A really solid action horror game, though a very confused one at that. Alan Wake doesn´t really know what it wants to be. As a horror game it mostly succeeds. Its atmosphere, tension, and writing are its best parts. As an action game it’s a mess.
I like the mechanic of having to light up enemies to break down their defenses before being able to shoot them. It adds an engaging layer to resource management and forces the player to pay more attention in combat scenarios. Sadly, there’s a particular focus on dodging incoming attacks that isn’t really supported by the way the player character moves and reacts. Incoming attacks tend to come from offscreen, and there’s no way to know if something is coming in order to properly dodge it. The physics engine seems to be tuned to favor ‘realistic’ and mostly clunky movement, so controlling Alan isn’t nearly as precise as it should be to support this approach to combat. And Remedy still doesn't know how to do engaging platforming.
Another issue with Alan’s controls comes with his slow walking and running speed. During plenty of sections this isn’t an issue at all, but there’s plenty of very open areas that could have interesting rewards for exploring them further if only it wasn’t such a slow pain in the ass to do so. It’s clear that these areas were built for a different style of exploration, and that feeling only adds to the overall sense of confused identity that this game carries throughout. Most of these open areas have nothing in them, not even the quite crappy collectibles that are occasionally spread around. A couple of hours in I just decided to follow the minimap at all times. A minimap that wouldn’t be there if not for these really confusing and annoying to traverse through open areas.
I love the story being told here, and the way it’s being told. It’s a fascinating mix of Lynch and King, with fun characters, moody sequences, and a killer soundtrack. It plays with structure in a way more games should try, but the pacing is completely off for plenty of its ‘episodes’. The combat sequences are mostly to blame for this. Cool set pieces overall, but its unwieldly nature, poor difficulty balancing, and repetitive encounters make these a slog to get through pretty damn fast for a game so hard-headedly focused on action. I can only imagine what this game could have been if not for a clearly very messy production and confused objectives.
The Remastered version looks very pretty on PC. It does have some constant bugs related to lighting though, which get to be very annoying at times. It doesn't make the game unplayable, but it's annoying and doesn't do the experience any favors. The two DLCs aren't anything to write home about, just more of the same in a smaller package. Still, enjoyable for what they are and what they add to the overall narrative.
I like the mechanic of having to light up enemies to break down their defenses before being able to shoot them. It adds an engaging layer to resource management and forces the player to pay more attention in combat scenarios. Sadly, there’s a particular focus on dodging incoming attacks that isn’t really supported by the way the player character moves and reacts. Incoming attacks tend to come from offscreen, and there’s no way to know if something is coming in order to properly dodge it. The physics engine seems to be tuned to favor ‘realistic’ and mostly clunky movement, so controlling Alan isn’t nearly as precise as it should be to support this approach to combat. And Remedy still doesn't know how to do engaging platforming.
Another issue with Alan’s controls comes with his slow walking and running speed. During plenty of sections this isn’t an issue at all, but there’s plenty of very open areas that could have interesting rewards for exploring them further if only it wasn’t such a slow pain in the ass to do so. It’s clear that these areas were built for a different style of exploration, and that feeling only adds to the overall sense of confused identity that this game carries throughout. Most of these open areas have nothing in them, not even the quite crappy collectibles that are occasionally spread around. A couple of hours in I just decided to follow the minimap at all times. A minimap that wouldn’t be there if not for these really confusing and annoying to traverse through open areas.
I love the story being told here, and the way it’s being told. It’s a fascinating mix of Lynch and King, with fun characters, moody sequences, and a killer soundtrack. It plays with structure in a way more games should try, but the pacing is completely off for plenty of its ‘episodes’. The combat sequences are mostly to blame for this. Cool set pieces overall, but its unwieldly nature, poor difficulty balancing, and repetitive encounters make these a slog to get through pretty damn fast for a game so hard-headedly focused on action. I can only imagine what this game could have been if not for a clearly very messy production and confused objectives.
The Remastered version looks very pretty on PC. It does have some constant bugs related to lighting though, which get to be very annoying at times. It doesn't make the game unplayable, but it's annoying and doesn't do the experience any favors. The two DLCs aren't anything to write home about, just more of the same in a smaller package. Still, enjoyable for what they are and what they add to the overall narrative.