This could have been really special, but its priorities are all over the place,
Seeing the more open map design, I was hoping this would explore the survival-oriented direction the original Alan Wake was going in during development, before being reworked into something more focused and linear in the interest of storytelling. However, for some reason this openness is paired with taking the Alan Wake action experience and making it more frictionless; Alan can sprint long distances, is more responsive, less cumbersome, his flashlight recharges in an instant, his arsenal is more deadly. Additionally, ammo and health recharge points are everywhere and constantly recharging, becoming available again for use pretty much as soon as you need them.
So what we have here is Alan Wake but frictionless, 'fun'. It turns out, Alan Wake without the friction is kind of dull. I rarely felt any tension whatsoever when playing this.
As for the story, I found it wildly inconsistent. The live-action cinematics are atmospheric, visually compelling, well-directed, etc. The in-engine stuff? Cheap, stilted, dull. The tone's all kinds of off too, particularly in regards to women. The narrative device implies that the weird tone might be intentional, and perhaps a critique of the misogyny the game's in-universe TV show "Night Springs" is satirising, but I don't think the framing device is well-developed enough for that to land in the slightest.
Honestly, I don't regret playing bad games, because they can serve as a framework for understanding why I like good games so much. American Nightmare helped me understand why I love Alan Wake, so I appreciate the experience for that. Though while I don't regret playing it, Remedy should probably regret making it.
Seeing the more open map design, I was hoping this would explore the survival-oriented direction the original Alan Wake was going in during development, before being reworked into something more focused and linear in the interest of storytelling. However, for some reason this openness is paired with taking the Alan Wake action experience and making it more frictionless; Alan can sprint long distances, is more responsive, less cumbersome, his flashlight recharges in an instant, his arsenal is more deadly. Additionally, ammo and health recharge points are everywhere and constantly recharging, becoming available again for use pretty much as soon as you need them.
So what we have here is Alan Wake but frictionless, 'fun'. It turns out, Alan Wake without the friction is kind of dull. I rarely felt any tension whatsoever when playing this.
As for the story, I found it wildly inconsistent. The live-action cinematics are atmospheric, visually compelling, well-directed, etc. The in-engine stuff? Cheap, stilted, dull. The tone's all kinds of off too, particularly in regards to women. The narrative device implies that the weird tone might be intentional, and perhaps a critique of the misogyny the game's in-universe TV show "Night Springs" is satirising, but I don't think the framing device is well-developed enough for that to land in the slightest.
Honestly, I don't regret playing bad games, because they can serve as a framework for understanding why I like good games so much. American Nightmare helped me understand why I love Alan Wake, so I appreciate the experience for that. Though while I don't regret playing it, Remedy should probably regret making it.