This was a rough experience. After playing Control and absolutely loving it I knew I wanted to go back and play Remedy's other games, especially with Alan Wake II coming out soon. I had started and stopped Alan Wake a few times but finally decided to finish it - it was definitely a mixed bag of an experience.
The story is what carries the game for me. It's a really interesting concept that gets weirder the further into the game you get, and I thought the writing and voice direction were really strong overall. I've never seen Twin Peaks but know of the general vibe of the show and that seems to be the same vibe that Alan Wake is going for here. It's a really interesting premise and I'm excited to see how Remedy builds on it for the sequel.
My biggest gripe with the game, however, and the aspect that frustrated me the most was the gameplay. This game just did not feel fun to play a lot of the time, and at a certain point I was powering through the combat encounters just to see the next story beat. The light gimmick is interesting when you first start using it but the novelty wears off pretty quickly, especially when you're being surrounded on all sides by enemies. This game loves to hit you with the slow-mo sequence just as an enemy is about to hit you and you can't dodge out of the way in time. There's also no indicator whatsoever for enemies that are off-screen - no on-screen cue, no sound effect, nothing - and the number of times I was essentially stun-locked by off-screen enemies was infuriating. And not to mention those god damn throwing axes - I was ready to pull my hair out after I kept getting hit with fucking axes that were thrown off screen. The movement was also super clunky a lot of the time - a product of the game's era for sure, but still annoying to deal with, particularly when you needed to get a running start to jump over a gap and the game just decides not to register your jump on time and you fall.
I wanted to enjoy Alan Wake a lot more than I did, but it wasn't a terrible experience; the story is really interesting and kept me moving through the often tedious and frustrating gameplay. Against my better judgment I'm planning to play the two DLC episodes as well as American Nightmare before the sequel comes out - hopefully I won't lose my sanity in the process.
The story is what carries the game for me. It's a really interesting concept that gets weirder the further into the game you get, and I thought the writing and voice direction were really strong overall. I've never seen Twin Peaks but know of the general vibe of the show and that seems to be the same vibe that Alan Wake is going for here. It's a really interesting premise and I'm excited to see how Remedy builds on it for the sequel.
My biggest gripe with the game, however, and the aspect that frustrated me the most was the gameplay. This game just did not feel fun to play a lot of the time, and at a certain point I was powering through the combat encounters just to see the next story beat. The light gimmick is interesting when you first start using it but the novelty wears off pretty quickly, especially when you're being surrounded on all sides by enemies. This game loves to hit you with the slow-mo sequence just as an enemy is about to hit you and you can't dodge out of the way in time. There's also no indicator whatsoever for enemies that are off-screen - no on-screen cue, no sound effect, nothing - and the number of times I was essentially stun-locked by off-screen enemies was infuriating. And not to mention those god damn throwing axes - I was ready to pull my hair out after I kept getting hit with fucking axes that were thrown off screen. The movement was also super clunky a lot of the time - a product of the game's era for sure, but still annoying to deal with, particularly when you needed to get a running start to jump over a gap and the game just decides not to register your jump on time and you fall.
I wanted to enjoy Alan Wake a lot more than I did, but it wasn't a terrible experience; the story is really interesting and kept me moving through the often tedious and frustrating gameplay. Against my better judgment I'm planning to play the two DLC episodes as well as American Nightmare before the sequel comes out - hopefully I won't lose my sanity in the process.