Bem melhor que a primeira DLC, com fases que não são apenas copia e cola do jogo base, também faz coisas bem interessantes com a mecânica de iluminar palavras, uma pena que a Boss fight final foi uma decepção.
This review contains spoilers
Honestly think this DLC has the most interesting writing of the series so far.
Really starts to hone in on the fact that alan is kind of a cunt.
I think this series is starting to put down some pretty cool stuff that would take a whole game to fully resolve and it's VERY funny that it took over 10 years for that to happen lmao.
Also by far the best credits music so far my god. Haven't really listened to much depeche mode but it really reminds me of listening to "The Tragic Treasury" (Which is a collection of music that was made for the fucking audio books for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (It's genuniely a pretty good goth record check it out)) on my i pod shuffle when i was like 8 and my dad had taken me along to a wargaming event like 3 hours out of town and was having a smoke break. But like right outside of the balcony was a graveyard? And listening to this very morose album, looking at a row of dead people, and my dad's cigarette smoke all combined to create such a weird sad atmosphere.
Really starts to hone in on the fact that alan is kind of a cunt.
I think this series is starting to put down some pretty cool stuff that would take a whole game to fully resolve and it's VERY funny that it took over 10 years for that to happen lmao.
Also by far the best credits music so far my god. Haven't really listened to much depeche mode but it really reminds me of listening to "The Tragic Treasury" (Which is a collection of music that was made for the fucking audio books for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (It's genuniely a pretty good goth record check it out)) on my i pod shuffle when i was like 8 and my dad had taken me along to a wargaming event like 3 hours out of town and was having a smoke break. But like right outside of the balcony was a graveyard? And listening to this very morose album, looking at a row of dead people, and my dad's cigarette smoke all combined to create such a weird sad atmosphere.
kinda blown away by this, was gonna write something longer here but The Writer has so thoroughly altered my perception of the preceding 7 episodes that i feel like i gotta go back and reassess the whole thing
Realmente, podiam ter resumido isso aqui dentro do jogo base mesmo, mas é meio chocho...
This review contains spoilers
This DLC rises above the main game because it dares to put Alan Wake in a place other than 'The Woods', has a few legitimately great setpieces, focuses on a split personality (a Remedy specialty), and, most of all, allows you to finallly kill Barry.
Após muitas sequências desnecessárias, direciona a história principal.
Com certeza ambas as DLCs poderiam ter sido colocadas no jogo principal.
Com certeza ambas as DLCs poderiam ter sido colocadas no jogo principal.
quality stuff. can't wait to play alan woke ii
Strangely enough, this is my favorite piece of Alan Wake content. Finally, after leaving us to wander through extremely repetitive forests throughout the majority of the base game, the devs at Remedy actually decided to introduce some genuinely weird and unsettling environmental details. For a game that’s at least partially concerned with dream logic, it’s pretty stunning to me that this theme didn’t really manifest in the setting until the last DLC, but it’s a welcome shift nonetheless. The combat is also a significant improvement over the first DLC - it maintains the inventive scenarios and mechanical variety while making it a lot less unrelenting and tedious. I also appreciated the narrative thrust, which is basically Alan Wake coming to terms with the fact that he is a terrible person.
Now comes the part where I have to mention that this ends with one of the most idiotic and unnecessary boss fights in recent memory. Still, it’s a move in the right direction.
Now comes the part where I have to mention that this ends with one of the most idiotic and unnecessary boss fights in recent memory. Still, it’s a move in the right direction.
Isso me irrita muito, isso era pra ter sido o final do jogo em si e mesmo assim acho estupido terminar em cliffhanger, pelo menos o 2 ta aí, mas se esse fosse o ponto final da história seria uma decepção inacreditável.
Hermano tremendo kenko que se ha fumao el alan
I think I enjoyed this DLC more than the base game. The metaphor of an artist’s struggle with creating was less subtle than the base game, which was already a little heavy handed tbh, but it also explored that idea more and I appreciate that.
bem melhor que a 1° DLC
The story was interesting as always. And the gameplay, enemies and the envirement to use against the enemy were good. The final boss was not that good but at least now there is one. Right?
The part where you make the electric lines to turn on the log thing? Chef's kiss
This is pretty good actually
This review contains spoilers
The exploration of mental health in Alan Wake has been compelling, if hyper-literal, and The Writer is as blunt in its surrealism as ever. But I do find it admirable in grappling with the self-defeating internalized shame and externalized collateral damage which almost invariably latch onto those struggling with their mental health. I’ve seen the intense spiral of self-hatred extinguish far too many bright lights.
So the symbolism might be obvious and somewhat inelegant, but Alan’s agonizing struggle (against himself as well as forces out of his control) to climb out of the Dark Place really resonated with me here. Plus, the more surrealistic level design and actual story revelations made this better than The Signal. Now on to American Nightmare.
So the symbolism might be obvious and somewhat inelegant, but Alan’s agonizing struggle (against himself as well as forces out of his control) to climb out of the Dark Place really resonated with me here. Plus, the more surrealistic level design and actual story revelations made this better than The Signal. Now on to American Nightmare.
Tá, realmente um pouco mais interessante, apesar que podia ser tudo uma só DLC, o level design é mais bem aproveitado aqui, se é pra fazer uma projeção da mente do personagem tem que extrapolar mesmo. Ainda assim, são vários seguimentos arrastados, desnecessários, que poderiam só estarem comprimidos e inseridos no jogo base. Ao menos, contrário ao primeiro capítulo da dlc, aqui sim se adiciona algo à história. Necessário? Talvez não, mas é um direcionamento bacana pra sequência.
The Writer is the second DLC episode for Alan Wake and immediately follows The Signal. It’s a straightforward continuation of the previous episode. It doesn’t really introduce anything new, but it continues its focus on analyzing the character of Alan Wake, and the episode is even more surreal than its predecessor.
Since it doesn’t really introduce anything new I don’t really have much to say about it that I haven’t already said in my review for The Signal. It has some very well executed story moments that actually cut pretty deep, and shines a whole new light on Alan Wake as a character. I was really invested in the story and eager to see where it went, honestly more so than the base game. While it does end on a cliffhanger, I do really like the insight it gives on Alan, and I feel like it ends on a stronger note in comparison to the base game.
The Writer and The Signal are both solid additions to Alan Wake. They’re both pretty short and I don’t feel that it was especially necessary for there to be two episodes. Still, they’re a solid time and I think they’re worth playing through if you want more context to the base game’s ending, as well as Alan himself.
Since it doesn’t really introduce anything new I don’t really have much to say about it that I haven’t already said in my review for The Signal. It has some very well executed story moments that actually cut pretty deep, and shines a whole new light on Alan Wake as a character. I was really invested in the story and eager to see where it went, honestly more so than the base game. While it does end on a cliffhanger, I do really like the insight it gives on Alan, and I feel like it ends on a stronger note in comparison to the base game.
The Writer and The Signal are both solid additions to Alan Wake. They’re both pretty short and I don’t feel that it was especially necessary for there to be two episodes. Still, they’re a solid time and I think they’re worth playing through if you want more context to the base game’s ending, as well as Alan himself.
Feels kinda weird giving the main game as well as both DLCs the same score, but I really think the quality is super strong all the way throughout. This DLC probably has the strongest characterization for Alan yet while also teasing the players with questions yet to be answered. Gameplay continues The Signal's trend of utilizing familiar mechanics in some new ways and while it can be a bit frustrating with how quickly Alan goes down, I do think that overall adds to the tense atmosphere that makes up a huge part of my enjoyment of the game.
Wow we really had to wait 13 whole years with just this ending
much better than the first dlc. I love how the "words of power" mechanic is used to fight large groups of enemies (specially during that final run to the lighthouse)
While less combat heavy I STILL enjoy having the words to utilize AoE kills on my enemies, though I think it's played with less than the previous installment.
But while this part doesn't have as much fighting (because we are all TOTALLY playing this game for the combat. Obviously.) we're given a lot of really surreal and beautiful imagery. From the floating boat, to the turning windmill of memories, to the VERY nice light house section that doesn't make you feel powerful but more so hopeful, it all stuck very well.
And while the final fight of this installment is emotionally more meaningful, I feel the design of The Signal's final boss was more impactful, despite being more of a slog to fight.
Also wish they had kept the books instead of birds for this story--they matched better with the surreal tone better but I'm sure if I studied the symbolism more there would be a good reason for the swap.
But while this part doesn't have as much fighting (because we are all TOTALLY playing this game for the combat. Obviously.) we're given a lot of really surreal and beautiful imagery. From the floating boat, to the turning windmill of memories, to the VERY nice light house section that doesn't make you feel powerful but more so hopeful, it all stuck very well.
And while the final fight of this installment is emotionally more meaningful, I feel the design of The Signal's final boss was more impactful, despite being more of a slog to fight.
Also wish they had kept the books instead of birds for this story--they matched better with the surreal tone better but I'm sure if I studied the symbolism more there would be a good reason for the swap.
really cool stuff. i'm usually not a fan of expansions that elaborate on ambiguous endings but this dlc, along with the first one, were actually really great additions. I also dug the gameplay style of this particular expansion quite a lot i found it more fun than the first one and even the original game (spinning maze aside).
Only up!: Alan Wake edition
Genuinely loved that these two dlcs took the physics engine they used and ran with it for different puzzles. Really felt like they wanted to implement more gameplay this time around. Good stuff!
Ps. Idk why but “Elevator? Why not. Next stop sanity” killed me
Genuinely loved that these two dlcs took the physics engine they used and ran with it for different puzzles. Really felt like they wanted to implement more gameplay this time around. Good stuff!
Ps. Idk why but “Elevator? Why not. Next stop sanity” killed me
I wasn't even going to write anything about this, but it genuinely surprised me for good. I consider that in these two bonus chapters there's something more interesting and worth it than what there is in the base game (and its standalone expansion American Nightmare). These two chapters, but specially this second one, tap on some of Alan Wake's untapped potential, or at least they express it better than the main game. And it is talking about the dark, dark hole Alan is (psychologically and mentally) in.
This time the menace isn't a creepy old lady with supernatural powers but Alan himself and his fractured psyche. This is about the internal conflict Alan is going through to make him face his insecurities and fears to then conclude saying that the problems won't simply go away or that someone will save you (despite being helped by Zane, everyone else is a ghostly imitation, usually hostile), but it is the job of oneself to get its life back on track.
Unfortunately, these two bonus chapters are that, bonus chapters, so they suffer from the same problems of repetition and monotony of which the main game also suffered, insisting with constant enemies and shootouts as well as having the same boring gameplay loop, but what these chapters tell is something that compensate enough the tedium and make it worth it to go through, even if it doesn't take more than 3 hours to beat both them.
This time the menace isn't a creepy old lady with supernatural powers but Alan himself and his fractured psyche. This is about the internal conflict Alan is going through to make him face his insecurities and fears to then conclude saying that the problems won't simply go away or that someone will save you (despite being helped by Zane, everyone else is a ghostly imitation, usually hostile), but it is the job of oneself to get its life back on track.
Unfortunately, these two bonus chapters are that, bonus chapters, so they suffer from the same problems of repetition and monotony of which the main game also suffered, insisting with constant enemies and shootouts as well as having the same boring gameplay loop, but what these chapters tell is something that compensate enough the tedium and make it worth it to go through, even if it doesn't take more than 3 hours to beat both them.
Still as confusing as the ending of the original game. I'm really hoping that AW2 does a much better job from a storytelling and pacing perspective.
barry wheeler facts
An introduction to how the next decade of Alan Wake material will be consisting of spinning tires narratively
I blew through this one in one sitting. This is much more of what I was hoping for from the first DLC. It even surpasses the base game in a lot of ways. Fully utilizes the dream logic of the "dark place" to put the player in novel combat and exploration scenarios that are disorienting and visually striking. The giant rusty compartmentalized wheel that you run through is the closest this first game comes to nailing the Silent Hill vibe, but the real highlight is that last run to the lighthouse with the extreme light/dark contrast. Breaking down the cover and luring the enemies into the open areas, hoping the spotlight swings back around in time to kill them before they can kill you, is a really satisfying little gameplay loop. This also does a good job bookending the story, taking you back to Alan's original dream from the beginning of the base game.
You can see Remedy leaning into the dream logic that would come to define their next big Wake-verse game Control. It might be a little while before I get to Alan Wake 2, but I hope it's more along these lines.
You can see Remedy leaning into the dream logic that would come to define their next big Wake-verse game Control. It might be a little while before I get to Alan Wake 2, but I hope it's more along these lines.
Much better than The Signal because it didn’t focus on combat. Story was also much better and I especially liked the level design. The maze and the lighthouse approach, in particular, might be even better than anything in the base game imo.