The Good:
- Really immersive cinematic feel
- Great soundtrack
- Actually interesting meta moments
- Engaging story and atmosphere
The Ok:
- Mixed voice acting
The Bad:
- Repetitive and sometimes frustrating combat
Conclusion:
Alan Wake is a game stuffed with awesome ideas that’s unfortunately held back by its gameplay (which is somehow less forgivable than vice versa). The base story is pretty simple, but I genuinely enjoyed the more outlandish the meta aspect became. The way the story frames Alan’s abilities as a writer is really cool, and it led to some awesome moments. I also really enjoyed the whole ‘we made it into a tv show’ thing; the songs at the end of each Episode always hit. However, I can’t quite bring myself to fully enjoy the game. In a word, I just don’t like the combat, which is rough when it’s easily the majority of your playtime. Against normal Taken, it works fine, and can even be fun, but I think it all falls apart in the late game when you’re being swarmed. It’s simply not fun, and the game doesn’t really give you adequate tools. Alan himself controls like a tank, and has the stamina of an old man. This is fine conceptually, as it emphasizes that he’s a normal dude in an outlandish situation, but the issue is that these limitations are combined with a very action oriented gameplay loop. It feels like the game wants you to be sprinting and dodging everywhere, but you just can’t, and it can become really annoying. Still, despite that major flaw, I enjoyed pretty much everything else about the game (although I quit the DLC partway through). I’ll pick up Alan Wake II for sure.
- Really immersive cinematic feel
- Great soundtrack
- Actually interesting meta moments
- Engaging story and atmosphere
The Ok:
- Mixed voice acting
The Bad:
- Repetitive and sometimes frustrating combat
Conclusion:
Alan Wake is a game stuffed with awesome ideas that’s unfortunately held back by its gameplay (which is somehow less forgivable than vice versa). The base story is pretty simple, but I genuinely enjoyed the more outlandish the meta aspect became. The way the story frames Alan’s abilities as a writer is really cool, and it led to some awesome moments. I also really enjoyed the whole ‘we made it into a tv show’ thing; the songs at the end of each Episode always hit. However, I can’t quite bring myself to fully enjoy the game. In a word, I just don’t like the combat, which is rough when it’s easily the majority of your playtime. Against normal Taken, it works fine, and can even be fun, but I think it all falls apart in the late game when you’re being swarmed. It’s simply not fun, and the game doesn’t really give you adequate tools. Alan himself controls like a tank, and has the stamina of an old man. This is fine conceptually, as it emphasizes that he’s a normal dude in an outlandish situation, but the issue is that these limitations are combined with a very action oriented gameplay loop. It feels like the game wants you to be sprinting and dodging everywhere, but you just can’t, and it can become really annoying. Still, despite that major flaw, I enjoyed pretty much everything else about the game (although I quit the DLC partway through). I’ll pick up Alan Wake II for sure.