I always enjoyed the combat, although I understand why I'm probably in the minority on that front. I kind of appreciate that Alan Wake is about as agile and badass as a professional writer who looks like he's approaching forty would be.
I'm playing the remaster now and after years of hearing how bad the combat is, I am the most confused about the reception to a video game I've ever felt in my life. I'm having a blast, and I was having a blast from the get go. To be clear, I'm on chapter 4 and I think I'd have fun with an endless mode. Game is a touch on the easy side and I think just sitting back and taking on waves would be rad. I have a bad habit of dropping games over nothing, even ones I'm enjoying, and there is absolutely nothing giving me resistance to keep playing.
That's fine! Glad you had a good time with it. As I say in the video though, just seems to be a general view that the gameplay is seen as a bit of a slog (I was playing the original PC release). The whole video is focused on that idea of defending the seemingly indefensible mechanically speaking, so I'd cherish the fact you found something about an experience that resonates with you in a way it didn't for many others!
@@WritingOnGames You know what, that's a great response. I found something others seemingly didn't. But I still feel like I played a different game than the one people have described and that was the point of my comment. Just that your point overall would be better taken if something indefensible was brought up.
Alan wake has probably the largest deficit of gameplay vs story ive ever seen. A pretty interesting and compelling story vs probably one of the worst and most repetitive third person combat systems ive experienced.
I remember when I was a kid and one of the early game levels hinting at a dog getting possessed by the darkness made me quit the game cause I didn’t want to shoot a dog. Years later when I came back to it I found out that the dog just… never shows up. Despite the setup. As a kid I didn’t recognise the silliness the game includes while toying with Stephen King etc tropes. When the dramatic asylum escape leads to a rockenroll concert brawl I finally got the tone the game aims for.
“Toby knew the smell; it was the nice man, the nice man who always gave him treats and never got tired of playing with him. Toby wagged his tail in excited anticipation and gave a joyous bark. Then there was another smell - a wrong smell - and it was alien enough to stop Toby in his tracks. Confused, he growled deep in his throat, the wrong smell came form the nice man. Blind animal terror pierced the dog’s brain an instant before the axe followed suit.” - Manuscript page
As someone who loved the gameplay of Alan Wake, I'm starting to feel like I... enjoy jank? Because your issues with the gameplay definitely sound like they'd be in Alan Wake, I'm sure I've experienced it... but somehow the feel of the game really worked for me. Maybe the messiness of the gameplay just clicked with the unhinged energy of the characters and narrative.
always nice when someone explains to you in detail why you didn't like a videogame classic all those years ago. never could say exactly why, but I feel this so much
The combat in Alan Wake is definitely "sucks on purpose", but I don't think that excuses the game from not being fun. A game has to engage the player in some way, and Alan Wake sometmes does this quite well! Where the combat falters is when the crappy gunplay comes to the forefront because it seems like Remedy ran out of ideas so they just make you fight through More of the Same Shit again, and again, and again. There's a section where Wake is running from the police at night without a flashlight, that could've made for a great tension chapter where now after having been adjusted to knowing the combat loop (shine light + shoot gun), you can't shine that light anymore, leaving you vulnerable. Later on still we see the Sherrif using her shotgun on enemies that haven't been weakened by the light, but it still knocks them away, so why not have this section give Alan a shotgun somewhere and now you have to knock back enemies to run past them because you can't destroy them? There's a few sections where you're in broad daylight, supposedly protected from the evil coming after you. But each time you just drive a vehicle around a chopped up open world area and pick up coffee cans. There could have been something neat there, like still having to flee the police, or having to go into dark areas like tunnels or buildings which bring out the shadowmen and have to escape into the sunlight. Instead we just go through more drawn out shooting galleries. And I think what frustrated me about this in the end of it all, despite generally liking the game, is that Alan Wake's story isn't very good. Like, it has moments, and its got a hell of a clever premise, but it doesn't go far enough, it doesn't deliver deep enough, and it doesn't examine close enough what these ideas are. Characters like the sheriff are basically non-entities; the whole setting is meant to be a small town with a dark secret but this dark secret almost has nothing to say about the town or the people living there. The two main human antagonists that could've drawn something out of Wake as a character, the FBI agent and the psychiatrist, are both barely present before being written off entirely. Yes, I know part of this, to a point, is Alan wrote it this way in-universe and Alan sucks as an author, but the line between intentional suck and just flat thematic delivery is pretty obvious imo. Its ending is the worst offender, where Alan simply takes Alice's place in the dark place for some nonsense about "equivilent exchange" that has nothing to do with anything the story was getting at to that point. Alan Wake, as metafiction, doesn't actually seem to have anything it wants to SAY as metafiction or ABOUT metafiction, and that combined with the uncreative and repetitive gameplay is what hurts it for me. Like, there's so much the story could've gone in and with. Alan as an author seems really stuck on genre conventions, he tells us that the Darkness can only be beaten on its own terms because "its a horror story" and "bad stuff must happen" accordingly. Yet never does Alan's lack of creative foresight or intuition come up as a thing, which is what makes me think Remedy themselves lacked the creative drive to do more with their silly Stephen King by way of David Lynch homage than just being that, an homage. ANd that would've been fine, but metafiction for its own sake tends to just ring hollow. I liked Alan Wake, but I wanted more from it.
I liked it, but I can’t really disagree with anything you said. Remedy wasn’t very good at writing characters yet here. Have you played Alan Wake 2? They did a MUCH better job in that regard. Although I’m upset they have a new Sheriff.
I honestly don't even think the combat design in Alan Wake is that bad; it's the fact that the first half of the game is 90% haunted forest, lumber yard, and oh look a national park that makes it feel very repetitive. This especially hurt episode three which is one of the longest ones and only has an uninspired mine section to break it up.
Aw man. The first half of this is brutal. It was like being in a parents evening and the teacher is telling you how terrible your child is. I'm glad you went on to talk about how many of the elements add a realism to the game world and titular character. How many games have you played where the characters do cool things in the cut-scenes but then can't climb over a fence when you are handed back the controls? Alan Wake isn't that aloof. Did I get a few game overs from falling down a cliff section? Yeah. But I also do that in Mario games, where that is the only gameplay challenge. I think when a game tries to combine so many things, it will likely suffer, but I think the end result here is worth it. Also, I actually think this game (and American Nightmare) has one of my most satisfying dodge moves of any game. When you slow-motion duck and weave an axe swung at you in a crowd and you gain a few feet to gather your thoughts or light a flare, it's incredible. My mind jumps to soulsborne games for a comparison, where the dodge feels like a clinical immunity tactic rather than an in-world event. Like the player character is phasing out of reality rather than actually avoiding the big dragon swinging it's tail at you. My biggest gripe with the game is the tutorial. It just feels wasted. Are you telling me that the night before he goes on this incredible, ghostly, torch-wielding adventure, he has a single dream about pointing a torch at things to burn off the darkness. It's so on the nose, it makes the first combat encounter less special.
Man I couldn’t agree more. Alan Wake is my baby and beautiful game. Seeing his clips from this game just make me love it all over again. Now, Alan Wake 2 is maybe my favorite game ever. I hope he does a review for the second game.
@@KirstenPace I'm not finished with AW2 yet but holy f...how in god's name did they managed to make such a unique game? It doubles down on the creative narrative aspects of everything they've ever done prior while also treating horror in one of the most patient ways that any game has ever done by letting things build slowly for the story and characters before anything really begins to get weird. They've also allowed weirdos like me the opportunity to play a game that doesn't just create combat scenarios for combat sake. Instead, they let me enjoy my weird environmental exploration, admiration of all the details they pack in, and just soak in the atmosphere. Some may call it boring but I adore the pace of the game. Anyways sorry just had to talk to someone about this game because its immediately insisted on becoming one of my favorite games in such an aggressive way due to how unique of an approach to familiar genres and narrative styles it takes
I don't really agree about the combat, I found it quite enjoyable on high difficulty managing my resources, landing perfect dodges, keeping my distance, and I actually really like the immersive/no crosshair aiming reticle with the flashlight that kind of functions as a very generous aim assist. With that said, I do think the pacing is off and there's WAY too much of it for how basic it is. But it really didn't bother me much and I actually found it quite fun a lot of the time (other than fighting inanimate objects possessed by the dark entity or whatever, cause that shit is annoying as hell). I do still think it's Remedy's worst combat system though, I look forward to seeing how Alan Wake II improves this aspect when I buy it next week!
ALSO the sound design of weapons and explosions/effects, the slow mo effects when landing a multi kill with the flare gun or a perfect dodge, etc.. all add a lot of enjoyable audio/visual feedback to the combat that I'd argue automatically make it way more satisfying than something like "Deadly Premonition". That games combat is completely and utterly weightless in both visuals and sound and feels like it was developed by a 12 year old, I'd call that comparison insulting frankly.
I absolutely hated the way the camera would jerk around for the slo mo stuff. It's the kind of thing that worked way better in Max Payne, but wrestling away control for some incredibly janky pan or "cinematic" angle just consistently sucked for me. I absolutely stand by my assertion that I think Deadly Premonition has more enjoyable combat (and let me be clear, as much as I truly adore Deadly Premonition, I think its combat is pretty clearly some of the worst out there)
weird hill to die on IMO cause DP's combat is awful by every objective metric, at least Alan Wake looks and sounds cool when you fire a weapon or kill something and it actually has feedback lol. But agree to disagree, I do agree with a lot of your points on the storytelling of Alan Wake, it's definitely by far it's strongest element; and despite me not HATING the gameplay like you did, I do think it's the weakest combat system Remedy has made. Compare it to Control for example, late game control with insane abilities flying around, snappy precise shooting and wanton destruction to the environment feels AWESOME.@@WritingOnGames
I just finished this game for the first time today, and I'm honestly in pure befuddlement at what to think of it. The story and characters hooked me right away. The world looks fantastic. I actually don't mind the enemy design, despite the repetitive nature of it all. It's all just really interesting to me, and every time I found a new page of Alan's manuscript, my enthusiasm for the game was renewed... at least for a while. The gameplay actually felt pretty fun to me at first, and in more simple/clever encounters it remained that way, but there came a point in the game, probably around the halfway mark, where enemies appearing became something I wanted to just never happen again. There were always too many enemies. They were always placed in an unfair way. The animations and controls would cause several deaths that felt far out of my control. By the end, I had pretty much decided to quit the game at least 3 different times, only continuing on out of curiosity about the story. In the end, I wasn't disappointed in the world Remedy created, but I find myself unable to really recommend actually playing through the game.. and that's a huge shame. The experience of piecing together the plot through the pages you find is really cool, especially when the game gives context to scenes that haven't even happened yet.. but to get this enjoyment, one must also suffer some of the worst combat gameplay I've experienced in recent years. (great video by the way lol)
Absolutely loved this Hamish- I felt the same way, in that because of its influences and atmosphere this should be my favourite game ever, but when I finally started the remaster on PS5 a few months ago I asked myself why exactly I'd given up on about 5 separate attempted playthroughs over the last decade. Personally, I don't think it's the combat itself or the floaty controls that turned me off- like you said, those felt like intentionally sluggish elements for the shlubby city writer to struggle through, and honestly I enjoyed the flashlight combat, especially with the PS5 haptics/triggers. The main issue for me was the pacing, and how the gameplay massively suffers at the whims of the narrative- in the story, Alan is basically running around in circles, not making any progress and constantly ending up back where he started. This is great for illustrating the never-ending cycle of this nightmare, but for the gameplay pacing it's an absolute killer. Any time the player is given a substantial amount of tools and resources, which in any other survival horror game would be stocked up for a giant boss encounter, the game just pisses out the usual amount of enemies, and before you can use any of those carefully hoarded grenades or ammo, without warning, throws you into the start of a new chapter with your inventory completely wiped, starting from scratch (heh). You mentioned wishing you could turn off the HUD and just wander through the environments, and there's an option to do exactly that- having no HUD enhanced my experience without measure here, made it so much more immersive and 'dream-like'. The woods got super disorienting (which narratively and character-wise checks out), but for the most part the game's level and environmental design is definitely clear enough to show you where to go without a HUD marker needed. I didn't need my ammo/battery count on-screen at all times, and touching the D-pad brought up those counters anyway- in fact, another issue I had with this is that in the 12+ hours I played, I never once ran out of either ammo or batteries. You mentioned the difficulty, but I played this on hard and I didn't really have an issue with just running around enemies in circles with the torch and revolver- the parts that made me restart dozens of times were the bird sections and the possessed objects (the birds made me want to tear my head out, but honestly I usually found it pretty funny when I got one-hit killed by a fucking fridge). I wish you would've touched upon the DLC chapters though- in my opinion they're a million times more coherent and well-paced than the main game, taking you on a whirlwind tour of the story's main attractions, with some really novel new gameplay ideas thrown in. For newcomers to the series, I'd have the rogue suggestion of watching an "Alan Wake all cutscenes/movie" for the main story and then playing the 3-ish hours of DLC, it gives you most of the full 'experience' without ever letting monotony set in. All in all it definitely sounds like I enjoyed the moment-to-moment gameplay more than you, and there were a handful of standout gameplay sequences I loved (the concert, the town and the final chase), but those few hours of getting lost in the woods were awful enough to make me quit the game altogether a few separate times.
Thanks very much for the thoughtful comment. The DLC I definitely just watched a playthrough of because, after beating the main game, there was no way I could stomach any more of the combat (and some of the DLC I'd heard from some people was actually worse in that regard, but now I'm hearing some mixed things).
Now this is a video critique, brings up points on why they believe certain aspects of the game are bad and then elaborates on them, more so gives a fair and respected analysis on the attempt the game did with its clunky mechanics and amazing story telling! No wannabe intellectual BS or longwinded cinema rants about something that drags on for almost two hours! Bravo dude I like this take a lot.
Alan Wake really is a hard one. The classic Insomniac or Twin Peak like "author blending creation and reality together" movie trope is a perfect blueprint for a game. And Alan Wake really embraces this. When I am try to remember the time playing the game though, all that comes to mind are exhausting slogs through endless forests with bits of lore and story exposition thrown in. But not enough to leave an impression. And I don't know why but Alan Wake for me was the starting point where I sensed something like Remedy is more inclined to tell a "not"-story where they are so busy building up the scenario and background that at the moment something really happens with the characters for once, the game is already over. And from there on it was only getting worse. Control as amazing as this game was, is the absolute epitome of this. Mindblowing worldbuilding but laughable primitive story and character development.
This reminds me of how so many games are basically split in two parts. Story and gameplay. In the story the character is having problems and has to learn something or make a sacrifice. But the gameplay is generic action gameplay loop. Even if both the story and the gameplay is good, they are still so separate and don't really make sense together. The problems of the main character are rarely reflected in the gameplay. It's like it's always "We want to make a story about a character that struggles but we want the gameplay to be fun and effortless". It has become the norm so it's what people expect and want. And don't get me wrong, I love many games with this structure but I feel like there is alot of untapped potential. I want more action games where every moment of gameplay is made to support and tell the story. Less focus on making one gameplay loop to use for an entire game and then just slap in on a story without real adjustments to fit the story. I'm quite rambly at this point and almost not sure what I really want so I'll stop here. Feel free to discuss. xD
Alan Wake was one of my first games and, honestly, I think it's perfect for this role. It showed me straight away how games can have very interesting narratives (a good thought to start a gaming journey with x)) and the simple, repeating gameplay was a good introduction to the whole "interactivity" thing. And in the future Alan Wake's flaws helped me stop denying the subjective side of game analysis and start thinking about how people criticize things in general I wouldn't love games as much as I do now without Alan Wake for which I am very grateful!
Dear Mr Writing on Games, From the bottom of my heart, thank you for confirming my thoughts on Alan Wake. I always felt like I was missing something because people praised the game so much. Even though I loved the story, the characters, the atmosphere, the humor of Alan Wake... but dear God, did I hate actually playing the game. There were times where I considered just stopping, but I pulled through the combat and I am glad that I did, because everything besides that is really great... hard agree that the combat is one of the worst experiences I had in a game ever. Sincerely, Some rando on the internet
I've never really understood this take. I don't think the combat in the game is bad at all. It's certainly a bit on the simple side, and the gameplay segments can be a little repetitive and drag on, but I think it's just engaging enough to support the rest of the experience. I definitely wouldn't call it bad. Really it's more of a narrative focused experience anyway. Would be curious to see you do a video on Alan Wake 2. I've been playing through it recently and it might just be my favorite video game ever. Remedy really knocked this one out if the park and into orbit.
I also quite enjoyed the combat, but I don't think it can be overstated how much the pacing hurts it. This is a relatively short game, but it felt like the longest thing I'd ever played during those few hours running around in the woods. Moment-to-moment it's fine (and on the PS5 remaster even enjoyable, the triggers and haptics were excellent), but when you're doing the exact same thing for a dozen hours it sure does get monotonous.
@@Eoinster Yeah that's fair, I think the lengthiness of the combat sections, and the way that every area is basically just the woods at night definitely does hurt it. And every time it gets deeper into the story, it drops you back into the woods for a while. I definitely don't think it's perfect, but as a narrative experience, I still love it. It's been one of my favorite games since it released, and I'm so glad that Remedy managed to deliver in such a huge way with the sequel. I think ultimately it's good that the original sequel got canned because of what they were able to ultimately create instead.
See, it is a narrative-focused experience for sure... just with hours upon hours of combat gameplay that, if you don't enjoy (and as much as some people clearly do, there are plenty of valid reasons not to), it's going to be a real slog to get through. As for AW2, I said it somewhere else but if you'd told me a month ago that the sequel to Alan Wake would be a serious contender for my game of the year I'd have laughed, and yet here we are. Can't stop thinking about that game.
Im only 3 minutes in, and thank god someone else finally said it. I love Alan Wake for its story, but the only way to really get past the combat is to cheese it. It rarely feels rewarding, and I'm always just looking forward to the next story bit. My GF was very interested in the story, but she doesn't have the technical skill to cheese the game, so even on easy she would just get frustrated and give up. That's deeply sad for me given Alan Wake is in my list of top 10 favorite games of all time. I want her to experience it, but even when I go back to it, I find myself unable to finish. Thank God they focused up the combat have less of it in the sequel.
Why can't it be as simple as "Alan Wake has a great story, setting and atmosphere, mixed with infuriating gameplay"? Why perform these mental gymnastics saying "No really maaaan, the crap gameplay is totally thematic and intentional maaaan."? Suzi said something in her cyberpunk review to the tune of "I'm too old to waste anymore time retroactively justifying bad gameplay in a game I otherwise really want to like". As I get older, I could not agree more. Its okay to admit that a game you really like for the narrative has shit gameplay. I loved playing through fallout new vegas at launch on PS3. But I mean come on, that port of that game, at that time was busted as fuck. Still, so much of New Vegas lives rent free in my head because of just how damn deep and considered the narrative was.
@@WritingOnGames I mean yeah..... But sometimes as pattern seeking creatures we see connections where there are none. Maybe I am projecting here, but I used to be the kind of person who could not admit I made a bad decision by spending 60 bucks on a game whose gameplay I hated. So I would twist myself in knots justifying it. Some of your talking points reminded me of those times. Now I air on the side of Occam's Razor. Saves a whole lot of time and mental stress.
I Just finished my own playthrough (on easy) last night, and I think my main take is it would have been 10x better if each episode was like, 30% shorter, they all consistently outstay their welcome and it feels less a tense spooky experience and more like a slog
I really love this thoughtful analysis. One of the first games that really forced me to confront how bad or, most charitably, suboptimal design can contribute to the themes of a game is The Last Guardian. I love how Trico's inconsistent behavior reflected the real frustrations of training an animal, which led to wonderful moments when the creature would do something quickly or out of character. While I think the core gameplay of Alan Wake is solid, I replayed it last month and agree the combat is a repetitive drag with the lack of enemies and mechanical depth to weapons and items. However, I love how you tied this into an analysis of Alan's circumstances and his chops as an author. I do wish more game critics more readily considered how "bad design" can actually contribute to the overall experience in a positive way that the developer wants you to reflect on with intentional frustration! Really glad you're out here being a devil's advocate of sorts. Great video!
Absolutely fair commentary on the combat. I nearly unistalled it when I got to one particularly awful section. It's so clunky and repetitive. Even the shotgun doesn't feel good to use. It's not often in games when the cut scenes are the best part.
I actually really like the idea you suggested that the flaws of Alan Wake's gameplay and writing are all because of Alan. Makes me really wish this game was written to actually play with that and give Alan a character arc where he realizes how bad of a writer he is once he figures out what is going on. Could have set up an actually decent character arc, but as far as I know this game ends on a cliffhanger...
In the first few hours, I was 100% feeling the same way as you about the combat. But after sticking it out til the end, I actually found myself enjoying the combat more. It still isn't my favorite combat system, and the enemies can becoming incredibly frustrating; but once the game gives you more guns, flairs and flashlights to work with and you get a hang for dodging it becomes more fast paced and fun. Still wasn't in love with the game as a whole, but I appreciate it for what it does right!
I think Alan Wake works best when you’re clicking along and taking out enemies efficiently, but it feels like there are times where the game design feels more cheap to put it into the survival horror zone rather than the action zone.
Great video, but its funny, i kinda feel the opposite. I had a lotta fun playing AW1 (though i admit it got quite repetitive towards the end), but having just beat AW2, i feel your analysis partially fits that game more. Not so much in the sense that the mechanics are poorly inplemented, but the fact that i dreaded doing any actual combat because of how stressful it was. It kinda makes sense though. AW1 did feel a little simple and unpolished in its mechanics, which fits Alan's character being so inexperienced with this sort of thing. But come AW2, we play as a seasoned FBI agent, and Alan has been in the Dark Place for 13 years, so the combat feeling more polished reflects that. And narratively, the Dark Place is also a lot more hostile this time around, so the enemies are a lot more deadly and unpredictable. I also notice the tone of the encounters is a lot less camp, whereas the first game the enemies were pretty goofy a lotta the time. Anyway im rambling at this point, great video mate, and yeah, ThorHighHeels and Noah Gervais are the goats lol
Maybe some day. I bounced off of that game hard back when it released. Liked the atmosphere, but the thought I was constantly having while playing was "I'd rather be playing Psi Ops on the PS2." Played Psi-Ops on the PS2, and had a way better time.
I replayed it recently off the back of how much I liked Control. When I first played it, the tone grew on me (I'd been hoping to fill a Silent Hill-shaped hole upon release); and replaying it, I was all for the tonal elements but the gameplay is really a huge compromise with the clear ambition they'd had going in. Can't wait to see how Alan Wake 2 makes use of everything theyve done and learned since.
I find all of this be reminiscent of how the first Silent Hill games had bad combat and how it over time became part of the experience, that it's not about a combat trained soldier fighting demons, but instead a regular person stuck in a nightmare. While most of such things are afterthoughts, it also reminds me of the concept of academic film studies in which the teacher goes through a two hour lecture on the color of the curtains in a masterpiece film and what it means, while the director in interviews just says that they grabbed whatever was on discount at the closest home store. In the end, does it matter? In aesthetic philosophy, this is a core question, what happens when an artwork gets changed due to some accident or similar and people believe it's part of the artwork itself? The question of if it matters or not, does the art live as itself and "afterthoughts" is part of the experience of art. Like how people believe that statues from the Ancient Greek were white and how that's part of our idea of their art scene, while the truth is that they painted them, they had eyes and skin color and everything. The post modern aspects of Remedy's games have always been THE thing that makes them stand out from everything else. That the flawed gameplay systems are part of the experience, not hiding behind corporate marketing but front and center part of the actual narrative. It's bold and makes everything more interesting. For example, "The Evil Within" 1 and 2 had been hyped up for so long and I hadn't found time to play them until years after the second game's release. But everything in these two games felt so repetitive and boring. There were no redeeming qualities that could make up for the lackluster gameplay and I don't understand how people could find the story deep when it just felt like some amateur trying their best at making cerebral horror without the philosophical groundwork and a surface level understanding of the themes it presented. Alan Wake 2 really hit the mark with what Remedy is good at. There's nothing in it that isn't part of the post modern fever dream that it is. Everything from Alex Casey appearing, in the appearance of Max Payne 1 (and in so the appearance of Sam Lake), with the voice of Max Payne 2, as well as the actor playing Alex Casey, which is just Sam Lake with his own voice. Things like this just spins around and around creating this swirl of fourth wall breaking meta stuff, which is part of what the entire plot is about. Minor to none spoilers... Alan Wake is a mediocre to bad writer, it's part of the narrative that he isn't that good. This specific thing is a major part of Alan Wake 2, how the surface level art can never lead anywhere and how destructive to the soul it can be to deep dive into what it takes to create true art. It all becomes a narrative of the struggles of an artist, the requirement to always write and produce, to be a business, the demand to write. While at the same time trying to find truth and depth. The whole reason why Alan Wake's narration feels so stressed and pushed is because that's his forced style of writing. If they ever make an Alan Wake 3, I would wish for it to be about finding his true core self, his real inner voice, ditching his bad writing and finding the way towards being a master writer. It would be such a perfect bookend to this story as a metaphor for the struggles of an artist, like the fever dream point of view of such depression. The combat is irrelevant, Alan Wake has more in common with high level indie titles than some AAA blockbuster and we need these games to exist, especially in a time when games struggles to be anything other than mindless corporate trash.
Ahhhhhh definitely reminds me of peoples' love for the Drakengard and Nier (Cavia's Gestalt release, not Platinum's Automata or Replicant) series. Drakengard 3 in particular has had multiple video essayists go "well damn, the suboptimal gameplay is being leaned into by a studio that very well knows its limitations and can use that to make a cohesive thematic statement about games as a narrative medium".
The way you describe loving the story and atmosphere of Alan Wake while finding the game a chore to play, ironically, parallels my feelings towards Max Payne. I love everything about that game except trying to play it, even after five attempts. There's quite a few games like that that, but Max Payne always stood out to me cause I want so desperately to love it.
I swear I enjoyed this when it came out but went back to it and just found all the writing very poor. I loved Max Payne and Control but this just feels totally shallow in comparison. The sequel looks amazing so I do want to check that out eventually.
i've always maintained that the first Alan Wake is completely carried by its concept, story, characters and set pieces. half the game taking place in bland stretches of forest fighting the same enemies with the same weapons with no meaningful changes to gameplay causes so many people to bounce off of it and rightfully so. i love the game to death but its hard to recommend unless you have somewhat of a stomach for tedium to get the good bits.
One thing I never understood is why Alan Wake never had enemies using hunting rifles. With the big Deer Fest thing and constant talk of hunters in the woods.. it would have been really logical.
Bought it when it came out on 360 and thought it was absolutely horrendous. Then as the years went by, I saw more and more people saying it was a misunderstood classic and I found myself thinking "Was it really that bad?". Went back and played it last month and it is absolutely horrendous. I see the reception the sequel is getting and I want to believe it's as great as people say but.... I dunno.
it’s SO much better. The time they took, with Quantum Break and Control in between, really taught them how to do action with spooky ethereal enemies. There’s MUCH fewer actual enemies in the Dark Place, but there’s lots of shadows that don’t fade until you’ve shone your light on them for a few seconds, with some even lurching forwards with a menacing musical sting. Eventually you can figure out little details that clue you into who’s a threat and who’s just making noise, which makes you feel very clever, but never safe. It’s so much more polished, and the guns are delightful to use, they have a great deal of punch and kick to them, pushing both the PC’s weight back and sending the enemies stumbling in a very satisfying way. It’s damn good survival horror, with real enemies actively trying to feint one way and then dodging another, and fake out enemies doing their best to psych you out into wasting resources. But it’s not annoying, it’s thrilling.
I gotta go to work so I only watched a couple minutes so far, but so far, I agree with you. As an aside, I am one of the people who LOVE american nightmare. The combat is actually the focus and is kinda fun.
I have been looking for a good review of Alan Wake and I love the points you have made but I want to add my perspective here if I may. I think Alan Wake is a good story, in a bad game. Everything the game does right would fit in a series. Saying the game controls weird because Alan is not supposed to be trained is fine, but when you showed the model just not landing properly, or when you're vaulting and it sometimes works and sometimes it doesn't it's not the character being unfit, but the game controls being poorly made. There's also the cheap shots from the back which is just not fun at all considering the speed of the main character. It doesn't feel hard because the game is easy even on Normal (Didn't have the fortitude to try a Nightmare run), you have so much ammo and so much space with flares that the game loses the little tension it had. While we are talking about combat, notice the delay between pressing the button to shoot and actually shooting. To put salt on the wound the maps are way too big considering the speed, and god forbid you look for collectibles in buildings, each section where you have to get out of the car and get in, it's a minute for a quick scan. Everything in the game is slow in the worst possible way, the camera pan, the menu interactions, even the narrator doing the pretentious writer pause. For my last criticism, I just can't wrap my head with a 12 hour game having 4 enemy types and calling it a narrative decision because the protagonist is a bad writer. I wonder how many people would play a racing game if the narrative design was to have a car that's impossible to win with. (Mafia racing mission vibes) The worst part is, after the game ended, I was left with a positive feeling about it, the game itself is horrible to play but the ideas, the ambience and story saves it a little bit. If I were to quickly "score" it, I'd say it's a 9 for environment and feeling, 7.5 for story and 3 for game play.
It’s a weird game. The combat is incredibly clunky and the cars handle awfully…but it has so much charm that I’m alright with the gameplay. I can’t help but love it
I was waiting for someone to really dive into the overt similarities and parallels (if you can even call it that, considering how blatant it is) between Alan Wake and Twin Peaks. Many channels just kind of acknowledge it's there, but it's so refreshing to hear a fan of both be able to pick it out. While Alan Wake never really gave me all that much of Twin Peaks vibes despite sharing so many narrative similarities, Alan Wake II absolutely feels like a direct love letter to The Return. No game has given me the same feeling The Return did until this one, and boy _howdy_ does it hit. The intro scene with Nightingale felt like some kind of extended look at what happened to Major Briggs. It's insane.
100%. As I say, especially going into American Nightmare there are quite a few similarities in setup to The Return, but especially going into the fight you mention I had the same reaction of "THIS IS BRIGGS THIS IS AMAZING" If you'd told me while playing AW1 that its sequel would be a serious contender for my GotY I would have laughed at you, yet here we are and I couldn't be happier about that fact.
@@WritingOnGames Remedy feels so on-top of their game that it's hard not to get stupidly excited for what they might do for the Max Payne 1+2 remakes, even if it's super by-the-numbers. They love their universe, these characters, and the kooky Finnish folklore so much and it shows in how sincere every one of their games feel, even if they play like shit.
I'm reading the comments and STILL I can't understand people thinking this is a good game. This gameplay is one of the most clunky, boring and annoying I ever had the displeasure of playing.
A work of art can absolutely be both genuinely bad, and still inspire interesting observations. Whether or not a work is good isn't even that interesting, it's about the most boring thing you can say about a work. "It's good" Okay, that doesn't tell me anything. Any work, good or bad, can serve as the basis for an interesting observation. It's WHY and HOW it's good or bad, that's the fun part.
I find it admirable that you try to find the good within the bad of AW1, but looking at Control, we see that Remedy just isn't that good at choosing good gameplay for their stories. Like why is Control also a looter shooter? Why are the enemies damage sponges? Why is there so little interaction with the objects that the story revolves around, and instead we fight generic, possessed humans? It's okay if people enjoy Control, but Remedy has not made a single game, where the different parts come together well since MaxPayne 2. It's like each part of the game is made by a different team and the teams don't talk to eachother.
The more I see people talk about how bad the gameplay of AW1 is, the more I want to replay it. I haven't bothered because I remember the story well enough, and I remember the gameplay being overall a bit repetitive. But I played this back in 2012 when I was a gamedev student, always having had a focus on gameplay and being hyper critical - and I really don't remember having any issues with it other than repetitiveness.
It's good to know I'm not alone thinking this game had one of the weirdest control schemes and most baffling level designs of any game I've ever played. I enjoyed my time with it enough, but Alan Wake demands that you meet it halfway in a way very few games made after the PS2 era do.
I loved Alan Wake's gameplay as an old school shooter, and was disappointed AW2 is more of an adventure game with occasional combat. But there's no arguing that Control has the best gameplay since Max Payne.
at the end of the day, if the experience is too annoying i won't bother going through and see if the rest is good. It's a package deal, and when someone shits in your soup it can make the whole bowl pretty sour
I replayed it ahead of the launch of 2 and while I still absolutely love mostly everything about the game, the combat has not aged well. The feel of bullets hitting enemies and the spark showers are fantastic, but having to run in circles to wear down their shields, especially later in the game when you hit the bigger enemies, makes a lot of encounters a slog. That paired with Wake apparently being asthmatic and only being able to run for 5 seconds and a mediocre dodge mechanic made me have to split my playthrough up, though I did complete it for the first time since launch. All in all, still holds up in most departments, but the combat has not held up.
I tried the remaster on my PS5 and the gameplay is very outdated and repetitive, so much so that I couldn't force myself to get through the story. It should have been a remake to at least try to bring it up to the standards of Alan Wake 2.
I beat Alan Wake 2 on Sunday. It is the best, most creative, and beautiful game I've played in years. The story, visuals, and meta narrative is mind blowing and exciting. It is a page turner but in video game form. The alternating between Saga and Alan I was unsure about before the game released, but their 2 distinct narrative and gameplay styles add alot to the variety you mention is missing in the 1st game. Also the game controls so smoothly, it's like Resident Evil 4 remake and the new dodging system is integral to surving, aswell as resource management. Everyone do yourself a favor and please play Alan Wake 2. Especially if you are a fan of their previous game Control this game was made for you. Support this game so we can continue to get ambitious and wonderful games from Remedy
i straight up cannot complete the DLC episodes, and i’ve tried so so so many times. The stupid big bois and fast lads just gang up on me and i can only take so many of Alan’s weak-ass little side-stumbles he does when he gets hit before i rage quit, especially when i’m stun locked so he just sorta jerkily dances to the left four times and falls limply over.
Thx for the review. I am going to stay away from this one. Hated playing Alan Wake American NIghtmare as well as Control. I am all about gameplay and those had minimal funfactor for me. While the story seemed very average and way too slow burn for me. The footage also showed absolutely no improvement or fresh take on what I have played before...
Having just replayed it, i found the dodge to be essential. I also found that the core combat felt great BUT that it struggles with repetition and lack of variety as it goes on. The DLCs make up for this by how they mix up the level design. Idk you're making this game sound awful to play but it's made by a studio who clearly knows how to make combat with good feedback and style. Overall, i think they succeeded but could've cut down on the number of encounters or added more variety to the types of enemies and weapons you encounter
@@WritingOnGames no worries! I was merely noting it for others in case anyone was put off as I definitely had a different experience. I do get your core point though. Alan Wake's biggest issue is the combat. I did find the long stretches of atmospheric, anxiety-riddled exploration in the dark (with a wonderful internal protagonist narrating) really make up for a lot of my issues with combat though I recognize that's not the case for everyone and nor does it excuse the game's faults entirely. Regardless, great video giving love to a wonderful game that is now tied to one of the coolest universes in gaming right now as well as a shockingly unique sequel. So in the end, I just appreciate you taking the time to highlight an often overlooked experience from a developer that has limped its way through the last 20+ years despite the strong critical reception they've almost always gotten
Just played it for the first time, before starting with 2. I liked the atmosphere and story but the gameplay was very very outdated. It was tedious to play.
I love horror games to death, and no horror game outside of the Resident Evil 4 remake has ever disappointed me more than the original Alan Wake. I have never understood the unbridled affection for this game. There sure is lots of talking, which is fine I guess it's not executed terribly and is somewhat entertaining, but the actual gameplay is utterly mid and bland. Not tense or methodical enough to lean into survival horror, but not punchy or energetic enough to be a satisfying action game, it sits in a no man's land of generic, repetitive combat loops interspersed with Gears-style walking simulator exposition sequences that move the plot forward. It's looks nice enough, but I really found it a chore to play. Being a playable homage to Twin Peaks just doesn't cut it for me. Thankfully, the sequel is far more interesting. All that being said, I do think a game can transcend its individual systems to become an experience that is far more than the sum of its parts. After all, it is the full experience of playing a game that matters the most. If people were swept away by Alan Wake, that's great. I am just not one of them.
after kinda liking parts of Max Payne,not really enjoying AW, and then growing to hate the gameplay of Control... i am very confused why the Insert Credit nerds (love you guys) say Remedy only makes good games. they are interesting games that i grow tired of way before the end.
eh i've just been thinking about it a lot lately. i mean it's kind of true that they have never released a truly bad game- i just don't like them. i completely understand being in the minority about opinions (i like the game Messiah for crying out loud)- and i never shat on anyone's opinion... i'm simply shouting my confusion at cyberspace cause that's what people do. i got interrupted and completely forgot what i was commenting about so bye
I loved the story. I thought the idea that Alan was a crappy writers was a very clever way to cover up the crappy writing. But, damn, was the gameplay a slog. Hated that part. As a result when I started up the DLC, I just couldn't be bothered to do it again and just quit. It's telling that the most fun gameplay in the game is when it's the least like the rest of the game. The section where it becomes a straightforward shooter without all the damn flashlight nonsense (and with a banging soundtrack too, IIRC). And I could never understand why Alan kept managing to lose his damn flashlight. You'd think after the first couple of chapters you'd have to pry it from his cold dead hand, but no, start of every chapter it seemed he'd lost his flashlight again.
I was just about to say, just stick this game on easy for the best experience. It's still sub par but as someone who "got good" with this combat system I can say it is genuinely not worth it
While I agree that the story and atmosphere was better than the gameplay itself, I quite enjoyed the gameplay/combat as well. It can be a bit frustrating though until one gets a hang of it and the enemies could use a bit more variety.
You see I'm the opposite. I watched MKIceNFire's walkthrough, all the time I thought yeah looks OK! But, is it one of those games you have to play to appreciate? As i was so bored watching it. It didn't scare me, shock me. I wasn't even invested in the story.
I'm going to be honest I don't think Remedy made a game with good gameplay since Max Payne 2. And even that I considered a downgrade from the first game back in 2003.
The idea that its atmosphere tends to carry people through what is generally considered to be pretty lacklustre gameplay is not new by any means. Might just be getting talked about more now because of the sequel.
The original Alan Wake was pretty terrible in all honesty. The story was fun, but it was also pretty one note. Now Alan Wake 2... That's a good game. Alan Wake 2 definitely creates this dynamic and concept that the events of the first game are unreliable. They obviously happened, but did they happen exactly as we saw them? Since our only perspective was Wake's... in 2 we get Saga, who is much more grounded in reality... and she must bend under the whims of Wake himself, who begins to warp reality in a way that makes him come off as some other kind of entity... I really don't think the game is very good. Alan Wake 2 though is phenomenal.
I always enjoyed the combat, although I understand why I'm probably in the minority on that front. I kind of appreciate that Alan Wake is about as agile and badass as a professional writer who looks like he's approaching forty would be.
Me too just finished the game and love it except of all the wondering around in the forest and couldn't be bothered to search for the manuscript
My big problem with Alan Wake is that by the end of chapter 3 the game just stops introducing anything new gameplay-wise.
They introduced janky possessed objects and thought to call it a day
I'm playing the remaster now and after years of hearing how bad the combat is, I am the most confused about the reception to a video game I've ever felt in my life. I'm having a blast, and I was having a blast from the get go.
To be clear, I'm on chapter 4 and I think I'd have fun with an endless mode. Game is a touch on the easy side and I think just sitting back and taking on waves would be rad. I have a bad habit of dropping games over nothing, even ones I'm enjoying, and there is absolutely nothing giving me resistance to keep playing.
I 100%ed it back when it came out and I'm just as confused as you
That's fine! Glad you had a good time with it. As I say in the video though, just seems to be a general view that the gameplay is seen as a bit of a slog (I was playing the original PC release).
The whole video is focused on that idea of defending the seemingly indefensible mechanically speaking, so I'd cherish the fact you found something about an experience that resonates with you in a way it didn't for many others!
Me playing Forspoken. I had a ton of fun and briefly wondered if I was being gaslit by the internet.
The sequel American Nightmare actually has a horde mode.
@@WritingOnGames You know what, that's a great response. I found something others seemingly didn't. But I still feel like I played a different game than the one people have described and that was the point of my comment. Just that your point overall would be better taken if something indefensible was brought up.
Alan wake has probably the largest deficit of gameplay vs story ive ever seen. A pretty interesting and compelling story vs probably one of the worst and most repetitive third person combat systems ive experienced.
@@hopoheikki8503 I agree it's not horrible as a whole, but past the first hour or two the gameplay was agonizingly boring and mindless.
The original Nier has it beat, I think. Not by much.
I remember when I was a kid and one of the early game levels hinting at a dog getting possessed by the darkness made me quit the game cause I didn’t want to shoot a dog. Years later when I came back to it I found out that the dog just… never shows up. Despite the setup. As a kid I didn’t recognise the silliness the game includes while toying with Stephen King etc tropes. When the dramatic asylum escape leads to a rockenroll concert brawl I finally got the tone the game aims for.
“Toby knew the smell; it was the nice man, the nice man who always gave him treats and never got tired of playing with him. Toby wagged his tail in excited anticipation and gave a joyous bark.
Then there was another smell - a wrong smell - and it was alien enough to stop Toby in his tracks. Confused, he growled deep in his throat, the wrong smell came form the nice man.
Blind animal terror pierced the dog’s brain an instant before the axe followed suit.”
- Manuscript page
As someone who loved the gameplay of Alan Wake, I'm starting to feel like I... enjoy jank? Because your issues with the gameplay definitely sound like they'd be in Alan Wake, I'm sure I've experienced it... but somehow the feel of the game really worked for me. Maybe the messiness of the gameplay just clicked with the unhinged energy of the characters and narrative.
always nice when someone explains to you in detail why you didn't like a videogame classic all those years ago. never could say exactly why, but I feel this so much
The combat in Alan Wake is definitely "sucks on purpose", but I don't think that excuses the game from not being fun. A game has to engage the player in some way, and Alan Wake sometmes does this quite well! Where the combat falters is when the crappy gunplay comes to the forefront because it seems like Remedy ran out of ideas so they just make you fight through More of the Same Shit again, and again, and again. There's a section where Wake is running from the police at night without a flashlight, that could've made for a great tension chapter where now after having been adjusted to knowing the combat loop (shine light + shoot gun), you can't shine that light anymore, leaving you vulnerable. Later on still we see the Sherrif using her shotgun on enemies that haven't been weakened by the light, but it still knocks them away, so why not have this section give Alan a shotgun somewhere and now you have to knock back enemies to run past them because you can't destroy them?
There's a few sections where you're in broad daylight, supposedly protected from the evil coming after you. But each time you just drive a vehicle around a chopped up open world area and pick up coffee cans. There could have been something neat there, like still having to flee the police, or having to go into dark areas like tunnels or buildings which bring out the shadowmen and have to escape into the sunlight. Instead we just go through more drawn out shooting galleries.
And I think what frustrated me about this in the end of it all, despite generally liking the game, is that Alan Wake's story isn't very good. Like, it has moments, and its got a hell of a clever premise, but it doesn't go far enough, it doesn't deliver deep enough, and it doesn't examine close enough what these ideas are. Characters like the sheriff are basically non-entities; the whole setting is meant to be a small town with a dark secret but this dark secret almost has nothing to say about the town or the people living there. The two main human antagonists that could've drawn something out of Wake as a character, the FBI agent and the psychiatrist, are both barely present before being written off entirely. Yes, I know part of this, to a point, is Alan wrote it this way in-universe and Alan sucks as an author, but the line between intentional suck and just flat thematic delivery is pretty obvious imo. Its ending is the worst offender, where Alan simply takes Alice's place in the dark place for some nonsense about "equivilent exchange" that has nothing to do with anything the story was getting at to that point. Alan Wake, as metafiction, doesn't actually seem to have anything it wants to SAY as metafiction or ABOUT metafiction, and that combined with the uncreative and repetitive gameplay is what hurts it for me.
Like, there's so much the story could've gone in and with. Alan as an author seems really stuck on genre conventions, he tells us that the Darkness can only be beaten on its own terms because "its a horror story" and "bad stuff must happen" accordingly. Yet never does Alan's lack of creative foresight or intuition come up as a thing, which is what makes me think Remedy themselves lacked the creative drive to do more with their silly Stephen King by way of David Lynch homage than just being that, an homage. ANd that would've been fine, but metafiction for its own sake tends to just ring hollow. I liked Alan Wake, but I wanted more from it.
I liked it, but I can’t really disagree with anything you said. Remedy wasn’t very good at writing characters yet here. Have you played Alan Wake 2? They did a MUCH better job in that regard. Although I’m upset they have a new Sheriff.
@@chasethecolors I haven’t yet becsuse my PC is sorely lacking but I do want to check it out! I have Control to check out as well sometime too.
I did like the combat a lot... but the problem I have with the first Alan Wake is that there's *way* too much combat.
I honestly don't even think the combat design in Alan Wake is that bad; it's the fact that the first half of the game is 90% haunted forest, lumber yard, and oh look a national park that makes it feel very repetitive. This especially hurt episode three which is one of the longest ones and only has an uninspired mine section to break it up.
Aw man. The first half of this is brutal. It was like being in a parents evening and the teacher is telling you how terrible your child is.
I'm glad you went on to talk about how many of the elements add a realism to the game world and titular character.
How many games have you played where the characters do cool things in the cut-scenes but then can't climb over a fence when you are handed back the controls? Alan Wake isn't that aloof.
Did I get a few game overs from falling down a cliff section? Yeah. But I also do that in Mario games, where that is the only gameplay challenge.
I think when a game tries to combine so many things, it will likely suffer, but I think the end result here is worth it.
Also, I actually think this game (and American Nightmare) has one of my most satisfying dodge moves of any game. When you slow-motion duck and weave an axe swung at you in a crowd and you gain a few feet to gather your thoughts or light a flare, it's incredible.
My mind jumps to soulsborne games for a comparison, where the dodge feels like a clinical immunity tactic rather than an in-world event. Like the player character is phasing out of reality rather than actually avoiding the big dragon swinging it's tail at you.
My biggest gripe with the game is the tutorial. It just feels wasted. Are you telling me that the night before he goes on this incredible, ghostly, torch-wielding adventure, he has a single dream about pointing a torch at things to burn off the darkness. It's so on the nose, it makes the first combat encounter less special.
Man I couldn’t agree more. Alan Wake is my baby and beautiful game. Seeing his clips from this game just make me love it all over again. Now, Alan Wake 2 is maybe my favorite game ever. I hope he does a review for the second game.
@@KirstenPace I'm not finished with AW2 yet but holy f...how in god's name did they managed to make such a unique game? It doubles down on the creative narrative aspects of everything they've ever done prior while also treating horror in one of the most patient ways that any game has ever done by letting things build slowly for the story and characters before anything really begins to get weird. They've also allowed weirdos like me the opportunity to play a game that doesn't just create combat scenarios for combat sake. Instead, they let me enjoy my weird environmental exploration, admiration of all the details they pack in, and just soak in the atmosphere. Some may call it boring but I adore the pace of the game. Anyways sorry just had to talk to someone about this game because its immediately insisted on becoming one of my favorite games in such an aggressive way due to how unique of an approach to familiar genres and narrative styles it takes
I don't really agree about the combat, I found it quite enjoyable on high difficulty managing my resources, landing perfect dodges, keeping my distance, and I actually really like the immersive/no crosshair aiming reticle with the flashlight that kind of functions as a very generous aim assist. With that said, I do think the pacing is off and there's WAY too much of it for how basic it is. But it really didn't bother me much and I actually found it quite fun a lot of the time (other than fighting inanimate objects possessed by the dark entity or whatever, cause that shit is annoying as hell). I do still think it's Remedy's worst combat system though, I look forward to seeing how Alan Wake II improves this aspect when I buy it next week!
ALSO the sound design of weapons and explosions/effects, the slow mo effects when landing a multi kill with the flare gun or a perfect dodge, etc.. all add a lot of enjoyable audio/visual feedback to the combat that I'd argue automatically make it way more satisfying than something like "Deadly Premonition". That games combat is completely and utterly weightless in both visuals and sound and feels like it was developed by a 12 year old, I'd call that comparison insulting frankly.
I absolutely hated the way the camera would jerk around for the slo mo stuff. It's the kind of thing that worked way better in Max Payne, but wrestling away control for some incredibly janky pan or "cinematic" angle just consistently sucked for me. I absolutely stand by my assertion that I think Deadly Premonition has more enjoyable combat (and let me be clear, as much as I truly adore Deadly Premonition, I think its combat is pretty clearly some of the worst out there)
weird hill to die on IMO cause DP's combat is awful by every objective metric, at least Alan Wake looks and sounds cool when you fire a weapon or kill something and it actually has feedback lol. But agree to disagree, I do agree with a lot of your points on the storytelling of Alan Wake, it's definitely by far it's strongest element; and despite me not HATING the gameplay like you did, I do think it's the weakest combat system Remedy has made. Compare it to Control for example, late game control with insane abilities flying around, snappy precise shooting and wanton destruction to the environment feels AWESOME.@@WritingOnGames
Pumped to try it!@@hopoheikki8503
I just finished this game for the first time today, and I'm honestly in pure befuddlement at what to think of it.
The story and characters hooked me right away. The world looks fantastic. I actually don't mind the enemy design, despite the repetitive nature of it all. It's all just really interesting to me, and every time I found a new page of Alan's manuscript, my enthusiasm for the game was renewed... at least for a while.
The gameplay actually felt pretty fun to me at first, and in more simple/clever encounters it remained that way, but there came a point in the game, probably around the halfway mark, where enemies appearing became something I wanted to just never happen again. There were always too many enemies. They were always placed in an unfair way. The animations and controls would cause several deaths that felt far out of my control. By the end, I had pretty much decided to quit the game at least 3 different times, only continuing on out of curiosity about the story.
In the end, I wasn't disappointed in the world Remedy created, but I find myself unable to really recommend actually playing through the game.. and that's a huge shame. The experience of piecing together the plot through the pages you find is really cool, especially when the game gives context to scenes that haven't even happened yet.. but to get this enjoyment, one must also suffer some of the worst combat gameplay I've experienced in recent years.
(great video by the way lol)
Absolutely loved this Hamish- I felt the same way, in that because of its influences and atmosphere this should be my favourite game ever, but when I finally started the remaster on PS5 a few months ago I asked myself why exactly I'd given up on about 5 separate attempted playthroughs over the last decade.
Personally, I don't think it's the combat itself or the floaty controls that turned me off- like you said, those felt like intentionally sluggish elements for the shlubby city writer to struggle through, and honestly I enjoyed the flashlight combat, especially with the PS5 haptics/triggers. The main issue for me was the pacing, and how the gameplay massively suffers at the whims of the narrative- in the story, Alan is basically running around in circles, not making any progress and constantly ending up back where he started. This is great for illustrating the never-ending cycle of this nightmare, but for the gameplay pacing it's an absolute killer. Any time the player is given a substantial amount of tools and resources, which in any other survival horror game would be stocked up for a giant boss encounter, the game just pisses out the usual amount of enemies, and before you can use any of those carefully hoarded grenades or ammo, without warning, throws you into the start of a new chapter with your inventory completely wiped, starting from scratch (heh).
You mentioned wishing you could turn off the HUD and just wander through the environments, and there's an option to do exactly that- having no HUD enhanced my experience without measure here, made it so much more immersive and 'dream-like'. The woods got super disorienting (which narratively and character-wise checks out), but for the most part the game's level and environmental design is definitely clear enough to show you where to go without a HUD marker needed. I didn't need my ammo/battery count on-screen at all times, and touching the D-pad brought up those counters anyway- in fact, another issue I had with this is that in the 12+ hours I played, I never once ran out of either ammo or batteries. You mentioned the difficulty, but I played this on hard and I didn't really have an issue with just running around enemies in circles with the torch and revolver- the parts that made me restart dozens of times were the bird sections and the possessed objects (the birds made me want to tear my head out, but honestly I usually found it pretty funny when I got one-hit killed by a fucking fridge).
I wish you would've touched upon the DLC chapters though- in my opinion they're a million times more coherent and well-paced than the main game, taking you on a whirlwind tour of the story's main attractions, with some really novel new gameplay ideas thrown in. For newcomers to the series, I'd have the rogue suggestion of watching an "Alan Wake all cutscenes/movie" for the main story and then playing the 3-ish hours of DLC, it gives you most of the full 'experience' without ever letting monotony set in.
All in all it definitely sounds like I enjoyed the moment-to-moment gameplay more than you, and there were a handful of standout gameplay sequences I loved (the concert, the town and the final chase), but those few hours of getting lost in the woods were awful enough to make me quit the game altogether a few separate times.
Thanks very much for the thoughtful comment. The DLC I definitely just watched a playthrough of because, after beating the main game, there was no way I could stomach any more of the combat (and some of the DLC I'd heard from some people was actually worse in that regard, but now I'm hearing some mixed things).
Now this is a video critique, brings up points on why they believe certain aspects of the game are bad and then elaborates on them, more so gives a fair and respected analysis on the attempt the game did with its clunky mechanics and amazing story telling! No wannabe intellectual BS or longwinded cinema rants about something that drags on for almost two hours! Bravo dude I like this take a lot.
Alan Wake really is a hard one. The classic Insomniac or Twin Peak like "author blending creation and reality together" movie trope is a perfect blueprint for a game. And Alan Wake really embraces this.
When I am try to remember the time playing the game though, all that comes to mind are exhausting slogs through endless forests with bits of lore and story exposition thrown in. But not enough to leave an impression. And I don't know why but Alan Wake for me was the starting point where I sensed something like Remedy is more inclined to tell a "not"-story where they are so busy building up the scenario and background that at the moment something really happens with the characters for once, the game is already over.
And from there on it was only getting worse. Control as amazing as this game was, is the absolute epitome of this. Mindblowing worldbuilding but laughable primitive story and character development.
This reminds me of how so many games are basically split in two parts. Story and gameplay. In the story the character is having problems and has to learn something or make a sacrifice. But the gameplay is generic action gameplay loop. Even if both the story and the gameplay is good, they are still so separate and don't really make sense together. The problems of the main character are rarely reflected in the gameplay. It's like it's always "We want to make a story about a character that struggles but we want the gameplay to be fun and effortless". It has become the norm so it's what people expect and want. And don't get me wrong, I love many games with this structure but I feel like there is alot of untapped potential.
I want more action games where every moment of gameplay is made to support and tell the story. Less focus on making one gameplay loop to use for an entire game and then just slap in on a story without real adjustments to fit the story. I'm quite rambly at this point and almost not sure what I really want so I'll stop here. Feel free to discuss. xD
"Beyond every shadow you settle for, there is a miracle, illuminated."
Easy is my setting, upfront.
Alan Wake was one of my first games and, honestly, I think it's perfect for this role. It showed me straight away how games can have very interesting narratives (a good thought to start a gaming journey with x)) and the simple, repeating gameplay was a good introduction to the whole "interactivity" thing. And in the future Alan Wake's flaws helped me stop denying the subjective side of game analysis and start thinking about how people criticize things in general
I wouldn't love games as much as I do now without Alan Wake for which I am very grateful!
Dear Mr Writing on Games,
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for confirming my thoughts on Alan Wake. I always felt like I was missing something because people praised the game so much. Even though I loved the story, the characters, the atmosphere, the humor of Alan Wake... but dear God, did I hate actually playing the game. There were times where I considered just stopping, but I pulled through the combat and I am glad that I did, because everything besides that is really great... hard agree that the combat is one of the worst experiences I had in a game ever.
Sincerely,
Some rando on the internet
I've never really understood this take. I don't think the combat in the game is bad at all. It's certainly a bit on the simple side, and the gameplay segments can be a little repetitive and drag on, but I think it's just engaging enough to support the rest of the experience. I definitely wouldn't call it bad. Really it's more of a narrative focused experience anyway.
Would be curious to see you do a video on Alan Wake 2. I've been playing through it recently and it might just be my favorite video game ever. Remedy really knocked this one out if the park and into orbit.
I also quite enjoyed the combat, but I don't think it can be overstated how much the pacing hurts it. This is a relatively short game, but it felt like the longest thing I'd ever played during those few hours running around in the woods. Moment-to-moment it's fine (and on the PS5 remaster even enjoyable, the triggers and haptics were excellent), but when you're doing the exact same thing for a dozen hours it sure does get monotonous.
@@Eoinster Yeah that's fair, I think the lengthiness of the combat sections, and the way that every area is basically just the woods at night definitely does hurt it. And every time it gets deeper into the story, it drops you back into the woods for a while. I definitely don't think it's perfect, but as a narrative experience, I still love it. It's been one of my favorite games since it released, and I'm so glad that Remedy managed to deliver in such a huge way with the sequel. I think ultimately it's good that the original sequel got canned because of what they were able to ultimately create instead.
See, it is a narrative-focused experience for sure... just with hours upon hours of combat gameplay that, if you don't enjoy (and as much as some people clearly do, there are plenty of valid reasons not to), it's going to be a real slog to get through.
As for AW2, I said it somewhere else but if you'd told me a month ago that the sequel to Alan Wake would be a serious contender for my game of the year I'd have laughed, and yet here we are. Can't stop thinking about that game.
Thanks for explaining exactly what i think about alan wake, finally someone did it
Next time I stumble while on a hike, I’ll blame it on inconsistent collision geometry.
"I'm just a writer! Gimme a break!"
Im only 3 minutes in, and thank god someone else finally said it. I love Alan Wake for its story, but the only way to really get past the combat is to cheese it. It rarely feels rewarding, and I'm always just looking forward to the next story bit.
My GF was very interested in the story, but she doesn't have the technical skill to cheese the game, so even on easy she would just get frustrated and give up. That's deeply sad for me given Alan Wake is in my list of top 10 favorite games of all time. I want her to experience it, but even when I go back to it, I find myself unable to finish.
Thank God they focused up the combat have less of it in the sequel.
Why can't it be as simple as "Alan Wake has a great story, setting and atmosphere, mixed with infuriating gameplay"? Why perform these mental gymnastics saying "No really maaaan, the crap gameplay is totally thematic and intentional maaaan."? Suzi said something in her cyberpunk review to the tune of "I'm too old to waste anymore time retroactively justifying bad gameplay in a game I otherwise really want to like". As I get older, I could not agree more. Its okay to admit that a game you really like for the narrative has shit gameplay. I loved playing through fallout new vegas at launch on PS3. But I mean come on, that port of that game, at that time was busted as fuck. Still, so much of New Vegas lives rent free in my head because of just how damn deep and considered the narrative was.
Because, I dunno, sometimes there's more to it than that?
@@WritingOnGames I mean yeah..... But sometimes as pattern seeking creatures we see connections where there are none. Maybe I am projecting here, but I used to be the kind of person who could not admit I made a bad decision by spending 60 bucks on a game whose gameplay I hated. So I would twist myself in knots justifying it. Some of your talking points reminded me of those times. Now I air on the side of Occam's Razor. Saves a whole lot of time and mental stress.
There was a low rumbling music on this video and it made my anxiety of dealing with a noisy neighbor for almost a year flare up 😬
Noah is the OG. Proud to be his patreon over 5y.
I Just finished my own playthrough (on easy) last night, and I think my main take is it would have been 10x better if each episode was like, 30% shorter, they all consistently outstay their welcome and it feels less a tense spooky experience and more like a slog
Writing on games has reached enlightenment
I really love this thoughtful analysis. One of the first games that really forced me to confront how bad or, most charitably, suboptimal design can contribute to the themes of a game is The Last Guardian. I love how Trico's inconsistent behavior reflected the real frustrations of training an animal, which led to wonderful moments when the creature would do something quickly or out of character.
While I think the core gameplay of Alan Wake is solid, I replayed it last month and agree the combat is a repetitive drag with the lack of enemies and mechanical depth to weapons and items. However, I love how you tied this into an analysis of Alan's circumstances and his chops as an author. I do wish more game critics more readily considered how "bad design" can actually contribute to the overall experience in a positive way that the developer wants you to reflect on with intentional frustration! Really glad you're out here being a devil's advocate of sorts. Great video!
Absolutely fair commentary on the combat. I nearly unistalled it when I got to one particularly awful section. It's so clunky and repetitive. Even the shotgun doesn't feel good to use. It's not often in games when the cut scenes are the best part.
I actually really like the idea you suggested that the flaws of Alan Wake's gameplay and writing are all because of Alan. Makes me really wish this game was written to actually play with that and give Alan a character arc where he realizes how bad of a writer he is once he figures out what is going on. Could have set up an actually decent character arc, but as far as I know this game ends on a cliffhanger...
In the first few hours, I was 100% feeling the same way as you about the combat. But after sticking it out til the end, I actually found myself enjoying the combat more. It still isn't my favorite combat system, and the enemies can becoming incredibly frustrating; but once the game gives you more guns, flairs and flashlights to work with and you get a hang for dodging it becomes more fast paced and fun. Still wasn't in love with the game as a whole, but I appreciate it for what it does right!
Love entire video essays based on hot takes, Let's go🔥
I think Alan Wake works best when you’re clicking along and taking out enemies efficiently, but it feels like there are times where the game design feels more cheap to put it into the survival horror zone rather than the action zone.
Really great analysis here, as always!
Great video, but its funny, i kinda feel the opposite. I had a lotta fun playing AW1 (though i admit it got quite repetitive towards the end), but having just beat AW2, i feel your analysis partially fits that game more. Not so much in the sense that the mechanics are poorly inplemented, but the fact that i dreaded doing any actual combat because of how stressful it was.
It kinda makes sense though. AW1 did feel a little simple and unpolished in its mechanics, which fits Alan's character being so inexperienced with this sort of thing. But come AW2, we play as a seasoned FBI agent, and Alan has been in the Dark Place for 13 years, so the combat feeling more polished reflects that. And narratively, the Dark Place is also a lot more hostile this time around, so the enemies are a lot more deadly and unpredictable. I also notice the tone of the encounters is a lot less camp, whereas the first game the enemies were pretty goofy a lotta the time. Anyway im rambling at this point, great video mate, and yeah, ThorHighHeels and Noah Gervais are the goats lol
I do hope you do a video on control
Maybe some day. I bounced off of that game hard back when it released. Liked the atmosphere, but the thought I was constantly having while playing was "I'd rather be playing Psi Ops on the PS2." Played Psi-Ops on the PS2, and had a way better time.
I replayed it recently off the back of how much I liked Control. When I first played it, the tone grew on me (I'd been hoping to fill a Silent Hill-shaped hole upon release); and replaying it, I was all for the tonal elements but the gameplay is really a huge compromise with the clear ambition they'd had going in. Can't wait to see how Alan Wake 2 makes use of everything theyve done and learned since.
I find all of this be reminiscent of how the first Silent Hill games had bad combat and how it over time became part of the experience, that it's not about a combat trained soldier fighting demons, but instead a regular person stuck in a nightmare. While most of such things are afterthoughts, it also reminds me of the concept of academic film studies in which the teacher goes through a two hour lecture on the color of the curtains in a masterpiece film and what it means, while the director in interviews just says that they grabbed whatever was on discount at the closest home store.
In the end, does it matter? In aesthetic philosophy, this is a core question, what happens when an artwork gets changed due to some accident or similar and people believe it's part of the artwork itself? The question of if it matters or not, does the art live as itself and "afterthoughts" is part of the experience of art. Like how people believe that statues from the Ancient Greek were white and how that's part of our idea of their art scene, while the truth is that they painted them, they had eyes and skin color and everything.
The post modern aspects of Remedy's games have always been THE thing that makes them stand out from everything else. That the flawed gameplay systems are part of the experience, not hiding behind corporate marketing but front and center part of the actual narrative. It's bold and makes everything more interesting. For example, "The Evil Within" 1 and 2 had been hyped up for so long and I hadn't found time to play them until years after the second game's release. But everything in these two games felt so repetitive and boring. There were no redeeming qualities that could make up for the lackluster gameplay and I don't understand how people could find the story deep when it just felt like some amateur trying their best at making cerebral horror without the philosophical groundwork and a surface level understanding of the themes it presented.
Alan Wake 2 really hit the mark with what Remedy is good at. There's nothing in it that isn't part of the post modern fever dream that it is. Everything from Alex Casey appearing, in the appearance of Max Payne 1 (and in so the appearance of Sam Lake), with the voice of Max Payne 2, as well as the actor playing Alex Casey, which is just Sam Lake with his own voice. Things like this just spins around and around creating this swirl of fourth wall breaking meta stuff, which is part of what the entire plot is about.
Minor to none spoilers...
Alan Wake is a mediocre to bad writer, it's part of the narrative that he isn't that good. This specific thing is a major part of Alan Wake 2, how the surface level art can never lead anywhere and how destructive to the soul it can be to deep dive into what it takes to create true art.
It all becomes a narrative of the struggles of an artist, the requirement to always write and produce, to be a business, the demand to write. While at the same time trying to find truth and depth. The whole reason why Alan Wake's narration feels so stressed and pushed is because that's his forced style of writing.
If they ever make an Alan Wake 3, I would wish for it to be about finding his true core self, his real inner voice, ditching his bad writing and finding the way towards being a master writer. It would be such a perfect bookend to this story as a metaphor for the struggles of an artist, like the fever dream point of view of such depression. The combat is irrelevant, Alan Wake has more in common with high level indie titles than some AAA blockbuster and we need these games to exist, especially in a time when games struggles to be anything other than mindless corporate trash.
Ahhhhhh definitely reminds me of peoples' love for the Drakengard and Nier (Cavia's Gestalt release, not Platinum's Automata or Replicant) series.
Drakengard 3 in particular has had multiple video essayists go "well damn, the suboptimal gameplay is being leaned into by a studio that very well knows its limitations and can use that to make a cohesive thematic statement about games as a narrative medium".
I also did not care for playing Alan Wake until American Nightmare, it’s the story and presentation that sell the series
The way you describe loving the story and atmosphere of Alan Wake while finding the game a chore to play, ironically, parallels my feelings towards Max Payne. I love everything about that game except trying to play it, even after five attempts. There's quite a few games like that that, but Max Payne always stood out to me cause I want so desperately to love it.
the 11:15 shout is really sick. I love THH and NCG, never heard of the other two channels but will give them a go!
I swear I enjoyed this when it came out but went back to it and just found all the writing very poor. I loved Max Payne and Control but this just feels totally shallow in comparison. The sequel looks amazing so I do want to check that out eventually.
i've always maintained that the first Alan Wake is completely carried by its concept, story, characters and set pieces. half the game taking place in bland stretches of forest fighting the same enemies with the same weapons with no meaningful changes to gameplay causes so many people to bounce off of it and rightfully so. i love the game to death but its hard to recommend unless you have somewhat of a stomach for tedium to get the good bits.
One thing I never understood is why Alan Wake never had enemies using hunting rifles.
With the big Deer Fest thing and constant talk of hunters in the woods.. it would have been really logical.
Alan wake up new writing on games video just dropped.
Bought it when it came out on 360 and thought it was absolutely horrendous. Then as the years went by, I saw more and more people saying it was a misunderstood classic and I found myself thinking "Was it really that bad?". Went back and played it last month and it is absolutely horrendous. I see the reception the sequel is getting and I want to believe it's as great as people say but.... I dunno.
it’s SO much better. The time they took, with Quantum Break and Control in between, really taught them how to do action with spooky ethereal enemies. There’s MUCH fewer actual enemies in the Dark Place, but there’s lots of shadows that don’t fade until you’ve shone your light on them for a few seconds, with some even lurching forwards with a menacing musical sting.
Eventually you can figure out little details that clue you into who’s a threat and who’s just making noise, which makes you feel very clever, but never safe.
It’s so much more polished, and the guns are delightful to use, they have a great deal of punch and kick to them, pushing both the PC’s weight back and sending the enemies stumbling in a very satisfying way. It’s damn good survival horror, with real enemies actively trying to feint one way and then dodging another, and fake out enemies doing their best to psych you out into wasting resources. But it’s not annoying, it’s thrilling.
I gotta go to work so I only watched a couple minutes so far, but so far, I agree with you.
As an aside, I am one of the people who LOVE american nightmare. The combat is actually the focus and is kinda fun.
I’m so surprised many have a problem with the dodge mechanic. I felt it was just fine.
I have been looking for a good review of Alan Wake and I love the points you have made but I want to add my perspective here if I may.
I think Alan Wake is a good story, in a bad game. Everything the game does right would fit in a series.
Saying the game controls weird because Alan is not supposed to be trained is fine, but when you showed the model just not landing properly, or when you're vaulting and it sometimes works and sometimes it doesn't it's not the character being unfit, but the game controls being poorly made.
There's also the cheap shots from the back which is just not fun at all considering the speed of the main character. It doesn't feel hard because the game is easy even on Normal (Didn't have the fortitude to try a Nightmare run), you have so much ammo and so much space with flares that the game loses the little tension it had. While we are talking about combat, notice the delay between pressing the button to shoot and actually shooting.
To put salt on the wound the maps are way too big considering the speed, and god forbid you look for collectibles in buildings, each section where you have to get out of the car and get in, it's a minute for a quick scan.
Everything in the game is slow in the worst possible way, the camera pan, the menu interactions, even the narrator doing the pretentious writer pause.
For my last criticism, I just can't wrap my head with a 12 hour game having 4 enemy types and calling it a narrative decision because the protagonist is a bad writer. I wonder how many people would play a racing game if the narrative design was to have a car that's impossible to win with. (Mafia racing mission vibes)
The worst part is, after the game ended, I was left with a positive feeling about it, the game itself is horrible to play but the ideas, the ambience and story saves it a little bit.
If I were to quickly "score" it, I'd say it's a 9 for environment and feeling, 7.5 for story and 3 for game play.
You said more in 10 minutes than most critics say in an hour long video essay.
Thanks for the vid
It’s a weird game. The combat is incredibly clunky and the cars handle awfully…but it has so much charm that I’m alright with the gameplay. I can’t help but love it
A timely upload. I had just turned off the game out of frustration with the gameplay.
I was waiting for someone to really dive into the overt similarities and parallels (if you can even call it that, considering how blatant it is) between Alan Wake and Twin Peaks. Many channels just kind of acknowledge it's there, but it's so refreshing to hear a fan of both be able to pick it out. While Alan Wake never really gave me all that much of Twin Peaks vibes despite sharing so many narrative similarities, Alan Wake II absolutely feels like a direct love letter to The Return. No game has given me the same feeling The Return did until this one, and boy _howdy_ does it hit. The intro scene with Nightingale felt like some kind of extended look at what happened to Major Briggs. It's insane.
100%. As I say, especially going into American Nightmare there are quite a few similarities in setup to The Return, but especially going into the fight you mention I had the same reaction of "THIS IS BRIGGS THIS IS AMAZING"
If you'd told me while playing AW1 that its sequel would be a serious contender for my GotY I would have laughed at you, yet here we are and I couldn't be happier about that fact.
@@WritingOnGames Remedy feels so on-top of their game that it's hard not to get stupidly excited for what they might do for the Max Payne 1+2 remakes, even if it's super by-the-numbers. They love their universe, these characters, and the kooky Finnish folklore so much and it shows in how sincere every one of their games feel, even if they play like shit.
I'm reading the comments and STILL I can't understand people thinking this is a good game. This gameplay is one of the most clunky, boring and annoying I ever had the displeasure of playing.
A work of art can absolutely be both genuinely bad, and still inspire interesting observations. Whether or not a work is good isn't even that interesting, it's about the most boring thing you can say about a work. "It's good" Okay, that doesn't tell me anything. Any work, good or bad, can serve as the basis for an interesting observation. It's WHY and HOW it's good or bad, that's the fun part.
Sounds like I should just watch a playthrough on 2x speed and save myself the trouble.
If you're just trying to get caught up on the general state of the AW/Remedy universe before heading into 2, I'd say there are worse ways to do it!
My brain hurts over the fact Deadly Premonition was released before Alan Wake. I hate time.
The fact there was only a few months between them and that Deadly Premonition actually beat Alan Wake to the punch was weirdly unsettling for me, haha
I find it admirable that you try to find the good within the bad of AW1, but looking at Control, we see that Remedy just isn't that good at choosing good gameplay for their stories.
Like why is Control also a looter shooter? Why are the enemies damage sponges? Why is there so little interaction with the objects that the story revolves around, and instead we fight generic, possessed humans? It's okay if people enjoy Control, but Remedy has not made a single game, where the different parts come together well since MaxPayne 2.
It's like each part of the game is made by a different team and the teams don't talk to eachother.
The more I see people talk about how bad the gameplay of AW1 is, the more I want to replay it. I haven't bothered because I remember the story well enough, and I remember the gameplay being overall a bit repetitive.
But I played this back in 2012 when I was a gamedev student, always having had a focus on gameplay and being hyper critical - and I really don't remember having any issues with it other than repetitiveness.
It's good to know I'm not alone thinking this game had one of the weirdest control schemes and most baffling level designs of any game I've ever played. I enjoyed my time with it enough, but Alan Wake demands that you meet it halfway in a way very few games made after the PS2 era do.
I am commenting to increase engagement metrics
Great watch.
I loved Alan Wake's gameplay as an old school shooter, and was disappointed AW2 is more of an adventure game with occasional combat. But there's no arguing that Control has the best gameplay since Max Payne.
at the end of the day, if the experience is too annoying i won't bother going through and see if the rest is good. It's a package deal, and when someone shits in your soup it can make the whole bowl pretty sour
I see Alan as a self critique by Sam as a writer.
Lambhoot shout out!
I tried to play this game last year, but I quit after a few hours. I mean to try again, but I don't know when. My backlog is gargantuan right now.
I replayed it ahead of the launch of 2 and while I still absolutely love mostly everything about the game, the combat has not aged well. The feel of bullets hitting enemies and the spark showers are fantastic, but having to run in circles to wear down their shields, especially later in the game when you hit the bigger enemies, makes a lot of encounters a slog. That paired with Wake apparently being asthmatic and only being able to run for 5 seconds and a mediocre dodge mechanic made me have to split my playthrough up, though I did complete it for the first time since launch. All in all, still holds up in most departments, but the combat has not held up.
I keep seeing these reviews for alot of games claiming to be "Flawed Masterpieces"
I tried the remaster on my PS5 and the gameplay is very outdated and repetitive, so much so that I couldn't force myself to get through the story. It should have been a remake to at least try to bring it up to the standards of Alan Wake 2.
I honestly have never had an issue with ALan wakes gameplay. Its not super diverse but I dont think its bad.
I beat Alan Wake 2 on Sunday. It is the best, most creative, and beautiful game I've played in years. The story, visuals, and meta narrative is mind blowing and exciting. It is a page turner but in video game form. The alternating between Saga and Alan I was unsure about before the game released, but their 2 distinct narrative and gameplay styles add alot to the variety you mention is missing in the 1st game. Also the game controls so smoothly, it's like Resident Evil 4 remake and the new dodging system is integral to surving, aswell as resource management. Everyone do yourself a favor and please play Alan Wake 2. Especially if you are a fan of their previous game Control this game was made for you. Support this game so we can continue to get ambitious and wonderful games from Remedy
I don’t know, Alan Wake is a game where a flare gun is essentially a grenade launcher so it was difficult for me to not find the combat entertaining.
That’s funny because I’ve been hate-playing the game the last few days and every single thing you said in the video could have come out of my mouth.
i straight up cannot complete the DLC episodes, and i’ve tried so so so many times. The stupid big bois and fast lads just gang up on me and i can only take so many of Alan’s weak-ass little side-stumbles he does when he gets hit before i rage quit, especially when i’m stun locked so he just sorta jerkily dances to the left four times and falls limply over.
Thx for the review. I am going to stay away from this one. Hated playing Alan Wake American NIghtmare as well as Control. I am all about gameplay and those had minimal funfactor for me. While the story seemed very average and way too slow burn for me. The footage also showed absolutely no improvement or fresh take on what I have played before...
Having just replayed it, i found the dodge to be essential. I also found that the core combat felt great BUT that it struggles with repetition and lack of variety as it goes on. The DLCs make up for this by how they mix up the level design. Idk you're making this game sound awful to play but it's made by a studio who clearly knows how to make combat with good feedback and style. Overall, i think they succeeded but could've cut down on the number of encounters or added more variety to the types of enemies and weapons you encounter
It was awful to play for me! If you disagree that's fine, but I'm just trying to describe my own experience as honestly as possible.
@@WritingOnGames no worries! I was merely noting it for others in case anyone was put off as I definitely had a different experience. I do get your core point though. Alan Wake's biggest issue is the combat. I did find the long stretches of atmospheric, anxiety-riddled exploration in the dark (with a wonderful internal protagonist narrating) really make up for a lot of my issues with combat though I recognize that's not the case for everyone and nor does it excuse the game's faults entirely.
Regardless, great video giving love to a wonderful game that is now tied to one of the coolest universes in gaming right now as well as a shockingly unique sequel. So in the end, I just appreciate you taking the time to highlight an often overlooked experience from a developer that has limped its way through the last 20+ years despite the strong critical reception they've almost always gotten
Just played it for the first time, before starting with 2. I liked the atmosphere and story but the gameplay was very very outdated. It was tedious to play.
I love horror games to death, and no horror game outside of the Resident Evil 4 remake has ever disappointed me more than the original Alan Wake. I have never understood the unbridled affection for this game. There sure is lots of talking, which is fine I guess it's not executed terribly and is somewhat entertaining, but the actual gameplay is utterly mid and bland. Not tense or methodical enough to lean into survival horror, but not punchy or energetic enough to be a satisfying action game, it sits in a no man's land of generic, repetitive combat loops interspersed with Gears-style walking simulator exposition sequences that move the plot forward. It's looks nice enough, but I really found it a chore to play. Being a playable homage to Twin Peaks just doesn't cut it for me.
Thankfully, the sequel is far more interesting.
All that being said, I do think a game can transcend its individual systems to become an experience that is far more than the sum of its parts. After all, it is the full experience of playing a game that matters the most. If people were swept away by Alan Wake, that's great. I am just not one of them.
Interesting video and good script. A lot of the best art is buried in the worst art.
after kinda liking parts of Max Payne,not really enjoying AW, and then growing to hate the gameplay of Control... i am very confused why the Insert Credit nerds (love you guys) say Remedy only makes good games. they are interesting games that i grow tired of way before the end.
Almost like people have different tastes huh? You should know since you're in the minority on this one.
eh i've just been thinking about it a lot lately. i mean it's kind of true that they have never released a truly bad game- i just don't like them. i completely understand being in the minority about opinions (i like the game Messiah for crying out loud)- and i never shat on anyone's opinion... i'm simply shouting my confusion at cyberspace cause that's what people do. i got interrupted and completely forgot what i was commenting about so bye
I loved the story. I thought the idea that Alan was a crappy writers was a very clever way to cover up the crappy writing. But, damn, was the gameplay a slog. Hated that part. As a result when I started up the DLC, I just couldn't be bothered to do it again and just quit.
It's telling that the most fun gameplay in the game is when it's the least like the rest of the game. The section where it becomes a straightforward shooter without all the damn flashlight nonsense (and with a banging soundtrack too, IIRC).
And I could never understand why Alan kept managing to lose his damn flashlight. You'd think after the first couple of chapters you'd have to pry it from his cold dead hand, but no, start of every chapter it seemed he'd lost his flashlight again.
I was just about to say, just stick this game on easy for the best experience. It's still sub par but as someone who "got good" with this combat system I can say it is genuinely not worth it
I love you for using the original release not the remastered botox face Alan
*CONTROL 2 GONNA BE LIT* 🔥💀
While I agree that the story and atmosphere was better than the gameplay itself, I quite enjoyed the gameplay/combat as well. It can be a bit frustrating though until one gets a hang of it and the enemies could use a bit more variety.
You see I'm the opposite. I watched MKIceNFire's walkthrough, all the time I thought yeah looks OK! But, is it one of those games you have to play to appreciate? As i was so bored watching it. It didn't scare me, shock me. I wasn't even invested in the story.
Do you play a lot of Eurojank? Because adapting to the controls' perceived crap factor is what actually makes the game satisfying to play.
Hell yeah Thor High Heels!
Truly one of the best.
better title:
Alan Weak Combat
I'm going to be honest I don't think Remedy made a game with good gameplay since Max Payne 2. And even that I considered a downgrade from the first game back in 2003.
I bet this guy was using Duracell… who doesn’t like the gameplay??
What happens if I hate the story more then the combat? and I don't like the combat as much as you do?
...nothing?
I loved the story of Alan Wake. Gameplay wasn't my cup of tea though, the 2nd one looks incredible though because of that RE Remake like gameplay.
What is up with this new narrative that Alan Wake 1 is bad? It suddenly started to appear everywhere.
The idea that its atmosphere tends to carry people through what is generally considered to be pretty lacklustre gameplay is not new by any means. Might just be getting talked about more now because of the sequel.
The original Alan Wake was pretty terrible in all honesty. The story was fun, but it was also pretty one note. Now Alan Wake 2... That's a good game.
Alan Wake 2 definitely creates this dynamic and concept that the events of the first game are unreliable. They obviously happened, but did they happen exactly as we saw them? Since our only perspective was Wake's... in 2 we get Saga, who is much more grounded in reality... and she must bend under the whims of Wake himself, who begins to warp reality in a way that makes him come off as some other kind of entity...
I really don't think the game is very good. Alan Wake 2 though is phenomenal.