Going into American Nightmare, I had some pretty low expectations. I had offhandedly heard about it while listening to some stuff about Alan Wake 2, which I plan to play next, and I looked it up to see if it was really worth playing. I'm a bit of a completionist when it comes to stories I'm into, I want to see as much of the plot as I can. The consensus was that yeah, this game contains some plot elements, but mostly it just exists as an arcade shooter that Remedy rushed through the development process.
Don't get me wrong, this is basically a forgotten spin-off game that was never meant to be a full installment in the franchise, and that's eminently clear from the first ten or so minutes of the game. Much less was done here in terms of design, writing, and development. This game largely lacks the atmosphere that defines Remedy's work. It's basically just comprised of three small levels that the player beats a handful of times, each time moving the plot forward slightly. But that tiny scope kind of works to this games benefit. Because Alan Wake's American Nightmare is fun, maybe even more fun than the original game.
The combat here isn't anything revolutionary, it's just a better version of what I played in Alan Wake Remastered. It feels more fluid, there's more variety in weapons and enemies, and things generally move at a faster pace. Twelve years later the game still looks pretty good, I enjoyed the new desert Southwest setting, and Alan Wake's character model is solid. Contrary to what I'd read, I never found the combat to get stale, and I even checked out the arcade mode after I'd completed the campaign. If I wasn't so excited to move on to Alan Wake 2, I'd have probably spent at least a couple more hours with this game.
As far as the story goes, I genuinely liked it. The time loop element is a cool addition, Mr. Scratch is an interesting if not particularly compelling concept (I like that they played with the doppelganger thing again later in Control), and the ways that each level changed over the course of the story kept things fresh and interesting. Alan Wake himself feels like an evolved version of the character - a man who's gotten his wits about him in the two years he's spent in darkness. And I even enjoyed collecting the manuscript pages almost as much as I did in the original game. While I can't for the life of me remember the names of any of the supporting characters, I thought the almost schlocky voice acting was charming, and actually laughed at one or two of Alan Wake's one-liners.
Is this a masterpiece or a must-play addition to the franchise? Absolutely not. But I really enjoyed it, and I'm glad I checked it out. If you like Alan Wake, I'd recommend it to you too.
Don't get me wrong, this is basically a forgotten spin-off game that was never meant to be a full installment in the franchise, and that's eminently clear from the first ten or so minutes of the game. Much less was done here in terms of design, writing, and development. This game largely lacks the atmosphere that defines Remedy's work. It's basically just comprised of three small levels that the player beats a handful of times, each time moving the plot forward slightly. But that tiny scope kind of works to this games benefit. Because Alan Wake's American Nightmare is fun, maybe even more fun than the original game.
The combat here isn't anything revolutionary, it's just a better version of what I played in Alan Wake Remastered. It feels more fluid, there's more variety in weapons and enemies, and things generally move at a faster pace. Twelve years later the game still looks pretty good, I enjoyed the new desert Southwest setting, and Alan Wake's character model is solid. Contrary to what I'd read, I never found the combat to get stale, and I even checked out the arcade mode after I'd completed the campaign. If I wasn't so excited to move on to Alan Wake 2, I'd have probably spent at least a couple more hours with this game.
As far as the story goes, I genuinely liked it. The time loop element is a cool addition, Mr. Scratch is an interesting if not particularly compelling concept (I like that they played with the doppelganger thing again later in Control), and the ways that each level changed over the course of the story kept things fresh and interesting. Alan Wake himself feels like an evolved version of the character - a man who's gotten his wits about him in the two years he's spent in darkness. And I even enjoyed collecting the manuscript pages almost as much as I did in the original game. While I can't for the life of me remember the names of any of the supporting characters, I thought the almost schlocky voice acting was charming, and actually laughed at one or two of Alan Wake's one-liners.
Is this a masterpiece or a must-play addition to the franchise? Absolutely not. But I really enjoyed it, and I'm glad I checked it out. If you like Alan Wake, I'd recommend it to you too.