Alan Wake Review: The Darkness Never Felt So Good

When I say Darkness, I am not talking about that horrible lackluster first person shooter that came out two years ago. Nor am I referencing the one hit wonder machine that “believes in a thing called love.” This specific darkness comes from the depths of a writers mind, a cesspool of horrible confusion and chaos that grabs at your collar and drags you down into itself so fast that before you know it, 20 hours have passed, its 3am, and the credits are rolling while David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” crawls into your eardrums. Yeah, Alan Wake is kinda like that.

From the creators of Max Payne comes Alan Wake, a highly anticipated title that has been in the making for years. Thankfully the good folks at Remedy have finally finished their original game and dropped it on the Xbox 360 as of Tuesday May 18th.

For the past two days, I couldn’t bring myself to leave my basement, as if the darkness that surrounds Wake, the protagonist of the title, jumped off the screen, entered my own life, and held me hostage until his story was finished. The game starts off with Wake’s voice echoing among the trees and mountains of a Washington state landscape, setting the mood and establishing a first person perspective on the events that are about to unfold. This narration works in the same way hit movies and books such as Sin City or City of Glass do, giving the player insight into the events that are unfolding through a almost poetic, dramatic character perspective.

And perspective is the revolving theme in Alan Wake. The game’s story seems to drop more questions on the player that make you rethink your surroundings and actions than it does in solving them. Every time I completed an episode (the game’s main story is broken into 5 episodic parts, each giving the feel as if it is part of a TV mini series with recaps and original songs at the beginning and end of each one) I never quite knew exactly what I was doing, or overall what I, as Alan Wake, was trying to accomplish. At the same time, the game did a great job of keeping me in the dark story wise(pun!) but also never making me question what I was suppose to be doing as the player. My objectives were always clear and I was never held up in one area trying to figure out where to go next. The balance between challenge and game progression is one of the best I have seen on modern consoles since Mass Effect 2.

Speaking of gameplay, if you are familiar with the popular noir-esque third person shooter Max Payne and its sequel then you will feel right at home with the controls and game mechanics. The third person perspective fits well with the atmosphere with the game, never hindering me in any form, making me feel just enough vulnerability while still feeling powerful. The Controls feel fluid and fighting four to five baddies at once through use of light, guns, and dodging culminates in a awesome experience.

The one criticism I have regarding the way the controls and game feels has to do with the camera. Because the camera is pulled decently far back, I never felt that stressful fear of shock when an enemy would jump out at me from a corner. I firmly believe that the reason Resident Evil 4 was so terrifying at times was because of how close you were to the enemy. The direct over the shoulder camera would have benefited Alan Wake in terms of scare factor, though that is more of a opinion than a criticism, as it doesn’t hinder the game in anyway.

Like any other action game there are collectible items you can find throughout the environments, such as the coffee mugs, that will score you some cool achievements. Other than the gamer score bonus though there really is no need to find them. What you will want to keep an eye out for is the various manuscripts, TV, and radio shows you and read watch and listen to throughout your adventure. They give really cool insight into the events taking place outside of your current situation, but more importantly breathe life into the eerie town of Bright Falls. These facets of the game, as well as the spot on voice acting and dialogue (Barry!) make Alan Wake not only feel good as a game, but also immerses you into a new world that actually is alive.

When I was finished with the game, I started contemplating whether or not I knew exactly what happened to Alan, the town of Bright Falls, and all the characters that I interacted with along the way. The whole game revolves around keeping the player in the Dark, and with the Darkness as the main antagonist, you are left wondering what is reality and what was just a dream. Though many people might have problem with video games or stories in general not tieing up all loose ends neatly and clearly, the ambiguous ending of the game left me thinking and questioning every second I spent playing, in a good way. I don’t want to give anything away, but Alan Wake has a story that supersedes the typical hero, problem, fight through the problem, victory formula that most videogames fall into. Instead, it takes a winding path into the physche and bends the rules most stories don’t want to break, pulling the player down with it.

If you are looking for a wonderful, original story backed by solid gameplay, Alan Wake will be your dig. Like most great singleplayer games, just don’t expect too much replay value and you will be happy with your purchase. It is rare these days for a game’s story to keep you thinking even after the credits have rolled and it makes a home on your shelf. Thankfully we still have amazing developers like Remedy who will represent our genre as art, and Alan Wake will be a bright example of that for years to come.