8 Video Game Mechanics Harder Than The Final Boss

Deadly Premonition is basically the video game equivalent of that eccentric but loveable uncle who drinks a little too much and doesn't get invited to the family functions anymore. It's rough around the edges, but charming as hell and undeniably unlike anything else out there.

By far one of the biggest complaints about its original 2010 release was the combat, which proves so frustrating from the jump that it surely turned many players off immediately.

If Resident Evil 4's combat had recently suffered a traumatic head injury, it'd surely end up like Deadly Premonition's.

The most common enemies throughout the game are zombie-like Shadows, yet between the sluggish controls and the Shadows' sheer relentless, agonising bullet-sponginess, taking them on quickly starts to feel like the very worst of household chores.

But for those who persevere through the game and spend 15-20 hours hardening their will against the awful combat, that final boss fight against Kaysen will end up feeling like a sweet, tender mercy.

It probably won't surprise anyone to learn that Deadly Premonition's combat was added late in the game's development, apparently in an attempt to make it more appealing to Western players.

Thankfully the 2013 Director's Cut release did rework the controls and difficulty to make combat feel a little less of a slog, though some inevitably complained that it also simplified encounters to the point that they were just plain boring. As ever, you can't please everyone.