pure pulp writer nonsense that pays homage to stephen king the only way anyone can: by taking a simple, killer premise and making it run laps around metaphor island until it pukes.

but it's kind of wonderful anyway. is wake dreaming, insane, or did all this happen? where did the stuff about the clicker come from? it's as if some third party retconned the game in real time 4/5s the way through. did he kill his wife? is the lightness a metaphor for the horror of the blank page? or sobriety? why is the comic relief sidekick from bayonetta in this game? of all the twin peaks characters, why did log lady inspire a major character?

who cares. they took a bunch of stuff and threw it in a game where you burn shadows with an energizer flashlight and then blow them away with light grenades and flares. it throws a school bus at you and expects you to kill a combine harvester with said flashlight and maybe the magic of norse-inspired power metal.

anyway i love what this game does with light, i love the pacific northwest atmosphere and i dig every overt reference it's making at all times. and it had a kooky enough hook to keep me invested to the credits.

rad