Alan Wake Review

Originally unveiled at Microsoft's E3 press conference five years ago and in development since 2004, Alan Wake, a psychological action thriller, has been a long time coming. After generating a great deal of excitement upon debut, the game's developer, Remedy, went silent - leaving gamers waiting patiently for years. Fortunately, Alan Wake is finally here. But has it been worth the wait? Well, somewhat. While the game boosts an intriguing story, a unique combat mechanic, and an incredibly well crafted atmosphere, there are a number of flaws such as inconsistencies in presentation and plot, as well as some repetitive situations that hold it back from being a masterpiece.

Alan Wake is a best-selling suspense thriller novelist who has been unable to write for the past few years. In order to regain his inspiration - which has caused tensions with his wife, Alice - the couple set out on a relaxing vacation to the small, remote town of Bright Falls. Within no time the peaceful getaway turns into a nightmare as Alice disappears and Alan winds up in a crashed car with no memory of the past week's events. It is revealed that the events unfolding around Alan match pages from a manuscript he supposedly wrote, but of which he has no recollection. The plot follows Alan's attempts to piece together the events leading to Alice's disappearance and to save her from the dark presence that has engulfed Bright Falls.

Overall, the narrative is successful in keeping the player interested and motivated to press forward. The game is split up into six episodes, each ending on a revelation that brings up more questions than answers, enticing players to continue. It feels a lot like Lost in that regard, especially the "Previously on Alan Wake" recaps at the beginning of each episode. That being said, it also suffers from the gripes many have with Lost, mainly that the ending leaves loose ends untied and holes in the plot - in particular, one character's back-story and motivations remain at complete mystery. This could be fixed in the downloadable episodes planned, so don't go in expecting everything to be resolved at the conclusion of Alan Wake.

Alan's narration of the manuscript pages, which are scattered throughout the environment, is the primary form of storytelling. The game heavily encourages players to seek out the manuscript pages, but reading them is completely optional. The pages offer a variety of insights into the narrative such as explaining uncertainties or expanding on past events. Others foreshadow events to come, often outright spoiling them. During the opening stages, foreshadowing manuscripts can be quite effective at creating a feeling of dread and uneasy anticipation. As Alan Wake progresses and players learn how to cope with the enemies better, these manuscripts lose some of their impact, becoming more of a spoiler. It's an odd predicament the designers have forced on the player - on the one hand, ignoring the pages will cause them to miss out on key explanations that tie the story together. On the other, reading them will spoil events that otherwise would've been surprising and off-putting.