I don't what to think about this game. On the one hand the writing is top-notch and the inner monologue is engaging. The combat is fine until halfway through when it was just the same type of enemy encounter over and over with clever enemy placement almost saving the monotony. It is also brimming with atmosphere and the pseudo-TV shows Night Springs and the Harry Garret Show were nice touches.

On the other hand, I was disappointed by the ending. It left me confused and dissatisfied. It's like it's all rising action missing its climax or something. I was hoping for some resolutions along the way but I only understood some bits and pieces here and there. So a couple of questions:

1. Did Thomas Zane wrote Alan Wake into life? That's what I understood since the manuscript found on the Well-Lit Room suggests just that.
2. The last line "It's not a lake, it's an ocean" I did not get at all.
3.Could it be that Alan Wake is now dead because he said that Zane did the wrong thing by not facing the consequences of his action or something to that effect?

Play the DLC.

1. It's not clear.

2. It probably means that the dark presence isn't just constricted to the lake but really is a vast power lying in wait everywhere.

3. He is not dead. That is made clear by the dlc. He is trapped in the lake in the dark place.