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CHRONICLES OF THE SUNKEN WRITER: GAIDEN
If Remedy only learned what Alan Wake was when they finished it, all subsequent small content (both DLCs and American Nightmare) are them stretching their muscles and working on the things they learned. It's the proper "first try" at Alan Wake.
While the DLCs are the stronger attempts, American Nightmare feels more like a side-story. In my mind it has the same energy of a tie-in comic book or something like that, it doesn't really expand any idea and mostly finds a new story to tell in the established concepts.
On itself, it's a kind of fun continuation of the duality in Wake fighting himself, only instead of himself as an artist it's himself as a person. His demons manifesting in real life, not on his work.
It feels surprisingly incomplete as well, but it's a fun few hours.
If Remedy only learned what Alan Wake was when they finished it, all subsequent small content (both DLCs and American Nightmare) are them stretching their muscles and working on the things they learned. It's the proper "first try" at Alan Wake.
While the DLCs are the stronger attempts, American Nightmare feels more like a side-story. In my mind it has the same energy of a tie-in comic book or something like that, it doesn't really expand any idea and mostly finds a new story to tell in the established concepts.
On itself, it's a kind of fun continuation of the duality in Wake fighting himself, only instead of himself as an artist it's himself as a person. His demons manifesting in real life, not on his work.
It feels surprisingly incomplete as well, but it's a fun few hours.
This review contains spoilers
CHRONICLES OF THE SUNKEN WRITER #1: DEPARTURE
Creating anything is a personal struggle, be it solo or with a team. Any person in that process is their own protagonist and antagonist, with the result of their battle, their truce, being what we usually call art.
Remedy's Alan Wake exists in that struggle. On a basic level, it's a story about a writer's-blocked hacky author who gets taken by an all-consuming darkness that manifests through the mind, who feeds on ideas. It makes his unfinished story come back to kill him, until he finds a way to end it.
Deeper in those waters is the story of a 5-year development hell, stressed out developers, artists struggling through deadlines, trying to make it all work. Before it all clicked, they must have felt the story was trying to kill them too.
All of this is due to Departure. It's the most important word in this story. The game is not just a result of struggling with writer's block, it's the result of wanting to do something different. Of killing the hard-boiled cop that made you famous and then having nothing to show for years. Facing that horrifying blank canvas, unlike anything you've worked before, and trying to make something there.
That's where you can find beauty in Alan Wake's flaws. It's the best story on writer's block ever written because a lot of it IS the block, it's the old maps from an open world game being chopped into structured levels, it's the lighting they wasted so much time creating being used as a main mechanic, it's about going through this incomplete thing and seeing it come together, against all odds, discovering what it was supposed to be. Art-making as the art itself.
There's a reason Remedy's output has only gotten better and more distinct over time, and it all comes back to this. With Payne they discovered they can make art, with Wake they found their voice as artists.
Lastly, Alan couldn't defeat the darkness. He's trapped by it and forced to write and rewrite for eternity, a perfect metaphor for writer's block, but it ends with this slight glimmer of light.
To me, it makes sense that Wake has appeared in every subsequent Remedy game in one way or another. They wanted to make a sequel but for many reasons couldn't, so while they left those 5 years of development hell and went onto bigger things, Alan is still stuck there, doomed to be an unfinished idea.
All they want to do is save him.
Creating anything is a personal struggle, be it solo or with a team. Any person in that process is their own protagonist and antagonist, with the result of their battle, their truce, being what we usually call art.
Remedy's Alan Wake exists in that struggle. On a basic level, it's a story about a writer's-blocked hacky author who gets taken by an all-consuming darkness that manifests through the mind, who feeds on ideas. It makes his unfinished story come back to kill him, until he finds a way to end it.
Deeper in those waters is the story of a 5-year development hell, stressed out developers, artists struggling through deadlines, trying to make it all work. Before it all clicked, they must have felt the story was trying to kill them too.
All of this is due to Departure. It's the most important word in this story. The game is not just a result of struggling with writer's block, it's the result of wanting to do something different. Of killing the hard-boiled cop that made you famous and then having nothing to show for years. Facing that horrifying blank canvas, unlike anything you've worked before, and trying to make something there.
That's where you can find beauty in Alan Wake's flaws. It's the best story on writer's block ever written because a lot of it IS the block, it's the old maps from an open world game being chopped into structured levels, it's the lighting they wasted so much time creating being used as a main mechanic, it's about going through this incomplete thing and seeing it come together, against all odds, discovering what it was supposed to be. Art-making as the art itself.
There's a reason Remedy's output has only gotten better and more distinct over time, and it all comes back to this. With Payne they discovered they can make art, with Wake they found their voice as artists.
Lastly, Alan couldn't defeat the darkness. He's trapped by it and forced to write and rewrite for eternity, a perfect metaphor for writer's block, but it ends with this slight glimmer of light.
To me, it makes sense that Wake has appeared in every subsequent Remedy game in one way or another. They wanted to make a sequel but for many reasons couldn't, so while they left those 5 years of development hell and went onto bigger things, Alan is still stuck there, doomed to be an unfinished idea.
All they want to do is save him.
𝘖𝘕𝘊𝘌 𝘜𝘗𝘖𝘕 𝘈 𝘛𝘐𝘔𝘌 𝘐𝘕 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘓𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘖𝘍 𝘔𝘌𝘓𝘔𝘖𝘕𝘋,
𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘚𝘗𝘓𝘜𝘕𝘋𝘌𝘙 𝘖𝘍 𝘝𝘌𝘎𝘌𝘛𝘈𝘛𝘐𝘖𝘕 𝘋𝘌𝘊𝘈𝘠𝘌𝘋 (𝘊𝘖𝘔𝘌 𝘖𝘕!)
𝘐𝘛 𝘞𝘈𝘚 𝘗𝘙𝘖𝘗𝘏𝘌𝘊𝘐𝘡𝘌𝘋 𝘛𝘏𝘈𝘛 𝘍𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘚𝘛𝘜𝘕𝘕𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘓𝘐𝘎𝘏𝘛 𝘞𝘈𝘙𝘙𝘐𝘖𝘙𝘚 𝘞𝘖𝘜𝘓𝘋 𝘊𝘖𝘔𝘌 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘚𝘈𝘝𝘌 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘋𝘈𝘠 (𝘞𝘏𝘈-𝘞𝘏𝘈-𝘞𝘏𝘈𝘛)
𝘈𝘙𝘙𝘐𝘝𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘐𝘕 𝘊𝘖𝘙𝘕𝘌𝘓𝘐𝘈 𝘈𝘔𝘐𝘋𝘚𝘛 𝘈𝘓𝘓 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘋𝘌𝘓𝘐𝘙𝘐𝘈, 𝘍𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘔𝘍𝘚 𝘌𝘔𝘌𝘙𝘎𝘌𝘋 (𝘏𝘌𝘓𝘓 𝘠𝘌𝘈𝘏!)
𝘛𝘖 𝘛𝘌𝘈𝘊𝘏 𝘈 𝘝𝘈𝘓𝘜𝘌𝘋 𝘓𝘌𝘚𝘚𝘖𝘕, 𝘉𝘌𝘛 𝘠𝘖𝘜'𝘓𝘓 𝘊𝘖𝘜𝘕𝘛 𝘠𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘉𝘓𝘌𝘚𝘚𝘐𝘕𝘎𝘚 𝘈𝘛 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘉𝘌𝘈𝘛𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘛𝘏𝘈𝘛'𝘚 𝘈𝘉𝘖𝘜𝘛 𝘛𝘖 𝘖𝘊𝘊𝘜𝘙
𝘏𝘌𝘙𝘌 𝘞𝘌 𝘎𝘖:
The Final Fantasy series (or FIFA as I'm now going to call them) is sooooooo big. It's this big cultural institution, this gaming juggernaut, AND as this important pillar in the history of making games, so it always felt unnaproachable to me, the dude who never played a single one but knows a lot about them by just growing up around people who talk about games.
It's the reason I'm always anxious to get into it. Where do I start? From the very first one? Just the greatest hits? How do I begin to properly understand a franchise so important to my favourite medium?
When Stranger of Paradise was announced and people were making fun of the cutscenes, I decided this would be the one. For no real reason, it just seemed different enough and I thought it would be funny to pop my proverbial cherry with the weirdo spin-off with Fred Durst in it. I didn't expect it to be something I would love so much.
I'm not gonna fool around here: it's all about the story. The busted-up, duct-taped, janky, smart, emotional, wonderful tale this game wants to tell.
SoP always feels like it's a small production, in-between mindlessly crawling dungeons you only have a couple of "sets", a couple of characters, and they're all standing in one place and spouting lines, it feels very "high-school theater" in a way. Which I wouldn't say it's charming, but the impressive thing is how much it wants to do with the little it has. Even when it gets cinematic and fancy, you feel like it's the important stuff they wanted to waste resources into, totally different from how the rest of the game tells its story.
It's the most ambitious high-school play ever, it wants to do so much!
Ever thought about how crazy the plot of FIFA 1 is? With the time loop, the weird amnesiac heroes (funnily enough a detail that's always forgotten), goofy pirates and witches, it's a wild little world that always seemed fun when I heard about it. It feels like a mesh of different fantasy stories and it can only hide that weirdness because it's a fun little 8-bit RPG.
SoP invests in that craziness and goes beyond the confines of suspending disbelief for fantasy, going instead straight into messaging and themes. The world doesn't make sense, but it's not that type of story.
I think most people just didn't realize it, but the craziness of FIFA 1 allows you to tell a story like SoP, you just need a little extra push with multiverse-stuff and past lives (which are ALL extensions of the time loop and the amnesia stuff that's already there).
It just fells like such a genius little way to build an anniversary game that simultaneously works as a remake/retelling/prequel of the first, it's doing 4 jobs with just one hand and it's so unique!!! You would rarely find an opportunity like this anywhere else!!
I mean, come on, the dungeons are references to all FIFA games!! The final twist turns "Amnesiac warriors trying to get their memories back and fighting God" into a creation myth for the entire Final Fantasy series!! It's insane!! Nothing has ever done this!!
Stranger of Paradise is the little game that could. Everyone joked about it, few believed in it, but it's my dark horse. I think it's genuinely super special and unlike anything out there. The gameplay, which I avoided talking about, is also nothing to scoff at. It's got depth, it feels good, it gets you thinking, it's fun!
I can definitely say that this isn't for everyone, it's definitely not perfect, but if you go with an open mind, I think it'll be worth your time in the end.
And as for me, I'm finally ready to get into these games. Now that I think about it, SoP ends on a call to action that just inspires you to play Final Fantasy, so maybe I should get on that.
𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘚𝘗𝘓𝘜𝘕𝘋𝘌𝘙 𝘖𝘍 𝘝𝘌𝘎𝘌𝘛𝘈𝘛𝘐𝘖𝘕 𝘋𝘌𝘊𝘈𝘠𝘌𝘋 (𝘊𝘖𝘔𝘌 𝘖𝘕!)
𝘐𝘛 𝘞𝘈𝘚 𝘗𝘙𝘖𝘗𝘏𝘌𝘊𝘐𝘡𝘌𝘋 𝘛𝘏𝘈𝘛 𝘍𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘚𝘛𝘜𝘕𝘕𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘓𝘐𝘎𝘏𝘛 𝘞𝘈𝘙𝘙𝘐𝘖𝘙𝘚 𝘞𝘖𝘜𝘓𝘋 𝘊𝘖𝘔𝘌 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘚𝘈𝘝𝘌 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘋𝘈𝘠 (𝘞𝘏𝘈-𝘞𝘏𝘈-𝘞𝘏𝘈𝘛)
𝘈𝘙𝘙𝘐𝘝𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘐𝘕 𝘊𝘖𝘙𝘕𝘌𝘓𝘐𝘈 𝘈𝘔𝘐𝘋𝘚𝘛 𝘈𝘓𝘓 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘋𝘌𝘓𝘐𝘙𝘐𝘈, 𝘍𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘔𝘍𝘚 𝘌𝘔𝘌𝘙𝘎𝘌𝘋 (𝘏𝘌𝘓𝘓 𝘠𝘌𝘈𝘏!)
𝘛𝘖 𝘛𝘌𝘈𝘊𝘏 𝘈 𝘝𝘈𝘓𝘜𝘌𝘋 𝘓𝘌𝘚𝘚𝘖𝘕, 𝘉𝘌𝘛 𝘠𝘖𝘜'𝘓𝘓 𝘊𝘖𝘜𝘕𝘛 𝘠𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘉𝘓𝘌𝘚𝘚𝘐𝘕𝘎𝘚 𝘈𝘛 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘉𝘌𝘈𝘛𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘛𝘏𝘈𝘛'𝘚 𝘈𝘉𝘖𝘜𝘛 𝘛𝘖 𝘖𝘊𝘊𝘜𝘙
𝘏𝘌𝘙𝘌 𝘞𝘌 𝘎𝘖:
The Final Fantasy series (or FIFA as I'm now going to call them) is sooooooo big. It's this big cultural institution, this gaming juggernaut, AND as this important pillar in the history of making games, so it always felt unnaproachable to me, the dude who never played a single one but knows a lot about them by just growing up around people who talk about games.
It's the reason I'm always anxious to get into it. Where do I start? From the very first one? Just the greatest hits? How do I begin to properly understand a franchise so important to my favourite medium?
When Stranger of Paradise was announced and people were making fun of the cutscenes, I decided this would be the one. For no real reason, it just seemed different enough and I thought it would be funny to pop my proverbial cherry with the weirdo spin-off with Fred Durst in it. I didn't expect it to be something I would love so much.
I'm not gonna fool around here: it's all about the story. The busted-up, duct-taped, janky, smart, emotional, wonderful tale this game wants to tell.
SoP always feels like it's a small production, in-between mindlessly crawling dungeons you only have a couple of "sets", a couple of characters, and they're all standing in one place and spouting lines, it feels very "high-school theater" in a way. Which I wouldn't say it's charming, but the impressive thing is how much it wants to do with the little it has. Even when it gets cinematic and fancy, you feel like it's the important stuff they wanted to waste resources into, totally different from how the rest of the game tells its story.
It's the most ambitious high-school play ever, it wants to do so much!
Ever thought about how crazy the plot of FIFA 1 is? With the time loop, the weird amnesiac heroes (funnily enough a detail that's always forgotten), goofy pirates and witches, it's a wild little world that always seemed fun when I heard about it. It feels like a mesh of different fantasy stories and it can only hide that weirdness because it's a fun little 8-bit RPG.
SoP invests in that craziness and goes beyond the confines of suspending disbelief for fantasy, going instead straight into messaging and themes. The world doesn't make sense, but it's not that type of story.
I think most people just didn't realize it, but the craziness of FIFA 1 allows you to tell a story like SoP, you just need a little extra push with multiverse-stuff and past lives (which are ALL extensions of the time loop and the amnesia stuff that's already there).
It just fells like such a genius little way to build an anniversary game that simultaneously works as a remake/retelling/prequel of the first, it's doing 4 jobs with just one hand and it's so unique!!! You would rarely find an opportunity like this anywhere else!!
I mean, come on, the dungeons are references to all FIFA games!! The final twist turns "Amnesiac warriors trying to get their memories back and fighting God" into a creation myth for the entire Final Fantasy series!! It's insane!! Nothing has ever done this!!
Stranger of Paradise is the little game that could. Everyone joked about it, few believed in it, but it's my dark horse. I think it's genuinely super special and unlike anything out there. The gameplay, which I avoided talking about, is also nothing to scoff at. It's got depth, it feels good, it gets you thinking, it's fun!
I can definitely say that this isn't for everyone, it's definitely not perfect, but if you go with an open mind, I think it'll be worth your time in the end.
And as for me, I'm finally ready to get into these games. Now that I think about it, SoP ends on a call to action that just inspires you to play Final Fantasy, so maybe I should get on that.