Fallout 4 is a game that is very dear to me. The experience I had with it was extremely unique, and it’s really shaped my perspective on the game. I played it as a young teenager, and it was like nothing I had ever seen before. However, you’re not here to read a memoir. Even despite my nostalgia, I’ve always known this game was flawed. It took me 3-4 years to even officially beat it because of an awful game-breaking bug that soft-locked my main save file. Now that I’m an adult, I can see even more problems beyond the glitches. Though, despite its issues, I still think there’s a lot of enjoyment to be had with it at the end of the day.

Gameplay:
Fallout 4 is an open-world RPG with a large emphasis on FPS/TPS gameplay. You play as a former soldier (or the wife of a former soldier) from before the Great War and the sole survivor of an experiment involving cryogenic freezing in Vault 111. You wake up 200 years later and are tasked with navigating the wasteland and finding your kidnapped son… or screwing around… you can definitely do a lot of screwing around. The over 400 hours on my soft-locked save file is certainly a testament to that fact. This game has a lot of content.

Exploration is probably the best place to start discussing things, as it’s what shapes the gameplay loop. Fallout 4 features an expansive world packed with landmarks. There’s no shortage of interesting places to see, so going off the beaten path is always encouraged. If you just play the game for the main story, you’ll definitely miss out on what makes the game special. Even all these years later, the game still has one of my favorite open world maps. There’s interesting and unique items to collect, weird yet memorable side quests to do, and cool optional companions to find, to reasonably sum things up. However, I do have one big critique for the interior layout of buildings, and it’s that they can be so dang CONFUSING. I mean SERIOUSLY it is so easy to either get turned around or just flat-out lost due to their size and weird layouts. It’s such a pain, and it doesn’t help that they can sometimes feel super cramped too.

Combat is solid. Fallout 4 has definitely got it down in both the weapon and enemy variety departments. You’re seriously spoiled for choice with the weapons. You got pistols, rifles, baseball bats, snipers, rocket launchers, wooden boards, machine guns, shotguns, chainsaws, you name it. There’s a weapon for every occasion and tons of ways to modify them. If I had to give one substantial critique for it, it would be that there’s a bit too many ammo types, and it’s easy to run out of a certain type fast because it’s simply impossible to find. Nonetheless, it's an expansive and fairly impressive system. Armor is in a similar boat as well. Both normal armor and the series’ iconic Power Armor can be modified to your heart’s content. As for actually engaging with enemies, it’s pretty standard FPS/TPS stuff. You point at the things and click the buttons. There is the VATS mechanic, though, which will basically automatically shoot things for you if RNG deems you worthy. I never really used this mechanic as I had really bad luck with it, but it can be useful if you have the stats for it. Fights in Fallout 4 can be really intense. The game likes to overwhelm you or put you in situations where there’s an enemy who can kill you really quick if you don’t stay on your toes. I have my own mixed feelings about this, but generally, I think it can be pretty fun and leads to some exciting moments.

Throughout the world, you can find places to turn into settlements, which you can build on and make your own. This mechanic has both its upsides and downsides, but I’d say I have a positive opinion of it overall. As you explore and kill enemies, you can pick up junk to break down into material to use in modifying weapons or building up settlements. There's tons of customization options for settlements in the base game, and each of the DLC’s add even more. Settlements can hold your companions, grow food, contain a collection of workbenches, store your stuff, and generally just serve to be a safe place to hang out and make your own. They can be quite fun, but sadly, it does have its flaws. The happiness mechanic for your settlers is so finicky, and I’m sure achievement hunters all have nightmares about it. There’s also maybe a bit too many settlements around the map, and populating all of them can be a bit annoying so it’s better to ignore some completely. Each settlement you own also becomes a bit of a burden, as they can often be attacked by raiders or creatures while you’re away, and while you can totally ignore it, it can lead to some things being damaged and needing repair.

And finally, the stats and perks. Everytime you level up, you gain a point which you can spend on a skill tree. You can either spend that point in a stat to gain access to more perks associated with it, or you can spend it to actually unlock a perk. Perks are generally pretty useful, so it’s hard to go wrong with where you spend. However, points can quickly become sparse, making it a slog to unlock certain things and really be able to explore the range of abilities the game offers. Possibly the worst offender of this is the perks associated with building and modifying, since if you didn’t already invest points into the stats they’re associated with at the beginning, it can take forever to get to them and effectively level them up while also investing in other perks you need. It can lock you out of exploring a lot of the interesting weapons and armor modifications the game has to offer. But, as a whole, I’d say the skill system isn’t too bad. It’s fine for what it is.

Sadly, the game is quite buggy. There's loads of minor glitches littered throughout, and if you're unlucky like me, you can even get soft-locked! Yay! It is 2024, so things might have been ironed out by now, but who knows. It's a Bethesda game.

Story and Characters: (Spoiler Warning)
My main save file soft-locking really saved my perception of this game’s story for a long time. I got soft-locked a few missions before the protag actually finds their child, so the rest of the game lived in my mind for a long time as this mythical, epic story of choice and conflict. I built this picture in my head from the things I heard from my friends and family. However, when I finally actually beat the game… yeaaah, it’s uhhh… just kinda meh. I have a lot to say about this game’s writing, both good and bad, so I’ll start by explaining the plot in its entirety.

You start off with an opening monologue from Nate, a former soldier living in Massachusetts, talking about the horrors of war before cutting to him in his house in front of a mirror. This is where you modify your character’s appearance and/or swap to Nora, Nate’s wife who works as a lawyer. After that, you just vibe in your house for a while with your baby son, Shaun, and your robot butler, Codsworth. Eventually, a nervous Vault-Tec rep comes to your door and gets you to register for a spot at the nearby Vault 111. This is where you’ll pick out your starting stats. You do more vibing then OOPS sudden nuclear war. Nate and Nora take Shaun, head to the vault, and are seemingly safe while the world outside is annihilated. However, everyone in the vault is immediately thrown into cryopods to be awoken at a later date. After who-knows-how-long passes, you wake up, but are not completely unfrozen. You see scientists surrounding your spouse who’s holding Shaun, trying to take the baby from them. After your spouse resists, they are shot and killed by a rough looking man who’s assisting the scientists in this kidnapping. You get frozen again, wake up several years later, and vow to avenge your spouse and save your son. However, it seems that the vault had gone derelict a long time ago, with you being the only sole survivor in the cryopods. You get out of the vault alone and venture into the wasteland. (Side note: I experienced this entire opening for the first time while secretly watching my dad play it from a distance. I was still young at the time so it freaked me out. I remember being especially startled when the spouse got shot. I don’t know how impactful this opening is for adults, but I know it definitely imprinted into the mind of child me.) From there, you meet up with Codsworth in the ruins of your neighborhood and learn that it’s been 200 years since the bombs fell. You can choose to go do whatever at this point, but otherwise, the game naturally leads you further down the road where you find a shootout at the town of Concord. Clear the enemies and you’ll meet the Minutemen. The Minutemen are a real ragtag group, and their mission is to protect the settlements of the Commonwealth, which is the name for the Massachusetts wasteland. They give you your first set of Power Armor, and while you can stay and do quests for them, they point you to a place called Diamond City as a starting point for the search for your son. On your way there, you get a distress signal from the Brotherhood of Steel which you can investigate if you so choose. Once you actually arrive at Diamond City, you quickly get a tip relating to an organization called the Railroad, which you can also pursue. Otherwise, stuff happens and you meet a detective named Nick Valentine. You learn that Shaun was taken by the Institute, a mysterious organization that kidnaps people to replace them with androids called Synths. They've been causing conflict in the Commonwealth for quite some time. You specifically follow the trail of a mercenary named Kellogg, who is the same person who killed your spouse. You find him, kill him, take his brain matter, search through his memories, and learn the secret to getting into the Institute is teleportation. Stuff happens and you can eventually build a teleporter. You can now enter and explore the Institute, a super advanced place of science and technology, and meet Shaun. You find out that he is now actually an old man and the child you saw in Kellogg's memories was actually a Synth recreation of himself. Shaun goes by the Father now and is the Institute's leader. After this, you have a choice to make. Side with the Institute, Brotherhood, Railroad, or Minutemen to decide the Commonwealth's fate. Each faction has their own ideas for its future. The Brotherhood wants to eradicate the Synths and the Institute, as well as other Brotherhood of Steely things. The Railroad wants to destroy the Institute but save Synths by integrating them into society. The Institute wants to save the Commonwealth with its revolutionary technology or something like that. The Minutemen… I actually don't know what the Minutemen want… I think they just want to homestead... Anyway, siding with the Institute will see you becoming its leader and destroying the competition. Siding with the Railroad or Brotherhood will also have you beating up the competition, and the Minutemen will simply blow up the Institute while remaining relatively friendly with the others. And that is the story of Fallout 4 :)

Now, you may be wondering, “OneTrooBloo, why did you write an 800 word summary of the game's plot?” and that's because I need it to effectively discuss my problems with it. First of all, Nate and Nora stink as RPG protagonists. Nate is too defined. He's supposed to be an honorable soldier who loves his wife, yet he can go out into the wasteland, do crimes, and form a harem. Nora is more of a blank slate, but it doesn't really make sense that she can just wield a gun right off the bat. Both of them are dead-set on finding Shaun according to their dialogue, yet you can just do whatever and even ignore him if you want. The freedom to choose your faction at the end just feels so weird for the characters too. At every turn, the game feels like it wants to give you freedom to be who you want to be, but the narrative is constantly fighting it and losing. As a result, I don't really know who my character is as a person, making it kind of hard to really connect with them. Second of all, the faction stuff. The factions are cool on an individual level, but they really harm the story by sending it in all kinds of different directions that just sort of have the same result. You just kill everybody and they're gone, and for what? It's frankly more of a detriment to the world, because now you've just made enemies and limited some of the places you can go. Not to mention that the factions are unbalanced. The Minutemen seem like dweebs. The Railroad is OVERHATED. LOOK, I KNOW THEY LIKE THE COLOR BROWN TOO MUCH BUT I THINK THEY HAVE A NOBLE GOAL... The Institute has sci-fi stuff. And then there's the Brotherhood of Steel. Almost everyone I knew who played the game sided with them. Who wouldn't want to have cool airships and metal army people on your side? I'm a Railroad advocate, but I cannot deny the BoS's absurd level of coolness. It sort of defeats the point of having pickable factions. I will admit though, their philosophical dynamic is pretty cool. The conflict in regards to Synths is legitimately interesting. I think with better writing and more hands-off characterization for the protagonist, it could have made for a seriously good centerpiece of a story.

A big issue that plagues the game and definitely brings down the story is the dialogue. It can be really hit or miss, and often when it misses, it MISSES. For the positives, a lot of its best moments come from the game's good character writing, which I'll get more into later. Another thing I like is how it usually considers context. There's loads of different variations for dialogue exchanges based on events that have happened or who is in your party. The voice acting is also generally pretty solid. As for the negatives, persuasion checks are absolutely awful. Characters will just change their minds in completely unnatural ways like you're using mind control on them, and it's unfortunate because persuasion checks usually happen at the most pivotal moments. The protagonist's dialogue is also just generally bad. There are some really good lines if you choose the “sarcastic” option when you can, but otherwise their dialogue is just so flat. While NPC dialogue is more consistently decent, they are definitely prone to exposition tangents which can get old fast.

The main character may suck, but luckily, Fallout 4 has a legitimately good supporting cast. It's not the craziest thing in the world and you don't have to look hard to find a game with better, but still. I cannot deny my love for this game's characters, especially the companions. Codsworth is a super charming first companion and a good friend. Dogmeat may just be a dog, but his interactions are so cute. Piper is a determined journalist and my personal favorite character, and her connections to Diamond City are interesting. Nick Valentine is also awesome with his cool voice and super intriguing backstory. Danse is a stoic BoS soldier who is more than meets the eye. Then there's Cait, Curie, Hancock, MacCready, Preston, and I could go on and on. The companions are just so memorable and they all have their fans for a reason. You can grow your friendship and even romance some of them to learn more of their stories. They really do feel like friends. They'll even react to each other as well as the world around them on your travels together. Their characterization is amazing. There's lots of memorable NPCs too, with inhabitants of the various towns and factions having notable personalities and even sometimes charming dialogue or interesting side quests.

Sound and Visuals:
The sound design is pretty dang good, though audio glitches weren't uncommon (no surprise there). The music is quite nice too. There's of course the trademark mid-1900's licensed music the series loves, but there's also some original songs with the same vibe composed for the character Magnolia to sing. They're pretty good. Alongside that, there's the main soundtrack that'll play when you don't have the radio on. It's honestly beautiful and fits the vibes of walking through the wasteland so well.

Fallout 4's graphics haven't aged quite as bad as I thought they would. I remember feeling pretty mixed about them at the time. The overall visual style is very dirty and bleak with muted colors, which works great since this is a game about an apocalyptic wasteland. Environment design can look pretty samey at a lot of points, but there's plenty of creativity on display too. Character/creature design is also good, as should be expected from the series. The character models themselves are solid too, but their animations can be super janky. The facial animation is especially stiff, which doesn't help with the presentation of the already iffy dialogue. There's lots of effort poured into other areas of the visual presentation though, so I'd say that overall, it's decent.

Conclusion:
Fallout 4 is a really cool open world game that I don't think people give enough credit to. While the story has its problems, the game offers so much more than that. It provides an awesome world to explore with good mechanics and loads of side content to back it up. Sure, those parts of it aren't spotless either, but if nothing else, they have loads of charm that make them worthwhile. Give this game a chance if you're a fan of the genre.



DLC:
Decided to include a quick breakdown of the DLC because why not.

Automatron is cool. The story is a bit of a nothing-burger, but the robot building mechanic it introduces is nothing to sneeze at. Has a few other neat features too.

Wasteland Workshop features cool new buildable stuff for settlements, but the main gimmick of trapping creatures doesn't work very well.

Far Harbor is the best DLC by far. It has a large new map with its own neat locations, new enemies, and even a genuinely interesting main story. There's lots of cool stuff to check out with this one.

I've actually never owned Contraption Workshop, but it seems kinda pointless.

Vault-Tec Workshop lets you build your own vault! It's kinda cool and gives you lots of useful new things to use on your settlements. The quest behind it kind of sucks though, so I wouldn't call it a must-have.

Nuka World kinda sucks. While the new map is pretty cool, its story is bland and the questline that follows it is downright grueling. I'm the only person I know in the large circle of Fallout 4-playing people in my life that has actually completed this DLC because it's just that long and painful. It at least offers a lot of content if nothing else.

I bought the base version of this game before eventually upgrading to Plus, both at default price. Was it worth it? Weirdly enough, yes, at least for me personally. Your mileage is definitely gonna vary with this collection. It has lots of great features but also some problems that might weigh it down for some people.

Pros:
There's four main games to play through with several ways to do so. Anniversary mode allows the player to pick from Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy on all of the games, and it trades the lives system for coins, which can be used in a few ways. I definitely appreciate the lack of a lives system, especially on Sonic 1 and CD. Anniversary mode also gives Sonic his drop dash move from Mania, which is without a doubt my favorite addition. If you do wanna play with lives though, Classic mode has got you covered. There is also Mirror mode which just flips the stages. It's not exciting, but it's a harmless addition that simply adds a new way to play. There's also a boss rush mode that is exactly what it sounds like.

As for the coins, you can use them to retry special stages in Anniversary mode. This use is absolutely more amazing than I thought it would be, because I would NOT in a million years have ever figured out how to beat some of the special stages without it. Look, Blue Sphere levels are stupid easy once you know what you're doing, but your first time around? Basically Dark Souls. Anyway, you can also spend coins to unlock new music tracks and images in the gallery.

Speaking of the gallery, there's a big catalogue with all the music from the games and then some, as well as a huge collection of concept art, promotional material, and even some videos, including full episodes of Sonic Mania Adventures. It's actually really cool!

There's some other neat miscellaneous features. There's time trails for all the games with associated leaderboards. There's cool little 3D backgrounds on the main menu. There's new animated beginning and ending cutscenes for all of the games. There's mini challenges for each of the games too, which are kind of eh, but they're still nice bits of extra content and a fast way to earn coins (maybe too fast, in all honesty). There is also a collection of Sonic Game Gear games to check out. They're uh... not great. They range from okay to quite literally unplayable. I am glad they added them though, as I probably would have never played them otherwise, and it's fun to at least say I did it. They also have save states for them which definitely help ease the pain. Lastly, in the main games, save points are created at each checkpoint, meaning you can leave a game and come back later and not have to restart the level. It's another feature I absolutely adore, especially with how mentally draining certain levels can be.

Cons:
I'm no Sonic expert so I'm sure there's more than the ones I'll list, but here's the problems I noticed. Classic mode on Sonic 1 fails to take out the spindash. Sonic 3&K has a bit of jank in the port. It's barely noticeable and I never had it effect gameplay, but it does show an unfortunate lack of polish for a game that desperately needed a good modern port. Though having a brand new playable character in the form of Amy is awesome in concept, the execution leaves a lot to be desired, and she's without a doubt the least interesting character to play as. There's also sadly not a way to costumize which Anniversary mode features you do and don't want, so if you want to play a game with the drop dash while also having lives, you're out of luck.

Possibly the biggest sin, though, is the changed music in Sonic 3&K. Look, I get why it had to be done, and if it's the price that had to be paid in order for me to play Sonic 3&K then I will accept it... but come ON couldn't they have composed better songs? Ice Cap's replacement is at least pretty decent, but Launch Base's is kind of whatever, and Carnival Night's is hilariously bad. I was never a fan of the original Carnival Night song, but I'd take it any day over the weak instruments and the generic stock clapping sound effects that they thought would be an okay replacement. Being funny is the only thing it does right. As I mentioned, Sonic 3&K was desperate for a good modern port, and to have this happen to it is just so sad.

Games:
Thought I'd also include mini reviews for the games themselves, since those are the main attractions of this collection.

Sonic 1 hardly delivers on the promise of a fast paced game, but I think it's still decent enough as a platformer. It's got its moments, but it's also got a lot of frustrating sections that turn the game into a slog. Not to mention it contains possibly the most infamous bad level in all of gaming. The anniversary mode changes do WONDERS to mitigate these issues though, especially with the lack of lives. 2.5/5 stars

Sonic CD is one of the most polarizing games in the series, and I lean on the side that doesn't like it. The game is really short and bland if you play it straight through, yet the level design feels like it fights you at every turn if you want to go for the true objective. It's got good concepts, but the execution sucks. At least the soundtracks are total bangers. 2/5 stars

Sonic 2 is a large step up from its predecessor and where the gameplay really finds its identity. It's got fast-paced and fun levels that are always a joy to replay. It's not perfect though, and it does have some moments that feel like complete duds, but overall, it's a solid game. 3.5/5 stars

Sonic 3 & Knuckles isn't considered one of the best games in the series for nothing. The levels are fantastic and more varied than ever before. There's great replay value thanks to a number of factors, and the little bits of story sprinkled throughout make it feel like a very complete experience. The side objective in the form of collecting the chaos emeralds is also actually fun to pursue this time. It does have its meh moments, but it's thankfully great most of the time. 4.5/5 stars

Conclusion:
I personally love this collection and have put over 80 hours into it over the past 2 or so years. Though I had Sonic 1 and 2, I didn't have a reliable way to play them, and I've certainly never owned CD or 3&K. I loved having ways to play all 4 games with all the fancy features Origins offers. I especially loved having them on my Switch to play on the go. If you're like me, then this collection could definitely be worth picking up. I would generally recommend getting it on sale though.

It all started with the Herald of Darkness performance at The Game Awards. I loved Remedy's other game, Control, but I never had much interest in the Alan Wake series. That all changed on that fateful day when I heard that song and realized what I was sleeping on. I played both Alan Wake 1 and Control's AWE DLC in preparation to play this game, and when I finally got to it, I was not disappointed one bit. Alan Wake 2 has quickly become my favorite game of all time. From its impressive presentation to its excellent narrative, it is an awesomely crafted experience.

Gameplay:
In this game, you play as two characters, Alan Wake and Saga Anderson. They each have slightly different playstyles with their own interesting mechanics. Their segments can be played at whichever pace the player wishes, though the game nudges the player to switch between them at certain intervals by places spots to do so at strategic points. I quite liked this fact as I felt like I was getting both a nice balance of gameplay styles and a steady flow of information from the story.

As for the playstyles themselves, you start the game off as Saga Anderson, an FBI agent investigating a ritualistic murder outside the town of Bright Falls. Her playstyle is most similar to the gameplay in the first Alan Wake, though with some much needed improvements and extra mechanics thrown in. The combat is the same "shine light at enemy then shoot" system as the last game, but the time it takes to make an enemy vulnerable has been drastically reduced, and the flashlight no longer automatically recharges. There's actually a real element of resource management in this game for both characters, as batteries and bullets are in serious short supply. It can create some intense moments of paranoia, and sometimes frustration, as the game can get really stingy with the resources it gives out at certain sections. Luckily, enemies are somewhat rare to compensate. It makes the moments they do appear even more intense, and it's a HUUUUGE improvement over the first game where it would barely let you breath before another enemy encounter. Granted, that game was more action-adventure while this is more survival-horror, but still, it's a considerable step up. For Saga, some enemies also have weak points in unpredictable locations that reward a player's accuracy. Her combat does contain one of my bigger complaints for the game though, as the bosses she faces are really meh. The first boss is whatever, the second boss is somewhat decent, but the third ate so many bullets and had attacks that felt nearly impossible to dodge. It's not bad enough to bring the game down by any notable degree, but it's worth mentioning.

The other half of Saga's gameplay sees her doing detective work in her "Mind Place", which is an interesting element in itself. At the press of a button, Saga is sent to a room that acts as the game's inventory system. I thought this was super impressive, as it's a room full of detail that appears in an instant without any loading or stutter. The room contains the game's maps, collectibles, and Saga's mental case board. Every piece of information Saga learns is sent to the case board. Technically, the case board is optional to use, but it is extreme helpful in solving a good number of puzzles. Outside of compiling information for puzzles, the case board is also useful for the player's understanding of the story. As the player matches clues to relevant pieces of the case, they are able to process information in an engaging and immersive way. I always felt compelled to interact with it.

Meanwhile, Alan Wake is stuck in a weird dimension called the Dark Place, trying to write his way out by collecting plot points for his story... or uh... something like that. It's a little weird. His playstyle shakes the combat up a bit by adding some extra strategy to the ol' flashlight and shooting. In the Dark Place, shadow figures stand everywhere. Some are safe, but some will attack. It can be hard to tell at times, creating a constant sense of anxiety (For most of the game I actually thought you were supposed to get rid of all of the shadows and didn't know there were specific dangerous ones. I uh... wasted a lot of batteries...). The enemies seriously freaked me out at times, especially later on when they become more numerous. However, I didn't really like how frequently hostile ones could respawn. I ended up wasting a lot of resources in places where I became confused due to the sometimes obtuse level design, creating unneeded frustration. It's still luckily not enough to substantially drag the game down.

Alan Wake has something similar to Saga's Mind Place where he can go his Writer's Room. It offers many of the same features, but instead of the case board, there is the plot board. When I first used it, my socks flew off. As Alan finds plot points, he can use them to transform various locations (called scenes) in a level. Each scene has a transformation for each plot point whether it is actually useful or not. It is an awesome system that added so much when it came to puzzle-solving and exploration. Sure, this isn't the first time something like this has been done in a game (the Gloria's Theater level from Psychonauts comes to mind), but the extent to which it is done in this game is so impressive. There's also a portible light Alan can carry and place down which can alter locations in a similar way, and it's also a great tool for exploration. All of this combined with the awesome surreal environments Alan explores unfortunately leaves Saga as the weaker half of the game, but if the weaker half of a game is still phenomenal, then it speaks volumes to its overall quality.

Story and Characters:
It was a bold move to start the game off with a pale naked guy getting stabbed in the woods but I respect it. The story of Alan Wake 2 picks up 13 years after the first game. I already mentioned its basic premise(s), but there's so much more beneath the surface, and the story is so complex and interesting. There's amazing twists that still have me thinking long after I beat the game. There's so much mystery, so much drama, so many intriguing concepts, so many fascinating characters. There's funny moments, heartbreaking moments, scary moments... It's just awesome! The story is amazing! I loved it so much! I also loved its connections to Control, as a massive fan of that game. I would recommend playing Alan Wake 1 and Control (and probably also Alan Wake's Amercian Nightmare... I didn't play that one, but from what I've heard, it sounds kind of important) if you can before Alan Wake 2, but it doesn't seem entirely necessary. I mean, I forgot half of the characters from the first game before playing the second two weeks later so take that for what you will LOL. Though, back on the topic of the pale naked guy, you uhh... might wanna enable the nudity filter in the settings before starting the game if you don't wanna see that... Just saying... That "naked" part was not hyperbole.

As for the characters, they were GREAT. The majority of the important characters left some kind of an impression on me, and it was fascinating to learn more about them as the game went on through either dialogue or context clues. Saga and her partner, Alex Casey, did have me a bit sceptical at first, as I didn't think they'd end up being super interesting. BOY was I wrong. Saga is a really cool character. She feels incredibly real, even despite her seemingly supernatural investigation skills. A section near the end of the game involving her had me in tears. I was that invested in her character. Alan Wake himself was, of course, excellent as well. His arc from the first game was expanded upon in some really interesting ways, and his half of the story was full of endless intrigue. As for the other characters, Alex Casey's involvement was definitely more than I could have ever expected. Mr. Door was a fascinating character that added a lot to the mystery. Tor and Odin, the band members of Old Gods of Asgard, were reused in great ways. Agent Esteves was kind of... odd, but given the organization she works for, I suppose it's to be expected. Overall, it's a fantasticly written cast with equally great actors portraying them.

Sound and Visuals:
I was blessed with the ability to play this game on my dad's fancy sound system and ohhh my gosh. It was a great experience. This game's sound design is so good. It's so atmospheric and complements the game's many creepy moments perfectly. There were so many moments that had me spooked out of my mind, and the sound design played a big part in that. As for the music, it was expectedly mindblowing. Not only were the Old Gods of Asgard songs great, but there was also a collection of songs composed just for the chapter endings. I almost missed how great they were as I skipped many right away, wanting to eagerly continue things. It's so easy to ignore them, which is unfortunate because they're pretty good! I'd highly recommend giving them a listen, whether it be inside or outside the game.

I could write a novel on this game's visual presentation. Thinking about it makes me internally scream in a good way. It takes everything awesome about Control and kicks it up to a whole other level. The detailed and creative environments are back and more detailed and creative than ever. This game pushes modern graphics to the limits with the most immersive and realistic environments I have ever experienced outside of... uh... real life, I guess. The variety of settings is also a colossal improvement over the first game, and the use of lighting throughout is to die for. Not only are the environments detailed, but so are the character designs. They're a great example of how you can still create awesome and distinctive designs in hyper-realism. Another welcome return is the use of live action segments, and boy, are they more prevalent than ever. They are used to great effect, and it can feel like watching a real TV show at times. I cannot stress enough how much effort was put into these. To give a vague spoiler as an example, they literally made a twenty minute short film just to put in the game. A twenty minute short film which you can totally ignore the existence of, might I add. It's kind of insane.

Conclusion:
I hope this super long review has made it obvious as to why this is my favorite game of all time. It is an experience like no other out there. The things that irk me about it are nothing compared to the endless evidence of effort and talent that went into making this masterpiece. I love the gameplay. I love the story. I love the characters. I love the music. I love the visuals. I love this game. It is horror and there's some gorey and creepy and dark moments, but if you can stomach it, then I'd highly recommend checking it out.