The Horror Game That Hates Horror Games

[@Crocogator]

I love the idea of Alan Wake using "opposite" jumpscares. He wrote what's happening. He's a smart dude. It makes sense that when a threat shows up, his brain would go "Oh. I know this." to give the player time to prepare. It's so cool!

[@3ndlessL00p]

Yes! And if you're reading the manuscript pages, you know what's going to happen too. But, you still get some suspense in not knowing *when* something is going to happen and I think that's the game dabbling in terror a little bit. Example from early in the game: the manuscript page that ends in "and then I heard the chainsaw".

[@Crocogator]

@@3ndlessL00p Yeeeeep. It's so good. You know at some point there will be a chainsaw... But WHEN?

[@onlysmiles4949]

@@3ndlessL00p Also, especially towards the endgame, there are a lot of things that are left very intentionally vague

[@BlazingOwnager]

I like how sometimes, they don't spoil the ending and stop right when a character gets in trouble - so you know the trouble is coming, but are unsure if you can save them.

[@matfan-q7p]

I mean, there is more to horror than jumpscares. Tension, atmosphere, and anticipation are more important. In that sense, I feel like they knew what they were doing with Alan Wake not just going for the cheap tricks that most horror games go for.

[@YacineValfar]

In the cover of the Xbox 360 version it's written ''A Psychological Action Thriller'' Sam lake said in an old interview that they never intended Alan Wake 1 to be a Horror game

[@UberNoodle]

I've listened to those interviews, and I actually don't think that's what Sam Lake was trying to say. He was talking about the gameplay experience, but when you look at everything else, Alan Wake is most obviously horror in its core. There's supernatural horror, cosmic horror, slasher horror, uncanny horror and even a little bit subtle of body horror. And there's also action horror! The fact that the word thriller was on the box is a bit of cognitive dissonance compared to everything else about the story, the characters, the aesthetic and the setting. The gameplay is action, and that causes a conflict. But this idea that the game isn't horror and is a thriller is silly because it most obviously is horror, but it's also a game, and it's an action game. So it's much more complicated.

[@drakenfist]

@@UberNoodle No that's exactly what Sam Lake was trying to say. He even said in his initial reveal for Alan Wake II that the first game was action game whereas the sequel is "Survival Horror". I do agree with you that there is definitely a cognitive dissonance between its gameplay and story. That's what I love about Alan Wake II is it feels like the game that Alan Wake 1 should have been in a lot of ways. That's why he said he was happy that this was the version of AWII that got made, because the previous iterations were just a action game like its predecessor.

[@KryyssTV]

The only reason why the Alan Wake series is classified as a Horror is because the games industry has yet to recognise the existance of Thriller games just as the film industry has Thriller movies. Just like their film counterparts these games are intended to just create tension and an eerie atmosphere rather than trying to scare players.

[@writershard5065]

To be fair, the second game leans hard into the horror trappings to be much more of a horror game. Even when you toggle off the jumpscares, there's a lot more of the unsettling, creepy and anxiety-inducing that horror games typically have than Alan Wake 1 did. But yes, Alan Wake 1 is 100% a mystery thriller with horror elements and references.

[@KryyssTV]

@@writershard5065 The line between a Thriller and a Horror is quite thin though but I'm not a movie expert to really comment on where that line is crossed. Take Se7en, The Green Mile and Silence of the Lambs for example, all are crime thrillers but have clear horror elements.

[@UberNoodle]

But the idea that horror is supposed to scare people is a very limited view of the genre. This is a huge problem with pop culture discussions of horror. It is so defined by Hollywood popcorn movies and extreme horror cinema, people have this mistaken belief that if they aren't jumping out of their seats constantly or being splattered in gore, it's not horror. But that's patently false, because when you look at the horror genre holistically as literature as well as film television and games, you can see that Alan Wake most certainly is horror. Thriller as a genre just doesn't cut it. You can have all kinds of thrillers: Psychological thrillers, political thrillers, police detective thrillers. A roller coaster is a "thriller". Thriller does not accurately describe holistically the experience of Alan Wake as a story and experience. The issue arises from the dissonance between the genre of the story, setting and the aesthetic and the mechanics of the gameplay. If Alan Wake had gameplay mechanics like Alan Wake 2, no one would be questioning its genre. The story, characters, setting and aesthetic would not need to change. But once you reconcile yourself with this dissonance, you realise that it holistically is a horror. If we end up having to call it a "psychological action mystery horror thriller", then that's fine. But the label of thriller just doesn't cut it remotely, even though it said "thriller" on the box. That was largely for marketing purposes. Alan Wake is horror, because horror is a hugely more diverse and broad than what the pop culture discourse seems to think. That discourse seems so defined by Hollywood popcorn horror movies and extreme horror cinema. But read horror as a literature genre, and read widely, and you will have no problem identifying Alan Wake correctly as a horror, because you see so many parallels between those stories and Alan Wake.

[@UberNoodle]

@@KryyssTV But that's not equivalent to Alan Wake. Take out the horror elements of AW and you have a completely different story, setting, aesthetic. Those thrillers may have horrific elements but they are based in reality and are still believable in that regard. But Alan Wake as supernatural horror, cosmic horror, uncanny horror, a bit of gothic horror and also even body horror. It's a horror with thriller elements and a strong action element through the gameplay.

[@paulinemillard8156]

@@KryyssTVBecause of that thin line I've personally defined thriller movies as things that can happen in real life, while horror movies are things that can't happen in real life.

[@T-is-for-trying-too-hard]

The comic book sections reminds me so much of "What Remains of Edith Finch" and are presented terrifically well!!

[@wombatkins]

I guess that's a horror game too ain't it?

[@Comicbroe405]

​@@wombatkins Lol it definitely is

[@alisiaraissa3687]

I legit thought it was from Edith Finch too because for what it worth that game scared me a bit lol

[@SomaCruz500]

Edith Finch is more walking sim with missing horror beats that falls short of the actual impressive mark, whereas Alan Wake is a Psychological Thriller that hits all its beats and marks. They are not the same or remotely similar.

[@lucifermorningstar8387]

Well Edith Finch isnt even a horror walking sim. It’s about the story of Finch family and how each and every unfortunate death happened. And how terrifying grief can be

[@Crocogator]

I thought it was only a lake. It was an ocean.

[@Insanesnwbrdr1]

Its not a loop Its a spiral

[@KatTheGamerGalYT]

"It's not a lake... ...it's an ocean."

[@alexanderrichards239]

It's not only a Lake. It is also a Payne.

[@kaelinvictus6039]

"an ocean of forced diversity" -2024

[@Crocogator]

@@kaelinvictus6039 Fuck you and fuck your "DEI" conspiracy bullshit. It was old 20 years ago. Grow up.

[@BlazingOwnager]

Interesting fact: If you use a cheat code to go into freeroam, you'll see the world is actually still pretty logically connected from it's open world days. It surprised me when I saw it demo'ed.

[@WolfyzGaming]

I don't know if others felt this, but playing through Alan Wake recently, and having it use limited resources, a weaker protagonist (in both skillset and physical attributes) and having Remedy's action inspirations from Max Payne; I like to call Alan Wake a scramble horror game. At least in gameplay, when you are in combat or chase sequences, you never feel truly safe and someone always manages to catch up, and with Alan needing to always take a breather, needing to time perfect dodges and throw a random flare or flashbang just to get them off me. Seeing a singular light in the distance and using that as my guidepost, knowing if I stay in the darkness too long made for some fun moments in a simple game.

[@i_am_a_dot]

I forget where I saw this, but there's an idea that survival horror games tend to have a problem where if the player hoards their resources (which they're encouraged to do), they'll be over-prepared (and unstoppable) by the end. So it's kind of a weird difficulty arc where the very end of the game is the easiest section. I think Alan Wake does a good job at preventing this for all the reasons you mentioned (even if there are a few trade-offs that make it less of a traditional horror game).

[@GH05T-S0LDI34]

It’s a bit close to a be horror movie genera

[@Ninjaeule97]

@@i_am_a_dot Another problem horror games can have is haven a player use to many resoures and then making the rest impossible for him. The most famous example of this is the Resident Evil game where you need a rocket laucher to kill Nemisis. If you use it earlier that that fight you will have no ammo to kill him and therfor make the game impossible to beat. Hoever there can also be more subitale cases of this. So I can understand why Remedy didn't want to make the mistake of being able to creat that situation in their fist horror game. The most easiest way to solve this is warrin the amount of stuff you find based on how much stuff you already have. Half Life Alxy which at time can be a horror game (that one chapter and when you get jumpscared by an enemy after thinking you killed all of them already) does this for example as the devs put some ammo in places that only appears if you below a certain threshold and they even did it for the amount of resin for the fist encounter with an upgrade station. If you don't have any 4 extra resin will be in the room it's in.

[@PosIntSyndrome]

Alan Wake 2 certainly has this problem, in spite of being superior to the original in almost every other way. I accidentally played it on the hardest difficulty setting, which meant I got my ass kicked pretty hard early on, but I came to appreciate the hardship since it fed into the suspense. However, even though I had all the knobs turned to max this way, the final sections of the game were the easiest, since my inventory was bursting with supplies at that point.

[@onlysmiles4949]

I think the style of Alan Wake's storytelling is really interesting and I've only ever encountered a few other games that have scratched that same kind of itch, but it very much feels like a game framed around a horror setting than a horror game

[@Cold_Zero_The_Wise]

Well said

[@alexanderadamovskij5491]

Remedy games are something entirely special

[@Koen1702]

Do you please have an example of similar games in that regard?

[@apotsmokinjedi]

literally only quantum break, control, & max payne 1 & 2 (especially 2) have this vibe because they are Remedy games written or directed by Sam Lake, the Finnish Kojima.

[@Sm0k3turt]

SCRATCH HAHA YEAH

[@lesteryaytrippy7282]

The thing is, Remedy entertainment, I think, didn't even market this as a horror game. At least with the first Alan Wake, it's definitely leaning more to the light surreal genre with emphasis to psychology and even meta-fiction. Alan Wake is definitely a huge genre-pastiche.

[@azoth7756]

Well that's where the problem is, like most companies, Remedy Entertainment didn't marketed it properly if OG Alan Wake was an action game. If people would actually play the game themselves rather than reading what saud developers stated then it would be obvious it's more psychological horror/thriller than straight up action.

[@Sophie_the_Sapphic]

According to the devs themselves it's an action adventure game with horror elements, and Alan wake 2 is their first horror game.

[@3ndlessL00p]

Yeah, Alan Wake was a "psychological action thriller" according to the text on the box. And AW2 was survival horror. Remedy really said "That's not horror. *THIS* is horror" when they released Alan Wake 2

[@darianstarfrog]

The real horror of Alan wake 2..is the DEI crap

[@amyisexisting]

@@darianstarfrog rip bozo Alan Wake 2 is peak

[@amyisexisting]

Yeag I was kinda surprised when the vid never mentioned even action horror or thrillers. Still pretty good regardless.

[@sleepless9957]

​@@darianstarfrog No, youre just racist bozo.

[@MrSpartan993]

I see you did that What Remains of Edith Finch style horror comic style. Nice. 👌

[@SarottiTube]

Those 3 tiers really shed a light on what makes both Dead Space and Bloodborn so powerful ad horror sgames

[@youtubeuniversity3638]

The whole Horror Terror Revulsion split makes me wonder if there's much to analyze regarding "Revulsion Games".

[@i_am_a_dot]

Maybe Scorn? idk I'm sure there's something really gross lurking in the dark corners of Steam

[@Shewhospeakesinverse]

​@@i_am_a_dot oh there for sure is bc i used to he a fiend for that kind of thing

[@axelprino]

I remember that the game didn't claim to be a horror game back in the day, they presented it as a thriller. It definitely has a particular vibe that's rarely seen in games, and that no other AAA series has attempted.

[@yellowbat79]

never claimed to be a horror game. thriller/action game with a horror story in it

[@cortexcarvalho9423]

Alan Wake is a horror game to play with the family. And that's rare. For those who are excessively afraid of horror, this is enjoyable, as far as I've played. At times it has a dreamlike atmosphere. It's a game that you could easily imagine blending into an environment like GTA or Forza Horizon. Walking through rainy environments and streets.

[@emtb5810]

your editing style is so addicting, the comic book panels make you feel engaged in the atmosphere of a 90's thriller. Like damn everythiing is so well polished and great

[@nonplayablecharacter522]

I feel like Alan Wake does what I'll call 'dread' horror well. That feeling of dread you get when you know EXACTLY what is about to happen but have to endure it anyway. It's not anticipating horror, it's the exact feeling that what is about to happen is going to be scary but you have to do it anyway. Instead of jumpscaring you it lets you know "in about 20 minutes a huge man with a chainsaw is going to attack you in this exact spot". So you have to, reluctantly, make it to the area where the man with the chainsaw is going to attack you. It shows you exactly what is coming up behind you so you can dread what is about to happen. It's not your typical horror, but it is most definitely psychological horror.

[@Royalhanburglar]

This is such a incredible video, love your essay style and professionalism!!

[@SkylineOdeum]

I think Alan Wake is more of a suspense or thriller with supernatural horror elements. While there are some things that can be scary, I feel the game is more focused on apprehension rather than outright fear.

[@Celticers]

once again the editing of this video was outstanding. always a joy to click on your videos tbh

[@goodspec-y4m]

really love how you use the creepy music throughout the whole entire vid chef kiss

[@Chancho3232]

Bro, I love how you did the scrolling across the comic book type feel. I would love to learn how you did that.

[@ShigeakoCosplay]

This essay should have more views. Well done!

[@ControllerL3-D]

I love the comic book style, and I played and loved Alan Wake 1, so I agree, might not play 2 though, I only played 1 because of boredom, and I don't like horror, but it was only stressful with the encounters so it wasn't that bad in terms of horror.

[@MrSpartan993]

I’ve played both and the 2nd one is way more of a horror game than the first and it sort of just strings us along story wise like it’s trying to be the next Disney’s Marvel type franchis

[@youtubeuniversity3638]

"The X that hates X" worked for Dating Sims and Salvato, so let's see where this go.

[@kennibal]

Subbed! Great job! Clear vision laid out in an entertaining and easily consumable way. The comic strip format is charming. Great editing. I can tell how much work was put into this. I hope you go far!

[@grandfire]

Never played any Alan Wake game (yet) but I just wanna say: really enjoying the high production values in your videos, especially the last couple. Art, editing, script have all been stellar. Keep up the awesome work!

[@lawhun9330]

Bravo, my dude. You can tell you love/appreciate these stories as you evaluate them. I know people love Alan Wake, but great to hear someone love it enough to evaluate it like this. Can't wait for more content!

[@azoth7756]

To be honest, only a handful of gamers are Alan Wake fans that love Alan Wake and that's not much. AW is still a niche franchise.

[@QuinnArgo]

Alan Wake was a "Horror" game that was specifically accessible to me. My issue being not that Horror is too scary for me, I have enjoyed a great many horror movies and books, but what I specifically disliked about most horror games was the resource management aspect. I understand that the deck is stacked against me intentionally, that me being unable to predict what comes next, and being absurdly tasked with managing my resources for what I cannot predict is part of what is supposed to fill me with this terror. But I don't think it ever really worked to fill me with anything but annoyance, the absurd task not feeling like evil powers outside of my control but rather like being communicated to by a game designer seemingly struggling to express themselves. As said, I understand that it is intentional and that it works for a lot of people but I'm glad that games like Alan Wake (and also Control my beloved) exist that manage to express this kind of dread without that annoying aspect.

[@A08J]

I am a dot. The greatest gaming video essay channel in history.

[@i_am_a_dot]

Thank you so much! I'll do my best to keep them coming!

[@neelg7057]

Loved the whole video, especially the comic art sections. Amazing work - and a well deserved sub ;)

[@HeatherHolt]

What a cool way to tell a story using the comic book scheme. Very glad I was suggested this! Alan Wake is amazing and I’d love to see one of these about SOMA.

[@magvad6472]

Idk, for me, terror is the most effective form of fear. There is nothing I've ever seen in horror that actually scared me more than a split second after the reveal. However what KEPT me scared was the looong drawn out reveal of what the horror was, the terror that sustained it. The ideas in my mind scratching at what could be and is possible. I think the most effective horror games, for me, are the ones who focus more on terror, suspending what we believe is possible within game and making us wonder what tricks they could have cooked up in the lab and put at the center of this game. In this way Alan Wake I was never scary to me, it was a comedy with a horror skin. More like Twin Peaks than anything actually scary. Games like Outer Wilds scared me far more than most because the IDEA of what they were capable of was more terrifying than anything I've seen actually show up in a game. The idea of what lurks in the dark, in the fog, and what can and can't move, or what happens when the light gets blown out. These things, for me, were far more effective than showing me anything actually fundamentally scary. The shape of a figure in the dark is far more terrifying than the figure itself. In this regard I think Alan Wake 2 is just a far more effective horror game across the board. From the early more powerless drawn out terror and horror combinations to the mind space that just evoked such a sense of dread. Even within Alan Wake as a franchise the scariest part of it is in Alan Wake II in the old people's home because the idea of a terrifying old lady who has lost her mind was far more scary than having to actually shoot an old lady who has a boss battle move set.

[@moondog548]

Awesome vid! And indeed... Horror and Terror (or 'fright') remain different things.

[@LucyAndHerStuff]

Man this review was insane! The style, the effort, the stracture, im not kidding when i say ive never seen a video essay this flawlessly done! What a great job!

[@rennevirtanen5639]

This video was so well produced and thought out that after the last words I wanted to just stand up and just give a standing ovation to this masterpiece🙌 so glad I discovered this channel

[@MegamanStarforce2010]

yoooo did you make the comic sections?? that's just an awesome addition

[@RubyJones-zj4fu]

I play through it every other year. I stood in line at Game Stop at midnight

[@fatimaabbas7750]

Thank you so much. I have been saying this to my friends for quite some time that it (first game) is not a horror game in generic sense. But I was always unable to clearly articulate my point. You have explained so well how it defies hasty categorisation.

[@covinfoxKAO]

As an avid gamer and horror writer, I found this video wonderful and very enjoyable! It clearly shows that the creator put a lot of effort, preparation, and thought into it, and I really appreciate your hard work!

[@MsLuckoftheDraw]

One of the things that made my mind melt while playing Alan Wake 2 was, finally getting to play Alan, I naturally tried to play him in a similair way to the first game and even Saga a chapter ago. Mechanics are different but still, see bad guy, shine light, shoot badguy. Repeat. I was surprised and honestly disturbed by the realization that Alan couldn't always tell *what* was a badguy or just a harmless shadow. And that even if it was an enemy, maybe the best thing was to *turn your light off* and just sneak past. An uthinkable action, turning off your flashlight. And yet. The whole thing made me more frightened of the world but, like the good psychological horror that it is, it made me frightened of Alan himself. Essentially swapping genres between one game and the next is literally built into the mechanics and story of Alan Wake. Instead of being jarring, its facinating, horrifying, and fun. Thanks for talking about it, very nicely edited video!

[@kaelinvictus6039]

Alan Wake was so great and unique when it launched. It had so much potential and setup for the sequel. Now the only horror felt in the sequel is its number of total sales.

[@azoth7756]

@@kaelinvictus6039 The lack of sales and AW2 flop was because the sequel was woke and the fact that Alan Wake himself was nerfed and sidelined in his own game, at least from what I've seen online and what the OG AW fans have stated. I like American Nightmare alot better though, too bad its only on Xbox.

[@kaelinvictus6039]

@@azoth7756 yeah ive heard that too. I was ready to jump back in the mysterious cauldron lake and found Saga Anderson, a literal nobody most likely shoehorned by SBI instead of Allan wake himself doing a buddy cop mystery banter with his own written novel protagonist. That would have been an awesome callback to the previous games.

[@azoth7756]

@@kaelinvictus6039 Yeah makes sense. AW2 isn't a bad game but it's definitely not a masterpiece as some fanboys claim. Not alot of people, mostly fans of the OG Alan Wake didn't bother with AW2 and the moment they saw Alan Wake getting replaced by Saga Anderson in his own game it was obvious nobody was going to be getting it. Oh well, I'll just have pretend Alan Wake 2 doesn't exist.

[@ToastySofa]

Great video! Alan Wake and Alan Wake II are two of my favorite games. The gameplay of the first is definitely better imo, but I’d be interested to hear your analysis of 2 because it seems to try to invoke all 3 of King’s horror responses. Edit: kept watching and you do address the second one haha

[@i_am_a_dot]

One of the weirdest things about Alan Wake 2 (imo) is that it's called Alan Wake 2. I really like it a lot (really looking forward to the next DLC!) but it does feel totally different from the original. It almost seems like more of a sequel to Control in places. I'm really curious to see where the Remedy-verse goes from here

[@drcheesenut896]

​@@i_am_a_dotI mean tbf, Control itself started as sequel ideas for Alan Wake before becoming it's own thing (the FBC was always something they wanted to do), so it's a pretty natural evolution. Though I think it's mostly just that Remedy changed a lot in their creative process over the long gap between games, so AW2 takes far more after their modern ambitions. AW1 was the same for the era of Remedy it released in, having a lot of that Max Payne DNA still in it

[@cxlesstial]

“i love alan wake” instantly subscribes LOL

[@milesrodger3724]

Alan WAKE UPPPPP

[@ace1diots]

this video is SO good! love all the original art you have for it :D!!

[@operation_turtle]

I think an interesting angle to this is that it is a horror game abour a horror author and it plays out like a horror novel. Horror novels are effectively devois of jumpacares.

[@potofbees]

love this video! the alan wake games have to be my favorites of all time but its kinda disappointing the general consensus is that the first games gameplay is subpar when i really loved it. especially because of how it interacts perfectly with the story. i think this is the only video ive watched abt the games that really understands that

[@archy_YIN]

Fantastic video! Great content, great presentation. I really love your idea of combining your content with a comic book!

[@mayamayhemmusic]

Happy Spooktobernms!!~ >w< cc:

[@DisKorruptd]

So... something you didn't quite touch on (because it's also kinda not entirely relevant and kills the horror even MORE) is that the enemy's shroud will still go down even when not focusing the flashlight (I played the game the slower way, only periodically focusing the flashlight only for the purpose of utilizing the stun as my enemy's shield slowly decayed before my light)

[@zamar6635]

amazing production and video, keep it up, and love for alan wake

[@forgetfargo]

great video, I love the detail you put in. I love the research as well. :)

[@Koutchise]

You deserve more than just 56k views man. Awesome production and narration! I subbed to help with my opinion :D

[@alphamineron]

The horror of Alan Wake 2 came to me by thinking about the story more than by simply experiencing it. Frankly, it’s a million times better than the typical horror which I’ve been desensitized to since high school. Stories about time and causality are fascinating so seeing a world where causality itself is being transformed into an alien/dimensional weapon against the protagonists along with the background scientific-weird of Control, felt like being in a toy store as a kid. So, while I could easily sleep after some of the frankly great horror movies and games, Remedy’s work was the first time I couldn’t.

[@ME_GO_REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE1666]

I made a story a while back and accidentally used 5 of the tropes he listed 😂

[@Sm0k3turt]

Alan Wake and it’s sequel are my favorite for this exact reason.

[@RubyJones-zj4fu]

It was open at midnight because another bigger game came out that same day. Cod I believe 😊

[@editating_2614]

Red Dead

[@UberNoodle]

The claim over the years that Alan Wake is "not horror" has always annoyed me because it's usually asserted in very black and white terms. This is annoying as lifelong horror fan, because I know that horror comes in so many configurations and degrees, and frustratingly, much of that diversity is overlooked in pop culture discussions about the genre. Those discussions are largely shaped by the most overt and explicit examples of the genre, which has largely been defined by Hollywood movies and the more extreme examples of horror cinema. But the genre is so much larger than that, and the largest component of it is literature. Yet the idea that you have to be scared, shocked or splattered in gore in order to be "horror" persists. As such, pop culture discussions about what "is and isn't" horror tends to focus on narrow pockets within a vast spectrum of genre expression. We also have been conditioned to absolutely categorise things, like we're in a video store or online streaming app. Even so, Alan Wake is most certainly horror, although it has elements of other things too. It doesn't help, however, that Alan Wake was sold with the word "thriller" on the box. But I think that was much more about the demands of the publisher for marketing than any true distillation of the games genre. Bur Thriller as a genre is woefully inaccurate by itself to describe the Alan Wake experience. It just doesn't cut it. And it also doesn't help that there is a dissonance between the story, setting, characters and aesthetic and the gameplay mechanics. And perhaps that's where the contention truly lies. If you look at Alan Wake from one perspective, it's clearly horror. If you look at it from the other perspective, it's clearly action. If you try to merge those two, you end up with a conundrum. But again, when viewed as a whole, I don't think there is such a controversy. Alan Wake has horror in its core. There's supernatural horror, cosmic horror, slasher horror, uncanny horror and even a little bit subtle of body horror. And there's also action horror! If you have to call it a "psychological action mystery horror thriller" in order to feel comfortable the horror label, then go for it!

[@lazyholickid]

Outstanding content sir, really enjoyed your style and narration!

[@ChrisCarline]

Finally got around to start OG Alan Wake yesterday, and this pops into my feed. Coincidence? Not sure if I'm horrified or terrified...

[@azoth7756]

The OG Alan Wake or the Remaster?

[@Woombi]

I’m not going to act like the first game is hardcore horror, but like for fucks sake how can you look at the darkness possessed slasher serial killer things and say they aren’t horror genre.

[@jaderush4141]

I've just started the game, so thanks for the spoiler warnings c: Cool video, and the comic illustrations are awesome

[@Tulikettumeep]

I'm not into many horror games (except somehow Dead by Daylight and yup, I have Alan Wake DLC) and I never could play Alan Wake myself. But man, I love Old Gods of Asgard and the band behind it so much. Also Remedy being Finnish company is my pride for my home country :)

[@HereACreature]

This video is fantastic and very high quality, but I did want to mention that Alan Wake 1 isn’t a horror game. It’s an action thriller, and I don’t think Remedy ever made it with horror in mind. Alan Wake II is their first horror game. Regardless, great video! Your style is excellent.

[@nanardeurlambda]

0:18 comedies?

[@UberNoodle]

Great analysis of the combat. Now, can people stop saying that the game has the "worst combat ever" and that It needs to be "remade"? Combat in the game is excellent for the reasons you describe.

[@azoth7756]

The combat in the Remaster of AW1 and AN were top notch and great. In AW2 it's literally an RE4 Remake clone.

[@MisterDeadDoxx]

your narrative and visuals has earned you a sub

[@kasomir]

very cool cinematography, very cool video. 🔥

[@KatzenminzeWarVergeben]

I love the comic animations!

[@kizunadragon9]

Someone asked Alfred Hitchcock what suspense was , he said "When you know there is a bomb in the room, suspense is when it doesn't go off"

[@ani-8323]

you mentioned some new horror games when you were saying that horror games are at all time high right noe, i'd love to know if you've seen/played Crow County, its super good!

[@awFOQ]

0:55 i dont trust you.

[@thepinkestpigglet7529]

"Horror relies on tropes" doesn't genre?

[@amyisexisting]

This video leaves me mixed. There are key parts of this video that feel strange to me. For instance, comparing it to survival horror games, at the very least without comparing to it action horror games feels kind of weird. It feels like action horror as a genre was kinda just not remembered in general. As well as saying that Alan Wake "hates" horror games feels very strange, when and as a video title feels clickbaity in perhaps a disingenuous way. I think a more accurate title would be "The Horror Game That Doesn't Want to be a Horror Game", but it also leads me to understand a reason why you might not've; that would be a bit of a lengthy title, and there's no real good way to shorten it other than the current title. However at the same time I can see that there is a lot of love for the game as well as horror in general in this video, watching you analyze what Alan Wake 1 does in comparison to other horror games, hell, other horror media in general is awesome. The way you and Millenniem chose to present parts of this video as a comic as well is really cool, and the art itself looks amazing as well! Most of this video is really good, I think it's just those two things that really stuck out to me. In any case, I hope your day goes well ^^ Oh yeag, one random thing, I noticed you mention Scissorman from Clock Tower in the video at around 9:30, but in your description it's not listed as one of the games mentioned. Idk if it's really a big enough mention to warrant putting in the description, but I thought I'd mention it just in case. Not a big deal either way

[@Deadforge]

Alan Wake is a classic masterpiece for so many varied reasons.

[@meimei8718]

Love your video! I totally agree 👍🏻

[@Yoxiv]

The original game did always feel more like a thriller than a full horror. You have harrowing moments and some tense set-pieces, but never quite going full horror, at least for very long. You'll have a few moments where Alan's low on resources, but eventually be armed to the teeth and freely able to banish Taken with great ease. And really, it makes a lot of sense in the meta of everything. The original game was about a horror story slowly coming to life, like a corruption or infection that took time to manifest. Jump forward to Alan Wake 2, it's a full blown horror story because the gears have been in motion before the game begins, thus the world is fully twisted into the genre and thusly it plays out like a more traditional horror title (few resources and even health management). While I know the jumpscares in AW2 are divisive for some people, I do feel like they are at least tied into things better than most games that use the things. Oftentimes, a lot of horror games just flash a scary image that is aimed squarely at the player, it's meant to scare YOU. But the ones in Alan Wake 2 are clearly seen by both Alan and Saga, they're affected by them just as much, if not sometimes more so than the players. Sure, that's still not going to make everybody like them, but it is at least interesting to see the game weave that mechanic into the story instead of it just being something creepy on screen to make the player freak out for a second or two.

[@serpenticide_555]

The explanation of the flashlight reminds me of why I thought fatal frame was scarier than some games. To attack the enemy, you have to zoom in on the ghost and take a picture of it.

[@azoth7756]

@@serpenticide_555 Fatal Frame uses camera obscure, not flashlight lol.

[@serpenticide_555]

@@azoth7756 notice how i said zoom in to take a picture

[@azoth7756]

@@serpenticide_555 Zoom in, right. But you don't zoom in, in Alan Wake you just aim. I don't get why Alan Wake reminds you Fatal Frame soon I don't see the correlation here but oh well that's you.

[@sayborgoussawa4424]

Amazing video.

[@yellowbat79]

it's classified as an action game in every way possible, the developers say this multiple times. the story within the game is a horror story, but it's an action game.

[@azoth7756]

It's funny how fans always have to rely on developers when trying to prove their point. It's obvious, if you played the OG Alan Wake or it's remaster, that it's more of psychological horror thriller rather than action. In the PSN and Xbox Live stores, including the OG, AW1 is classified as "Horror" and it's definitely noticeable if you bothered to play it rather than spending time only relying what the devs are simply stating. Hilarious but true.😂

[@Leee275]

@@azoth7756 What makes you think he hasn't even played it? Did you even listen to the last section of the video? Did you even read his comment correctly? The STORY is horrific, not the gameplay itself. Resource management is very common in horror games, making their gameplay naturally slower, the first game doesn't much have management in that department. If the player doesn't have to worry about ammo and the such, then it does lean a lot more into the action side of things to keep a faster pacing going.

[@Gremlin_Boi_]

I'd like to add a game that isn't even a horror game but does what a lot of what horror games cant and that TERROR AND DREAD, im talking about Subnautica btw.

[@GrooveMcDuck]

Milleniem did a kick ass job on this video. New fan.

[@Paulog2003]

I SEE ALAN WAKE I CLICK

[@psychosparten049.esquire9]

It is called “A Psychological Action Thriller” on the box. I don’t think they were even trying to make a horror game ngl.

[@Cold_Zero_The_Wise]

I recently started streaming my second play through and now this video pop up lol, its a good game and i enjoy the voice acting and story but its what i would call Action thriller horror, nothing really survival like Resident Evil 1 Remaster which im playing for fhe first time, with RE there is constant tension and you have to Pick and choose which enemies to kill and which ones to avoid cause thry aint worth then resources, while alan wake as a horror feela good to watch but not play as you always have ammo one way or another and you have to kill everything. Still i enjoyed and will definitely play it a third time.

[@BlazingOwnager]

I have to say, some changes to the combat - including how much of you get to have - were a real disappointment to me in AW2, which felt more like an adventure game than the shooter AW1 did. Despite the combat actually being really good when they showed it off in a DLC.

[@azoth7756]

AW2 feels more like an RE4 Remake clone rather than a proper evolved version of the OG.

[@NadiaGerassimenko]

Although Alan Wake is almost 15 years old, it is sometimes scarier than Alan Wake II, because of this combat helplessness most of the time.

[@TAHATPA]

love the video ... i love alan wake series

[@b1thearchitect401]

I love Alan Wake, & even American Nightmare, but they are both not even remotely, not even 1% traditionally "Scary" & don't fit in the horror genre IMO. If Remedy was genuinely trying to scare anyone with this game, I think they massively failed lol. I personally don't think they were though as this game feels far more like a horror adjacent action adventure game. Regardless, I think it's an atmospheric, very fun game with a very cool and intriguing page turner mystery story, & I think it's aged really well, especially visually! The remastered version still looks gorgeous in 4k 60 fps. Though I'm very glad Remedy tried their hand at a true "survival horror" experience with AW2, though I still don't find that game particularly scary either, I do appreciate the far darker, more aggressively horrific tone.

[@vagabundorkchaosmagick-use2898]

I am not a fan of Remedy, but I recall this game was marketed as an action game, not a horror game, much less a survival horror game.

[@k.l.7788]

I love Remedy, and love Alan Wake series. ❤❤

[@juanjbrieva5168]

Oh yeah, the game where the protagonist fights a bulldozer and a tornado 😝

[@MultiNatla]

AW 1 is the superior game. More straightforward story, much more cinematic combat, using the flashlight as the aim reticle, and no immersion-breaking mind-place sub-menu. Which was completely unintiuitive, it mimicked real-life thought processes but inadvertently and artificially forced players to create connections between things they wouldn't have. The only good thing about AW 2 is the soundtrack and general ambience. Videogame-wise, it's a terrible game, one of the clunkiest I've ever played. And this comes from a person who loves Control to death. I hate AW 2 with a passion and greatly regret buying it on day one.

[@Flallow]

it's a good video analysis. i like your style and how you explained everything. specially the introduction and using the "Three tiers of horror" to explain the games and even the other game like SH. But there is one little problem here. Alan Wake 1 and even the spin-off AW : American Nightmare. are not Horror games. Both of them are action and thriller psychological with elements of horror genre. Even Sam Lake the creator of the saga said this in multiple occasion, you can find a video interview out there for proof. AW2 is real survial horror games and like you said in the video. you can see that. (Fun fact if you go back and watch some old interview, Sam Lake promoted. the second game, like their first attempt to make a surivavl horror game)

[@KOTSOSMC2002]

My favorite horror game of all time alongside Dead Space and Dead Space 2. It didn't knock it out of the park, it knocked out the park itself.

[@MattHall]

I enjoyed this video, but the cover of Alan Wake calls it a Psychological Action Thriller. That’s the reason it isn’t a horror game, it is decidedly not in the horror genre, but in the horror-adjacent thriller genre. The games goes out of its way to immediately tell you that it is not horror, even though suspense and mild horror elements are present.

[@CeeJayThe13th]

Well someone read _Danse_Macabre_ 😂 (That's actually super appropriate for this video though ngl)

[@FarelForever]

Really nice video, but I felt mixed about the bit at 13:00. You start on the right page, then go to the left one, going from the bottom to the top, and then back to the upper right. I realize these horror comic book visuals are not meant to showcase an actual comic that could exist, but something reflecting what you are speaking of at the moment, however I still felt my immersion sort of break when you were going through things in reverse. This can be viewed as a nitpick of course. The video is solid, but I just felt like addressing that as a (former) comic artist, it didnt quite sit right with me.

[@zaydk2196]

What a fantastic video essay! I'm so glad to see Alan Wake receiving so much love from people all over the world. Barring CD Projekt Red, Remedy Entertainment is pretty much the only game studio that actually wants to create video games and not monetary experiences.