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Alan Wake's American Nightmare
This review contains spoilers
"The man before you is a Champion of Light. He is part of a conflict between darkness and light that is both ancient and eternal. He is chasing a dangerous quarry, known as the Herald of Darkness."
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Alan Wake's American Nightmare is the standalone expansion to 2010's Alan Wake; though with the amount of improvements it offers, it feels disingenuous to refer to it as just that. Alan Wake's American Nightmare is a 2 hour campaign attached to a CoD Zombies-like infinite battle system with vastly improved gameplay, weapon selection, and art direction. Though Alan Wake's American Nightmare is made on the same engine as the 2010 game it's succeeding, the graphics are greatly enhanced by utilizing the engine better; the environments are greatly enhanced through better utilized lighting, models (an uncanny feel when looking at Alan's face, as he retains his original model), and fresh art direction with colorful dark blue and purple Arizona skies--a step away from the grayness of the original game.
The story of Alan Wake's American Nightmare goes that the line between reality and fiction has blurred just enough for Alan to chase his doppelganger, Mr. Scratch, to Night Springs--which Alan has placed in a rural Arizona town. It largely follows Alan stuck in a time loop as he tries to drive Mr. Scratch away and undo the fixable harm that Scratch is causing to the people of 'Night Springs'. Though the game uses just 3 characters and the same 3 locations, it's quick enough to feel fresh and never drag. Near the end, just as it's starting to feel like it needs to end, Remedy whips out the cure to all forms of boredom--big fight sequences with Old Gods of Asgard playing--to make the last of the 3 time loops less tedious. Gameplay is vastly improved from the original game, with gunplay feeling more realized and survival aspects being toned down -- Remedy knows what works, and though I hear the 2023 sequel leans more into the Survival Horror, the original game worked better when it focused on action. The ability to reload while you shine your flashlight and new, powerful weapons makes blasting through enemies a real blast. It's clear that this game's combat is made for large waves of enemies, but it never stagnates. Every time loop feels like it has a new angle for the player to approach the area from with new surprises waiting at every corner. The story content itself is very, very good. The manuscript pages swiftly lead the player into Alan's next adventure while simultaneously revisiting plot points from the first game to expand on what we left on. This series's writing is consistently fantastic, as expected from a game starring a writer.
Though I only clocked in at 4 hours, Alan Wake's American Nightmare was thoroughly enjoyable while it lasted; it's a shame that it hasn't come to modern platforms in time for Alan Wake Remastered and Alan Wake 2. After this, all I have left is to play the latest entry in the Remedyverse to finish out the Alan Wake trilogy -- which I am eagerly anticipating, once I have the money, of course.
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"Two lovers, held apart for far too long. Enveloped in the light of a glorious dawn. They both feel it, he's home at last."
---
Alan Wake's American Nightmare is the standalone expansion to 2010's Alan Wake; though with the amount of improvements it offers, it feels disingenuous to refer to it as just that. Alan Wake's American Nightmare is a 2 hour campaign attached to a CoD Zombies-like infinite battle system with vastly improved gameplay, weapon selection, and art direction. Though Alan Wake's American Nightmare is made on the same engine as the 2010 game it's succeeding, the graphics are greatly enhanced by utilizing the engine better; the environments are greatly enhanced through better utilized lighting, models (an uncanny feel when looking at Alan's face, as he retains his original model), and fresh art direction with colorful dark blue and purple Arizona skies--a step away from the grayness of the original game.
The story of Alan Wake's American Nightmare goes that the line between reality and fiction has blurred just enough for Alan to chase his doppelganger, Mr. Scratch, to Night Springs--which Alan has placed in a rural Arizona town. It largely follows Alan stuck in a time loop as he tries to drive Mr. Scratch away and undo the fixable harm that Scratch is causing to the people of 'Night Springs'. Though the game uses just 3 characters and the same 3 locations, it's quick enough to feel fresh and never drag. Near the end, just as it's starting to feel like it needs to end, Remedy whips out the cure to all forms of boredom--big fight sequences with Old Gods of Asgard playing--to make the last of the 3 time loops less tedious. Gameplay is vastly improved from the original game, with gunplay feeling more realized and survival aspects being toned down -- Remedy knows what works, and though I hear the 2023 sequel leans more into the Survival Horror, the original game worked better when it focused on action. The ability to reload while you shine your flashlight and new, powerful weapons makes blasting through enemies a real blast. It's clear that this game's combat is made for large waves of enemies, but it never stagnates. Every time loop feels like it has a new angle for the player to approach the area from with new surprises waiting at every corner. The story content itself is very, very good. The manuscript pages swiftly lead the player into Alan's next adventure while simultaneously revisiting plot points from the first game to expand on what we left on. This series's writing is consistently fantastic, as expected from a game starring a writer.
Though I only clocked in at 4 hours, Alan Wake's American Nightmare was thoroughly enjoyable while it lasted; it's a shame that it hasn't come to modern platforms in time for Alan Wake Remastered and Alan Wake 2. After this, all I have left is to play the latest entry in the Remedyverse to finish out the Alan Wake trilogy -- which I am eagerly anticipating, once I have the money, of course.
---
"Two lovers, held apart for far too long. Enveloped in the light of a glorious dawn. They both feel it, he's home at last."
12 days ago