatant foreshadowing, but there is something in Harry's Mansion. [[spoiler:A large image depicting 'The Goddesses of the Forest' and observing it does indicate they look familiar. They are Anna, Becky, Carol, Diane and Emily, the last who is also wearing a black dress and not a red one. And one other, who looks remarkably like Thomas on second glance.]] It's flat out talked about when entering Harry's Mansion in Chapter 18, but visible before this moment. |
| 163 | ** One of the murder victims, [[spoiler:Becky, slowly points her hand in George's direction just before she throws up the safe key and dies. This also explains why George rushes to try to "save her"; he was finishing the job.]] |
| 164 | ** [[spoiler: George]] has a red tree in his front yard. Once you realize it is there, it sticks out like a sore thumb. His license plate is also a giveaway, and during one scene the camera actually focuses on it for a second. [[spoiler: His house is also the only one in Greenvale you can't peek into. The Sheriff Station also has a red tree. George is the sheriff.]] |
| 165 | *** Similarly (and somewhat bizarrely), just before the town meeting starts York mentions only being on stage once in elementary school, in the "tough role" of [[PlayingATree a bright red tree]]. |
| 166 | ** The murder victim names [[spoiler:start the alphabet]]. Anna, [[spoiler:Becky, Carol, Diane and finally Emily]]. It would not be important if [[spoiler:there was only one character per letter, except for "I" which has two characters (and they are identical twins Isaac and Isaaiah). Also, all of these characters are female. The game makes a big deal about the victims being all female. Who comes right after Emily? Forrest, who is the first male character and also heavily involved with the current situation.]] |
| 167 | ** [[spoiler:Right from the start, we are told the initials of the one behind it all: "F.K... in the coffee!"]]. This even makes the non-Japanese title forwarding as it is literally a deadly premonition. |
| 168 | ** Just after meeting Diane, York tells Zach that she will likely lead him to the killer. [[spoiler:He then looks up and sees Kaysen in her office.]] |
| 169 | ** During one of the "coffee fortune" scenes, York tells Zach that a colleague of his once had his hair turn completely white from stress. [[spoiler:The colleague is in fact Zach himself.]] |
| 170 | ** While incredibly funny at first, George's logic about going to Velvet Falls to find [[spoiler:lost files that are important to the case]], saying that if they don't find them, they'll become more powerful, becomes more meaningful near the endgame. [[spoiler: George has a very big obsession with "power", due to his mother [[FreudianExcuse beating him with branches when he was younger]].]] |
| 171 | ** [[invoked]] This little exchange after [[spoiler:the death of Diane]] becomes very much HarsherInHindsight: |
| 172 | ---> [[spoiler:'''George:''' It's almost as if [Becky and Diane] died because of me...]]\ |
| 173 | [[spoiler:'''York:''' You're out of your mind.]] |
| 174 | ** York is told that his scar is the talk of the town. [[spoiler: While York's scar is nothing to write home about, Zach's is quite impressive.]] |
| 175 | ** [[spoiler:There's a jolly fat man amongst the soldiers in Harry's flashback story. His mask doesn't cover enough of his face if you look carefully, and there's a potted sapling on a crate nearby. This is before he's properly revealed during the original Raincoat Killer sequence.]] |
| 176 | ** York's response to Emily meeting him [[SheCleansUpNicely all dolled-up]] is to say she's "already a goddess of the forest." [[spoiler:No, York, but she will be by the end of the game.]] |
| 177 | ** In the Other World version of Harry's mansion, [[spoiler:Brian Xander Morgan gives his speech about having to kill someone you love... while pointing his gun at a hallucinated Emily]]. |
| 178 | ** During Anna's autopsy, [[spoiler:There's a surprisingly long POV shot of George staring at Anna's body.]] |
| 179 | ** When York is examining Anna's body he says: [[spoiler:"George, the perpetrator is just like you." It is George.]] |
| 180 | ** Very noticeable on the second playthrough, impossible to notice in the first go: When you first meet George and Emily, George says that 'you don't have to be a TREE WORSHIPPER' to like Greenvale. |
| 181 | ** During Anna's autopsy, Ushah theorizes that the killer has a deep traumatized past concerning women, can't converse with them normally, and is either lonely or a hardcore sadist. Though York tells Ushah to leave the criminal profiling out of his analysis, [[spoiler:these all end up being accurate descriptions of the killer: George (horrifically beaten by his mother, has nothing but dysfunctional relationships with the women (and woman-like man) in his life, harbors an unrequited crush on Emily, and is the leader of a depraved sex cult implied to be sadomasochistic in nature)]]. |
| 182 | ** The details on Thomas's trading card include the line "Hates dogs." [[spoiler:When Emily fights him in the clock tower, Willie's intervention causes his death.]] |
| 183 | ** York is introduced sharing his theory that WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry are actually living in a codependent, sadomasochistic relationship. [[spoiler: When he meets Thomas (which is the typical unshortened version of "Tom", for good measure), he describes his contrast with George as "almost a good setup for a cartoon".]] |
| 184 | * ForTheEvulz: [[spoiler:Kaysen was already immortal and had no real need for any of the murders, and it is very clear that he torments the citizens of Greenvale and plants the red trees in women all over the United States purely for his own amusement]]. He's just that much of an utter bastard. |
| 185 | * FramingDevice: The UpdatedRerelease adds one in the form of a narrator, explaining the story to someone else. WordOfGod is that this was chosen in order to help make [[MindScrew the ending]] [[MindScrewdriver make more sense]]. |
| 186 | * FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:George, George, George, George, George, George, and George]]. |
| 187 | * FullNameBasis: Michael Tillotson seems to insist on referring to York as "Mr. Francis York Morgan". [[spoiler:Once York is gone, he calls him "Francis Zach Morgan"]]. |
| 188 | * GameBreakingBug: |
| 189 | ** Replaying chapters before completing the game can cause important keys to disappear from your inventory, making it impossible to progress past certain points (such as in chapter 9 and chapter 23), as there's no way to get the keys again without restarting the game. |
| 190 | ** On some [=PCs=] the Director's Cut has a bug which limits how far up and down you can aim your gun. Frustratingly, this isn't really a problem until the ''very end of the game'' where you won't be able to aim down far enough to hit [[spoiler:Kaysen's doll in his breast pocket while standing on his shoulder]]. |
| 191 | * GameplayAndStoryIntegration: When playing as [[spoiler:Emily]] trying to view the profiling sequences will be full of static. Only York can do that. |
| 192 | * GardenOfEvil: The [[DarkWorld 'red world']] that York occasionally visits is covered in strange red vines. [[spoiler:In some cases, Greenvale itself is a GardenOfEvil in the making, thanks to the red seeds scattered about that can drive the entire town insane]]. |
| 193 | * GenreBusting: One of the reasons this game isn't JustForFun/TropeOverdosed despite its popularity is the fact that it's so difficult to completely classify in a few words. |
| 194 | * GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: Those giant dobermans who rise from the ground whenever York is exploring the town late at night. It's implied [[spoiler:Willie]] might be somehow responsible for their manifestation, but nothing is made clear. |
| 195 | * GlasgowGrin: The enemies in the nightmare world sport them. |
| 196 | * GlowingEyesOfDoom[=/=]RedEyesTakeWarning: The Raincoat Killer. |
| 197 | * GodivaHair: On Anna's corpse. From what few flashbacks we see, she wore her hair that way normally even when she did have clothes. |
| 198 | * GoingThroughTheMotions: |
| 199 | ** George's compulsion for throwing his hands out in exasperation can seem threatening after a while. |
| 200 | ** Emily's ability to pose with her hands on her hips even while sitting down is almost frightening. |
| 201 | ** York sticks his finger up in the air and taps his tie so often that if a drinking game were to be based around them you'd have to make sure to use half-shots. |
| 202 | ** When you talk to some people, they'll shove whatever they were holding into their back pocket, even if it's a large object like a broom or a jug. After talking to you, they'll proceed to remove it from their pocket and continue on with their business. |
| 203 | * GolfClubbing: Golf clubs serve as reliable weapons throughout the game. |
| 204 | * GoodScarsEvilScars: |
| 205 | ** York has a small scratch under his eye, and an older scar going through his left eyebrow and up his head (mostly all healed now). [[spoiler:Zach has a much more heroic (and obvious) one down through his eye]]. |
| 206 | ** [[spoiler:George's back]] is riddled with them, which obscures the ONE [[spoiler:tree-shaped back-scar]] York is looking for. [[spoiler:George's facial scar]] also slowly becomes more pronounced with each murder, something most people don't realize until way after the game is over. |
| 207 | * {{Gorn}}: The town's deceptively friendly atmosphere makes it ''really'' shocking when someone dies in such a violent manner. |
| 208 | * GovernmentConspiracy: The US military [[spoiler:deliberately released the purple fog onto the populace of Greenvale]] for an unrevealed reason and quickly covered it up, wiping it clean off of any official records. |
| 209 | * GreaterScopeVillain: |
| 210 | ** [[spoiler:Forrest Kaysen. He technically has no direct involvement in Greenvale's murders, but he enabled it through George, and by the time you confront him, the whole conflict has grown from a small countryside killing spree to an evil conspiracy of interdimensional scope.]] |
| 211 | ** [[spoiler:There's also the Red Tree, the physical origin of the red seeds. Forrest is supposedly one of its emissaries, which implies it's a sentient being.]] |
| 212 | ** [[spoiler:Likewise, Kaysen's dog, Willie, is actually Kaysen's handler, and the messenger between Kaysen and the Red Tree]]. |
| 213 | * GuideDangIt: If you start "A Snack for Willie" (which can be done without even intending to) without all seven bones, you only get a regular item, as opposed to [[spoiler:an infinite-ammo .357 magnum]]. The game gives you absolutely no reason to suspect this to be the case before or after the fact, making it easy for this item to be {{Permanently Missable|Content}}. You get only one save file per game and reverting to an earlier chapter doesn't help, so it's permanent as soon as you save unless you restart completely. |
| 214 | * GunsAreWorthless: Zig-zagged. Guns are very useful throughout the game, but a melee weapon will do much more damage than a pistol or machine gun. |
| 215 | * HandsFreeHandlamp: York has a handheld tactical light, as can be seen in the morgue when he's examining Anna Graham's corpse. During gameplay, however, the beam just projects out of his chest with no source. |
| 216 | * HatePlague: Caused by the [[spoiler:purple gas, which was distilled from the red seeds themselves]]. |
| 217 | * {{Hellhound}}: Those '''giant''' rottweilers that appear if you stay out too late. [[spoiler:Willie is also this by Word Of God, being Kaysen's "handler".]] |
| 218 | * HereWeGoAgain: At the end of [[spoiler:the remake; York asks Zach if he wants to go solve mysteries with him again]]. |
| 219 | * HopeSpot: |
| 220 | ** When [[spoiler:Becky]] is found in her house all strung up. She's alive, but soon dies due to the trap being set off. |
| 221 | ** When York dives off the balcony to save [[spoiler:Diane]]. She's saved from being impaled on a pointy sculpture. Five minutes later, [[spoiler:that same sculpture falls on top of her]]. |
| 222 | * HumanoidAbomination: Judging by his dialogue and mutations, either [[spoiler:Forrest Kaysen]] was never human to begin with and just spreads violence and chaos ForTheEvulz, or he's been alive for a very, very long time, to the point where he no longer sees himself as human and just spreads violence and chaos ForTheEvulz. |
| 223 | ** If you attempt to kill him at the wrong time [[spoiler: he will mention that he was "always more than human", and is "A messenger from the Red World"]]. |
| 224 | * HypercompetentSidekick: Harry isn't stupid by any means, but damn, Michael can do everything! He also frequently displays an enormous amount of knowledge about Greenvale's past and current events, even when Harry isn't feeding him information. This makes a lot more sense, though, after he reveals that [[spoiler: he's Harry's adopted son]] during his sidequest. |
| 225 | * IdiotBall: York near the very end, completely failing to notice the most obvious hints in the game [[spoiler:that point to Kaysen's guilt]] as well as the [[spoiler:"peace sign"]] being a [[spoiler:tree]]. Possibly justified by the fact that [[spoiler:Zach's mental block concerning Kaysen]] probably doesn't allow for clear thinking when he's involved. |
| 226 | ** The game also forces you to hold it if you visit the graveyard before the plot leads you there. [[spoiler: York simply refuses to comment on the large amount of red seeds and red trees you can find there, mostly because investigating this properly would make the case a lot shorter.]] |
| 227 | * IHaveYouNowMyPretty: [[spoiler:Kaysen with Emily.]] [[{{Squick}} He actually goes all the way.]] |
| 228 | * ImmortalitySeeker: [[spoiler:George]] committed the murders hoping to become immortal. |
| 229 | * ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler:Thomas]]'s gruesome death scene. In the head, even! |
| 230 | ** [[spoiler:Diane]] nearly suffers this before being saved by York. [[spoiler: Then it happens anyway]]. |
| 231 | * {{Improbable Weapon|User}}: Some of the melee weapons York can wield include a wrench, a weed whacker, and Keith's guitar. |
| 232 | * InfiniteFlashlight: [[HandsFreeHandlamp Without the flashlight, even!]] |
| 233 | * InnocentInaccurate: The Ingram twins, not quite grasping the concept of death, believe that Anna has become a goddess of the woods. [[spoiler:Subverted in that the victims have in fact become "goddesses of the forest", as the twins can see them in the forest (along with York) during the epilogue]]. |
| 234 | * InsistentTerminology: |
| 235 | ** The men of the Morgan family seem to identify mainly by their middle name, since not only is York rarely called Francis, his father Brian Xander Morgan is mostly known as Xander (and even calls his son by his middle name). |
| 236 | ** The Director's Cut implies that [[spoiler:every member of the Morgan family carries on this tradition, as the full name of Zach's granddaughter is revealed to be Michelle Louise Morgan, but her mother simply calls her Louise.]] |
| 237 | * InsufferableGenius: York isn't shy about letting rural cops George and Emily know he's a much better detective than them. He lightens up on it a little later on though. |
| 238 | * InsurmountableWaistHeightFence: Played straighter than straight. You can't stray off of clearly marked paths in forest areas, even with a car. For that matter a lot of chain-link fences are surprisingly sturdy and won't budge even if you slam your car into them. And let's not forget the part where you have to fight your way through a building in order to get to the other side of ''some couches''. |
| 239 | * InterestingSituationDuel: [[spoiler: Emily gunfights Thomas in the town bell-tower, whilst he uses a revolver. Things stop sounding normal from there as he's wearing a dress, on a clock wheel, and using a hook as his second means of harming Emily]]. |
| 240 | * InterfaceSpoiler: Though optional, the descriptions for some of the [[GottaCatchEmAll trading cards]] can contain important plot details which have not yet been revealed by the earliest time in which they can be acquired. This can be seen with [[spoiler:Becky's]] card, which can be obtained as early as Chapter 2 (the point at which the game world first opens up), but mentions that [[spoiler:she was "Miss Stiletto Heels", the third party who showed up to the scene where Anna's body was found and altered it before it was reported to the police]], something that isn't properly revealed until the end of Chapter 10. Much more egregious are [[spoiler:Carol and Diane's]] cards, which outright state that [[spoiler:they're the third and fourth murder victims]], even though they're obtained from sidequests that can only be completed during chapters where [[spoiler:they are still alive.]] |
| 241 | * InUniverseGameClock: Time progresses at nearly a real-time rate (25 seconds to every minute). It fast-forwards if you smoke cigarettes or sleep, though doing so will cause your hunger meter to decrease greatly. |
| 242 | * JackTheRipoff: Subverted. [[spoiler:The new Raincoat Killer]] is nothing like [[spoiler:the original Raincoat Killer]], despite aping his appearance. The most ironic part of all this is that [[spoiler:they're unknowingly related by blood too]]. |
| 243 | * KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Willie gets away scot-free despite being Kaysen's link to the Red Tree]]. |
| 244 | * LargeHam: [[spoiler:George and Kaysen]], preceding their boss fights. |
| 245 | * LeaningOnTheFourthWall: |
| 246 | ** York mentions that his investigation technique involves dividing people into three categories: investigators, victims and suspects. Everyone else is just "vegetables known as 'other people'". This matches neatly the game's division between important individuals and background characters you can't interact with. Until you learn a person's name, they are all labeled simply as "suspect". |
| 247 | ** The way York talks to Zach often comes across like Zach is the player themselves. [[spoiler:In a sense, he is, given that he's the actual Francis Morgan]]. |
| 248 | * LethalChef: |
| 249 | ** Attempting to describe Emily's cooking, York at one point starts describing a mission which had him going down into the sewer, and inspecting the trash compactor in Emily's kitchen leads him to comment on whether or not that constitutes illegal dumping of hazardous waste. Thomas refers to Emily's attempts as "amazon cooking." Peeking in Emily's house, the charred stovetop really says it all. |
| 250 | ** Subverted with the turkey, cereal, and strawberry jam "Sinner's Sandwich" - York initially thinks it's supposed to be awful so as to be a form of penance for the eater's past sins, but after he tries one he finds it to be so delicious that he immediately changes his order to it. |
| 251 | ** Thomas is easily one of the better chefs in the game, but when he messes up, he messes up HARD. No, seriously, who mistakes peanut butter for ''mustard''? |
| 252 | ** The General apparently knew one of these guys during his tour in Vietnam. The guy's cooking was supposedly so bad it almost decimated the entire platoon, nearly making him a LITERAL LethalChef. |
| 253 | * LimitedWardrobe: |
| 254 | ** Nearly all the [=NPCs=] wear only one outfit for the entire game regardless of time, location, or weather; the ones that do have different outfits change them only for plot reasons (Emily changing into a slinky black dress for dinner, the "goddesses of the forest" changing into red dresses, etc...). |
| 255 | ** Averted with York, as you can have him wear any of a number of suits and have it reflected in the cutscenes. [[spoiler:Played straight with Zach, who cannot change suits]]. |
| 256 | * LockedIntoStrangeness: [[spoiler:Young Zach]]'s hair turns white after witnessing [[spoiler:his mother]]'s brutal death and [[spoiler:his father]]'s suicide, then getting scarred by [[spoiler:Kaysen]]. |
| 257 | * LongSongShortScene: |
| 258 | ** "Pillow Stain", which was in the original "Rainy Woods" trailer, can be heard nowhere else in the game but Thomas's apartment and in the Sound Test. |
| 259 | ** The song "Crucial Moment" is an atmospheric string piece that only plays once when [[spoiler:you find Thomas's badge in the Galaxy of Terror]]. However, you can easily miss it since a profiling segment starts immediately afterword, meaning you might only get to hear a few seconds of the song before you skip past it forever. |
| 260 | *** The very beginning plays at other spots in the game as a suspenseful sting, but it's always cut off before the melody comes in. |
| 261 | * LovesMyAlterEgo: Emily eventually falls for York [[spoiler:who is revealed to be Zach's SplitPersonality]]. |
| 262 | * MakeMyMonsterGrow: No spoileriffic description here. You just have to see it to believe it for yourself. |
| 263 | * TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler:Forrest Kaysen, who's actually an inhabitant of the Red World posing as a tree sapling salesman that spreads rumors about his seeds granting immortality. George murdered people as sacrifices because he believed that story. There's also Kaysen's dog, Willie, who's actually a creature capable of transmitting orders from the Red World to Kaysen]]. |
| 264 | * MarathonBoss: [[spoiler:Forrest Kaysen, Phase 3]]. And if you screw up the last bit, he regains ''all of his health'' and you have to start over. [[spoiler:George's final form]] may count as well, if you get too used to [[AttackItsWeakPoint attacking its weak point.]] |
| 265 | * MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: For the majority of the game, it is questionable whether York is actually psychic or just getting hallucinations and talking to himself. The combat segments are clearly not occurring in reality, and his first premonition, "FK" in the coffee, seems to go nowhere. However, this is clarified in Chapter 17, when [[spoiler: he divines the location of the files from his coffee cup, something that unambiguously clarifies his abilities as supernatural]]. |
| 266 | * MeaningfulEcho: General Lysander, who runs the junkyard, keeps going on and on about the importance of speed and having a fast car. Harry Stewart, the only other person the same age as him in town, keeps saying that haste makes waste. "Some people think speed is the only thing that matters. They rely on speed, and are satisfied with what speed brings, but they miss sight of the important details." |
| 267 | * MeaningfulName: [[spoiler:George ''Woodman'']]. This also counts for the original Raincoat Killer, [[spoiler:AKA Harry Woodman's father]]. And then there's ''Forrest'' Kaysen who goes around selling saplings. |
| 268 | * MercyKill: |
| 269 | ** [[spoiler:Zach's mother]] begged [[spoiler:his father]] to kill her before the sapling planted inside her sprouted. |
| 270 | ** At the endgame [[spoiler:Emily]] begs York [[spoiler:(now Zach)]] to do the same. |
| 271 | ** [[spoiler:The original Raincoat Killer killings]] may be considered mercy kills as well. |
| 272 | * MindScrew: How much of the action sequences were actually real? Were the enemies civilians who had been caught in the rain, [[spoiler:ghosts of the original victims]], or figments of York's imagination? Why could [[spoiler:Emily]] see them? How much of [[spoiler:Harry]]'s story was true? Was [[spoiler:the military]] really responsible, or was [[spoiler:Kaysen]] acting alone? [[spoiler:Why was Kaysen ''in'' the military at all?]] Did the final boss fight even happen? Why does everyone intuitively know to call you [[spoiler:Zach]] after TheReveal? Does that mean that you only ''thought'' [[spoiler:you were calling yourself York]]? Why can Isaach and Isaiah see dead people? Why were they in the Red Room? What ''was'' the Red Room? Why did [[spoiler:Kaysen]] know about it? What did he mean when he said that he was from the "Red World?" |
| 273 | ** According to WordOfGod, the White Room is a MentalWorld representing the user's healthy subconscious, while the Red Room is a subconscious that has been "tainted by evil". |
| 274 | ** With the new scenes in the Director's Cut [[spoiler:it could be that "Grandpa Zach" was dressing the story up a bit and that most of the Red World stuff didn't happen]]. |
| 275 | ** And to a lesser extent, SWERY's graphic on his director's blog that points out that Greenvale's borders are the outline of a dog... specifically, Willie. |
| 276 | %% Place any theories and speculation in the [=WMG=] page, not the main page. |
| 277 | * MobileMaze: Harry Stewart ''lives'' in one. The entrance room rotates when Michael taps some keys on the piano, and the door behind him leads to a different place each time. |
| 278 | * MoneyForNothing: You get pocket change for a ridiculous number of actions. Shaving, changing your suit regularly, driving at top speed for as long as you can, ''checking the weather,'' and so on. You'll likely get most of your money from defeating enemies, but it's still amusing to get paid to go about your daily routine. |
| 279 | * MoodWhiplash: Every few minutes. You'd best wear a bracer when playing this game. "Hahaha--WHAT THE?!" sums it up. |
| 280 | ** Oh look, zany background events! Ridiculously bizarre side quests! Sitcom-esque characters with quirky personalities! ''Incredibly brutal, ritualistic murders'' [[AxCrazy by an axe-wielding]], [[NightmareFuel seemingly inhuman figure clad in a crimson rain coat]]! |
| 281 | * MummiesAtTheDinnerTable: [[spoiler:George keeps his abusive, dead mother in the basement]] just like a certain [[Film/{{Psycho}} motel owner.]] |
| 282 | * MundaneMadeAwesome: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-41YUSZ9VAg York's reaction]] to trying out the "Sinner's Sandwich". |
| 283 | * NecroCam: Starts off terribly blurry. Finding more clues allows York to get a "clearer picture" of what really happened. |
| 284 | * NervesOfSteel: York most '''definitely''' has these. Milder situations include waking up from what seems, by all accounts, to be a standard CatapultNightmare with nothing more than a small sigh and staring down crowds of monsters with a wry grin. Truly [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome amazing]] examples include chatting idly with Zach when he is [[DistressedDude captured]] by [[spoiler:Thomas]] after he knocks him out, and shrugging off the penultimate boss's FreudianExcuse with [[DeadpanSnarker a few well-placed wisecracks]]. [[spoiler:Which, being Zach's alter ego created to protect him from harm, [[FridgeBrilliance makes perfect sense]].]] |
| 285 | * NeverOneMurder: Anna's murder is the only murder to happen for the first third of the game. Then you get more victims. |
| 286 | * NewGamePlus: You can replay any completed chapter with all your current inventory items intact. Considering certain sidequest givers die at certain points in the game, this kind of backtracking is vital. Ultimately subverted, as starting a new game will undo ''all'' of your progress, since you can have only one saved game. |
| 287 | * NiceGuy: Forrest Kayson, a jolly, fat man who cares for the Ingram twins, is good friends with everybody in the entire town, and serves as the quirky comic relief. [[spoiler:Majorly subverted in Episode 6, where he's not only a possible rapist and the main villain, but is also a sadistic monster from another dimension who committed his crimes out of nothing but sheer boredom.]] |
| 288 | * NightmareFace: The Shadows of course have their vile grins ([[NightmareRetardant which are the only things vaguely frightening about them]]), but the real show stealer is York with the [[TheUnsmile hilariously terrifying wide grin he pulls at bizarre moments]]. |
| 289 | * NonstandardGameOver: |
| 290 | ** In the lumber mill [[spoiler:or the Museum]], failing to solve the tree-of-hands puzzle will lead to York going LaughingMad. Alternatively [[spoiler:, killing any townsfolk before entering the theatre or choosing to give up if you make the wrong choice before fighting Kaysen]] will also result in this scene. |
| 291 | ** If you decide to [[spoiler: [[DrivenToSuicide have Zach kill himself]] or shoot Forrest Kaysen rather than (attempt) to MercyKill a begging Emily]], you're treated to [[spoiler: York telling you that you made the wrong choice with a shriveled up Emily with parts of the red tree that Kaysen planted sticking out from her]]. |
| 292 | * NostalgicNarrator: [[spoiler: Zach as an old man is telling the story to his granddaughter in the remake]]. |
| 293 | * NothingIsScarier: York talks about his previous cases involving extremely grisly and twisted murders without the slightest hint of unease. But there is one case he discusses with Zach where he just ends it by saying he doesn't even want to think of what he saw. Given the things he can easily stomach, one can only imagine what this very, ''very'' bad stuff might have been. |
| 294 | * NoticeThis: ''Deadly Premonition'' leans more heavily upon this than most modern games -- any object that can be interacted with has a huge glowing pool of light in front of it, whether it's a switch or an item to be collected. About the only thing that doesn't glow are doors (though plot-relevant doors will have a red pool of light in front of them). |
| 295 | * NotUsingTheZWord: The zombie-ghost enemies aren't given a proper name. York simply refers to them as "Them," though some of the profiling photos of them call them "Shadows." |
| 296 | ** This might just be because most characters never acknowledge the creatures' existence, let alone discuss them. [[spoiler:George]] uses the zed word near the climax to refer to something not unlike the zombie-ghosts. |
| 297 | * ObfuscatingStupidity: |
| 298 | ** [[spoiler:George kills Becky and Diane]] ''right in front of you'', and to everybody it looks like he's just a tragically inept klutz. |
| 299 | ** [[spoiler:[[BigBad Kaysen]] plays the roles of BigFun and FatIdiot right up until the reveal]]. |
| 300 | * OneWingedAngel: Both [[spoiler:George and Kaysen]] take on freakish mutated forms for their boss fights. |
| 301 | * OminousLatinChanting: The music for [[spoiler:Kaysen]]'s final form. |
| 302 | * OnlySaneMan: Emily considers herself this. She's the only main character, besides York, who didn't grow up in Greenvale, so she doesn't seem to have any of the other townfolk's eccentricities. |
| 303 | * OptionalTrafficLaws: While you can get penalized for mowing down too many lampposts or driving too close to any townsfolk on foot, it barely dents your wallet. That said, the only non-monetary penalty for hitting other drivers is that your vehicle gets damaged. |
| 304 | * OrificeInvasion: Some of the enemies like to shove their hands down York's mouth. Given the chance, these enemies will shove their ''entire bodies'' down York's mouth, which will definitely kill him. |
| 305 | * ParentalAbandonment: A recurrent theme throughout the game. |
| 306 | * PermanentlyMissableContent: The game's [[ReplayMode Chapter Replay]] system means that this is largely averted, but there is one major exception: The [[BottomlessMagazines Infinite .357 Magnum]], which can only be obtained as a possible reward from the Snack for Willie sidequest, which is initiated by approaching Kaysen and Willie while having any of the [[CollectionSidequest bones]] in your inventory. There are a total of seven bones, which are found scattered around remote, off-track areas of town, and they are also linked to another sidequest where they can be given away to Brian the gravekeeper, one at a time, at any time. In order to obtain the weapon in question, York ''must'' have all seven bones on him when he initiates the sidequest (which, to reiterate, can be done by complete accident). Then and only then will he find the infinite magnum when he searches Willie's doghouse; any less than this and the reward for the quest will be an ordinary, breakable weapon. Since sidequests cannot be restarted even on replays, the only way to get the gun at that point is to reload a save before the quest was triggered, or, failing that, start the game all over with a fresh save. This is somewhat alleviated by the fact that Kaysen and Willie don't come into the picture until Episode 2, and it's impossible to give the bones away to Brian by accident, meaning you have plenty of time to collect them before then. |
| 307 | %%* PermaStubble: Not too much of it, though. |
| 308 | * PhonyVeteran: York makes out Lysander to be one of these, noting that the old man wears a sergeant's uniform despite calling himself The General. [[spoiler: Inverted, as it turns out that Lysander actually was promoted to general but out of guilt during the Vietnam War continues to think of himself as a sergeant.]] |
| 309 | * PipePain: Lead pipes are found pretty much everywhere and can be used as weapons. |
| 310 | * PlayableEpilogue: After defeating the final boss, you can continue to bum around Greenvale [[spoiler:as Francis Zach Morgan]]. |
| 311 | * PointOfNoReturn: The game warns you about it before you walk through the door to the final battle, but without going back to previous chapters, the actual point is going to [[spoiler: Harry's mansion with the Raincoat Killer files]], after which the game becomes strictly linear and you will not be able to deviate from the plot until the epilogue, much later. |
| 312 | * {{Postmodernism}}: Lampshaded when Fiona talks about a book she's reading that eerily resembles the plot of the game. |
| 313 | * PosthumousCharacter: Anna, the victim whose death kicks off all the ruckus. |
| 314 | * PowerTrio: [[TwoGuysAndAGirl York, George, and Emily]] during many case missions, with Emily often acting as the mediator. (Or at least, quicker to give up fighting York's eccentricities, leaving George alone until he gives up as well.) |
| 315 | * PressXToNotDie: Used whenever running from the Raincoat Killer or during a boss fight. |
| 316 | * TheProfiler: This is York's entire schtick. His sole method of investigation is to find a few items of evidence and use them to concoct a scenario. |
| 317 | * QuirkyTown: Part of what causes the MoodWhiplash is how goofy some of the folks are in town. |
| 318 | * {{Railroading}}: While you have a generally lax schedule (see TakeYourTime below) for much of the game, there are points where you ''immediately'' have to go to a target, usually by car, which won't allow you to get out of them, and even give you unlimited gas and make your car completely invulnerable, almost as if they wanted to make sure you don't try anything funny. After [[spoiler: discovering Thomas is likely a criminal]], the game becomes much more linear, with red vines stopping you from fully exploring. |
| 319 | * RaincoatOfHorror: One of this horror game's antagonists is even ''called'' the Raincoat Killer. |
| 320 | * RainOfBlood: A cutscene halfway through the game in the Red World has an aged tree crack apart and shower the camera with blood. |
| 321 | * ReadingTeaLeaves: Francis York Morgan sees omens in his morning coffee, looking for images in the foam after he adds cream. On his first morning in Greenvale, he sees the letters F and K in his coffee, which turns out to be completely accurate. [[spoiler:F.K. are the initials of TheManBehindTheMan in the case York's investigating.]] |
| 322 | -->'''York:''' Did you see that, Zach?! Clear as a crisp spring morning! "F K"... in the coffee! I knew I could count on it. It never fails. |
| 323 | * RecordNeedleScratch: While it isn't accompanied by the sound effect, Emily and York's conversation in his hotel room following their conversation in the bar is backed up by "Life is Beautiful", which abruptly stops when Emily asks York about Zach. |
| 324 | * RedHerring |
| 325 | ** During the very beginning of the game, York casually mentions being scratched by a hysterical woman on a recent case. This is to cause you to assume that the townsfolk are simply spreading rumors over the little mark on your cheek, when in fact they're talking about [[spoiler:the much more dramatic scar sported by Zach]]. |
| 326 | ** At one point [[spoiler:Michael blocks you from getting to Harry]] while doing the RK's trademark finger-wag, ''while the killer's theme plays.'' It has no relevance whatsoever. |
| 327 | ** Another big one would be The General. He asks you to visit him so he can tell you about the story of the Raincoat Killer, and he's one of the few people in town who's old enough to have been around during [[spoiler:the incident. In fact, being a soldier, he was likely standing on that clock tower gassing the town with the others]]. Instead, when you get to him, he just tells you war stories from 'Nam. Once you finish his sidequest line, York even lampshades it, stating that he doesn't think Lysander actually knows anything about the Raincoat Killer. |
| 328 | ** When investigating Anna's murder site, York finds evidence of a small round object, later revealed to be a locket, that was gripped tightly by Anna, but removed from the scene. The search for this locket spans the entire game, [[spoiler:as it passed hands through the other victims trying to keep it away from its original owner, the killer, who identifies it as proof that they're the Chosen One, linking it with a ritual to gain ultimate power.]] What makes it fit this trope is that, [[spoiler:When York finally confronts [[TheManBehindTheMan Kaysen]], Kaysen gleefully taunts that the locket and the ritual were nothing more than lies used to tempt the killer into committing the murders]]. |
| 329 | * RedSkyTakeWarning: The sky becomes reddish and tornado-like whenever there's enemies abound. |
| 330 | * RespawningEnemies: A few missions have sections where one or two enemies respawn endlessly until you complete some task or just leave the area. Ranges from frustrating to just puzzling (with the exception of the very first mission, which turns it into ThatOneLevel due to the amount of frustration it introduces to someone unfamiliar with the rest of the game). |
| 331 | * RhymesOnADime: Michael Tillotson often speaks this way. Why he does this, who's to say? [[VerbalTic So says Mr. Stewart.]] [[spoiler:And then it turns out Harry himself doesn't actually speak that way.]] |
| 332 | ** He'll stop rhyming when York does something incredibly shocking like, oh, reading Michael's diary and then fessing up to it. |
| 333 | * RoomFullOfCrazy: [[spoiler:George's basement]], complete with a StalkerShrine dedicated to [[spoiler:Emily]]. |
| 334 | ** And what's in the room next door to top the icing on the cake? |
| 335 | * RuleOfThree: Multiple sidequest chains and other activities have three parts -- there are three races around Greenvale, York helps Emily with her cooking three times, the Milk Barn's storage room needs to be sorted thrice, the General offers three upgrades for your cars, and so on. |
| 336 | * RunningGag: Emily's cooking and York's bizarre smoking habits, among others. |
| 337 | * RunningOverThePlot: At the beginning, Agent York crashes his car, startled by the Raincoat Killer that just appeared out of nowhere on the road. |
| 338 | * ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Harry. |
| 339 | * SequelHook: Considering the [[spoiler: fact that Willie (who is from the Red World) is still around, and the fact there's more than just one town with red trees]]. |
| 340 | ** [[spoiler: Don't forget that Swery said that there are "other agents of the Red Tree" like Kaysen..]]. |
| 341 | ** In at least one ending of the Director's Cut, [[spoiler: York tells Zach about a series of strange reports in New Orleans of people losing control of their bodies. Zach disappears from his home, presumably to pursue this lead]]. |
| 342 | * SerialKiller: [[spoiler: Kaysen]] is heavily implied to be a [[spoiler: mobile]] version of this. In the Red Room on the map of America you can see dolls of a [[spoiler: fat man]] on it wearing different clothes and standing on different states. [[spoiler: George]] is this too to a lesser extent. |
| 343 | * SheCleansUpNicely: Emily, who is apparently [[ItMakesSenseInContext already a goddess of the forest]]. |
| 344 | * ShoutOut: |
| 345 | ** York name-drops many old movies and bands during his car rides with Zach. |
| 346 | ** The whole game is a big one to ''Series/TwinPeaks''. |
| 347 | ** ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' gets a good one when [[spoiler:York finds George's dead mother in the basement]]. |
| 348 | ** George has two dumbbells - named Creator/{{Arnold|Schwarzenegger}} and Creator/{{Sylvester|Stallone}}. |
| 349 | ** ''VideoGame/SpyFiction2003'', SWERY's directorial debut, is referenced via Keith's "Back in the Hole" jacket and Emily's vanity plate. |
| 350 | ** The logo for [[BlandNameProduct "the pickles"]] is the same as the logo for ''Music/ThePillows''. |
| 351 | * ShovelStrike: A few shovels can be used as weapons. Oddly, this doesn't apply to a shovel found early in the game inside a building that can't be interacted with for some reason. (You'd think York would want any weapon he could get his hands on at that point...) |
| 352 | * ShownTheirWork: |
| 353 | ** The monkeys-for-squirrels sound effect mentioned above notwithstanding, this game does get a lot of visual details for Smalltown, USA right. One of the post-game bonuses is looking at all the photographs the developers took of rural US areas to get the right appearance for diners, streets, people and so on. |
| 354 | ** [[spoiler:York is a secondary personality created to protect Zach from psychological harm during a childhood incident.]] This is, in fact, one of the only reasons split personalities are developed in RealLife. |
| 355 | *** While that is true, it goes back into [[spoiler:artistic liberty, as people with DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) ''cannot'' communicate directly with their other personalities; but this is the entire premise between Zach and York. Granted, some degree of magic is involved in this case]]. |
| 356 | * ShutUpHannibal: Done numerous times by York in the following end game sequences preceding major boss battles. |
| 357 | * SingleTear: [[spoiler:Zach]] drops one near the ending. |
| 358 | * TheSleepless: Brian the Insomniac. |
| 359 | * TheStinger: After the credits, you see [[spoiler: York and Emily, holding hands and kissing, in a spectral version of the diner while [[DiedHappilyEverAfter hanging out with all of the other victims]]]]. |
| 360 | * SmokingIsCool: |
| 361 | ** And it makes time fly! |
| 362 | ** York's chain-smoking is a RunningGag, and characters around him cough in annoyance the first time he does it. |
| 363 | ** [[spoiler: On the other hand, Zach doesn't smoke]]. |
| 364 | * SoundtrackDissonance: |
| 365 | ** Serial killers? Gruesome murders? Time for wacky whistling! |
| 366 | ** The flashback sequence where [[spoiler:you play as the original Raincoat Killer]], is a semi-example. Two songs play, the first is AmazingFreakingGrace, which doesn't suit the chaos of the scene, but damn sure fits the tragedy of it. The soundtrack eventually changes to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17YzW3676KA 'The Woods and the Goddess']], which usually plays during tranquil scenes. |
| 367 | * SplitPersonality: York, [[spoiler:which is to say that he's Zach's]]. Unlike most Split Personalities in fiction, this one actually was developed for reasons that are tenable in psychology: [[spoiler:taking on another identity to spare yourself from trauma]]. |
| 368 | * SprintMeter: |
| 369 | ** Used for exhaustion, holding your breath and blaring a police siren(?!) |
| 370 | ** It also rises when you're looking in people's windows. It's so slow, however, that most people aren't aware of it. |
| 371 | * StalkerShrine: [[spoiler:George]] has an [[spoiler:Emily]] one in his basement. |
| 372 | * StalkerWithACrush: [[spoiler:George]] is a little bit ''too'' obsessed with [[spoiler:Emily]]. |
| 373 | * {{Stripperiffic}}: Gina's outfit. |
| 374 | * StupidityIsTheOnlyOption: Very early on, York sees a particular sign in his coffee that gives away one of the final plot twists. [[spoiler: The sign is "F.K." and York correctly guesses that this refers to Forrest Kaysen upon meeting him. He also lampshades that Kaysen is obviously hiding something, and Kaysen indeed turns out to be the game's main villain.]] However, if York were to take this sign more seriously, the game would be a ''lot'' shorter, and so this plot thread is pretty quickly dropped until the story needs to pick it back up. |
| 375 | ** You can explore the graveyard pretty early in the game, long before it becomes relevant to the plot. [[spoiler: It contains a large number of red trees that bear a striking resemblance to the saplings that Kaysen carries around, and the red seeds all over the ground are the same ones found on all the murder victims, not just in Greenvale but in cases all around the United States. Not only that, but the red seeds are the main reason York was assigned to the case in the first place, meaning he has no reason not to know what they are.]] However, York will not comment on or acknowledge this until you make your plot-mandated visit to the graveyard. He even lampshades it once you do finally get there, saying that it was right under his nose the whole time. |
| 376 | * SupernaturallyValidatedTransPerson: It leaves the exact gender identity of [[spoiler: Thomas]] somewhat ambiguous, but they suffer a similar fate to the cisgender women victims, and at the end [[spoiler: their spirit joins the rest of the "Forest Goddesses" in whatever afterlife York inhabits.]] |
| 377 | * SupremeChef: |
| 378 | ** Thomas, whose biscuits are considered absolutely amazing. They're also the best healing/restorative item in the game, hands down. York is very particular about his biscuits, he'll have you know. |
| 379 | ** Nick Cormack. According to Emily, he's the real deal and no visit to Greenvale is complete without a visit to the A & G Diner |
| 380 | * TakeYourTime: |
| 381 | ** Play darts, go fishing, stare into coffee, and do whatever. Just remember to get back to the investigation at some point. Amusingly, though, if you're driving with the local law enforcement, they expect you to go straight to the next plot point and if you fail to do so, they give York a severe tongue-lashing while York basically shrugs and says "I had stuff to do." |
| 382 | ** You have the ability to ''sleep'' in some of the dungeons in the game, which is a cost-effective way of restoring your health, and you'll usually see an infinite supply of lollipops nearby to keep yourself from going hungry. Time is meaningless in the Dark World, however, as you can see from your clock and the "clean time" on your suits. For people who aren't in the Dark World, it probably appears that York is just gone for a few minutes. |
| 383 | %%* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill |
| 384 | * ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: |
| 385 | ** One possible explanation for York's travels through the nightmare world. |
| 386 | ** Also applies to [[spoiler:the townsfolk of the past and the original Raincoat Killer]] who, affected by the purple fog, most likely saw each other as horrible monsters and were driven to slaughter. |
| 387 | ** [[spoiler:After the reveal that York is Zach's split personality and not the other way around, the townsfolk all call him Zach, ''as if it had always been that way''. Not to mention the constant references to a very large scar, which York doesn't have, but Zack does.]] |
| 388 | * TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler:York and Emily.]] |
| 389 | * TokenRomance: [[spoiler: A minor but seemingly-important example. Emily is the only Greenvale resident who didn't grow up there, and ends up together with York, who is also an outsider to the town.]] |
| 390 | * TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:York's the alter persona of Zach, not the other way around.]] |
| 391 | * TongueTrauma: The Raincoat Killer cuts out (or bites off) the tongues of each of the murder victims. |
| 392 | * TooCleverByHalf: York. It doesn't win him any points. |
| 393 | * TooMuchInformation: Over dinner one night, Emily asks York about older cases he's worked on. He gladly details a particular case in which a serial killer finds... practical uses for ''human skulls''. Great dinner conversation! |
| 394 | * TownWithADarkSecret: In the past Greenvale [[spoiler:was the site for government experiments that drove the townsfolk into murderous frenzies]]. |
| 395 | ** There are also the incidents York is told about when buying the spiritual maps. They involve [[spoiler:a man who accidentally ran his girlfriend down with his car, a crew of miners who were burned alive in what was likely a mass murder by the mine foreman and a girl who is implied to have committed suicide by throwing herself in a water turbine.]] They all seem like just an average bunch of ghost stories until York actually visits the locations himself and finds out that they really are haunted. |
| 396 | * TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The trailer for the U.S. release flashes the identities of several victims as well as the endgame bosses and BigBad. |
| 397 | ** Despite being a trailer released in ''2007'', with many details removed, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EbbhwO7pRHA the "Rainy Woods" trailer]] showcases [[spoiler: Becky's death]]. |
| 398 | ** One of the Directors Cut trailers uses dialogue and footage from much later in the game, such as [[spoiler:Thomas wearing a dress and acting as a villain and Zach's mother telling her husband to shoot him]]. |
| 399 | * TraumaInducedAmnesia: [[spoiler:York can't remember much about when his father shot his mother. Which is an ''incredible mercy'' compared to the memories of [[BodyHorror what actually happened]]. Subverted in that York wasn't technically present, but played straight with Zach, who forgot he even ''existed''.]] |
| 400 | * TraumaInn: Sleeping in a bed will restore York's health whether its in a nice warm hotel room or a decrepit red world dungeon. The Shadows and Raincoat Killer don't seem to mind letting York catch up on his rest and will leave him alone. |
| 401 | * TwistEnding: [[spoiler:York is the imaginary friend. You've been playing as Agent Francis Zach Morgan.]] To be precise, [[spoiler:you ''were'' playing as York. York simply happens to not have been the original personality]]. |
| 402 | * UnflinchingWalk: [[spoiler:Zach]] turns around and walks away as the monstrous [[spoiler:Kaysen]] explodes into chunky meaty gibs. |
| 403 | * UnreliableNarrator: Near the end of the game, you discover that [[spoiler:not only has he been introducing himself as Francis ''Zach'' Morgan all this time, but he doesn't look like we thought he did]]. This explains why the townsfolk [[spoiler:think Zach's scar is a big deal, when York seems to have only a few small cuts]]. |
| 404 | ** Lampshaded by Lilly at the end of the game, [[spoiler:when she asks "Who's York?" while talking to Zach]]. |
| 405 | * UpdatedRerelease: The Directors Cut is supposed to [[MultipleEndings add new endings]] and story content, a narrator to explain the story more adequately, HD and Move support, and slight playstyle changes (no tank controls, the camera has much wider range, and slightly fixing the shooting controls) presumably meant to fix complaints. The graphics don't seem to have gone through any significant change aside from the removal of the [[RealIsBrown green filter]] present in the original release. |
| 406 | * UselessUsefulStealth: York can hold his breath to temporarily become invisible to the enemies. This slows his walking speed and makes his stamina meter run out, and there's not a lot of situations that call for stealth in the first place, so you will most likely forget about this option after it's introduced. |
| 407 | * UnwillingSuspension: |
| 408 | ** [[spoiler:Becky]] in her own bathroom above the shower. |
| 409 | ** [[spoiler:Diane]] in the Muses Gallery above a very pointy sculpture. |
| 410 | * VanityLicensePlate: All of the named townsfolk have these on their vehicles. |
| 411 | * VideoGameCrueltyPotential: You can attack, or at most threaten the civilians of Greenvale, with violence. |
| 412 | * VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: Threatening the townsfolk in this fashion, or destroying public property, crashing or wrecking your vehicle, or [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking failing to periodically change into a clean suit]] will earn you a small cash penalty. |
| 413 | * VillainEpisode: At the beginning of Episode 6 you get to play as [[spoiler:the original Raincoat Killer, axe and all]]. |
| 414 | * VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:George and Kaysen]], both in awe that a mere human was able to bring them down. |
| 415 | * VirtualPaperDoll: York can change suits at any time; however, the longer he continues to wear a suit, the dirtier it becomes to the point of attracting flies. [[spoiler:Zach doesn't have any suit, however]]. |
| 416 | * TheVoiceless: Mr. Stewart speaks only through his aide, Michael Tillotson. Later on he decides to drop it and speak directly to York himself. |
| 417 | * VomitingCop: Thomas barfs in the toilet after [[spoiler: Becky is found out to be dead]]. When the results screen comes up, ''a still shot of it'' is shown. |
| 418 | * [[WakeUpCallBoss Wake-Up Call]] MiniBoss: The machine gun is very ineffective against Crawling Shadows; the first one the player fights will either be ThatOneBoss, or teach them to vary up their weapons more. [[invoked]] |
| 419 | * WarpWhistle: The radio obtained from one of the quests which lets York travel to any previously visited locations. |
| 420 | * WideOpenSandbox: Even though the actions that have to be taken to progress the story are always clearly defined, there is no in-game day counter and so TakeYourTime is in full effect; any main quests that can be done today can be done tomorrow, with plenty of time in between to go shopping for shiny new clothes or vehicles, explore the town's byroads in search of extra cash or collectibles, do sidequests where you hang out with the EccentricTownsfolk, and take part in minigames such as fishing, darts, or checkpoint races. The exceptions to this come in specific chapters where you're locked into following the plot, including a long chain of {{Railroading}} towards the end, but it ultimately leads to a PlayableEpilogue where you're free to collect anything left for you to find in the world. |
| 421 | * WhamEpisode: Episode 6 in general, but Chapter 25 especially. |
| 422 | * WhamLine: "When the time comes and you have to make that decision, make the right one. [[spoiler:OK, Zach?]]" It's even printed in giant letters that are about five times larger than the rest of the dialogue in the entire game. |
| 423 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The Ingrams don't seem to care about [[spoiler:the disappearance of Forrest Kaysen at the end of the game, despite the fact that they were good friends]]. |
| 424 | * WholePlotReference: A somewhat harder example to notice owing to the obscurity of the earlier game, but the plot is ''heavily'' inspired by ''VideoGame/MizzurnaFalls'', a pioneer of the "open world exploration-adventure" genre (beyond both games also obviously owing a lot to ''Series/TwinPeaks''): |
| 425 | ** As in the already mentioned show, the setting in both games is a sleepy small town in the USA rocked by the murder of a young girl. Focusing more on gameplay, both games involve the protagonist getting around the rather large game world by driving a car which requires regular gas refills, advancing the story by going to specific places for time-sensitive events. |
| 426 | ** One of the main characters is a GirlFriday who works with the hero to try and solve the mystery, helping to obtain useful information and resources. The hero also works closely with the town's chief of police. [[spoiler:In ''Deadly Premonition'', the former character [[CompositeCharacter also echoes the role of a]] DistressedDamsel character from ''Mizzurna Falls'' whom the hero unwittingly leaves in the [[TheManBehindTheMan mastermind's]] care, leading her to be placed in mortal danger right at the story's end.]] |
| 427 | ** A centrally featured JerkAss character becomes a prime suspect for the murder. [[spoiler:While this character is involved in some shady activities, his involvement in the murder of course turns out to be a complete RedHerring.]] |
| 428 | ** A secondary character is a young woman who works singing at a bar [[spoiler:and is secretly involved in the BigBad's circle, ending up betrayed and victimized by him.]] |
| 429 | ** Most notable are the antagonists' nature and motivations. [[spoiler:TheHeavy is someone whom the hero first meets early on in the story and acts inconspicuously, if callously, towards him. The true villain's plan ultimately revolves around [[ImmortalityImmorality seeking immortality]] through a ritual involving the sacrifice of multiple humans, which appeals to a nebulous CosmicEntity to whom [[TheManBehindTheMan the mastermind]] acts as a devotee.]] Both times, the hero is aware of this having been attempted at least once before, and also learns about [[spoiler: a US GovernmentConspiracy to sacrifice human lives in an effort to learn more about the mysterious SpiritWorld in which these entities dwell, as well as a tragedy that befell the town decades before the story's events which the mastermind is trying to reenact.]] In both games, the hero has a climactic RooftopConfrontation with [[spoiler:TheHeavy, only to have the wind taken out of his sails afterwards when it swiftly becomes clear that he's still got the mastermind to deal with.]] |
| 430 | * WildWilderness: The outskirts of town near the railroad tracks, the two large empty forest trails, and the random location of the town itself count. |
| 431 | * WorthlessTreasureTwist: [[spoiler: The locket that Anna was holding when she died was supposedly part of the ritual that the killer needed to become immortal. It passed through the hands of the other victims trying to keep it away from the killer, and York spends the whole game searching for it. Right before the final battle, [[TheManBehindTheMan Kaysen]] reveals that the locket doesn't actually do anything and was just part of the rumor he made up to get the killer to commit the murders.]] |
| 432 | * WrenchWhack: An indestructible wrench is unlocked after completing a sidequest. |
| 433 | * YoungerThanTheyLook: Anna Graham recently graduated high school making her around 18, but looks closer to 35. |
| 434 | ---- |
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