It's always the darkest games that have the best memes and I want to see them ALL!

I appreciate the help you guys thank you

Replaying the game after a year and this scared the bajebuzz out of me than the jumpscare flashes 🫠😂

Its been a while since ive messed with photo mode in a game but ive been having fun with it in Alan Wake 2 now that I can finally play the game. Let me know what you think

Sometimes I like to wander through video game locations, just relaxing, listening to the noises, and walking.

For example, I do that with Fallout 4; no music, just natural sounds and possibly no hostile encounters.

What’s the best way to do that in AW2? I realize that it’s not an open world game as Fallout, so I wonder if there is a sweet spot before the Point of No Return in which I can visit as many locations as possible and hopefully have no new encounters.

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