Alan Wake Review – Me and My Shadows
I think we’ve all played a game that was a critical darling, but for some reason it just didn’t resonate with you as the player. There is nothing wrong with that feeling, it’s up there with I drink Pepsi but you drink Coke because you hate all that is good in the world. Alan Wake was a game I really wanted to like, and it has many elements of a game that I should like. Third Person Action Shooter, I like those. A game with a mystery/thriller type story, I do enjoy a good thriller. Great set pieces and art design, the use of light and it’s graphical display in the game is pure art in my opinion. So with all of that and other things going for it, it still didn’t hook me.
Don’t get me wrong, I can see why many people can get hooked on this game. But for me, I just started not caring about the story at all, I found myself barreling thru it just so I could finish the game. And this is one of those games where it’s hook is the story and the world. It has a cool premise, supernatural forces with a Neverending Story twist. If you are old enough to get that reference I’m sorry if it spoils anything for you. I was really shocked that the game has no actual “jump out of your seat” moments. It feels as the game was marketed as scary, but it’s not, again more thriller than horror. That could just be me though and how I perceived the game and it’s marketing, but even my girlfriend thought it was supposed to be scary. She didn’t see any marketing, but she felt the overall world leant itself to being scary and was waiting for something to “get’cha” but that moment never came.
The world is filled with supernatural elements for you to deal with, but the combat and enemy types are very repetitive. You use light as a weapon in this game, and the darkness that encompasses the town and it’s residents acts as a shield. You shine your light device of choice (flashlight, flare gun, flares, stun grenades), drop their shield with that, and shoot them with a real weapon (handgun, shotgun, rifle). Rinse and repeat. Oh and those enemies you saw in the first level, that is pretty much all you will be seeing. Sure there might be a tank version here or there, but it’s still the same recipe to defeat them. And the method you used to defeat the first enemies you encounter….that’s the same method you will use until the end of the game.
Overall, is Alan Wake a bad game? Hell no, but it’s a game that really needs to pull you in, and if it doesn’t I don’t think you get the full Alan Wake experience. It’s a game you should definitely try out. If it grabs you I think it will be a memorable experience, however if it doesn’t it will be a game that you felt was just there to play, not experience.