Alan Wake 1 & 2 | A Self-Indulgent Retrospective

[@pimscrypt]

It's been pointed out that I've misinterpreted Alice's final tape, that what she is actually saying is that Alan *isn't* stuck in a loop. While you could certainly read it that way, since the term "ascension" could very well refer to Alan having to "ascend the spiral", Alice does in fact call it a loop twice during this tape, with no mention of the spiral. I don't believe I was wrong to point that out. However, I probably and should have gone into slightly more depth in regards to the ending. Because yeah, the game itself is a loop (Alan's very first line is "back to the beginning", which is actually the end of Alan's last line before he "dies" at the end). Instead I chose to focus on discussing what I found to be some real messy writing, because to me the significance of the loop (or spiral) is clearly not meant to be fully understood at this point.

[@searchingfororion]

Here's my messy pagan self tossing in two cents on a franchise I knew nothing about before this video (but I think some may find this interesting). There's a famous tradition called "the spiral dance" (which is performed by a group holding hands and I hope the idea is self-explanatory by the name) *however,* while it coils inward and outward while expanding and contracting, as everyone has one person on either side, it's still a technically a circle. "No beginning and no ending." If this is hard to imagine, think of Celtic knot artwork. So, in certain ways a spiral can be a "loop" and visa versa. I'm sure it's a small margin would find this of merit to the conversation, but I'm simply stating that these are not mutually exclusive to one another. I'm not taking sides here regarding the game's narrative specifics; just saying "Hey I've done this thing that might be an interesting perspective."

[@PixelaDay]

"Which came first, the gun-wielding chicken or the hard-boiled egg?" earned a slow clap from me

[@pimscrypt]

I was waiting for someone to acknowledge that pun haha!

[@PixelaDay]

You're a better writer than Alan that's for sure@@pimscrypt

[@the_sapphirerose]

The misunderstanding about Alice's last tape that other people mentioned in the comments aside, I'm glad you bought up Alice's involvement in AW2 because I think she has so much potential to be a playable character (maybe with her camera's flash as a weapon?) and go through her own journey during her return to the Dark Place. I sincerely hope Remedy tell her story in a future installment.

[@pimscrypt]

I was actually expecting her to be a surprise third playable character. Guess there is still hope for the future though!

[@ElectricheadPt1]

You got Alice’s last tape wrong. She tells Alan it’s NOT a loop. He thought the game itself was one closed loop, a Terminator 1 situation, the end is the beginning is the end. But he was wrong and she confirms that, it’s a spiral. It’s looks like a loop from a certain angle, but if you put it on it’s side, it has a separate beginning and end, even if it coves some of the same territory multiple times between them. Meaning there is more to the story, it’s not over, which yeah, we already know from the DLC, and probably also Control 2 and almost certainly Alan Wake 3 at this point.

[@SidPhoenix2211]

Ooof. That's a M A J O R thing to get wrong lol

[@b.u.l.1734]

Yeah, that's like the main point of the story, lol.

[@pimscrypt]

I see where you are coming from, but Alice does in fact refer to it as a loop twice in her last tape.

[@ElectricheadPt1]

@@pimscrypt Yes, her last tape before the actual last tape before the end credits where she says no, it's in fact not a loop. I like your videos but you are just incorrect here, my friend.

[@pimscrypt]

@@ElectricheadPt1 I’m not trying to be arrogant or dismissive, but I would genuinely want to see this tape you’re talking about, because I can’t find it anywhere. The last tape from Alice that we see before the reveal that she’s still alive in the post credits scene is the one where she tricks Alan into believing that she is dead, and that tape doesn’t do anything to discredit the concept of the loop. Would be odd if it did, given that she again calls it a loop twice in the actual last tape. Either way, what this argument comes down to is basically semantics, and personally I wouldn’t say that it discredits my whole reading of the ending being a bit of a mess. But to each their own. (My goal is not to come off as antagonistic with this comment, so I truly apologize if I offend you in any way)

[@MrRaivokasMagma]

Still weird to see Ilkka Villi as a video game character. I will always remember him from phone operator commercials 😅

[@pimscrypt]

Oh I bet that must be really weird then haha! I guess the only equivalent I have as a swede was to see Bill Skarsgård playing Pennywise for the first time.

[@ruliak]

I was JUST hoping to find an alan wake retrospective after jacob geller's latest video. I know nothing and I am excited! : )

[@pimscrypt]

Hope you'll like it! I very much enjoyed Jacob's GOTY video as well!

[@WritingOnGames]

Sorry for the early comment as the video has been really good so far and I'm super excited to watch the rest now but I just have to say, 11:29 YES THANK GOD I'M NOT ALONE IN THIS

[@pimscrypt]

IT HAS HAUNTED FOR 10 YEARS!! (Also, thank you!

[@ToxicToucan]

While I agree that Alice's supposed suicide is shocking I don't think it's unnecessary, it seems to me her making Alan have to make the choice to sacrifice himself to right his wrongs without it only relating to his selfish desires to see Alice again. I think his character arc seems really well done.

[@forgingfoxes7790]

Have I played these games, no. Did I just watch it cause its your work, yes. Great as always!

[@pimscrypt]

Bless you.

[@searchingfororion]

Me in a nutshell. Hooray for Pim!

[@SwedishKuriboh]

As someone who's never playde either Alan Wake game, nor really have the much interest in doing so, this was a FANTASTIC analysis! Really deep and intriguing, and even me who knows nothing about it got really sucked into it all. This was a joy to watch and listen to. Great job, Pim! 💖

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much!! Highly recommend playing at the very least Alan Wake 2 if you ever get the chance.

[@LordfizzwigitIII]

Always love to see a new video of yours Pim ❤. Keep up the hard work!

[@searchingfororion]

Trying to find a way to word that I plugged you just yesterday to someone and my immense enthusiasm that 1. Someone else replied "PIM!!!! OMG LOVE THEM!" (Best part of my day) 2. You uploading less than 24 hours later. P.S I really like your curls, and the editing (and acting) at the end was fantastic. Thanks for all you do.

[@pimscrypt]

That is so sweet! Thank you so much for sharing that! I wanted to go even more all out with the conclusion part of the video, but I would've needed a greenscreen for that. Still, I'm very happy with how it turned out!

[@searchingfororion]

I wrote a novel here, and it's gone now. It's like that hole James had, but *I* made it. Gave up a night for it... I can only hope it actually made it to you and you screened it or something. The mere thought that the platform devoured it like the chamber to bedlam gives me a tummyache. (At this point I don't even care about the contents anymore it's really the epic loss of output.)

[@UndeadGirlCyber]

38:00 just wanted to say this made me chuckle heartily

[@pimscrypt]

I was real proud of that one haha!

[@joaocardoletto]

I used to think Alan Wake 1 was just an ok game, but after playing Alan wake 2 the combined lore lifted the first game to another level. And then I played Control and things got even more engaging. Every time I finish a Remedy game I feel lost, not knowing what to play next to keep scratching that weird narrative itch.

[@pimscrypt]

It’s ironic how Remedy’s games are so clearly derivative of other pieces of art, yet few games feel quite like theirs. It’s that Finish touch I suppose!

[@sethzard]

I was about to comment that Possession is really having a moment, but then remembered that you were on one of the other things that made me think that XD.

[@pimscrypt]

It's funny because I randomly remembered that podcast discussion and thought "yeah actually that makes for a pretty good comparison for the video" haha!

[@LukeBeeman]

“Which came first, the gun-wielding chicken, or the hard-boiled egg? It’s deliberately left unclear, perhaps to be answered in a future installment.” They do actually answer this pretty explicitly: towards the end of the game, Alan tells Saga “I have an idea how to help Casey. He’s a real person who I twisted into a character. He isn’t my creation, so he isn’t a suitable host for the Dark Presence.” The way they explain it, Alan had powers before ever coming into contact with Cauldron Lake, visions of reality that he mistook for his own imagination and incorporated into his stories, and that’s how Alex wound up in his books.

[@MontyZander]

I’m just starting the video, so dropping a message for the algorithm - Alan Wake? Max Payne? Control? Quantum Break? Alan Wake 2? RCU theories? Woah so much to expect! 👀

[@pimscrypt]

Hope you enjoy!

[@Furore2323]

I always like to see discussion of Control's DLC.

[@Mbewe_SM]

I am annoyed with youtube I swtched on notifications only to be told about your video by a community post.

[@pimscrypt]

KZbin being as helpful as always.

[@miraprime474]

Excellent work as always Pim! As one of my influences, its always a treat to work woth you! 💜

[@pimscrypt]

Bless you Mira! The feeling is one hundred percent mutual! 💜

[@arielhansen4344]

Held off on watching this until we'd finished a first playthrough in my household and it was well worth the wait!

[@Cartograph176]

Have you ever heard of the comics by Sergio Bonelli Editore (Dylan Dog, Martin Mystère, Gea, etc.)? Well, for me Remedy's games are the equivalent of those comics.

[@pimscrypt]

I'm gonna have to check those comics out. Thanks for the tip!

[@Cartograph176]

​@@pimscrypt Check out *especially* Dylan Dog (and please, ignore the movie with Brandon Routh, it's garbage).

[@alessandroderosa8073]

Never thought about it that way, but I must admit some parallels might be traced between Remedy games and Bonelli's comics production. And, absolutely, check out Dylan Dog. I don't how it's been localized outside of Italy but the first 150 or so issues are among the best comics I've ever read. Tiziano Sclavi and Claudio Chiaverotti are godly writers, Stano and Roi superb pencillers among the others. Even Umberto Eco told in one of the thousands of quotes he's famouse for "Three readings I would never be bored by: the Bible, the Odissey and Dylan Dog".

[@anmanarrative]

Late getting to this but utterly loved this retrospective Pim, you always do such fantastic work. Very excited to see you do more retrospectives. Alan Wake is something I keep looking at but never quite felt enough pull to try myself, but I think this is enough for me to give it a go (especially knowing the sequel goes full survival horror). Got to say as a writer myself you brought up some interesting points that I am going to consider with my own work, so thank you for that.

[@rollingvice]

to bad you got shout out from praise of shadows.

[@pimscrypt]

To bad that you see a problem with that. I definitely don’t.

[@rollingvice]

@@pimscrypt generally i won't see the problem with it, until he made a hit piece video out of spite

[@MistaChedda]

@@pimscryptSoyboy’s career is going down the toilet

[@nigellee9541]

@@MistaCheddathat’s generously assuming he has a career

[@MistaChedda]

@@nigellee9541 so true king

[@BaronElBardo]

Old books tended to come "uncutter". So for the files you have to have something to cut the book

[@SocraTetris]

But are you going to show me The Herald of Darkness?!?

[@pimscrypt]

Even though I know exactly what you are referring to I instinctively read this as being some kind of dirty euphemism hahaha!

[@kaelgray3667]

Some book pages are printed on larger pages and then folded, then the folds are cut off. They just didn't bother to do that to some of the pages in your book lol. It was just badly printed.

[@Ancusohm]

Good video. I think you gave insightful commentary/analysis. I'm glad Aranock linked me to this. 👍

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you! Aranock is great!

[@Ebrahim_17]

Watching rn!!!

[@lazyvoid7107]

Not sure if you will see this comment but they added new game plus with more lore and new ending

[@pimscrypt]

My main regret with this video is that I didn’t wait for a bit so I could include the new game plus stuff. I figured it wouldn’t add *that* much, but it would’ve been great to have that context during the discussion of the ending.

[@searchingfororion]

Sequel! Mini episode! (You came up twice today and I got to refer your stuff specifically because of this video - yay! Peeps even watched it and *you* fell into the category of "actually getting Alan Wake (2) when no one else got the point/understood" so, high praise indeed! Hooray for Pim.) I bring offerings to the Crypt. The Crypt betows delightful horrors in return. Hail Pim! -- In all seriousness it makes me feel good to do nice things for people; even if that's telling them about content they probably wouldn't be able to find or helping a creator expand their audience. It's not the complete dismantling of capitalism replaced with a refined self regulated system based on social justice... But it's something, and *that's* nice. ... especially since I'm out of bottle caps.

[@sayborgoussawa4424]

Amazing video 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥❤❤❤❤❤

[@Mire_Klick]

Talking about someone elses art does not make you a creative writer. Critics are not "creating content" or anything for that matter. They are parasites. They do have a reason to exist though, like the little insects, who clean the lions teeth, but never let your pink dyed ego fool you. Like I am cleaning your teeth right now. You are welcome. :D

[@pimscrypt]

wat

[@Mire_Klick]

@@pimscrypt just a hater. Nevermind me.

[@MrChocodemon]

"What defines a Remedy game?" Mediocre to bad gameplay that doesn't fit a pretty good narrative with great atmosphere. A solid 6/10 game that could have been a 9/10 movie.

[@searchingfororion]

Lucky you; there's a nice collection of us forming over on the council's latest meeting about doing just that - and perhaps giving it a bit of the 'Fallout treatment'. Vera has some rather specific and insightful observations, comparisons and critiques following her inital thesis that allowed the rest of us to come to this realization, build off of it and decide to expand our idea into making this into a reality - so you'd have to go further than the initial interrogative to keep up with the exhange and understand the base concept of our conversation (less than 1/10th of the paragraph I wrote here) so a minuscule amount of attempting authentic listening *would* be involved. Also, while a certain level of legitimate debate and light-hearted snark is understandable; she personally combs through *everything* as antagonizing statements for the sake of only being antagonizing isn't tolerated there. If you think you're up to it, we'd be glad to have a like-minded individual join our merry band of pro-Wake adaptation revelers. If you aren't, I fail to see why you'd opt to watch an essay about a game you clearly didn't enjoy in the first place... But your veiw count, comment, it's tone (which inspired me to write this response which I'd be tremendously surprised if I get anything, except perhaps a variant of 'tldr'; which I'm quite accustomed to due to my writing style in general, but especially when reflective of the long-form content I'm watching and moreso when inspired by comments on the calibur of yours). Just think of it! Alan Wake - fully performed. No skill needed. The only interaction required from you is to merely sit and watch. How awesome is that? Then again, that's basically what we had here even *more* condensed than a film, yet you're unsatisfied... Strange that.

[@Verdelish]

The only channel where I look forward to the credit roll at the end so I can hear the European names in your cool accent 😎 Always enjoy hearing your perspective on these games.

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much! It's certainly not every day someone calls my accent cool haha!