The flashlight meter will recharge, but survival horror elements come into play with batteries you can use to instantly restore the flashlight, as well as ammo. Holding the left trigger allows you to “aim” the flashlight, which burns the darkness at a faster rate but depletes the flashlight meter. “Alan can do a quick dodge to avoid enemies, but that’s pretty much his only means of defense.” The game’s entire design is wrapped into this idea, as there’s no targeting reticle, but instead a bright flashlight beam that serves as one. This is done by using Alan’s flashlight, flares, or other light sources. Every enemy Alan faces is wrapped in darkness, and that has to be burned off first before you can use a weapon to damage them. One of the most unique qualities about Alan Wake Remastered lies in its combat system, and how the game plays with the idea of light and darkness. There’s an unsettling atmosphere that permeates the entire game and combining that with quality audio design creates an experience that can easily get under your skin. The way mist creeps over the hills and light filters through the trees is as breathtaking as it is eerie. Looking at the environments and textures, you could forget Alan Wake is an eleven-year-old game, but the character models bring that fact screaming back to the surface.Īlan Wake has always been an absurdly atmospheric horror game, but the remaster helps crank all of that up even more. The models have clearly been updated, but they still look incredibly rough, especially in terms of facial animations. On the other hand, however, the character models have not aged nearly as well. The 4K presentation helps bring more dynamic color to the world of Alan Wake, and the environments, in particular, look absolutely stunning, and on par with anything you’d see today. To get the new elements out of the way, Alan Wake Remastered’s visual upgrades are, by and large, pretty good. “Alan Wake remains one of the most unique games I’ve ever played, and a masterclass in psychological horror.” The pacing of Alan Wake’s story is spot on, as Remedy clearly designed each episode like a TV show, with a specific twist and climax. But, the otherwise great combat quickly gets repetitive, though, Alan Wake does try hard to make it engaging until the end by adding some special enemy types later on.The game’s narrative plays out like a television drama with different episodes, ending credits, and a recap. This is one of the reasons why I couldn't get myself to finish Alan Wake back in 2010 and my second try a couple of years later was also filled with frustration for exactly the same reason.ĭon't get me wrong here, if Alan Wake actually had to offer something fresh and meaningful to the story every time it asked me to walk through another forest, I would be ok with that. The distance between the objectives can be unnecessarily long most of the time and these paths are usually filled with action sequences that don't offer anything meaningful other than being just another action sequence for the sake of action sequences. ![]() One thing that bugged me quite often during my 10-hour playthrough is how dull the level design gets when you are treading through the same forest for the fifth or sixth time. ![]() The combat is fun and engaging initially but can feel dull later on thanks to repetitive action sequences. You'll always want more and always eagerly try to get to the next cutscene to see where this dark thriller is taking you next. ![]() Speaking about pacing, Alan Wake's story will never feel dull or unnecessarily long, even when some gameplay elements are not doing it any favours. If only we got more horror games utilising such pacing. This was a unique feature over a decade ago when the original was released, and it still feels very fresh and different. The structure of Alan Wake is very similar, almost identical to a thriller TV series with episodes that usually end with big cliffhangers. The structure of Alan Wake is almost identical to a thriller TV series with episodes that usually end with big cliffhangers.Īlan Wake's story is like something you can usually read in Stephen King's novels - it's brimming with nightmares, fear, but at the same time, determination and courage, as Wake continues to search for his beloved Alice.Įxpect many twists and turns, setbacks and memorable characters on this journey.
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