Alan Wake's nightmarish journey through the dark isn't groundbreaking in any way, but it is still a worthwhile one.
The hero of this tale is Alan Wake, a celebrated young writer with a series of best-selling books, who fell victim to the most horrible of afflictions: writers-block. To counter the effects of his new stressful life-style, Alan and his wife decide to take a vacation in the scenic town of Bright Falls, where they hope to rejuvenate both their marriage and Alan's career. At first glance the town seems to be the perfect place for a little R&R, with its quirky, yet welcoming locals and its beautiful vistas, but as Alan learns pretty quickly, something dark is lurking beneath the surface, waiting for the right opportunity. Not to spoil anything, Alan soon finds himself missing both a week and a wife, and must survive through a horror story of his own making, all the while fighting off the townsfolk who were taken by the dark presence stirring at the bottom of Bright Falls' centerpiece, Cauldron Lake.
The story itself is delivered in an episodic format, complete with the required "Previously on…" that features in almost every TV series these days. The main idea behind this is to recap on past events, in case the player took a long break from the game after completing an episode, but since there is no way of stopping the game before the "Previously" video, all you really get is a short version of the last hour or two of gameplay you just experienced. It is a nice concept, and if used more responsibly and wisely in future projects, it could actually play its part in helping the player stay in touch with the game's plotline and his own progress through it.
The most prominent feature in the game is defiantly its use of light and darkness. Since the latter is the game's antagonist, it is only logical that the former would be the weapon of choice against it. And true to this logic, Alan's entire arsenal is centered around light (and bullets). Every enemy in the game is shielded by a veil of darkness protecting it from any form of physical damage, so in order to actually defeat them Alan must first remove said shield (using light of course), and only then unload a few bullets into them. It's a nice touch that adds a lot to both the gameplay and the game's atmosphere, forcing you to manage both ammo and batteries for the flashlight in order to survive a difficult fight. Of course there are weapons that combine both the weakening effects of light and the lethality of bullets, like the flare gun from example, but they are hard to track down, and require Alan to explore his surrounding thoroughly.
Speaking of which, the combat in Alan Wake is another nice diversion from the genre's standard awkwardness. Most survival horror games suffer from clunky controls and cumbersome main characters, two traits that make combat a nerve-wracking experience. Not so in Alan Wake; the combat is fluid (most of the time), it is possible to dodge incoming attacks, and even to keep enemies at bay with a well placed road flare. The combat never feels repetitive (even if it is) or frustrating, and the many ways Alan Wake can dispatch of his enemies help keep it fresh and interesting. The only real flaw is with the dodging which is, well, kind of dodgy; it is hard to really time it correctly, and attempting to dodge too soon will often result in Alan getting hit multiple times and losing a lot of health. A few enemies have chain attacks, and once caught in one of these chains, it is impossible to escape them. The stronger enemies can deplete more than half of the life bar in a single chain, and since Alan can't really move while getting hit, he is left open for other, weaker enemies' attacks, which will probably bring him to his knees with only a few blows. Even then, the checkpoint system works in the player's favor, and you are never sent too far back when Alan dies.
Apart from the combat though, there isn't anything new or groundbreaking in this game. Don't get me wrong, it never gets boring or too cliché, but as far as gameplay is concerned, Alan Wake only reinvents some core elements of the genre, and doesn't really innovate anything. It has the right atmosphere, the right pacing and the right plot twists, but it feels like it has all been done before, in some variation or another. Although well paced, the game is noticeably short, and won't take more than a couple of day to finish. Completionists would probably want to give the game at least one more go in order to collect all the hidden manuscripts and coffee thermoses scattered around each level, but due to the game's linearity there isn't any other incentive to do so. Another weird thing about this game is the constant "name dropping", especially Stephen King's, in random point throughout the game; it may help establish the settings a bit better, but it also gives the game a certain layer of fan-fiction. It is obvious King's writings were a big inspiration for the game, but there is no need for the constant dreamy remarks about how great of a writer he is.
The visuals in Alan Wake are not what one would call remarkable. That environments and textures are all well made, if maybe a bit unoriginal, but where the game's engine really shows its flaws is with the character models. Alan Wake himself looks pretty believable and human, but his wife looks like some sort of river monster, with overly big watery eyes and Botox filled cheeks. Other models are somewhere in the middle, with some looking detailed and very human, while others have a puppet quality to them. It is hard to determine if it's done deliberately to create uneasiness, or simply a slip up of the visual designers. Nevertheless, the creepy forests and lightning effects are indeed the highlight of the game, helping to build the atmosphere and tension needed for a game such as this. Fortunately, the sound division hasn't slipping and managed to keep a high level of quality throughout the entire game. Voice acting is terrific, and Alan's narration is impeccably delivered. Other characters as well are voiced perfectly and each of them contributes to the overall experience in exactly the right way. From the eerie random sentences coming from the Taken (a ghost of their past consciousness), to the amazing licensed soundtrack, the sound in this game is 100 percent creepy, immersive and just well made.
The most important thing to remember about Alan Wake is that it is not just for fans of the survival horror genre: the game has a lot in common with Remedy's previous work, be it the gritty story or the intense action, and is categorized by the developers as an "Action Thriller", which it undoubtedly is. The way the light versus darkness motif integrates into the gameplay is nothing less of genius, and not only because it help the combat transcend that of other games in the genre, but for its contribution for the game's remarkable atmosphere as well. Although its presentation may be a bit lacking on the visual side, Ala Wake more than makes up for it with incredible sound design and engaging story and characters. Alan's nightmarish journey is slightly hindered by a few bumps in the road, but it is one nightmare you wouldn't want to wake up from any time soon.