The gamer thought he knew what to expect. After all, he had watched a playthrough of the Xbox 360 version so many years ago. In truth, he had no idea.

Alan Wake had been a successful game. It sold over three million copies. Critics loved it. Players loved it. There was a huge fanbase around it. Still, the remastered version was slightly less well-received. It was a technological overhaul, more suitable for modern systems, while the gameplay was still the same old same old.

As the gamer fought his first battles, a realization set in. The controls were clunky, even odd at times. He had to retrain his brain to make things work. Dodging and sprinting were activated by the same key. „Why would the game do such a thing?“, the gamer wondered. The way he controlled Alan was unlike anything he had ever played. Alan was a writer, not a superhero. He was less athletic than a boulder chasing a famous fictional adventurer through narrow caves. Running was a futile endeavor. Any such attempt was quickly responded with heavy panting by the protagonist, Alan Wake.

The game did not want to be fast-paced, did not want to be a shooter. It was a supernatural mystery thriller with action elements. The beam of Alan’s flashlight was the game’s version of a reticle. The gamer thought this was a clever idea. He also didn’t like it as it made him feel vulnerable, not always in control. That’s what the game wanted him to feel.

Not in control.

Helpless.

The game’s story evoked similar feelings on an intellectual level. It was deliberately convoluted. It contained a meta narrative that foretold the story while the gamer experienced it on screen. He was dreading the moments of instense combat the game foretold. But how much of it was real? Was any of it real? This was unlike anything the gamer has seen before. He was wondering how the pieces fit together, how it all made sense. Would there be a happy ending?

Not in the know.

Clueless.

The gamer was in awe of the masterfully crafted tale. It was brilliant. It was a stroke of genius. The story intrigued him, captivated him. The gamer thought it was worth the playtime alone. It made up for the often repetitive and at times frustating moments. As he progressed through the campaign, the game introduced more and more powerful enemies at once. Alan never became stronger. He always stayed the unathletic, vulnerable writer that he was. More powerful flashlights were the only upgrades he ever received. Only to be taken away again multiple times. The ever-growing number of enemies the game threw at the gamer increasingly added to the challenge. He was relieved when the credits finally rolled. Quantity over quality was no adequate substitute to create suspense.

The two special episodes following the main story pushed the concept of generating tension this way to its limits. It constantly forced the gamer into fights in tight spaces. Alan’s lack of athleticism and unwieldy shooter mechanics created a substantial challenge. He did not consider them to be the fun kind that knights in tight spaces will succeed. Narrow corridors, small apartments, or local stores never provided enough room to navigate. Alan was always severley outnumbered. Worse even, the game constantly surrounded the protagonist. Enemies first appeared before Alan. They lured him into their trap. Soon after, more would spawn behind him. Alan and the gamer constantly found themselves surrounded. By enemies. By walls. By furniture. The game became a test of the gamer’s patience. It went so far that the gamer decided to quit and bathe in somebody else’s misery by watching a Youtube playthrough.

The Nerdy Bits

The frustration was compounded by technical issues. Although the game ran very well, it was old tech after all, it was riddled with graphical glitches. It was a dark game. Most of it took place at night and in dark woods. But the frequent display of a black screen certainly was not the developer’s intention. It was a bug that often gave the Dark Presence an unfair advantage. Everything turned black, all OLED pixels turned off. It was unlike Windows’ blue screen. The game still reacted, the Taken still attacked. Only the gamer couldn’t see it. He heard the frightening noises. He heard Alan’s screams of pain as the Taken attacked. He was more vulnerable than ever. His only defence was the ESC key. Tapping it twice opened the menu and returned him into the action. The issue was resolved. For a while. It was the gamer’s version of the clicker. By sheer coincidence the gamer discovered a workaround. He set his monitor’s refresh rate to 60 Hz, and that eliminated the black screen. He was surprised and cofounded that the graphics engine could not handle more than that. He hoped that disease died out after Skyrim and Fallout 4.

Linux enthusiasts are worse off. The gamer experienced the black screens every ten to fifteen minutes on Windows. His Linux environment suffered from this malady every few seconds. The game was broken. Unplayable.

But that was not the only immersion-breaker. Video sequences stuttered and stumbled, like the Old Gods of Asgaard after a few drinks. The audio was also quieter than in-game. It was a strange oversight as all other audio was perfect. The Taken sputtered ridiculous words of twisted wisdom with a combination of insane snarling and thunderous growling. It was one of the gamer’s favorite parts of the voice acting. All voice acting was great, but the Taken were incredible.

The Remaster worked well overall. The visuals looked adequate for a remaster of an ancient title. It transported the dark and dreadful atmosphere very well. The gamer would be remiss if he didn’t mention a Digital Foundry tech analysis in his review.

Famous Last Words

The gamer finished the game despite it testing his patience in several ways. He is curious about how many people were willing to suffer through the technical issues like he did. The original version might be a viable alternative. It’s even available on Steam, unlike the Remaster. Enjoying the game on a console instead could also be an option. Since the gamer plans to continue the story of Alan Wake in the sequel, a refresher on the lore was a requirement. Horror games are usually not his forte. However, he considered this tale unique. It made him interested in expanding his horizon. Alan Wake 2 is no Resident Evil 7 or 8, so he thinks he should be fine.

This is fine.

It will be fine.

Will it be fine?

Thank you for reading.