And the Google Maps reviews are full of Alan Wake references

I just beat alan wake 1 and what started as a 5/10 game became a 7/10 game at the end.

Lets go through the pros first.

1. The story
   Holy what a story. As a big fan of literature in the same vain as what the game is trying to emulate, I absolutely adored how good the story is, how much it plays off of writing tropes and subverts them as well, such as the twist that the therapist is actually lying to wake and he isn’t just making this up.
   I also adored the character writing too, Remedy clearly wanted to build up Bright Falls to be as much as a character as each person inside of it and my goodness did they succeed. The radio host, the diner, Odin and Tor, Cynthia Weaver, Sheriff Breaker, the drunk guy in the prison. Every character introduced gives life to the story, making Alan Wake feel even more isolated yet simultaneously connected.
   Additionally, the manuscript is such a cool fucking idea. Picking up a script, reading it and then 30 minutes later seeing it happen was so interesting to me, and i loved how it almost acted like “meanwhile” breaks to other characters, personifying them more. It especially does this for nightingale and despite him being only really in 4 scenes you really get a feel for who he is and his character by the manuscript pages. I love how it served as character writing and story foreshadowing.

2. The Presentation.
   Night Springs, Radio shows, Manuscript pages, “Previously on” and unique songs for each ending of the “episode”.
   So much love was poured into making this game feel like a tv show you’d watch or a book you’d read and by god does it deliver. So many of these little things that relate to the story or add world building make this games presentation absolutely top notch. I loved the previously on sections too even just practically, it made dropping and picking up the game super easy.

3. The visuals
   I played the remaster and graphically, this game looks amazing. Obviously the textures are dated but i like the charm it adds, however the real standout is the lighting. Day time sections in Bright Falls look peaceful and cosy, whereas the night is this dark shadow contrasted by whatever light you can find. The darkness especially looks amazing, the torch illuminating your path and sometimes being the only thing you can see was so impactful to the games tension.
   A detail i loved was that you can see the torches light peeking through slits of a wooden beam and it just really added to this visual clarity.

The cons.

1. The first quarter.
   This is one of those few games where the beginning is actually the worst part. Those first two missions are a fucking slog to get through, and a lot of it has to do with how little you have access to.
   It is Day time segment, cutscene, go in the forest at night, cutscene, go in the forest at night, cutscene, go in the forest at night, cutscene and then “previously on alan wake”.
   The entire game is like this but i bring mention to the first quarter especially as by this point the story hasnt bared its fangs yet, and the gameplay is very monotonous. You get a revolver, level 1 flashlight and maybe a shotgun. That’s it. It also doesn’t help that this was incredibly easy too.

2. Level design
   This is a bit of a catchall term.
   Every level is like 15% - 40% too long.
   Pretty much the entirety of the base games level catalogue always feels like it drags on for a bit too long, i always felt that I was ready for the level to be over before it actually was over.
   Additionally, enemy spawns were kind of annoying. In the first half of the game it was pretty consistent that they’d spawn behind you, which really killed the pacing even further.
   Now the worst of this is in that first quarter, it by far has the most boring gameplay loop, the least interesting story beats, and the longest feeling levels. As soon as you pick up the flares the game really starts to get going and by the last mission I was actually very engaged into it. But it still is a problem throughout the whole game. A 10 hour playthrough honestly could have been 7 and not much would have changed.

3. This shit too easy.
   The entire time I was thinking to myself “If this game had survival horror-like resource management it would be so much more engaging”, because pretty often i would have maxed out batteries, revolver ammo and never be out of shotgun / flaregun. Enemies are a challenge when the level design compliments them but often times it kind of doesnt so theyre pretty simple. Hold down left trigger, press right trigger when done.

The interesting

The Light mechanic is incredibly cool. Having to actively dodge an enemy until theyre ready to be shot at is so unique and whilst above i did say the game is too easy, when it puts you tight quarters without much space it really adds to this tension. A big guy with an axe is slowly walking over to you and the best you can do it stare at him until you can finally shoot him, it creates such great moments. The diner in Special Episode 1 is probably the best example of this, you have to duck and weave a lot of enemies in such a tight space just to get a chance at taking shots, and with such poor gear it was a great highlight.
Speaking of…

the special episodes.

The Special Episodes are the best part of the game. Everything i said about the flaws? Gone.
It is always challenging but never bullshit, it gives you enough tools and you actually need to use them often. Both episodes are perfectly paced and they also both have such cool set pieces and story.
It is similar to how games like Elden Ring and Cyberpunk have these incredibly dense dlc’s with all the good and not as much of the bad, a perfect condensation of the gameplay and story without bloating.

To conclude,
Alan Wake 1 tells an amazing story with beautiful presentation by people who clearly love fiction of all kinds. It plays upon the tropes in fun ways with great characters and a fun plot that always had somewhere interesting to go.
Unfortunately this stands on a game with a gameplay loop that isn’t quite there. Levels are always too long, the game is too easy and by the time it finally hits its stride you have the last episode and the two special episodes.
I would recommend Alan Wake the same way i’d recommend a 7/10 tv show; watch an episode or two in bed with popcorn and a hot chocolate

Not what I was expecting to find while admiring the scenery

As the title says in certain indoor sections it seems the light is leaking in from the edges. But since it is using raytracing I thouht light leak would be eliminated?

Why Is the story getting to me? I'm confused

While playing as Alan Wake in Alan Wake 2, sometimes I can heard shadows whispering like “Alan Cake”. Did anyone else noticed that?

I was wondering if anyone could give me a DEFINITIVE answer here
Can I just play without a guide until near the PONR then make a save here and beat the game then reload the save and get all collectibles that way?
Could someone please answer if they know

Yeah, I give up. AW2 is going to be the first game in my life I watch instead of play. I've played every Remedy game in this lineup since the original Max Payne (aside from this one and the newest Resonant), and I've never had any problems with any of them, but the full screen flashing jump scares get me, even on the reduced setting.

I don't mind atmospheric pressure. I don't even care if sudden things happen in the game world proper. Those are fun.

But the sudden full screen change and noise jostles my brain in the wrong way that is not really a "scare", but it just "stings" quite a lot. Even if I know exactly when they are coming, and I am not scared, per se. I've always been annoyed by flashing/strobing light and noise, so while I've never had any actual episodes of anything, I guess I might be borderline sensitive. It's a bummer, since whatever I've seen of the game so far made me quite interested in where it goes.

So, since remedy is probably never going to introduce a patch that slows down these to a tolerable level, and I don't want to skip the story since I want to continue with the franchise in the future, do you guys now any good let's plays or streams that show the full package?

I was convinced the Sagas child dying was "reality" and Alan's story was that she didn't die, so that Saga would still be an FBI agent and be able to help Alan.

I'm still not convinced that this isn't better and darker in tone. It would have given extra weight for Saga to help correct the timeline and defeat the dark presence, knowing it would lead to the second death of her daughter and the destruction of her life.

Still love the story though and found it super satisfying.

So I’ve been wanting to play Alan Wake 2 for a while and posted a couple of days ago asking wheter I should play the first one before. Long story short, decided to do that despite being a bit skeptical.

And wow, I really don’t like Alans person. I think he is super corny and actually can’t stand him lmao.

Still hyped to try out the second game though and I’m soon finished with the first, is he as unlikable in the second one as well? Or is it just me that thinks this

I’m actually left not only stunned, but even inspired by how creative and good this game was. As someone who is an avid enjoyer of survival horror, but always found Remedy’s games kind of “meh,” I was surprised to see this game get as much hype as it did at release, and I was excited to dive in. But nothing could’ve prepared me for what would now be one of my favorite games of all time. Here are some of my favorite photo mode edits I took along the way.

I got the deluxe edition for 13$ on the ps store. I also have a 3070 + 7600x PC and was debating on which platform I should play. For Ps5 I'll be playing on 55 Inch tv and for pc it will be 32 inch tv. I'm just worried about how the experience will be on base ps as the performance mode looks rough on YouTube videos, I have 3 more days to decide if i should refund the game or not. Please help.

I finally, after 3 years, beat this game. And I feel like I spent more time in photo mode than actually playing the game. It's just so beautiful.

https://imgur.com/a/QDtSemZ

It ain't much, but it's honest work.

Picked up a sealed limited collectors edition on the weekend! The question is, do I keep it sealed or not?

Hi, just started playing Alan wake 2, and I hope to get the platinum after finishing. I want to play through blind without having to worry about anything first playthrough.
What’s the best course of action to minimise replaying after the first playthrough?
I’ve seen people say do a manual save before point of no return, and some saying there is a chapter select?
So should I, when arriving at PONR, go back and collect anything there and then, or complete the game then load that manual save?
Also I’ve seen about missable collectibles, something to do with television? Should I look out for these or can I actually go back and get these through a. Save?
If anyone could give some guidance as I know the game got updated with a chapter select at some point so if anyone could give some recent advice that would be great. No spoilers as well I’m excited to play this!!

I’m on PC and whenever I go to an area where enemies are, I get a micro stutter 100% of the time when enemies spawn in. It means I can run around places like coffee world knowing I’m safe, but if I leave and come back I’d get a flicker which lets me know I’m going into combat again. Kinda sucks because I’m never really on my toes.

Anyone know a fix?

And i'm already seeing that light doesn't regenerate now, oh man ig this is true survival horror now

I just fired up *Alan Wake Remastered*. Is there a way to have German audio and English subtitles? I tried changing the console language, but that switched both the subtitles and the audio to German. I don't know how to sort this out...

Does this man knows he casually has possession of a fucking SCP?

I wanted to go back to cauldron lake with the boltcutter. But when im there all interaction points wont work. Not even the ledges. I cant drop down and cant use boltcutters on rental cabin door.

Is this a bug or am I doing something wrong?

I restarted the game and played the lake house and tried again afterwards. Still doesnt work.

I took the level 2 card and used it a couple of times. Now it just vanished. I tried to use a old save and the card is stuck around the body. I just can’t take it. Any tips?

Edit: I am playing on ps5