Alan Wake takes place in 3 layers - the story Wake writes, the events Wake lives through, and the game the player plays. This game similarly feels like it was written and designed for 3 different mediums and stories at the same time. On one level it wants to be a survival horror game - the mechanics for that are where the majority of the gameplay takes foot, and it's a fine core gameplay loop. On another, it wants to be a typical stage-based third person action game - there's a ton of collectibles and rewards for wandering around and quirky dialogue with satisfying gunplay, and no real penalty for using too much ammo or batteries (every chapter resets your ammo anyway). At its core, however, this game wants to be an indie arthouse game. This core is the most interesting layer because it is smothered to death by the presentation and gameplay of the other two.
Arguably the most interesting mechanic in the game (the manuscript pages) are a series of collectibles that require replaying the game on a higher difficulty to fully find. This really de-incentivizes caring about them at all, which is a shame, because they are a really unique and cool part of the game. Actively spoiling the game for the player as you go is a really wonderful concept, and I looked forward to finding more, but the existence of the nightmare mode exclusive pages made me realize they were insignificant enough to be locked behind new game+.
Similarly, Alan Wake puts a lot of effort into seeming like a Twin Peaks-style episodic thriller, but the payoff for that is not really there. It's almost comical to see "PREVIOUSLY ON ALAN WAKE" with a dramatic highlight reel pop up before you start a map. It takes away drastically from the tone the rest of the game tries to establish.
This might sound odd, but it genuinely feels like the game would benefit from being a visual novel or a walking simulator more than anything else. The walking sim metanarrative idea would later be nailed in Edith Finch, and visual novels provide the perfect framing for the deeply unsettling written portions of the game that feel completely out of place in a game with such over-the-top TV drama moments. I don't know. I want to like this game but it's just so boring gameplay-wise and directionless that I can't bring myself to call it more than a 5/10 at max.
Arguably the most interesting mechanic in the game (the manuscript pages) are a series of collectibles that require replaying the game on a higher difficulty to fully find. This really de-incentivizes caring about them at all, which is a shame, because they are a really unique and cool part of the game. Actively spoiling the game for the player as you go is a really wonderful concept, and I looked forward to finding more, but the existence of the nightmare mode exclusive pages made me realize they were insignificant enough to be locked behind new game+.
Similarly, Alan Wake puts a lot of effort into seeming like a Twin Peaks-style episodic thriller, but the payoff for that is not really there. It's almost comical to see "PREVIOUSLY ON ALAN WAKE" with a dramatic highlight reel pop up before you start a map. It takes away drastically from the tone the rest of the game tries to establish.
This might sound odd, but it genuinely feels like the game would benefit from being a visual novel or a walking simulator more than anything else. The walking sim metanarrative idea would later be nailed in Edith Finch, and visual novels provide the perfect framing for the deeply unsettling written portions of the game that feel completely out of place in a game with such over-the-top TV drama moments. I don't know. I want to like this game but it's just so boring gameplay-wise and directionless that I can't bring myself to call it more than a 5/10 at max.