Alan Wake Remastered is an excellent remaster of a truly unique game. It has some rough patches when it comes to combat, but that can’t stop the game from standing out as one of the most interesting titles I’ve played in ages. The atmosphere, characters, and story make Alan Wake Remastered something that you simply have to play.
Alan Wake Remastered
Developer: Remedy Entertainment
Price: $30
Platforms: PS5 (reviewed,) PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC
Alan Wake as a game has always fascinated me. I own it on Xbox 360 and PC, but every time I went to play it, something would happen in my life that demanded my attention, which would be followed up by a review game that ended up leaving Alan Wake unplayed. Well, I finally got to play it as Alan Wake Remastered, and it has me kicking myself for not powering through and playing it ages ago. It’s one of those games that’s truly special, warts and all.
In Alan Wake, you play as the titular character; a writer who finds himself in a creative slump. Alongside his wife, Alice, Alan travels to the charming rural town of Bright Falls, where it seems as though things are a bit off. Following a series of spooky events, Alan awakens in a wrecked car, missing a week’s worth of memories. Pursued by a malicious force called the Dark Presence, Alan must find Alice, regain his memories, and unravel the mystery behind just what is going on in Bright Falls. It’s the kind of story that intrigues you from the get-go, and becomes more and more enthralling as the plot unfolds.
The characters are all immensely likeable too, with the early exception of Alan. At first, he seems short-tempered, standoffish, and impatient– and that’s all true. But over the course of Alan Wake Remastered’s six episodes and two special episodes (serving as an epilogue of sorts,) Alan grows as a person in a very satisfying way. He feels like a real human being, and his variety of relationships with the supporting cast are fun to partake in. Plus, the whole town of Bright Falls is quite charming. From the eccentric Lamp Lady to Pat the friendly night-radio host, you’ll feel at home in Bright Falls before long. Until all the scary stuff, at least. The background lore-building, from the delightfully cheesy Night Springs show episodes to the manuscripts and radio shows, really add to the story too, giving a bit of extra life to Alan Wake’s memorable narrative.
“It’s a combination of otherworldly terror and familiar homeliness that makes Alan Wake feel so fresh, even over a decade after its original release.“
The atmosphere of Alan Wake Remastered is the stuff that (eerie) dreams are made of. Heavily inspired by Twin Peaks and with a healthy dollop of Stephen King-esque surrealism, the rustic town of Bright Falls teems with charm and underlying unease. One minute, you’re in a familiar diner listening to old rock stars rant, the next, you’re in the darkness of the night with clouds speeding over you and shadows crawling across the ground at dizzying speeds. It’s a combination of otherworldly terror and familiar homeliness that makes Alan Wake feel so fresh, even over a decade after its original release.
Alan Wake is technically a sort of third-person shooter, but with a fairly original hook. You wield a flashlight as well as a gun–both of which are essential to battling the shadowy Taken. These darkened, blurry foes must be blasted with light before they can be shot at, meaning you have to rotate between shining your light on foes and blasting them away with weapons. This can lead to some very intense battles with enemy hordes, where you’re frantically replacing your flashlight’s batteries or reloading while fending off clusters of shady lumberjacks. It almost toes the line of survival horror, but relies more on tension than fear.
“Each episode of the game is capped off with a song as you stare at the game’s logo, and these are some of the most poignant parts of the game.“
There are some issues with the gameplay, however. There’s a bit of a dated feeling in how enemies appear behind you from outside the camera a bit too frequently. On one hand, this certainly adds to the nightmarish, suffocating feeling that Alan Wake so expertly expresses. On the other hand, it can be very frustrating from a gameplay perspective. Combined with the occasional unforgiving checkpoint, this can lead to some annoying retreads of areas again and again.
For a game that originally came out on the Xbox 360, Alan Wake Remastered looks slick. The character models show a bit of age, but the remaster really takes them up a notch from how they originally looked. The setting and light effects are especially pleasant to look at, which is a good thing, as you’ll be seeing a lot of lights throughout the entirety of the game. Plus, there’s new developer commentary to experience if you’ve already played through Alan Wake, as well as some fun DualSense usage on the PS5. Feeling your footsteps in the silence of the night adds that extra bit of unease to the package.
And the soundtrack? Oh, the soundtrack. Each episode of the game is capped off with a song as you stare at the game’s logo, and these are some of the most poignant parts of the game. The songs fit beautifully, and add a certain something to Alan Wake that just can’t be replicated. The voice acting deserves a shout-out too, from all the impassioned yells and screams throughout the game to Matthew Porretta’s smooth readings of the game’s various manuscripts, it’s all great.
The Final Word
Alan Wake Remastered is a truly special experience. It has some dated gameplay mechanics, but the core idea of the game combined with the stellar atmosphere and story-telling make it a must-play. I wish I had played it sooner, but at least I got to play it in the sharpest and best way possible.
MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
