Nicnac
1994
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG- 4/20
The Mega Drive Sonic games just kept getting better, huh? Sonic 3 is just "What if Sonic 2 didn't fall off really hard in the second half?", which unsurprisingly gives you a better game. The Chaos Emerald minigame is so much better as well- I'm glad Mania kept the blue sphere minigame because it's such an upgrade from the shitty ring tunnel runs, UFO runs or the pinball corridors from previous titles. 3 just refines pretty much everything I didn't enjoy about previous games- not only are the emerald minigames the best they've been, but the levels feel like Sonic 2's levels but better, fully moving away from 1/CD's vertical levels. Level transitions are another small addition that ultimately make the game feel really cohesive, it's great.
The introduction of Knuckles is pretty cool too, it's nice to see Sonic's supporting cast get developed bit by bit. He's unfortunately not playable in this one without the lock-on function but his initial showing as a misguided force manipulated by Robotnik is a good start to the character.
There's not a lot to say about Sonic 3 because it doesn't really do anything new, it just does what previous games do but better. I'm really happy with it and I think it actively competes with Mania and Knuckles for the best game in the series.
Next- Sonic & Knuckles
Previous- Sonic CD
The Mega Drive Sonic games just kept getting better, huh? Sonic 3 is just "What if Sonic 2 didn't fall off really hard in the second half?", which unsurprisingly gives you a better game. The Chaos Emerald minigame is so much better as well- I'm glad Mania kept the blue sphere minigame because it's such an upgrade from the shitty ring tunnel runs, UFO runs or the pinball corridors from previous titles. 3 just refines pretty much everything I didn't enjoy about previous games- not only are the emerald minigames the best they've been, but the levels feel like Sonic 2's levels but better, fully moving away from 1/CD's vertical levels. Level transitions are another small addition that ultimately make the game feel really cohesive, it's great.
The introduction of Knuckles is pretty cool too, it's nice to see Sonic's supporting cast get developed bit by bit. He's unfortunately not playable in this one without the lock-on function but his initial showing as a misguided force manipulated by Robotnik is a good start to the character.
There's not a lot to say about Sonic 3 because it doesn't really do anything new, it just does what previous games do but better. I'm really happy with it and I think it actively competes with Mania and Knuckles for the best game in the series.
Next- Sonic & Knuckles
Previous- Sonic CD
1994
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG- 5/20
This is it for 2D Sonic for 8 games and 16 years, and what a finale. Everything has built up to it.
The Mega Drive Sonic games just kept improving until the better part of Sonic 3 & Knuckles tops it off with the best version of everything. The best OST of Sonic's classic games. The best zones in Sonic's classic games- Sandopolis Zone's incredible music and fun ghost gimmick, Sky Sanctuary giving you tons of rings from the start to let you really let loose as Super/Hyper Sonic in some reruns of older fights, and especially Doomsday for being a great conclusion to not only the game but Sonic on the Mega Drive, as you hurtle through space boosted by the emeralds you've collected picking up rings in a race against the timer.
There's just so much polish in 3&K, from the character animations, expanded story scope, better level designs, better music, the second set of Emeralds if you're locked onto 3, the 3 playable characters and the level transitions being a really cute way to feel like you're actually progressing in the game as opposed to disconnected levels.
2D Sonic was pretty much mastered here. It's a shame that it took 16 years to get another 2D Sonic game, 17 until we got another good 2D Sonic game, and 23 years until we got a 2D Sonic game as good as this. Sonic & Knuckles is a beautiful farewell to Sonic's 2D rise to fame- and I'm happy that it still takes a few games after this for the fall to really happen.
Next- Sonic Adventure
Previous- Sonic the Hedgehog 3
This is it for 2D Sonic for 8 games and 16 years, and what a finale. Everything has built up to it.
The Mega Drive Sonic games just kept improving until the better part of Sonic 3 & Knuckles tops it off with the best version of everything. The best OST of Sonic's classic games. The best zones in Sonic's classic games- Sandopolis Zone's incredible music and fun ghost gimmick, Sky Sanctuary giving you tons of rings from the start to let you really let loose as Super/Hyper Sonic in some reruns of older fights, and especially Doomsday for being a great conclusion to not only the game but Sonic on the Mega Drive, as you hurtle through space boosted by the emeralds you've collected picking up rings in a race against the timer.
There's just so much polish in 3&K, from the character animations, expanded story scope, better level designs, better music, the second set of Emeralds if you're locked onto 3, the 3 playable characters and the level transitions being a really cute way to feel like you're actually progressing in the game as opposed to disconnected levels.
2D Sonic was pretty much mastered here. It's a shame that it took 16 years to get another 2D Sonic game, 17 until we got another good 2D Sonic game, and 23 years until we got a 2D Sonic game as good as this. Sonic & Knuckles is a beautiful farewell to Sonic's 2D rise to fame- and I'm happy that it still takes a few games after this for the fall to really happen.
Next- Sonic Adventure
Previous- Sonic the Hedgehog 3
2022
I'm not enough of a Sonic nerd to know or care if these are the definitive editions of these games (I never had any issues with any of them), but I got 2 pretty OK games and 3 (well, 2.5 but & Knuckles took me longer than CD so I count them separately) great games for a decent price, and there's a good bit of bonus content like challenges, art galleries and fun stuff like Mirror Mode that makes me think it's worth it regardless.
Uncharted is the MCU of the gaming industry.
It’s tonally very similar, there’s a focus on spectacle over nuanced storytelling, your dad is probably quite fond of it, and most of all it’s formulaic. Uncharted 3 is where the formula really feels like it’s set in stone.
Now, it’s worth noting that I actually really like both Uncharted and the MCU, but in both cases I really wish they’d push their boundaries a little bit. They’re complacent, and it’s a shame to keep feeling like they could just go a little further and get so much more out of it.
For the third time now Nate and Sully have gone to a foreign land to go looking for an ancient city, only to find a power-hungry leader of a mercenary group find treasure deep within the ruined land that transforms and mutates their goons. The twist in Uncharted 3 is that Nate is only hallucinating the last part and the goons are in fact perfectly normal (although you still have to fight flaming teleporting demon mercenaries while Nate is tripping balls).
There’s almost nothing new here. The shooting is still pretty good with the only change being that the melee combat sucks less this time- but still isn’t great. The plot is the same tune with different words. The banter between Nate and Sully is still great and the characters continue to be the best part of this franchise- I was getting to like newly introduced Charlie Cutter before he broke his leg and was escorted out of the story halfway through by a returning Chloe, who I missed dearly for the remainder of the game.
Uncharted 3’s best part is the really great set of chapters consisting of Nate stowing away on a cargo plane, the plane crashing, wandering through the desert, fighting through an abandoned town and then multiple extended gunfights on horseback. The momentum of these chapters is where the game really shines because it all feels new. You’re constantly mixing things up and the game feels fresh. And then you’re kicked into an abandoned ancient city with a terrible treasure buried within its depths and waves of superpowered mooks to fight through and it’s so disappointing.
Uncharted 3 is not a bad game by any means- it’s very competently made, funny and knows exactly what it wants to be. But it never wants to be anything more.
It’s tonally very similar, there’s a focus on spectacle over nuanced storytelling, your dad is probably quite fond of it, and most of all it’s formulaic. Uncharted 3 is where the formula really feels like it’s set in stone.
Now, it’s worth noting that I actually really like both Uncharted and the MCU, but in both cases I really wish they’d push their boundaries a little bit. They’re complacent, and it’s a shame to keep feeling like they could just go a little further and get so much more out of it.
For the third time now Nate and Sully have gone to a foreign land to go looking for an ancient city, only to find a power-hungry leader of a mercenary group find treasure deep within the ruined land that transforms and mutates their goons. The twist in Uncharted 3 is that Nate is only hallucinating the last part and the goons are in fact perfectly normal (although you still have to fight flaming teleporting demon mercenaries while Nate is tripping balls).
There’s almost nothing new here. The shooting is still pretty good with the only change being that the melee combat sucks less this time- but still isn’t great. The plot is the same tune with different words. The banter between Nate and Sully is still great and the characters continue to be the best part of this franchise- I was getting to like newly introduced Charlie Cutter before he broke his leg and was escorted out of the story halfway through by a returning Chloe, who I missed dearly for the remainder of the game.
Uncharted 3’s best part is the really great set of chapters consisting of Nate stowing away on a cargo plane, the plane crashing, wandering through the desert, fighting through an abandoned town and then multiple extended gunfights on horseback. The momentum of these chapters is where the game really shines because it all feels new. You’re constantly mixing things up and the game feels fresh. And then you’re kicked into an abandoned ancient city with a terrible treasure buried within its depths and waves of superpowered mooks to fight through and it’s so disappointing.
Uncharted 3 is not a bad game by any means- it’s very competently made, funny and knows exactly what it wants to be. But it never wants to be anything more.
It’s certainly not bad by any means- fun writing that feels like a slightly modernised Indiana Jones film, competent gunplay and climbing with some puzzles and shitty boat segments to break it up and really good graphics for 2007, but I really don’t know how this became such a big franchise for Sony. Now, I’m not complaining because its sequels are all much better than it, but it’s just odd that it became such a staple series of the Playstation library. Fun game though.
Better than its predecessor (and its successor) in literally every single way to an extent that it’s funny.
Uncharted 2 has much better levels than 1.
Uncharted 2 has much more impressive levels than 1 (the perfect opening sequence and the incredibly cool sequence fighting through a train immediately spring to mind).
Uncharted 2 has better puzzles than 1.
Uncharted 2 has much prettier levels than 1.
Uncharted 2 has Chloe Frazer and her voice, which I would crawl over broken glass to hear.
I’m still a little confused as to why the first game was such a smash hit, but I’m glad it was because Among Thieves is just so damn good. Having just wrapped up the Nathan Drake Collection and collecting my thoughts on the PS3 trilogy before I jump into the end of the series with 4 and Lost Legacy, I don’t know how this can be topped within its franchise. It feels like everything an Uncharted game should be.
Uncharted 2 has much better levels than 1.
Uncharted 2 has much more impressive levels than 1 (the perfect opening sequence and the incredibly cool sequence fighting through a train immediately spring to mind).
Uncharted 2 has better puzzles than 1.
Uncharted 2 has much prettier levels than 1.
Uncharted 2 has Chloe Frazer and her voice, which I would crawl over broken glass to hear.
I’m still a little confused as to why the first game was such a smash hit, but I’m glad it was because Among Thieves is just so damn good. Having just wrapped up the Nathan Drake Collection and collecting my thoughts on the PS3 trilogy before I jump into the end of the series with 4 and Lost Legacy, I don’t know how this can be topped within its franchise. It feels like everything an Uncharted game should be.
Fun little trilogy of action games that feel like a set of Hollywood summer blockbusters. 2 is the clear highlight, but the other two are certainly worth playing.
If Chloe Frazer beat me to death I would thank her.
If Chloe Frazer beat me to death I would thank her.
The greatest thing that has ever come out of the Five Nights at Freddy's IP. Easily surpasses all of Scott's games and any fangame I've played. For free.
1998
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG- 6/20
Yeah the gameplay is a step down from 3&K- half of the playable characters are simply not fun to play- but Sonic himself plays remarkably well (so do Tails and Gamma) and there's so much heart in this game that I don't care.
There's something about this game. The early 3D graphics, the great soundtrack, the goofy-ass voice acting, the semi-open world, the plot that's goofy but so earnest in its execution and a final level that goes really hard all add up to make Sonic's first foray into the 3rd dimension a classic.
I'm surprised at how well Sonic's gameplay translated into 3D on the first attempt. Speed is translated in a way that feels surprisingly natural and the addition of a homing attack means combat isn't ever too much of a hassle.
If I played this game when I was a kid I would have adored it to pieces. Now that I'm older the flaws in it unfortunately show themselves, like Knuckles, Amy and especially Big just not being satisfying to play and the best non-Sonic stories ending too soon, but Sonic Adventure is a great translation of a classic series into 3D. Sonic's golden age is coming to a close, but the Blue Blur has one more banger left in him before a deep dive into mediocrity.
Next- Sonic Adventure 2
Previous- Sonic & Knuckles
Yeah the gameplay is a step down from 3&K- half of the playable characters are simply not fun to play- but Sonic himself plays remarkably well (so do Tails and Gamma) and there's so much heart in this game that I don't care.
There's something about this game. The early 3D graphics, the great soundtrack, the goofy-ass voice acting, the semi-open world, the plot that's goofy but so earnest in its execution and a final level that goes really hard all add up to make Sonic's first foray into the 3rd dimension a classic.
I'm surprised at how well Sonic's gameplay translated into 3D on the first attempt. Speed is translated in a way that feels surprisingly natural and the addition of a homing attack means combat isn't ever too much of a hassle.
If I played this game when I was a kid I would have adored it to pieces. Now that I'm older the flaws in it unfortunately show themselves, like Knuckles, Amy and especially Big just not being satisfying to play and the best non-Sonic stories ending too soon, but Sonic Adventure is a great translation of a classic series into 3D. Sonic's golden age is coming to a close, but the Blue Blur has one more banger left in him before a deep dive into mediocrity.
Next- Sonic Adventure 2
Previous- Sonic & Knuckles
Outside of the memes I love this fucking stupid franchise. I remember being 10 years old and being totally sucked into FNAF lore.
2023
haven’t played this game and i really don’t plan to but I do think it’s deeply hilarious that upon this game’s release defenders of the game’s prominent antisemitic undertones and Rowling’s continued deranged behaviour called this a GOTY candidate and a phenomenal game only for it to not get nominated a single time at the game awards or the golden joysticks. get fucked losers
This review contains spoilers
Three years into its lifespan, the PS5 has finally got its first "System Seller" exclusive- it had other exclusives, sure, Returnal and Ratchet and Clank were big games (that later got ported to PC) and Demon's Souls is a big remake of a classic, but comparative to something like God of War, The Last of Us or Ghost of Tsushima, they weren't games that brought people over to the system.
No longer- the sequel to one of the best games on the PS4's library is here and it's better, but not by too much. Spider-Man 2 is the best of Insomniac's adventures with the wall-crawler for sure, but it's got a weirdly different set of flaws to the 2018 original.
Let's talk about what it does right first. The biggest improvement I noticed going from the original to 2 is the traversal. You swing around at significantly higher speeds than either of the previous games and it feels great to be able to zip through New York like a madman. The mid-air boosts from Miles Morales return as well (Peter gets them too, thankfully) and feel just as good here as they did there. The biggest addition to the traversal is the Web Wings- on demand you can stop swinging and start gliding, catching updrafts and wind tunnels and going much faster than even web-swinging can allow. Several buildings have web-slingshot opportunities that let you blast across the streets in the blink of an eye. The significant improvements to an already-fantastic system are really nice as the size of the map has been increased massively with the addition of Queens and Brooklyn. It's really impressive that Insomniac have been able to improve so much on an already fantastic system.
Another triumph of SM2 is the combat. A big change is removing the ability to heal until you have a full focus bar, drastically reducing your survivability in combat compared to earlier games. Removing the relatively clunky gadget wheel of the earlier games and trimming the fat to four gadgets was a good call, even if I miss how busted the impact webs were, and both Miles and Peter have a set of special abilities they can pop mid-combat. These abilities feel so good to use- slamming a horde of enemies into the ground at once, teleporting on top of people with a lightning blast, and Miles' various "pocket atom bomb" moves are all so satisfying to use. Special mention, however, goes to the symbiote- activating the God of War-style rage mode for the first time and hearing the symbiote's animalistic roars blast out of your controller was a really cool moment that takes advantage of the Dualsense. Insomniac use the PS5's tech to incredible ends- the SSD means that the fast travel is instant and they're able to instantly render different setpieces. It's really good to see a game stop holding itself back by being cross-gen and embrace the power of the new generation.
A big improvement are the non-Spidey missions. I am so happy that Insomniac decided to listen to feedback and turn MJ into Mary John Wickson- her "stealth" missions are just her mowing down mooks with a stun gun and a dream and I am so happy I don't have to sneak around and instantly fail if I'm spotted. Every mission with her she gets stronger and stronger and she's so much more fun to play. No notes.
Unrelated to MJ, Don't Be Scared is easily the best mission in the entire game. Possibly my favourite gameplay moment from anything that came out this year, it's so goddamn awesome to run around and slaughter people as motherfucking Venom. Kraven's boss fight as Peter is a long gruelling endurance match on Spectacular- he eats all of your punches like they're nothing and can kill you in three or four hits, but when you fight him as Venom he's a cakewalk and Venom is talking shit the whole time. I love it so much.
Another highlight is the voice cast. The cast were great in SM1 and MM, but they are phenomenal here. Miles' voice actor doesn't sound nearly as nasal and unsure as he did in earlier games and it's a shame he didn't grab a nomination for Best Performance at the VGAs this year, he's really improved. Tony Todd's legendary voice talent as Venom is my favourite the character has ever sounded, utterly dripping with an otherworldly menace. Norman Osborn, MJ, Kraven, Martin Li, Wraith and even relatively minor characters like Ganke and Rio Morales are all great. The absolute standout of a very talented voice cast is of course Yuri Lowenthal as Peter Parker. He delivered a top 2 Spider-Man performance in his debut and his performance as Bully Lowenthal when under the influence of the symbiote is just great. He might be my favourite voice for Spider-Man ever, only rivalled by Josh Keaton in Spectacular.
For all these steps forward, there are unfortunately a few steps back. The biggest one is the story. SM2's story is overall definitely good but it feels a good bit more rushed than 2018's, which is one of the best Spider-Man stories ever told. Miles is unfortunately put on the sidelines a lot more than I'd like, and once you get the symbiote the game feels like it rushes through the story a bit from that point on, which is a shame because the black suit portion of the game is easily my favourite part. I also have a few problems with the game's depiction of Venom as a "take over the world" monster not really matching with what he is in the comics, but that's not a flaw in the game, just me not enjoying a change from the source material.
I'm also a little less fond of the side content this time around- the FNSM apps are all great additions but the map-marker quests like Sandman parts or Mysteriums feel more repetitive than they did in earlier games. This might just be because it's the third time Insomniac are doing this type of thing, but it got really old collecting stuff this time. At least there's no Screwball missions (did Kraven get her off-screen? Hope so!).
Another issue I had was with the boss fights. They're great overall, but the last third of the game has so many crammed next to each other when the first two are sparse at best and it leaves the last bit feeling like a boss rush. Not a huge problem but I do wish they spread them out a bit more.
Overall I really can't complain too much about Spider-Man 2. It's better than the first two in almost every aspect, but a few story snags hold it back from being a 9/10 in my eyes. Very glad that the PS5 has a huge game that takes full advantage of being exclusively on it and doesn't have to hold itself back a bit to run on ten-year-old hardware. Very excited for what Insomniac have next.
No longer- the sequel to one of the best games on the PS4's library is here and it's better, but not by too much. Spider-Man 2 is the best of Insomniac's adventures with the wall-crawler for sure, but it's got a weirdly different set of flaws to the 2018 original.
Let's talk about what it does right first. The biggest improvement I noticed going from the original to 2 is the traversal. You swing around at significantly higher speeds than either of the previous games and it feels great to be able to zip through New York like a madman. The mid-air boosts from Miles Morales return as well (Peter gets them too, thankfully) and feel just as good here as they did there. The biggest addition to the traversal is the Web Wings- on demand you can stop swinging and start gliding, catching updrafts and wind tunnels and going much faster than even web-swinging can allow. Several buildings have web-slingshot opportunities that let you blast across the streets in the blink of an eye. The significant improvements to an already-fantastic system are really nice as the size of the map has been increased massively with the addition of Queens and Brooklyn. It's really impressive that Insomniac have been able to improve so much on an already fantastic system.
Another triumph of SM2 is the combat. A big change is removing the ability to heal until you have a full focus bar, drastically reducing your survivability in combat compared to earlier games. Removing the relatively clunky gadget wheel of the earlier games and trimming the fat to four gadgets was a good call, even if I miss how busted the impact webs were, and both Miles and Peter have a set of special abilities they can pop mid-combat. These abilities feel so good to use- slamming a horde of enemies into the ground at once, teleporting on top of people with a lightning blast, and Miles' various "pocket atom bomb" moves are all so satisfying to use. Special mention, however, goes to the symbiote- activating the God of War-style rage mode for the first time and hearing the symbiote's animalistic roars blast out of your controller was a really cool moment that takes advantage of the Dualsense. Insomniac use the PS5's tech to incredible ends- the SSD means that the fast travel is instant and they're able to instantly render different setpieces. It's really good to see a game stop holding itself back by being cross-gen and embrace the power of the new generation.
A big improvement are the non-Spidey missions. I am so happy that Insomniac decided to listen to feedback and turn MJ into Mary John Wickson- her "stealth" missions are just her mowing down mooks with a stun gun and a dream and I am so happy I don't have to sneak around and instantly fail if I'm spotted. Every mission with her she gets stronger and stronger and she's so much more fun to play. No notes.
Unrelated to MJ, Don't Be Scared is easily the best mission in the entire game. Possibly my favourite gameplay moment from anything that came out this year, it's so goddamn awesome to run around and slaughter people as motherfucking Venom. Kraven's boss fight as Peter is a long gruelling endurance match on Spectacular- he eats all of your punches like they're nothing and can kill you in three or four hits, but when you fight him as Venom he's a cakewalk and Venom is talking shit the whole time. I love it so much.
Another highlight is the voice cast. The cast were great in SM1 and MM, but they are phenomenal here. Miles' voice actor doesn't sound nearly as nasal and unsure as he did in earlier games and it's a shame he didn't grab a nomination for Best Performance at the VGAs this year, he's really improved. Tony Todd's legendary voice talent as Venom is my favourite the character has ever sounded, utterly dripping with an otherworldly menace. Norman Osborn, MJ, Kraven, Martin Li, Wraith and even relatively minor characters like Ganke and Rio Morales are all great. The absolute standout of a very talented voice cast is of course Yuri Lowenthal as Peter Parker. He delivered a top 2 Spider-Man performance in his debut and his performance as Bully Lowenthal when under the influence of the symbiote is just great. He might be my favourite voice for Spider-Man ever, only rivalled by Josh Keaton in Spectacular.
For all these steps forward, there are unfortunately a few steps back. The biggest one is the story. SM2's story is overall definitely good but it feels a good bit more rushed than 2018's, which is one of the best Spider-Man stories ever told. Miles is unfortunately put on the sidelines a lot more than I'd like, and once you get the symbiote the game feels like it rushes through the story a bit from that point on, which is a shame because the black suit portion of the game is easily my favourite part. I also have a few problems with the game's depiction of Venom as a "take over the world" monster not really matching with what he is in the comics, but that's not a flaw in the game, just me not enjoying a change from the source material.
I'm also a little less fond of the side content this time around- the FNSM apps are all great additions but the map-marker quests like Sandman parts or Mysteriums feel more repetitive than they did in earlier games. This might just be because it's the third time Insomniac are doing this type of thing, but it got really old collecting stuff this time. At least there's no Screwball missions (did Kraven get her off-screen? Hope so!).
Another issue I had was with the boss fights. They're great overall, but the last third of the game has so many crammed next to each other when the first two are sparse at best and it leaves the last bit feeling like a boss rush. Not a huge problem but I do wish they spread them out a bit more.
Overall I really can't complain too much about Spider-Man 2. It's better than the first two in almost every aspect, but a few story snags hold it back from being a 9/10 in my eyes. Very glad that the PS5 has a huge game that takes full advantage of being exclusively on it and doesn't have to hold itself back a bit to run on ten-year-old hardware. Very excited for what Insomniac have next.
1993
The definitive first-person shooter.
Up there with Half-Life as the definitive PC game.
Easily in the 10 most influential games ever made.
Ported to everything with a battery.
Motherfucking Doom.
Happy 30 years to the daddy of the genre, here's to 30 more!
Up there with Half-Life as the definitive PC game.
Easily in the 10 most influential games ever made.
Ported to everything with a battery.
Motherfucking Doom.
Happy 30 years to the daddy of the genre, here's to 30 more!
alan wake faces his mortal nemesis alan snooze
mr scratch is clearly having the time of his life and i love it
mr scratch is clearly having the time of his life and i love it
2010
Forgot to write a review of AW1 until now, whoops :P
Better than I expected- combat getting really stale by the end of the game is pretty much my only complaint. The mechanics are pretty good, the game looks phenomenal for 2010s standards and still looks great, the plot is engaging and I love the episodic structure- it's a really neat gimmick that helps break up the game and gives Alan Wake a different vibe to most games.
Naughty Dog has been trying to make their games cinematic spectacles for years- Uncharted feeling like a summer blockbuster and TLOU like a big-budget drama. With just a few stylistic touches Alan Wake easily slips into that role more than ND possibly could, a testament to Remedy's phenomenal talent. It's very easy to see why they wanted to make a sequel to Alan Wake for over a decade- the passion behind it is palpable.
Better than I expected- combat getting really stale by the end of the game is pretty much my only complaint. The mechanics are pretty good, the game looks phenomenal for 2010s standards and still looks great, the plot is engaging and I love the episodic structure- it's a really neat gimmick that helps break up the game and gives Alan Wake a different vibe to most games.
Naughty Dog has been trying to make their games cinematic spectacles for years- Uncharted feeling like a summer blockbuster and TLOU like a big-budget drama. With just a few stylistic touches Alan Wake easily slips into that role more than ND possibly could, a testament to Remedy's phenomenal talent. It's very easy to see why they wanted to make a sequel to Alan Wake for over a decade- the passion behind it is palpable.