Alan Wake Review - Max Payne meets Twin Peaks

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#gaming #alanwake #halloween
Alan Wake is an action-adventure video game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Microsoft Studios, released for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The story follows best-selling thriller novelist Alan Wake as he tries to uncover the mystery behind his wife's disappearance during a vacation in the small fictional town of Bright Falls, Washington, all while experiencing events from the plot in his latest novel, which he cannot remember writing, coming to life.
In its pacing and structure, Alan Wake is similar to a thriller television series, with episodes that contain plot twists and cliffhangers. The game itself consists of six episodes, and the fiction is continued by two special episodes, titled "The Signal" and "The Writer", that were made available as downloadable content (DLC) within the same year of the game's release. Together, they make the first season of a possibly longer story. Additionally, a six-episode live-action web series called Bright Falls acts as a prequel to the game, and a number of related books also expand upon the Alan Wake story.
Chiefly written by Sam Lake, Alan Wake took over five years to create-an unusually long development time in the game industry. The game received positive reviews from critics, and is often praised for its visuals, sound, narrative, pacing, and atmosphere. Alan Wake was awarded the first spot in Time magazine's list of the top 10 video games of 2010.[1] Alan Wake's American Nightmare, a full stand-alone title, was released in February 2012 on the Xbox Live Arcade service. A sequel was in development but was cancelled. However, the scrapped sequel became the foundation and inspiration of Remedy's next title, Quantum Break.

[@Gggmanlives]

Hey guys, I had to delete the previous review because of a copyright issue with a song in the video.

[@maxharrison7580]

Ok dad

[@00FMklary]

@GmanLives Rip previous vid m8

[@gtaman2152]

I was wondering what happened

[@EnterpriseKnight]

that sucks.

[@Buraunia]

Oh ffs...

[@sartanko]

Alan Wake is one of those rare game that almost reach a special spot where I just love it unconditionally. Originally it was supposed to be a lot more Silent Hill inspired and even have an open world where Bright Falls was fully explorable during day and you had to seek cover during night, and I can't help but think "what if".

[@jameslilly3750]

Yea imagine the whole ending sequence with a entire town coming at you in a free form style and not a set piece

[@urbansekkt6355]

@@jameslilly3750 Well they already said Alan Wake 2 is going to be horror, not action like the first one or American Nightmare. Maybe they decided to make the game they actually wanted to do originally instead of what microsoft told them to

[@jameslilly3750]

@@urbansekkt6355 honestly i kinda hope they just make the story as good as before

[@gagejohnathan9641]

​@@urbansekkt6355Microsoft didn't tell them to make the game like we got, They we're *forced* to because the game was nowhere near the level of polish remedy wanted

[@father042]

Poets of the Fall actually made 3 songs for the game, the 2 you mentioned were made as a fictional band Old Gods of Asgard and they also made song War as ending for episode 5 And they also got Roy Orbison, Nick Cave, David Bowie and Depeche Mode

[@Spar10Leonidas]

There’s another song by _Old Gods of Asgard_ that I don’t recall hearing in the game, called “Balance Slays the Demon.”

[@father042]

@@Spar10Leonidas That one is in American Nightmare

[@Spar10Leonidas]

@@father042 Oh, OK. That explains it.

[@jameslyddall]

I downloaded poets of the fall recently and listening to it quite a bit especially the “happy song”. I can’t understate how much Alan Wake has stuck with me since I accidentally found it in 2015. I just enjoy replying scenarios so I can stop by the radio stations in between the action and enjoy the ambiance. I was actually meant to go on holiday in Oregon and go hiking in the forest with a friend who’s a marine (so expert in survival and hiking). All this was directly inspired by Alan wake but obviously Covid changed that so will try next year. I’ve even located parts in Washington state that look like that in the game to stay in.

[@recht_voor_zijn_raap5506]

And they returned for the fantastic CONTROL

[@jopestv1063]

"She fell out of the ugly tree & hit all the branches." LMFAO

[@ArtHazard]

Yeah. I was surprised how good looking was her face model In real life.

[@timothykohl9566]

…"serves em right for being possesed." …..The Inquisition Approves this mindset....

[@hollywood21639]

Remedy are one of my favorite developers. Alan Wake is such a good game with so much atmosphere. I just picked up Control and am ready enjoying it. It's basically a spiritual successor to Psi-Ops.

[@apictureoffunction]

That's the exact reason I picked up Control, I loved Psi-Ops

[@frankiemartinez1755]

Dude why hasnt gman done a psi ops review....

[@JnEricsonx]

I just started replaying COntrol. I never finished it, and now that the DLC is all out, I need to finish. And not just because I met the whole damn cast of Control. When the VA of Alan Wake introduced himself as having voiced Alan Wake, I damn well cheered. Meeting him, Sam Lake, Courtney Hope, and James "MAX PAYNE" McCaffrey himself was the highlight of my NYCC 2018 trip. Well, that and hearing Sam Lake respond to my comment about James's cameo being the only good thing about the MP movie was great.

[@nate.hanlon]

is control on pc game pass?

[@GH05T-S0LDI34]

Fun fact : CONTROL is a sequel to ALAN WAKE games

[@josh7435]

Ah that "Haunted" by Poe hit me right in the nostalgia. Great review.

[@penyuwan]

@Kakuzen And Poe and the author of 'House of Leaves' are siblings.

[@26muca07]

The graphics still hold up to today's standards, being almost 10 years old.

[@Rooksnowz]

Looks better than wwe

[@WingMaster562]

Yeah, although the bloom sucks and it's badly optimized. . But once the bloom is off and you got it running, the troubles become forgettable.

[@tiagometallica007]

@@WingMaster562 Runs amazingly well on my low-end pc

[@WingMaster562]

@@tiagometallica007 How low is low-end? 1.9 gHZ processor, 256mb integrated graphics with 2GB RAM? 2.5 gHZ processor, 1GB graphics, 4GB RAM? . This was a crappy PC port, but thanks to fan made patches and fixes, it works.

[@tiagometallica007]

@@WingMaster562 Low end by today's standards. Gtx 1050, an I7-2600 I believe and 8gb of ram. But you're right, it would be considered high end when the game came out

[@Theottselmaster]

2019 STILL WAITING for a sequel.

[@IskenderCaglarM41B441]

Jay Dowg I am waiting for cold fear 2.

[@Zelix678]

Well, Remedy earlier this year got the publishing rights back from Microsoft and have shown interest in making the sequel. However, resources, writing and time are a problem. The expectation bar is also very high and intimidating. Realistically, i don't think we will even hear anything until at very least 2021.

[@commandurrazor]

Hey at least all newer Remedy games contain some easter eggs! Quantum Break and Control are set in the same universe apparently

[@Zelix678]

@@commandurrazor it all points that yes they are. Control especially.

[@MelAncholynus]

You can even find a collectible (well, at least one that I know of) in Control directly referring to events in Alan Wake, so yeah.

[@Doctor-Infinite]

Alan Wake, A game so good it's worth reviewing *TWICE*

[@mikescardiaries]

Couscous - a food so nice they almost named it thrice

[@Kaftannn]

So cool you decided to review this! Well worth it! :-)

[@GrapHix_PL]

Kaftanna to się tu nie spodziewałem :D

[@grumpyunclenick205]

@Zahir Kye wow... you must be his alt account!

[@WingMaster562]

At first I didn't but eventually I happen to like that mechanic where you don't get to keep the items and equipment per chapter, because it makes me not hoard it all and use all the items I have in order to survive. It also made me not have any favorite weapons and use whatever I have on hand.

[@JarvisLP]

One other cool things during the light checkpoints is that sometimes there'd be a radio around with the always the same guy keeping you up to date with happenings around bright falls and taking calls from listeners. It was always soothing/relaxing to hear his voice after a particular tricky section of the game. Served as a great repose.

[@darkcepm]

This game also introduced me to one of my favorite songs, Poets of the fall: war!

[@lucklesscope8367]

Radio playing that song as a shadowly figure pushes down a shelf and everything goes to slow-mo is probably one of the most memeroble scenes from the game.

[@jameslyddall]

From american nightmare try the happy song.

[@Riverslidebishop]

You need to mix up a few more synonyms for "at times." Sometimes Occasionally Often Every so often From time to time Now and again Ect. I love you. Please don't hate me.

[@brainc0la-_-]

Fuck you for making me notice it. Oh god it's like "you are now manually breathing"

[@rangerismine]

I hate you

[@Unclebarry94]

@crazymiles14 epstien didn't kill himself

[@phoenixzappa7366]

@@Unclebarry94 Can't spell

[@Unclebarry94]

@@phoenixzappa7366 Ah the fabled grammar police, the ultimate level of virgin

[@ScarleTron987]

I was expecting a Control review ever since the game got released...but what the heck Alan Wake for the win Sunny Jim :)

[@Jojje94]

*It will happen again, in another town, a town called Ordinary.*

[@rodrigoacosta9708]

I am here because of control. That is a wonderful game really love that damned Federal Bureau of Control thing, and the entries about the bright falls incident are what led me here. Now I need to play Alan Wake!!!

[@BrandonRiott]

Poets of the Fall are an amazing band. I highly recommend these songs: - Carnival of Rust (their best) - War - Dreaming Wide Awake - Sorry Go Round - Lift - Locking Up the Sun - Overboard - Late Goodbye

[@ravenlover7924]

They become one of my favorite band because of Alan Wake.

[@petev5789]

I highly recommend their 8 albums!

[@BrobjeV]

Not hard enough imo

[@winlover37]

It's a late goodbye. Such a late goodbyyyyyyyyye

[@justsomeguy8385]

Interesting fact: the Shining movie script was heavily altered by Stanley Kubrick. Even the iconic axe in the door "Here's Johnny" scene was from Kubrick's mind and way different in the book.

[@SpammerRapist]

It is not that interesting when you realise there is a version that Stephen King thought was a better adaptation that he could put his name unto. www.imdb.com/title/tt0118460/ Although King might have mellowed a bit on his stance on the Kubrick's film over the years as Doctor Sleep seems to follow that timeline, somewhat.

[@morromen4151]

youre off on one point: fighting a bulldozer is awesome!

[@vladimirroman4011]

Combine harvester was brutal too.

[@Mace2.0]

Max Peaks: Twin Payne. _Sponsored by Verizon._

[@Tuikkal]

And Energizer :D

[@AgentWolnyTyl3k]

@@Tuikkal If their batteries run out so quickly, then it's not so good commercial xD

[@NorBdelta]

I loved Alan Wake, the narrative, the atmosphere. All of it.

[@jarlnicholl1478]

Alan Wake is far more Stephen King than David Lynch. It is pretty much hallmark King-style small town horror, with only some surface similarities to Twin Peaks.

[@stateofopportunity1286]

It would have to be a lot more psychotically surreal to be Lynchian.

[@Reynsoon]

YES! Poets of the Fall! Gonna go see them this December. Fun fact: Their keyboardist is Markus 'Captain' Kaarlonen (sp?) who is most widely known for composing the Space Debris mod tracker.

[@Lord_Deimos]

Alan Wake has aged pretty well except for the stilted facial animations. Now, how about some Dead Space goodness?

[@manfredarcane9130]

It is funny how the facial animations look WORSE in prerendered cinematics than they do in game.

[@kahvikone]

I was really hyped for this game back in the day. It was supposed to be open world with insane weather effects being dangerous. I wasn't aware they changed it to be a linear game so I was kinda let down by it. I personally hated that the game always seemed to show you where enemies are coming from so all tension was lost in the dark forest. I'd really like to replay this game but I'll wait for a sale first so I can buy it from Steam. I got the opportunity to visit Remedy once. The offices were really sweet and the person guiding me through a playtesting session was very friendly. It was a great experience even though I didn't get a tour of building.

[@karolwojtya2369]

In my opinion switching to linear level design was a good decision. I don't think this game would work as an open world but who knows...

[@TeddyOnTheSpot]

Came back to this review in anticipation for Alan Wake Remastered next month, and I wanted to just dump my feelings out in this comment section. Alan Wake is by far, my favorite game from Remedy. Max Payne may have nailed the action and bullet time, Quantum Break may have the awesome time warping abilities, and Control may have the awesome open-ended gameplay, but Alan Wake is absolutely my favorite for a number of reasons. The story wears its influences on its sleeves, and the amazing storytelling pushes it beyond whatever else Remedy has made for me. The gameplay is so unique with the mechanic of removing the darkness from the enemies before killing them, and I don’t think there a single other game that’s made me feel as emotionally invested in the characters before or since. I love everything about this game, and the fact that we’re getting a remaster is a miracle, and I can’t wait for it.

[@SpecShadow]

"Ah, an alien spacecraft. Now this is beginning to make sense."

[@Mrbird321]

More later.

[@thekingofstillwater5890]

Personally I thought the DLC was pretty good. Loved how they flashed out the flashlight mechanics with spawning items to help you or make a path. I also really like the possessed items stuff cause its creative and something better than just shooting the same fucking enemies over and over again

[@ethanbethan6151]

Yeah I’m really not sure why he didn’t like the DLC. It had some of the most interesting stuff in the whole game and didn’t feel any weaker than the rest of the experience

[@Combat_Wombat_2033]

Spec Ops: The Line... I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

[@hasmize]

One of the most depressing and awesome games i ever played

[@1183newman]

shit

[@Combat_Wombat_2033]

@@egykilenckilenchet The gameplay is repetitive yes, but the graphics, art style and environments look great so not sure where you're coming from with that. And the game is a masterpiece of storytelling.

[@AbuHajarAlBugatti]

One of the most boring and bland shooters I have ever played. installed it 2 times and deinstalled it 2 times not even completing the first mission. You know a game is bad when even the shooting sucks and they throw over 50 enemies at you in the very first mission

[@ldm125]

@@AbuHajarAlBugatti I recommend pushing through at least one time. I won't ruin anything, but I promise that the shitty gameplay in the beginning is a deliberate design decision and will make sense later on.

[@johnvucich]

There were actually three songs from Poets of the Fall in the game. The third one is "War". The music video for the song features live action instances of the game.

[@mrpeachie]

A secret way to cheese the flashlight mechanic is to jiggle toggling the flashlight which will still have the full strength of a fully blasted flashlight but conserve the stamina of the flashlight.

[@m-copyright]

OMG You finally did it. I've been asking you to review this game for ages. Thank you.

[@kidcody182]

Bruh, one of my favorite games of all time. It’s awesome to see this game getting more attention as of late. Thank you, Control.

[@UponDemise666]

Great game, as well as all Remedy titles... I really hope you do a video on Control, that game is phenomenal!! Not to mention it shares an extended universe w/Alan Wake (& therefore Max Payne as well).

[@robert357900]

People don't like Alan Wake because of, if I remember, kinda false advertising before release and hide true ending behind the DLC that were first only available on Xbox. However for someone like me, who didn't watch any trailer, didn't read any news and bough game few years after the release (where all DLCs were already included in one package) this is really good game. Unique and with awesome atmosphere and music. Of course it isn't flawless game (CURSE YOU RAVENS!) but totally worth playing it. I really like we have someone like Remedy.

[@LogainAblar]

Thanks for this video. I used to listen to Poets of the Fall/ Late Goodbye a few years back but never knew it was a Max Payne song. That's awesome. I wish more companies would get real bands to make music for their games. It adds so much more to the presentation when it's done right.

[@Karv3r]

Worth playing for the Poets of The Fall songs alone.

[@Grybhaal_Daublebach]

Agreed.

[@CriticalNobody]

Man, Remedy needs to make an Alan Wake 2 already

[@Seno_was_taken]

At the end he got his request

[@georgehouse5421]

My dad and I finished this game in February. He had already finished it years earlier, but he wanted to play through something with me because he knows I like video games, and Alan Wake is his favorite game. We also played through American Nightmare just last night, and we had a kick with that, too. Anyway, I'm glad I got to play this game through with him. It was a fun horror game without ever being too much for me or my dad. Making memories!

[@Merlaut715]

The fact that Microsoft wouldn't green light a sequel, was a fat L for them.

[@uilleannaddict]

Good stuff! I watch at least 5 of your videos every week. I've become a big fan of yours over the past several months. I'm not normally a fan of game reviews, but yours are really great. Good on ya!

[@luissantiago5163]

Hell yeah! Love Alan Wake! Nice to see you doing a review on it

[@AFriendlyHeathen]

Alan Wake is probably my favorite horror game of all time other than Silent Hill and Evil Within. Top to bottom I fell in love with it when I was a kid and still love it to this day. Perfectly written, beautifully acted, and wonderful to play and look at. Not to mention one of the greatest sound tracks in video game history (Poet and the muse is still on my burn playlist) It expertly mixes horror, action, and mystery. Alan Wake will always be a 10/10 for me. Hopefully someday we'll see the long-awaited sequel. After all, every good horror movie needs a sequel. (american nightmare doesn't count that shit sucked)

[@thehorrorhound6575]

I played this game when it was brand new, my mom got it for me on Xbox 360 back in 2010, I think she said the game stop employee talked it up and recommended it. I fell in love with it instantly, I binge played it, it was a game that unnerved me and put me on edge but never scared me, and I loved the sort of open sand box but still linear level style gameplay it gave, at the time the graphics blew me away, the music was gorgeous, songs like haunted by Poe and in dreams by Roy Orbinson were things I never heard before but I immediately loved, I enjoyed the episodic format, the writing and manuscript motif, and all the little radio and tv show moments where you could hear what’s happen around town or watch night springs and get a breather from the darkness. I loved Alan wake so much I got my step dad to pay for the mini series Microsoft put out so I could watch the prequel episodes leading up to Alan wake. I got the American nightmare, and I watched twin peeks for myself and liked it. Even now I recently rewatched the prequel miniseries episodes and all the night springs episodes on KZbin because I still love this story and have fond memories of it and the media it exposed me to.

[@Executi0ner246]

Thats awesome man

[@Genethagenius]

Just found out about this channel from GManLives video with TheCriticalDrinker. I had been considering playing “Alan Wake” since it was one of the free titles the Epic Game Store. But after watching this review I’m definitely going to play this now.

[@Darthadios]

I have finished the main game on 360, but what I hated was the lack of resources, like I was constantly out of ammo and you need to try ran away from the enemies who are way faster than you and Alan can run like 3 steps. Also love the music by Poets of the Fall.

[@Dustraiz]

We need Alan Wake II

[@chrisbaker8533]

"I cast fireball at the darkness" Kept running through my head during this review.

[@Ovog95]

I really loved the charm that this game has, the mini TV series, the radio shows, the whole twin peaks vibe, the episodic format. I don't know why but this is one of my favourite 360 games. I never played the DLC, and I guess good that I didn't. Still, I'm going to replay it on the pc soon, so I'll suffer them soon enough.

[@jeffc2theb207]

I played this game when it released on pc and loved it. It made me want to watch twin peaks which is now one of my fav shows. Great game for its time for sure!!

[@roboconnell74]

Just finished Alan Wake and definitely agree with everything in this review. I hope you eventually do one for Control. Played that recently and it's gotta be one of my all time fans. Remedy are really such an amazing studio.

[@plaguehound1179]

I love this game, thx for reviewing it

[@Zeltes]

The Alan Wake anagram got me a good laugh!

[@PutTheCookieDown]

Omfg I lost it when he said “we don’t got time for a cure, jus shoot em and serves em right for getting possessed.” 🤣🤣 Facts tho.

[@Eraserhead2416]

Alan Wake is the only game I can think of that works incredibly well in black & white- either with a reshade setup, or turn the colors down to 0 on your monitor. Definitely recommend giving that a try.

[@PikaLink91]

Favorite game of all time, glad to still see people keep it alive with reviews. My friend recommended and lend me his Xbox copy when it came out, thinking I might like it, and I was instantly hooked by the great atmosphere and storytelling so 3 days later I gave it back to him saying I had ordered the Collector's Edition on Amazon for myself. Alan Wake is one of those games that just spoke to me, it connected with something within me, like when a game once in a while comes around that you feel was "made for you". Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare was the game that got me into horror, and I often call Alan Wake the spiritual successor to that. It is the Alone in the Dark I never got. PS. I recently wrote a fantasy novel inspired by the whole "light vs dark" theme of Alan Wake, and I even dedicated an entire chapter of it to the game. I am curious, when people read it, how many are gonna catch on to that.

[@erikheijden9828]

ok.

[@PikaLink91]

@@erikheijden9828 ok what?

[@mjolnir112]

I feel the same way about Control in that it feels like it was made just for me lol. I played Alan Wake on xbox back in the day, I enjoyed it at the time but I've found when I've replayed it more recently I appreciate it a lot more.

[@cheaddos]

When you think about it, those enemies are just the zombies from Deadly Premonition with a coat of darkness added.

[@TheREALSimagination]

Thiiis was a fun game. Never replayed it completely because I always have issues with the third-person view after so many FPSs, and there's the absolute thrill of the first-time playthrough that I know wouldn't return in full, as well as other things, but it still goes down as one of my most entertaining game experiences. Poets of the Fall's "The Poet and the Muse" is a brilliant piece of music that goes with the game, too. Creepy as sin and it's simply just explaining the premise of the game. There are flashlights that allow for a brighter, more focused beam by pressing a button or a twist mechanic. He might be using one of those despite the lack of hints to a specific movement to trigger the stronger beam.

[@angmordagnithil7127]

Played this the first time this year after the Epic store gave it away for free. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it's a new favorite. Glad you touched on how punchy and satisfying the guns are. It's honestly some of the best of any game I've played, which is surprising given that it really wasn't necessary for a horror game.

[@Gaddafist23]

One of the best horror games ever made imo

[@jameslyddall]

I mentioned above in another comment That this summer just gone I was meant to go on holiday to Oregon/Washington state and stay in a holiday park similar to that Alan stayed in directly because of Alan wake. I researched where the nicest national parks are and was going to go hiking with my buddy who’s a US marine. I have download all of the music from Alan wake and got a large torch and also loaded the ambiance music from the game in between the music. Will try next year because of Covid but that’s how much the game has stuck with me since I played it.

[@Kranitoko]

I would just explain the flashlights running out of battery so quickly being the dark presence sucks and absorbs the flashlight power

[@SpringlesTheFinal]

My first ever horror game and still one of my favorites. Great video!

[@0v_x0]

only a few minutes into this, and Sam Lake seems to be a definite twin peaks fan. I remember being captivated by how surreal the TVs throughout max payne were, a bizarro soap opera dropped subtly into the world (which twin peaks did too, with a fictional TV soap opera being a part of the story's world and casting a weird metafictional tone over a show that already mixes psychothriller, procedural investigation, soap opera and supernatural horror). I feel like those TVs in max payne were intended to give an eerie feeling similar to the red room, with weird floor tiles visible and a flamingo backwards-talking about mirrors being more fun than television (that particular surreal moment stuck out for me back in middle school... I didn't get into twin peaks until my adult years but even back then I was reminded of "that weird fucking show from the 90s that never made any sense at the time." now we have logging town, Washington State, obscure darkness in the woods, metanarrative, and a lamp lady. twin peaks fandom confirmed (I wonder what Lake thought of season 3). I'm getting a "what if a Stephen King proxy character lived on the other northern coast rather than in Maine, and found himself in one of his own books (a plot device King has used himself), except the setting is a twin peaks homage. so yeah, I'm sold on the metafiction and source vibes for sure, it may be derivative but it's derivative of really awesome things, which intentionally use derivation as a plot device anyway. I never played this when it released (I tend to hate episodic game releases and avoid them at least until full release; I just don't like the pacing of waiting for development to catch up, there are some great games in that format once they are finished), but the story concept has me interested so I night find some time for it soon. I need to get back into games, especially story driven ones, they help me deal with the amotivation of chronic pain where I spend a lot of time sedentary, in a seemingly more holistic way than films or even books, since more senses are engaged. anyway back to the review, my interest in this game is piqued again, cheers.

[@0v_x0]

And yah even more Stephen King vibes with that Shining opening (which already has basic aesthetic similarities to the twin peaks credit sequence of flying over forested mountains). even the "two syllable first name, one syllable last name which is also a noun" thing (king, wake); lol come to think of it "samuel lake" fits too if pronounced "sam-yool" or "sam-yull," as is common. I kind of want to play it just to count the references now, too. a dude surnamed Maine, haha.

[@odog3638]

Great review. I'll definitely make sure to check this game out. The twin peaks and pop culture homages really remind of the survival horror series "Deadly Premonition". I highly recommend this sireis, it's a bit on the strange side and it's not for everyone, but if you like the personality and feel of "Allen Wake", I highly recommend "Deadly Premonition" and its sequel. Awsome review👍🏽

[@awoodenladder603]

That anagram lol but if you like twin peaks type games you should check out deadly premonition, genuinely the strangest most awkward game I've ever played and I love it. Plus it's getting a sequel soon so it will have a bit of buzz around it soon enough

[@nickwilliams5213]

I love poets of the fall. The video for war has a live action Alan wake running around finding his manuscript pages. Check it out.

[@rooty_rootz]

Disagree about the difficulties. Nightmare is the only way to make it feel remotely like a horror game, since you have to pick your battles and occasionally just run away from enemies. Also, on nightmare the poltergeists become the scariest enemies

[@arthurwulfrun]

Trivia: Poets of the fall had 3 songs that featured in Alan wake and . ‘Children of the Elder god’ and ‘The poet and the muse’ under the band name ‘The Old Gods of Asgard’ and ‘War’ under their real name which plays with the credits. And two songs for Alan Wake American Nightmare they also did ‘The Happy Song’ and the theme tune ‘Balance Slays the demon’

[@Dr.Gainzzz]

This is one of the few games I beat multiple times as a kid the story was so fascinating and the game play was quite fun.

[@1981patx]

It IS a masterpiece ;) Unique setting, soundtrack and the exceptional storytelling are brilliant to this day. The Episodic TV presentationworks so so well...really stuck with me as a whole and was frightening me like no slenderman could

[@finnish_hunter]

Well that is your opinion

[@bish0p3473]

Sometimes taking your weapons away makes sense. Having Alan leave for the last board, and taking all the weapons away doesn’t. The sheriff taking your guns makes sense. Leaving the lighted room to start the last level, and leaving your best weapons behind...doesn’t. Remedy loves to steal all your weapons in every game. I get they want you to play it a certain way, but it doesn’t make sense to their stories, which is their best aspect. You did leave out that Max Payne steals your guns too.

[@DavidLundvall]

Great review! Alan Wake is a favorite for sure. I loved the narrative, setting, music, gameplay, the ton of references.. and collecting coffee thermoses, ow yes! I played it the first time on an Xbox 360 that sounded like a Jet Fighter that ate babies. And than a couple of more playthroughs, years later, on a PC. I love the main game and enjoy the stand-alone addition American Nightmare as well. I really like the productions from Remedy, they have a distinct style.. but I hope they come back to do more Alan Wake games. Highly recommend playing this game, it's awesome!

[@markusroth8770]

Like given. It's true that the game is extremely exposition heavy. I think I wouldn't have enjoyed that in a movie. But I easily miss stuff in games so I really appreciated it. A matter of taste I guess.

[@crozraven]

Great video! The first Alan Wake is more like a Twin Peak + Silent Hill/Survival Horror, while Alan Wake American Nightmare/Spin Off is Twilight Zone + Max Payne. AN clearly so much more action-like & intense. While it's good enough, It could've been a better game if the devs add more to the gunplay & more varieties on enemies in which I think CONTROL is pretty much the "evolution" to that. Meanwhile Quantum Break is just meh imo ... Remedy really need to go back to Alan Wake again, especially after all the hints & easter eggs of a bigger inter-connected universe between most of Remedy games. Still waiting for Vanquish & Binary Domain reviews. Such underrated J-shooter games.

[@jarlnicholl1478]

How it is like like Twin Peaks? It is basically a playable Stephen King novel.

[@mouthmw]

Please don't mention the greatness of Silent Hill (or Twin Peaks) in the same sentence as Alan Wake, which is nothing more than a cheap Stephen King wannabe ripoff with the closest thing coming to it quality-wise are made-for-TV Stephen King adaptations. Alan Wake offers zero depth and has nothing interesting going for it. It was nothing but a chore to get through. Baby's first horror game? That might be the biggest compliment I could muster for it.

[@jacksonpayne3477]

I remember playing this game when I was 9 years old (when it came out) man did it scare the shit out of me. Whenever it was day 8 had a sense of calm but when it was night my heart was racing. Really got me into the horror genre, super underrated.

[@Bozzyshy]

My 2nd favourite game ever made after the whole Doom series, so glad you are covering this :D i dont see it as a shooter though its just a incredible story telling with a TPS game to lead you to the next bits of clever storytelling, it kills me that we never got a sequel (we do NOT talk abour American Nightmare, UGH)

[@MidnightMedium]

Digging the love for Poets. Ever since Max Payne 2s end track, theyve become one of my favorite bands. And Alan Wake is top 10 for me. First time i played it non stop and beat it in a day and half. Absolutely fantastic experience

[@soulsynthesiscreations]

Shit man, didn't realize there was a boomstick in the semi sequel

[@gorehound3414]

One of my personal favourite games of all time

[@bleuteague2524]

I really dug this video. Really hope to see you do a video on Control

[@kummakummakummakummakummac8606]

I only played like a hour of this but I've always been impressed with the art style/graphics of the game. It just looks really good to me.

[@Kalrak]

What i like about the game is that the action takes you even during the day not only by night

[@jothain]

Alan Wake is a good game as most Remedy games are. One of the key aspects are that they have incredible sound/music team. As many have mentioned Cameo appearance of Poets of the Fall, titled as The Old Gods of Asgard. One person I'd still like to highlight is Petri Alanko who has also contributed significantly in Remedy's game lineup and made very eerie tunes for games. Few of the most memorable gaming sequences ever have been Alan Wake's "Rock band stage fight" and The Control's 7min music sequence were lyrics adapt from "Take Control" to "I Control" after bad ass fight scene. Remedy knows their shit artistically speaking

[@JonnMcDude]

Oh wow, I received the notification about this video at the same time as GVMERS "Rise and Fall of Max Payne" and overall Remedy talk was published.

[@Zombot]

Control astralnaut here, just doing some homework on this Remedy game since they made an entire Alan Wake DLC chapter for Control. Very neat to see the shared universe between the two games. Also I laughed my ass off when Gman went off about how stupid it is to fight a tractor as an enemy after just reading FBC documents about an "Altered Item" tractor that killed a farmer and removed his organs like a predator animal, then "growled like a bear" and attacked when bureau agents tried to capture it. 🤣

[@dutchvanderlinde2002]

Funny enough control was teased on Alan's Wakes American Nightmare hidden in a song that if I remember you have to play backwards

[@JohnnyLREACTS]

This game was INCREDIBLE. Still to this day this concept hasn't been done better. Please bring a remake sequel to the PS5

[@vurhn2009]

I remembered this game back in 2012, it was a good experience, now I'll play it once again.

[@KryptKicker5]

It's hard to believe that it's been 9 years since this was released!

[@labub]

This game was not originally being developed for xbox 360, back in 2006/2007 this was supposed to be windows Vista exclusive and was supposed to be an open world horror game, it had a very troubled development phase, back in 2010 when it was released as an xbox 360 it was pretty disappointing, but remedy kept their promise and finally brought this one to pc. Btw, great review as always, keep on giving the good stuff

[@StaidSgtForge]

But wait, there are flashlights that. you can focus the beam on or change brightness, and a higher brightness does technically kill the battery faster.

[@eliasjabbour31337]

"The idea of fighting inanimate object is so lame" Remedies CONTROL: "hold my beer brah"

[@christopherschmidt3335]

This game actually convinced me to buy every comparable later game programed by Remedy (Quantum Break/Control) and they never let me down - well, expect delivering sequels to the aforementioned games... ;-)

[@Roshea]

I never got around to getting all the collectibles in this game, will have to go back and do that. All the Remedy classics felt groundbreaking for the first playthroughs, Quantum Break especially despite all the hate it got.

[@ed_carnby3431]

Still waiting for the remastered for ps4/xbox1

[@cyrexarcfire]

As much as I loved this game, I wish they wouldn't zoom the camera around and show you all the enemies when they showed up instead of relying on sound design and surprise. That, and the fact that Alan has freaking butter fingers between chapters and drops all his weapons after slipping on hills or jumping over fences.

[@father042]

Finally you reviewed this underrated game Will you review Deadly Premonition Next? IT's also inspired by Twin Peaks but way stranger and less polished

[@jarlnicholl1478]

It is also closer to what people might've expected from Alan Wake when it was first announced as a heavily Twin Peaks inspired open world mystery. Only with a fraction of budget and loads of jank, of course.

[@mouthmw]

Deadly Premonition is heaps above Alan Wake's mainstream, diluted, uninteresting, done-to-death plot, gameplay and atmosphere.

[@elHosed]

This (And the second one/expansion) has been sitting in my Steam library for 7 years now (bought it on a sale for $5). Looks like it's time I actually played the thing. Damn this looks good.

[@NxGxTomaatti]

RE: Taking away items at the end of chapters. On the other hand this means you are free to use everything in your arsenal, since you can't save them.

[@MrEdders123]

Remedy did actually do some preliminary work on AW2, which eventually became American Nightmare - there are videos floating around (maybe included with the PC extra goodies). From what I remember at the time, they admitted American Nightmare was more action-oriented because they were trying to retain Microsoft's involvement after Alan Wake didn't do so well financially. Obviously it wasn't enough and the rest is history. edit - Video is here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hYK1hqtjrJunatU