This game had no right to be this good! It was the perfect detective game. The cases were interesting and well thought out, always making you think like a real detective, taking into account the evidence and details to find the right culprit.
The story has lots of ups and downs, exposing you to different types of cases and investigative approaches. At times, this game felt like a great detective TV show, keeping you engaged with its twists and turns. The Noir atmosphere of the 40s and 50s is just fantastic, and Los Angeles is the perfect city for this kind of game. Los Angeles becomes Los Angeles y Los Demonios in this game, immersing you in its dark and gritty underworld.

The facial expressions are the game's trademark, revolutionary for 2011. Many people might find them a bit cringy, but I thought they were impressive and added charm to the game. The attention to detail in capturing subtle facial movements made interrogations feel more authentic and challenging, as you had to read characters’ emotions to determine if they were lying or telling the truth.

One of my favorite aspects of this game is the main menu. It’s so creative; I love when games try to do something unique like that. Out of the letters from the light panel, only the letters L, I, and E flicker. A cool detail, right? You know the game will be good from the moment you see the effort put into these kinds of things. This kind of creativity sets the tone for the entire game, showing that the developers cared deeply about every aspect of the experience.

The soundtrack is amazing too, especially the main theme. It’s very moody and makes me want to drink some whiskey and light up a cigar while elegantly dressed in a suit with a nice hat on my head, contemplating life and the immortality of the soul. The music perfectly complements the game’s atmosphere, enhancing the feeling of being a detective in post-war Los Angeles. Each track is carefully composed to match the intensity and emotion of the scenes, making the experience even more immersive.

One thing I can't say i was a fan of is how large the map was, considering there’s not much to do in free roam. However, it’s not really a bad thing as they did well in creating the L.A. of that time, even if it wasn't super necessary. The detailed recreation of the city is impressive, and while the free roam activities are limited, it adds to the authenticity and scale of the game.
Team Bondi did a fantastic job with this game. It’s a shame they don’t exist anymore. The effort and passion they poured into L.A. Noire are evident in every detail. I hope we will see more games like L.A. Noire at some point. The gaming industry needs more titles that challenge players to think critically and immerse them in richly detailed worlds. Until then, L.A. Noire remains a standout example of what a detective game can achieve.

Alan Wake is a very special game for me. Along with the lesser-known Guns, Gore & Cannoli, it's what got me back into video games in 2020 after five 'wilderness years' where I thought I was done with this hobby. It brought me so much joy in a way that simply doesn't come when you're a habitual player. Far be it from me to claim it works for everyone, but I genuinely believe video games cured my depression, and Alan Wake was the game that started this return.

I could not have chosen a better game to get back into the hobby, because even non-gamers would find a lot to appreciate here. Alan Wake has an intriguing story, beautiful graphics and a kick-ass soundtrack. Also, its gameplay isn't very good. So it fulfills all the requirements for a classic survival horror title.

The first two words spoken in this game are 'Stephen King.' Alan Wake is a love letter to the campy, commercial horror that makes up so much of his work. There are shot-for-shot homages to his film adaptations, and the protagonist directly lampshades his knack for turning innocuous objects into horror stories. And just as with some of Stephen King's favourite heroes, the main character is an author. A tweed-suited author, unshaven and unassuming, who can't run three steps without running out of breath. He seems to be have written a story that is coming true, word for word. This gives us such brilliantly meta passages as, "He took out his hip flask when he reached the page that described how he reached the page that made him take out his hip flask." Sam Lake is a great writer himself.

It was an incredible feeling to explore this game's world, and remember how entertaining video games are - I'd forgotten. The chief gameplay gimmick is illumination - in the light you're safe, in the dark they get you. This makes every unlit spot in the game feel like a threat, and street lamps are safe havens. It's tense, and was even more so when I replayed this game because I accidentally selected Hard difficulty without realizing it. The gameplay isn't going to win any awards, however. Alan sucks at cardio, and for a game that heavily advertises Energizer batteries, all it taught me was that they can't even power a dinky torch for 5 seconds. It's a repetitive game, and vestiges of its scrapped open-world design still shine through in the nigh-pointless driving segments.

Yet it still brought me so much joy. The development team might not have known how to make movement feel good, or the gunplay satisfying, but they definitely knew how to create a moment. Fighting off dark demons with the power of heavy metal, fireworks exploding everywhere, is a memory I will treasure forever. Even the small things - the in-game TV programmes, the NPCs in the loony bin and the thermoses you pick up because Alan's body is 75% black coffee - they made me so happy. This re-ignited a video game addiction that has still to subside 4 years later. So thank you, Remedy, and thank you Sam Lake. Now do the face.

So I finish this game and a remake announcement appears out of thin air?? We are so back!! Their mom isn't though lolololol.

At first glance, this game looks stupid, but it's pretty gruesome (and stupid). The main gimmick is two characters for one controller but I summoned a bestie again through remote play and so here we are. We actually plowed through without ever talking, so that's another neat thing, and the game is piss easy so it was a good call to spice it up, even though we didnt, huh, call or anything as mentioned before. I'll look at the remakes' cutscene because there are a few i look forward to, I don't see the point in replaying it for slightly better graphics / different art direction. We will not be replaying.