Alan Wake

 "Stephen King once wrote, 'Nightmares exist outside of logic, and there’s little fun to be had in explanations; they’re antithetical to the poetry of fear'."  I'm not trying to get all subliminal or thought-provoking here, this is literally the first line of dialogue in Remedy's long awaited Alan Wake.  The quoted sentence instantly sets the tone of the events to come throughout the entire game, subtlety be damned.  Instead of the pulpy noir that unfolded in their previous efforts, the Max Payne franchise, we're treated to straight up meta horror storytelling, influenced heavily by Stephen King and other various horror writers.  It bends genres enough to stand out, but ultimately nearly wears out its welcome with its drudging combat.

Stop me if you've heard this one.  Alan Wake is a writer of thriller and horror novels who travels to the American North-West in the hopes of curing his writer's block but someone he loves goes missing and he must battle through the darkness where creepiness ensues and unique supporting characters are summarily killed off one by one.  Sounds a little too close to being derivative, I know.  However, Alan Wake's story is told with a stunning amount of sincere gravitas which just goes to show how dedicated a developer like Remedy can be.  As the titular character, it's up to you to save Alice and figure out the mystery that is Bright Falls.


The story is told episodically with each episode ending with a cliffhanger ending and a late title card while the next starts with a "Previously On Alan Wake..." featurette.  It sounds contrived on paper, but in action it's one of the most unique, creative ways of transitions I've seen in a video game.  It made me pumped and primed to continue the story since I didn't have to wait until next week to see what happened next.  The tone is set with a magnificent voice over narration that sounds ripped straight from a b-rate horror novel.

 Make no mistake, though, as there are plenty of other influences at work here.  In fact, throughout the run of the game FBI Agent Nightingale calls Wake by a slew of different authors' names.  Dan Brown, Hemingway, James Joyce, Mickey Spillane, H.P. Lovecraft; all of these are drawn upon in retrospect, especially the latter.  One can certainly draw ties to Twin Peaks when you notice how detailed, well-written and flat-out strange the occupants of Bright Falls are.


The combat is where the strength of the game falters, at least a few moments.  The darkness has infected recent inhabitants who are now known as the "Taken".  In order to kill them, Alan must shine his light on them until the shadows covering them have disappeared before killing them with some well placed gunshots.  Between the four different tiers of flashlights and four or five different weapons available, the combat gets fairly tiresome near the end when it simply feels like more and more padding to get the running time extended.  For the amount of time that it doesn't overstay its welcome, shooting creepy dudes in the head is satisfying enough without making it feel like work.  Especially when they screech out such nonsensical lines as "Omega 3 fatty acids are good for your heart!" or "Fishing is both work and a hobby!"

If you don't mind a game stringing you along incredibly linear paths, your protagonist wearing a tweed jacket with leather elbow pads, or a stunningly lackluster climax, Alan Wake can manage to captivate you by its incredible story telling and gorgeous lighting effects.  To say that it's been worth the wait since Remedy announced the game in 2005 would probably be a lie, but it's still a damn fine example of their work and I hope they can pump out another before another five years pass.  Oh, and Night Springs is one of the best shows on television.