Why Alan Wake is Actually a Bad Game

[@InPraiseofShadows]

Hey everybody! Hope you are doing well, I've got two planned back to back franchise videos coming up next that I'm excited for, one started in the 1970's and the other the 80's and both are big favorites of mine. If you want to help ensure that I am able to continue to make videos then please consider supporting me for just one dollar per month on Patreon, the link can be found in the description above. It really does make the difference on if I can continue to do this long term or not and genuinely helps out so much, thank you for everything. Also, if you like this I would ask to please share this video around and let folks know about it. For some reason views have't been amazing lately and I have not been getting recommended on here as much as I was, so for the time being I really need to depend on word of mouth for projects like this. Again, thanks so much, and I'll see you again very soon.

[@willydirt9355]

Kk

[@expendableindigo9639]

Weren’t the owls spies in Twin Peaks too?

[@WobblesandBean]

Please use paragraphs 😅

[@GymmyRhys]

@@WobblesandBeanit doesnt need paragraphs... what he wrote is fine, it has full stops and commas

[@JewTube001]

More like Alan Woke

[@timothymcgoldrick57]

Your video essay is like Chat GPT tried to remember someone telling it about Alan Wake but they didn't play it, they heard about it vaguely 10 years ago.

[@jinjowatts]

This video is a worse crime than all the Wendigoon crap

[@fernandomendes7451]

Good criticism about the gameplay (which is pretty mediocre tbh) But damm dude did you just miss a the point of the story/plot and stuff that is literally written on manuscript pages found in game

[@Neolazaro91]

1:15:53 "One of them wears an eye patch, probably because Nadine also wore one in Twin Peaks" Or you know, because Odin, the god the god the guy is named after, an actual god of Asgard, only had one eye?

[@M0joPin]

This is the entire essay in a nutshell

[@Nanook128]

@@M0joPin I don't agree with a lot of what the writer of this essay says, but its valid to point out the comparison. They did a disservice not pointing out the Norse mythology connection to the eyepatch, but given how much the team references twin peaks I'd say the likelihood of it also being inspired by Nadine is probably very high.

[@Saugerdees]

It could be both.

[@dennyt2704]

​@@Nanook128 While I can understand that, it's blatantly ignoring something to justify a feeling you have. Always appreciate "Praise..." But this very much feels like when I get in a contrarian mood. All good though, I don't want to make it sound like this is anything important. People are allowed to do that and it's only a video game.

[@M0joPin]

@@Nanook128 the man with the eye patch has a brother who at some point has a toy hammer in his hand, which is shown in the video, was in a band called "Old Gods of Asgard", has a farm filled with Viking stuff (shields, typical Norse dragon heads, boats, etc) also shown in the video. No, amidst all of that it makes much more sense that the eye patch is a reference to Odin, not Nadine.

[@Necrodancer1312]

I don't know how you keep missing the blatantly obvious references to Odin in a game that prominently features a band called THE OLD GODS OF ASGARD.

[@AbsoluteQuinoa]

I think you misspelled “twin peaks” refrences

[@WobblesandBean]

​@@AbsoluteQuinoa I think you misspelled "missed the entire point"

[@Waakala]

Well, the point of view in which the game is ripping off twin peaks is way funnier than listening to another game story with norse mythology references

[@binkbonkbones3402]

Because he's literally a moron

[@SixArmedSweater]

This essay both feels meaner-spirited than your usual work, and significantly less rigorous. I get that you don’t enjoy the game, and it’s entirely fair to call it derivative to the point of plagiarism, but some of the things you say are either misrepresentative, big reaches, or flat-out factually wrong. How is the manhunt sequence boring? It has a whole swarm of federal agents in helicopters and patrol cars that you hear and watch get massacred by overwhelming supernatural forces while they hunt you down.

[@josethezombie]

I’ve never heard somebody sound so pretentious and be so wrong at the same time.

[@deneios1905]

Only flawed work here is your video...

[@StojanceM]

I genuinely have never seen any of your other work and this was the first video that popped up in my feed, as someone who enjoys story in games, I understand that some of this may be satire but I had a rough time digesting this video. Please enjoy my dissection and rapid spiral into madness, hope it gives somebody a good giggle at the least. Part 1/3 1. "Tyrion Lannister's bad importance of stories speech" - Right off the bat establishes that there is/might be a personal bias here 0:36 - first mention of Alan Moore and his really profound statement 2:30 - Mentions preexisting songs but doesn't go into any detail. The songs are written and performed by Poets of the Fall, the band who wrote all of the Old Gods of Asgard songs. - They are good friends with the Remedy devs to which they owe the creation and existence of their band, thanks to their song featured in the game Max Payne's "Late Goodbye". 2. "The game references LOTR several times." 4:18 - huh, where??? - The crows are taken from Norse mythology which were also included in LOTR -A flock of crows is called a "murder", harr harr horror movie joke. 3. "Takes too much from Twin Peaks, down to the bedsheets." - okay?!? 5:00 4. "The Live Action cutscenes are QR codes that were tacked on and is a bafflingly stupid solution to a fake problem" 6:00 - so if people wanted to watch them they could, and don't really have to, since those were additions in the Remaster version and not in the original, provide just a little tidbit of lore for you. - There is a small live action part in this game too so I don't really know what your complaint here is. 5. The camera feels floaty because its too far from the player character but was perfected in the later Remedy games" - yeah, that's how it usually goes... 6:46 - also didn't mention the dodge mechanic until in a later on point, and why in gods name are you in a corner in a open area???? 6. "Driving in a horror / thriller game" - this is a valid point and it rarely works in these types of games. Another game that tried this was Alone in the Dark 7:00 -To note: Alan Wake started off as a open world game, however due to time constraints, Microsoft and the general feel of the game straying too far from its original concept, Sam Lake and his team made the difficult decision to scrap that project and re-use the already existing data and world map to base a more linear story experience, which was finished quicker and provided consistency to its locations. You can look around you and see other level locations in the distance which I think is pretty neat for a 2010 game. 7. "Very limited way of playing with the lights and cant flip a LIGHTSWITCH to take out several guys" - this was just really funny, is the average house in the woods lit up by a floodlight? 9:50 - The powerplant level for example is set up in a way for this exact point, with light traps and abundant flaregun ammo because of an earlier established plot point. MAJOR SPOILERS - "What Alan Wake Isn't, understands very little of what its engaging with" 10:35 - The premise of the game is about a Writer who after a severe writers block, is forced to go through literal Nightmare hell in order to not only save his wife and his own skin, but the world in general. He does this by going through the motions of writing clichés in which the hero "himself" narrowly escapes certain death situations due to the fact that he isn't in the real world but stuck in a alternate dimension under the Bright Falls lake called "The Dark Place". The extra dimensional creature known as the "Dark Presence" has the power to twist ideas and concepts, and will do so in order to escape its dimension. However it needs a host with a vivid imagination to conceptualize things into reality, Alan in a brief moment of clarity, uses this "rule" in order to delude the process and basically locks himself in a stalemate with the creature in order to thwart it. The reason why the story is structured as bad pulp fiction is because Alan himself has written it to be that way. He becomes one of his own characters in order to drive a Ludonarrative story, while the real Alan Wake is stuck in a metaphysical safe bubble, slowly loosing his mind due to the aforementioned threat! Monomyth/Hero's Journey is another theme that the story follows to a certain degree. The game initially doesn't tell you this, but as you play the game you start to understand that Alan himself is changing, and getting over his writers block for the better or for the worse. 8. "The developers are terrified of having long cutscenes" - You don't need a 5 to 10 minute long cutscene to infodump the games story, when it can be done much more organically. 12:00 - TLOU 2 does this and it quickly moots its own point with Ellie doing the exact opposite in the gameplay section, but again if you wanted to watch a character develop in Spiderman, just pick any of the 10 movies. 9. Everything after minute 11:20 to 23:15 just leaves a very bad taste in mouth with the way its worded and trying to portray certain things as plagiarized, stolen or "off brand Twin Peaks" - this comes off as a politically loaded segment and in no way contributes anything to the video's argument. 10. Everything from min 23:00 to 28:36 is just going through my previous points. - Again, you don't need a 5 to 10 minute exposition long cutscene to establish theme and tropes, or unnecessary character development. - Deer Fest is used as a marker for the length of time between story events. 29:20 11. "God himself commands you to kill" 30:00 - That's not God, that's Thomas Zane! A character that in this game, the player is left to speculate on who or what he is. 12. Alan caring about his wife Alice, wanting to protect her is misogynistic 31:30 - I personally have no words here... from a narrative standpoint however, her characteristics are about as fleshed out as any other of the main characters in this story, that includes Alan himself, and yes this was intentional to an extent. - Side note: Twin Peaks was a lot of what you’re complaining about, a way to criticize, satirize, and provide commentary to the state of TV shows. Basically a lot of the characters are one dimensional, and only serve for the main character to progress the story. I felt like mentioning this since you like to bring up Twin Peaks so much. 13."Hartman hires Ben Mot to pretend he has kidnapped Alice, so that Alan gives the manuscript, so that Hartman can study it to learn about Alan creatively because he has an obsession" 35:21 - This is blatantly wrong, Hartman knew about the lake and its properties and wanted to exploit Wake for his own benefits, a point that you cover later on in the video. 14."Hartman makes a return in Control, but I've played that game and I can't tell you why the years have been so hard on him, the story is hidden in supplementary materials." 35:50 - 36:00 - So you don't really understand what your main point with this was, unless its spelled out to you in a moviesque long cutscene, where the game takes control away from you to explain... in a game about a story teller... telling a story.... -MGS5, Alan Wake and Control do a great job at explaining the plot to you in dialogue without the need to look for "supplementals". But if you want to know more there is always that choice. 15. Please see under point 6. 38:30 - 46:00 -Again, providing contextual information solely when it supports your argument. Part two below

[@StojanceM]

16. "Alan is approached by two men who he doesn't know and he starts blasting" - he came across Stucky talking crazy after he murdered a man with an axe 51:57 - Alan has been previously guided by Zane, shown the manuscript pages he himself wrote predicting what is about to happen next, and is aware that only light hurts the "Taken" - If you've been paying attention to the story in the first 25 min of the game, you'll realize that Alan is a writer, and the story uses something called "The Unreliable Narrator" trope, one of several in fact, after he dives into the lake. Please see "MAJOR SPOILERS" - The Taken are not werewolves that go back to normal after the sun rises, they are as the name implies...Taken! - Using information from the first scrapped Alan Wake project is not canon. 17. "For the footage collected to edit this video I've been playing on easy and have also played Alan Wake a few times before" 57:57 -So even after multiple playthroughs you still somehow don't seem to understand the plot. To quote a game that had a bigger budget than Alan Wake, do you know the definition of insanity? 17½."The game is unrealistic because it doesn't have plumbing or wiring in the cabins" - ok I take back my previous statement at 7, this is funnier! 1:01:38 - 1:03:01 -Twin Peaks mention count is at 15 maybe 18. "The Most boring manhunt chase ever" 1:06:37 - Hey look, its that 8 minute long cutscene you wanted for so long - You stated that you wanted a moment like RE, Amnesia at 52:40, welcome to chapter 3, one of the few bad chapters in the game. 19. Obvious remedy game dev joke 1:14:14 -Odin wears an eyepatch is a reference to Twin Peaks #20+ 20. "For an unexplained reason the lake and Dark Presence" feeds on art 1:17:07 - Please see MAJOR SPOILERS. - So you could have easily understood the plot since you went ahead and collected the pages anyway and complained about it for no reason, or you just looked up the wiki because playing this game multiple times and still not getting it is a running theme with you. 21. "Local Bright Falls woman Barbara Jagger who was in love with a similar visiting author in the 1970s, who was also found dead when she drowned in the lake" 1:17:36 - I think this is a word salad that not even the great poet Tomalan Zake can untangle! - Genuine question, did you not even bother to look things up? 22. "Sitting on this game for a decade" - so you were obsessed? 1:19:22 - Wait a minute... Dr. Hartman???!!! - Barry calling Sheriff Baker's dad serves no purpose... an agent who works for the FBC, you know that game, the Control game you said you played. 23. "Finding Barry's lifeless body" - even tho you can hear him snore and Alan comments on it 1:24:26 24. Watch a live action interview in game of live action Alan Wake 1:26:43 - Please see point 4. 25. Wanting a driving game in a horror / thriller game 1:24:26 - 1:32:30 -Again, you keep bringing up moot points related to the scrapped version of the game that is no longer canon or relevant to this story. -You've already proven that you know what your talking about regarding the game's development period so bringing this up makes no sense. -Please see point 6 26. "Resident Evil 4 style minecart section" 1:33:07 - If they made a brief railcar prop, why not build a whole level around it right, Lord forbid they add anything to change up the pacing a bit - I think your getting your games genre mixed up here. - you mentioned Thomas Zane being the "voice of god" like three times back to back, which wasn't true to begin with 1:34:11 -Saying this game sorts through Lynch's garbage isn't even remotely true, Alan Wake has several sources of inspiration that include King's stories: Bag of Bones, Room 1408, Secret Window, Secret Garden. David Lynch's Twin Peaks, Chris Carter's the X-files and a heavy dose of cosmic horror from Howard Phillips Lovecraft. 27. The game ends on a Cliffhanger with no resolution to its main story, that nobody is excited to know about 1:35:27 -That's why its called a Cliffhanger - Have you heard of a game called Control that shares the same universe, kinda like how TWIN PEAKS has a S3 to explain the themes and ideas because its not a complete story in S1 and S2? - Maybe somebody should have told Sam Lake to stop making it and not waste his time on AW2? - the quote "Its not a lake, its an ocean" was on par with the G-Man mystery from Half Life! Part three below

[@StojanceM]

28. "No resolution to the story, when Alice crawls out of the lake in her pantie model" 1:35:45 - yeah the article of clothing she wore when she went into the lake at the beginning of the game - you sure seem to be fixated on Alice's pantie model like a lot, like a lot lot! 29. "Not played the DLCs and this might be controversial for some reason" 1:36:32 - I would say when making a video essay spanning almost two hours warrants covering all the bases especially since you were playing this game a few times in a 10 year period. - Bloodborne is an intentionally disjointed, vague and poorly explained story meant for you to piece together, as you go along and explore a broken world after the end has come and the world in question is left in a "after the fall" state where you can either prolong it from falling into the jaws of oblivion or finish it off, something that all From Soft games have in common. I doubt that a DLC for this game really helps with its "narrative". See I can go on a little tangent too, its that easy. 30. "A game slapped together in the last minute" 1:37:05 - It took a rewrite of the script and a major redesigned of the core game in a 7 years development time, including cut content that had to go or be added in the DLCs (that you refuse to play) in order to make a game that Microsoft initially butchered, and still managed to deliver a great story and experience in such a short "re-development" time. IN CONCLUSION: While I acknowledge the attempt at satire and understand that personal bias can influence opinions, I found it difficult to agree with the points made in this video. Several aspects were misrepresented or lacked proper context, such as the references to other media, the criticism of live-action cutscenes, and the portrayal of the game's narrative and mechanics. Remedy's decision to transform Alan Wake from an open-world game to a more linear experience was a strategic choice that helped deliver a consistent and engaging story, despite some critiques about its rushed and cut content in order to make a deadline. -The use of light as a mechanic and the emphasis on narrative devices like the unreliable narrator and meta-fiction are central to the game's unique appeal. Your misunderstandings about character motivations and plot points, such as the role of Thomas Zane and the nature of the Dark Presence, seemed to overshadow the deeper thematic elements that the game explores. -Additionally, the repetitive comparison to Twin Peaks, without acknowledging the distinct influences and creative direction of Alan Wake, detracted from a fair evaluation of the game. Remedy's approach to storytelling, be it with its environments, plot, themes and characters had a organic and story rich product without the need for lengthy cutscenes to convey information. -Overall, your critique seemed to cherry-pick points that supported a predetermined narrative rather than providing a balanced and comprehensive analysis. Alan Wake, with its great premise rich atmosphere and innovative world building, deserves a nuanced discussion that recognizes its contributions to the genre and its storytelling achievements. Final Twin Peaks count: 35-ish

[@binkbonkbones3402]

You're SOO MUCH INFINITELY MORE SUITED TO HIS JOB THAN HE IS you should make a youtube essay channel 😊

[@johnernest5843]

Bro fucking tore this video down with timestamps goddamn

[@DuttyPosh]

I rarely read long-winded comments on this platform, but I had to make an exception for you, sir. Everything you mentioned, I completely agree with.

[@Nanook128]

1:15:56 while the eyepatch may be partly inspired by Twin Peaks, it is also a reference to the mythical figure the character is named after. Odin traded one of his eyes for wisdom.

[@sarkic4743]

How he ignored that character being so obviously a reference to Norse Myth just shows he had to have just watched a playthrough of the game only and noticed stuff that he saw as a Twin Peaks reference.

[@LilyoftheLake14]

@Nanook128 That's exactly what I thought it was a reference to as well! I mean, the old metal band in Alan Wake is all about that Norse mythology lol. Also, since Remedy is literally Finnish, and Finland is an actual Nordic country, the devs were bringing in their own cultural mythology there. Plus, Finland, just like all the other Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland), are the international capital and heart of, the most hardcore of the most hardcore black/death metal scene! I should add on (before someone else does) that yes, Germany is another largely influential country in the black/death metal scene. I just didn't mention it since I was only talking about Nordic countries. Interestingly, Finland is #1 in the world for having the most metal bands per 100,000 people at 53.2 heavy metal bands per 100,000 residents. So, more than likely, at least some of the Finnish devs at Remedy would have a good understanding of both black/death metal bands and most definitely Norse mythology. IMO, the devs including both the old metal band along with giving them a big interest into Nordic mythology, was the devs combining the 2 as a fun nod to Finnish culture. I could be wrong of course, but the 2 topics are *very* Finnish, though that could've been a subconscious inclusion, I hope it was done on purpose lol.

[@sellingacoerwa8318]

Some guy making a clickbait video got stuff wrong shocker.

[@maxmfpayne]

​@@LilyoftheLake14the band is even named The Old Gods of Asgard. The eyepatch couldn't probably be a more explicit reference to Odin

[@SuperRainbol]

why did you need to lie so much in this video? >Barry was snoring after taking the sedative, Alan knew he was alive >the psychiatrist only dropped the act after Alan found evidence of his deception, like the photo of him standing next to the kidnapper and their recorded conversation >Alice never called Alan from the lake, what Alan heard on the phone was her voice spliced from the recordings the psychiatrist had of her >Alan did not dreamed that the lamplady would have the answer, he literally heard it on the song in the cabin >the guy in psych ward does not just repeat one word, he pretends to be a nightmare and most importantly >the game has an ending, Alan trades his life for Alice that was dead this whole time, this is CLEARLY show in the game, so you didn't miss, you just lied

[@Theyungcity23]

I’ll forever be fascinated by the genre of essayist that KZbin has spawned who loves to write but really really seems to think that the themes and literary aspects of stories and subtext are for suckers…

[@Khalukiwastaken]

It's a satire and love letter to Stephen King and Twin Peaks. All of Remedy Entertainment's games are satire and love letters. That's the whole point.

[@Neolazaro91]

Not done with the video yet, only 20 minutes in. Have you considered that maybe all those pop culture references from Remedy are simply a love letter to, I don't know what to call it, fantasy Americana? They are a Finnish company, and while many of their devs might not be familiar with the US, they are familiar with its shows. Specially those that show parts of the US that are frequently not represented in media. As someone who is also not in the US, I see this all the time when the US tries to represent a country without really understanding it, and so it shows very specific or popular aspects of it. Like, Japan being nothing but neon signs, anime, samurais and overworked salarymen.

[@KiaraValentine]

This. Like the first Silent Hill game was from Japanese people who don't know Usa at all, but they used Usa media: the school is the one of the movie "Kindergarten Cop", almost all the streets are names of Usa Horror authors...

[@WobblesandBean]

Right? It's a deliberate choice for both aesthetic and story driven reasons, but Shad here just laser-focused on that while completely missing the point.

[@Synical02]

Some people aren't into that so.. it's not hard to overlook

[@Harvest133]

there's a difference between homage and 'Member Berries

[@KC-zw4mm]

Everyone knows Samurais, I don't know any movie/tv show he mentioned so far. It's basically made for Americans for those "isn't this like ..?" moments. When you do that few times, it's ok. But, when you plaque the whole game, then it's unplayable w/o previous knowledge of most of these references.

[@brandonfritts6111]

I know it's 10 months later and you won't read this, but I have to. I echo what a lot of people are saying already, you missed almost everything that happened because you can't see past Twin Peaks. As I'm typing you just assumed Odin wore an eyepatch as a Twin Peaks reference. Odin, the metal singer who directs you to a literal magical song he wrote that tells you what you need to do. The song you didn't even mention. That's not even what made me finally write this. It's how you went to so much effort to question why Dr. Hartman runs such a niche practice in such an expensive place and somehow missed that he is *trying to use the power of the lake*. He knows the lake makes art come true. He knew Thomas Zane, but he isn't an artist. His practice is a trap. I assume that wasn't a Twin Peaks plot point and that's how you missed it. I'm a fan of yours, but damn did you do one of my favorite games a disservice.

[@kaigunz2251]

I didn't click on a video about Alan Wake to have another game to be spoiled for me without a warning. That's a dick move.

[@Zarvanis]

It's strange that you never mentioned John Carpenter's 'In the Mouth of Madness' as another likely inspiration, as it also features an author whose writing alters reality.

[@dessertstorm7476]

in the mouth of madness might be an example of this kind of thing done well (or better at least). it is massively derivative of King and Lovecraft but manages to still tell its own story and not just be a reference fest.

[@hull_k0gan641]

Love that movie

[@InPraiseofShadows]

There was a lot cut from this video because I felt the flow wasn’t right. It was originally well over two hours and I felt that that was just too much for the subject. But one of those was a Mouth of Madness section which I felt ultimately didn’t end up adding a ton so I got rid of it unfortunately.

[@arianshahrokh1439]

Yeah great vid but I was thinking the same thing lmao

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

I think In Praise Of Shadows introduced me to that movie, too. Your comment makes me long for a meaty comparative analysis --- from IPOS, CJtheX, coldcrashpictures, Princess Weeks, Lindsey Ellis (on Nebula), Folding Dan Olsen etc --- to survey the history + compare expressions of "Media About Writing/Storytelling Discussing Itself Thru Story". There are precursors in myth + early literature that'd be useful to outline in an introduction, but from what I've seen, it starts getting explored more explicitly in art/literature in the early Industrial era vs Romanticism Mvmnt, then really picks up in the 20thC, where it pops up in several different "flavours" across genres, in lockstep with mass media tech leaps...like, it kind of co-evolves with advances like radio, silent + spoken film, photography, TV, games, before exponentially multiplying as the concepts around post-modernism went mainstream nearing the turn of millennium while the new malleable frontiers of the Universalum Digitalia open up. It's a longstanding philosophical riddle writers/artists.storytellers engage with over + over, the borderlines between imaging realities + creating realities, the good + bad things that does for the narrative-creators as well as their audience-interpreters, whether we're a dream of other beings or a quantum simulation (I personally think we're all real). Making narratives is among our most "human" characteristics + basic distinguishing cognitive tendencies (pareidolia, patternicity, apophenia all generate narrative seemingly spontaneously) & entertained with other deep cultural human stuff like spiritual beliefs or visions of utopias & I'd love to see a massive exploration of it that follows those "A natural history of..." freewheeling but rigorous journeys thru a big overwhelming idea-format, & how it gets funnelled into individual works or creators, like King or Lake.

[@mrjtfang2]

I would've disagree'd with this well before you fucked up.

[@madramblings4348]

INCREDIBLY LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER

[@Liiimes]

Right? this guy just has shitty taste and doesn't understand the things he's criticising. Clown hours.

[@naenae2350]

> L I E

[@danielclark-hughes692]

_In Praise of Shadows uploads a video about cult classic video game 'Alan Wake' with a title sure to attract attention._ _He has inspired some us to go back and replay it, despite its flaws. Such an occurrence could only happen... in Night Springs_

[@KhailSOLO]

I’m actually in my second play through after a decade because of Control. During AWE, it was like riding a bicycle again when you point your flashlight on those dark globs, and so I’m back. Plus the sequel’s coming up! So it was a really great timing to finally get to play Control.

[@tarash4505]

**mystery music playing**

[@PeterSivazak]

WRONG

[@Al_Straik]

You are completely out of your mind. Alan Wake was never a Master Piece but calling it "bad" is pure nonsense, it was praise at the time of it's release and is still remembered today for a reason.

[@datatsushi2016]

It barely sold on release, because of the absolutely boring gameplay (this came out after Dead Space and Gears of War for example) and the story was convoluted and confusing. Even to this day people can't explain the story in a proper way. It did get a cult following over the next few years, but it wasn't very well received when it released.

[@Al_Straik]

@@datatsushi2016 It barely sold on release due to the insane levels of piracy that happened in the X360 era. I know that the game appeals to a specific audience, but that doesn't mean it sucks.

[@datatsushi2016]

@@Al_Straik People pirate games if they think it's not worth the money. So the point still stands. It didn't sell. Just stating a simple fact here. Not sure why you're getting so worked up over a fact. You do realize that a sequel is coming out in about 4 months right? So relax. Obviously Remedy sees potential in the franchise despite the OG 2010 game and the Remaster not selling very well, otherwise AW2 wouldn't even be a thing.

[@Al_Straik]

@@datatsushi2016 Mister, I think you are a projector. Don't act like a God and pretend to know the reason people pirate things, if a game sucks so much why get out of your way to pirate it? It would make more sense to pirate good games and not the bad ones. There is a lot of games out there that deserve to be called this or that, AW it's not one of those, it's like making a video saying that Stalker sucks, it has problems, but it's still good enough to be recognized and praise.

[@datatsushi2016]

@@Al_Straik Relax a bit lmao. If the game was that good then people would want physical copies rather than pirated versions. Nobody's projecting here. You stated that the game got "praised" on release. It didn't. Infact it was pretty outdated in terms of gameplay. Like i said, the game came out AFTER the likes of titles like Dead Space, where you could dismember enemies with all kinds of cool weapons that you could also upgrade. Alan Wake had a non upgradable arsenal of just basic Revolvers, Shotguns and Rifles. And barely any enemy types and BAD driving. It was just not that great in terms of gameplay. On top of all that the story was confusing and people needed to pay extra for the DLC packs which Remedy said would give them answers. The remaster didn't sell either (hence why they're going for digital only release with AW2) but the franchise DOES have a cult following so just be glad it has that and that a sequel is on the way for you to enjoy.

[@alcoholicgoat]

The fact that you kept spamming the Twin Peaks theme because you thought it was so funny makes me question the legitimacy of every point made in this video Also the musicians are supposed to be Thor and Odin. An eyepatch isn't exclusively a Twin Peaks reference. The video manages to say very little beyond Twin Peaks dickriding. Almost every technical issue can be explained by points made in the same video (the game was rushed) and a lot of the complaints come off a bit ignorant and pretty childish. I usually like this channel but this video is not it. I agree with the sentiments, criticisms and constructive feedback regarding Alan Wake. I don't like the game. But this video was very much made in bad faith if you ask me. Twin Peaks is about as convoluted, contradictory, aimless, anticlimactic and problematic as Alan Wake is. I hate to be the one to tell you. I'm sorry but if a show has yellowface I'm not taking it seriously. Am I being petty in this comment? Sure, but the video comes off smug and reductive.

[@datatsushi2016]

Relax

[@johnernest5843]

Absolutely correct. Brother can't fathom that the game was heavily inspired by Twin Peaks but us definitely its own thing. Additionally, his talking points and narration reek with the hollowness of someone just in love with the sound of their own voice but has nothing to say

[@TheAxeWorld1]

The wendigoon shit I can 100% look past, but Alan Wake slander I will NEVER forgive and NEVER forget-

[@charlesdemers1197]

Nah bro, you can’t talk shit bout my boy Wendi

[@danyalahmed3995]

I usually like your videos, but this honestly feels watching this what YOU personally wanted from the game, what really isn't criticism because your asking for something that doesn't exist, you can criticize and breaking down and stories online you don't agree with it, but say it would be better if this was this and this is this, that just seems like fan fiction.

[@MantasticHams]

I usually like your videos but this feels like you kinda blatantly missed the point. Its inherently a campy homage, hes in his own story the way stephen king has actually done, and theres a show within the game that acts as a similar thing to the fake soap opera inside twin peaks, but its even campier, and more like the twilight zone or x-files. AW is largely a self aware homage, but thats also kinda part of its point, its about the power of stories, and its clear what stories were powerful to its creators. Are you gonna get upset that he referenced norse gods too? I mean how tacky to just use someone elses characters, the norse gods, like does literature do that? no. Important stories don't reference other stories, thats a well-known academic, smart-knowing fact for college graduates, Like me and other schoolers.

[@wildonionchase3934]

Kinda odd to put in footage from The Return as a way to criticize Alan Wake’s plot stealing from TP as if S3 didn’t release 7 years after this game.

[@jplayer073]

What are The Return, TP and S3?

[@wildonionchase3934]

@@jplayer073 The Return=Season 3 of Twin Peaks; TP=Twin Peaks; S3=Season 3

[@StayFractalesque]

Maybe it was brioche bait for hyperanalytical fault finders who will go to any lengths to prove why someone criticizing something they like, should be dismissed.. are you sure the uploader has any idea what you're even talking about? Or was the uploader using that footage as B Roll to demonstrate a point, a point which you seem way too close to see the forest for the trees..

[@discoinferno701]

@@StayFractalesque it seems you are just doing everything to defend the uploader from any criticism

[@agenerichuman]

It's probably a mistake. Doesn't change the fact most the video is on point.

[@KaoticReach1999]

*"Why My Channel Is Actually Bad"* When?

[@Doomroar]

Time economy is the one criticism i absolutely disagree with, i want to play a game not watch a movie, the idea that the cutscenes are not long enough is baffling when that's one of the worst gripes i have with JRPGs whose content is 80% movies with no interaction

[@Gargoyle_Guy]

It doesn't really have an ending yet because the planned sequel died with remedy being taken off their deal with microsoft, but they also didn't release the rights back to remedy until now. they have been hinting at alan canonically being in the dark place trying to use his creative power there to find an escape for the last decade through american nightmare and now control. now remedy has full rights and creative control back i'm excited to see what they do with the sequel they're finally allowed to make.

[@shadowblood95]

Alot of energy has been directed into Alan wake 2 the last I heard they hope to reveal something this year.

[@WobblesandBean]

​@@shadowblood95 That's good to hear. I wish game devs wouldn't end things on a cliffhanger for this exact reason. So many stories have been arrogant in thinking they'd get a sequel, but never did, so the story ends on an unfulfilling note.

[@guayrerodriguez3322]

Oh boy how bad this comment has aged

[@BrainBurnStudios]

@@guayrerodriguez3322 Why? He was right about Alan being in the dark place this whole time

[@DanCowmanYo]

I like Alan Wake!

[@ghostcapt]

Yeah it's a classic for a reason, and that reason isn't for being bad.

[@MrPooleish]

As fun as playing the Twin Peaks stinger every few seconds is, the guy with the eyepatch is named Odin. In Norse Mythology, Odin sacrifices an eye for knowledge, which is why Odin is so often seen with one eye.

[@masterplayer11122]

What a clown lmao

[@frumtheground]

Yeah, I get the complaints, but I still love the game and wouldn't consider it an outright bad game. I liked the clunky campy plot elements, and I thought a lot of it was still pretty creative and fun. But that's just me.

[@itcouldbelupus2842]

But I'm guessing you hadn't seen Twin Peaks before you fell in love with the game?

[@giannidescalzo2101]

I feel the same way (and I had seen Twin Peaks) and just adore this game. It's an all time fave.

[@frumtheground]

@ItCouldBe Lupus I can have a different opinion and still have seen the show. Yes, I saw the show before I played Alan Wake, and I watched the return when it came out. I live in Washington, and I don't live that far away from the real Twin Peaks. I also like David Lynch. Eraserhead is one of my favorite movies. Second to Frankenhooker. I can appreciate Twin Peaks. I can also appreciate Alan Wake for what it is, and I can do the same with all of the Stephen King references, too. The video is valid, I definitely think the game could have gone a lot further and tried a lot harder, but I don't really care how much it falls short in comparison to its inspirations and even that it's heavy handed. Twin Peaks isn't a story or mood that's easily replicated, imo. Alan Wake also didn't have that much funding behind it, and it didn't do very well financially. For more recent and bigger budget games like Control, I'd say the criticisms there are more warrented, and the video touched on the pitfalls of the more recent games from them. Could Alan Wake have been a much better game? Yeah. It would have been better if they took a go big or go home approach, for sure. I still had fun with it for what it was, tho.

[@sygyzy0933]

​@@itcouldbelupus2842whether a person has seen twin peaks or not shouldn't affect or determine on if the game is good or bad. If that's what you're saying anyway

[@itcouldbelupus2842]

@@sygyzy0933 It determines whether they notice if it's derivative or not.

[@meursault7030]

The incongruous sprinkling of guns along Alan's path is explained in the game. Alan wrote them into the story while he was writing the manuscript, in order to help his future self out. Also the police officer is willing to be more on Alan's side because she's aware of the dark presence and is actively on the lookout for it as part of a secret club that's basically the Bookhouse Boys from Twin Peaks. I'm not sure about the first one, but the second one isn't explained in supplementary materials, she literally tells you this out loud during the game in an unskippable cutscene and asks Barry to telephone the other members. You can eschew the presented objectives and stand there listening to him call each individual member for like 5-10 minutes, for some reason. I like that they went that extra mile. I love your channel and your videos, and I have to say you're usually more diligent than this. Alan wake isn't amazing but it deserves more credit than someone not listening to it and then claiming it never spoke.

[@WobblesandBean]

Yeah, it's like he was so fixated on finding every last Twin Peaks reference (which by the way the town in the game is based on North Bend where TP was filmed so of course it'll look similar), he completely missed the big plot twist that explains everything.

[@MCArt25]

Ah yes, the Thermian Argument.

[@meursault7030]

@@MCArt25 I think it's only appropriate to cite the piece of work explaining something, when responding to incorrect criticism specifically stating that the piece of work didn't explain something. I don't know if this counts as a Thermian Argument. There's plenty to criticise that isn't objectively false. For example, you could make the argument that Alan supposedly writing in the weapon stashes is lampshading and stupid, and I'd agree with you.

[@SnailHatan]

Soooo. Those hanging stick structures in the new trailer aren’t from Blair Witch. They’re from Witchcraft/Voodoo. Basically stick hexes. True Detective S1 did something similar, but of an original design. It’s almost like a totem, an item for focusing magic into for various purposes. They’ve been a thing for at least hundreds of years.

[@cannibalisticrequiem]

Tbf because of cultural osmosis and Witchcraft and Voodoo not being really big practices on the same level as Judaism, Christianity, or Islam... more people are going to associate the stick figures hanging from trees with The Blair Witch Project before they associate it with Witchcraft and Voodoo.

[@Ghost7065]

Yep

[@thishandleistacken]

Yep

[@grimroten3299]

It may not be from Blair witch but they are more likely to be a reference to the Blair witch

[@thishandleistacken]

@@grimroten3299 like a lot of stuff in the games (and a lot of media in general) it could be both a reference to pop culture (in this case Blair Witch) and the historical (like traditional witchcraft).

[@pkthe13th]

The "live action" bits in the Alan Wake remake are in QR codes because they're not from Alan Wake - they're from the Control DLC that has Alan in it. It's a reference to the other game, not a revamped storytelling device.

[@willyeeton4390]

This still doesn't make their inclusion make sense. I played the OG Alan Wake and all of Control, didn't know about the QR codes until now. I really just can't imagine why they added them. This video has a lot of nit-picking and a weird vendetta against references, but that's a fair thing to criticize.

[@kebm1388]

I think that makes it worse actually

[@samtepal3892]

For future historians, in praise of shadows has been this bad at researching before he even decided to tackle wendigoon for some reason.

[@deanscordilis7280]

Someone else may have commented this and I understand the cynicism but in p sure the metalhead has an eyepatch because he’s either literally Odin or has psychosis

[@daniels.9740]

My god, you were always this bad, not just in the last video. Amazing levels of not understanding anything

[@lukamtloko]

Its easy criticizing a story for what it could have been, without thinking about the fact that most stories that are made have to deal with challenges and setbacks to be able to come to life. The most common form of movie criticism that we see in youtube is people complaining about how stuff could have been better, and in a lot of cases we dont know much about the production to understand how difficult things where. But here you dive in the troubled production of the game, which is very informing and interesting, for then to criticize aspects of its story that are bad, but in the context of how the studio had to work, they did an amazing job with what they had and where able to create something that even with its flaws a decade latter still has fans. To me, thats a good game.

[@ChibiWes101]

I usually enjoy your videos quite a bit, even when I disagree with your opinions on occasion. But this one.. I dunno this whole video just reeks of a very snobbish, "I know better than they do" tone. "Why I could have made a better game and story than Remedy" rather than "Why Alan Wake is Actually a Bad Game". This honestly almost feels like an Attack on the game rather than a honest-hearted critique. A lot of your issues with the Narrative are explained IN the Narrative itself. Both in the Cutscenes and gameplay *and* the Manuscript Pages you seem to hate so much. You mention the game is very tropey, very on-the-nose homage. But that's the point? You even point this out when you recall that people in the game refer to Alans works as full of old story tropes and being derivative of other authors and media. Alan, and other characters, begin to become aware that they are fighting with a predetermining force that is literally being transcribed to page and scattered to the winds. Reality is being bent here. His nightmare are manifesting, darkness taking away his wife and trying to consume him and everyone else around him. They are IN an Alan Wake horror novel. You also mention you dont understand why the games levels are started with a "Previously On" segment and you do make note that they had intended to release the game in segments, but its incredibly obvious and I'm surprised in your seemingly extensive research on the development of the game and old tech demos you never realized this. When the game came out, Binge Watching and Streaming were gaining traction and DLC Expansions & Episodic Gaming were taking off like wildfire. It wasn't just a narrative leftover from a prior DLC release, it was very intentional inspired by the media released at the time as well. You can find this in many other games, some sold as whole products like Battlefield Hardline, and some released and sold as Episodes like The Walking Dead and the explosion of Telltale Games that erupted in that Era. As for the TV segments, you can also look to Metal Gear Solid 4 as well for heavy inspiration, Kojima frontloaded the game with live-action recorded segments full of meta commentary even involving Snakes voice actor being interviewed -as himself-. You make multiple mentions of Control but a LOT of the DNA of this game can trace itself back in the studio all the way to Max Payne way back in 2001. Max Payne was full of homage, self referential dialogue, told and involving a non-traditional Comic Book format (much like Alan Wakes Manuscripts), and involves a lot of multimedia storytelling through tv programs and swapping back and forth from the surreal comic panels to the game engine scenes. This isn't new, its basically the studios bread & butter at this point and it still is there to this very day up to Control and likely with Alan Wake 2 if the rerelease of AW and the new content put out in this rereleased edition is any further indication. If anything their next game, Quantum Break, is EVEN MORE multimedia like all this. Ultimately, this all seems very hinging on "Wow they sure liked Twin Peaks huh geeze guys" but EVEN THEN I honestly don't even see the direct homages from Twin Peaks as a downside at all. Not to mention the DOZENS of other games and books and films and shows that all take heavy or direct inspiration from Lynch or Twin Peaks. Its not a new concept to be inspired by it or to make a nod to those works. This game is so full of references to material that I garuntee a lot of people playing this at the time had never even HEARD of prior in 2010. And when some of them, like myself, looked into these other works like from Lynch and King we got hooked and were the better-off for the exposure through Alan Wake that we might never have been privy to before.

[@witchqueenrat]

idk i feel like the central complaint here is that a video game is not a movie but in fact a videogame

[@darthzackariusnickthenamethede]

I bet that Wendigoon played Alan Wake... and LIKED IT. The nerve of some people.

[@smithers7177]

Well this video did not age well

[@ThePreciseClimber]

It's 3 weeks old. :P

[@ZeroStako]

I love this channel and I love Alan Wake, and I admit that the game is far from perfect, just as I'm brave enough to say that this video isn't really fair. Some of the brought up points are factually incorrect and weather you've decided to ignore their basis or missed out on accident doesn't really matter, because it shows the passion with which you've brought up the subject at hand. And, in essence, you're right: Alan Wake borrows heavily from foundational works of fiction and showcases a sad story of missed opportunities. But here's the deal: I'm not American. The studio isn't American. A lot of Alan Wake fans -- I'd wager to say, most of the hardcore ones -- aren't American either. It's why we love this game. I know about Twin Peaks and Twilight Zone through Alan Wake, not the other way around, because there was no possible way for me to have known them before that (as, again, I'm not an American from America). There's a ton more I could say here, but I'm confident that you catch my drift quite, quite well. Alan Wake is a vibe that you can't get anywhere else, especially if you're outside of the US. It's part of the cyclical nature of art, of reinvention, criticism and inspiration. I wouldn't have ever written my first book without Alan Wake, because it showed me what the pines do when I'm not looking at them. Plus, like, Poets of the Fall is always a win.

[@shtcoinmaxi1367]

That does not make you brave for saying this.....

[@joeywojcik8733]

I appreciate your channel, but I'm curious if, by chance, you've ever viewed Gaming University's channel, which has hours of the Remedyverse analysis, to see if it might help provide some deeper insight into Alan Wake. I'm not saying that they know everything, and I don't believe they profess to be the gatekeepers of understanding for the series, but their perspective certainly led me to change my opinion of the depth and unique qualities of Alan Wake when I had a similar view to your own upon my first playthrough ages ago; I now have a greater appreciation for the game and looking forward to the sequel.

[@voltrainer]

30 minutes in and ngl, thos is a hard watch cause it just sounds so snobby. Like "i understand literature better than anyone who likes this game and story and the narrative is has" and that's a major wall for me to overcome when i look at any sort of review or retrospective. Becuase it feels very much like someone is being a MASSIVE killjoy. I'll come back to this later but it feels like snobby wheelspins so far.

[@Kranitoko]

Yeah I don't know about this video... Seems pretty poorly thought out. Like just going into the Aunt May thing alone outside of Alan Wake, the whole point of Aunt May's death was to show exactly HOW Peter's actions cause her death, his recklessness, it shows the lack of regard he had for her safety, and in the end he faced the consequences for his actions, THAT is what her death was trying to portray. He'll always regret the time he didn't have with Aunt May whilst she was alive. Also, maybe put a spoiler warning in next time for those who haven't played/watched these things yet?

[@mattymclaughlin5900]

The video is an hour and a half long and this d*ckhead is asking for a Spoiler tag 😂😂😂 I like Alan Wake, I’ll be buying the 2nd one on release but wise up lad

[@bloodrunsclear]

So your problem is…magic is weird. No this is literal magic. That can happen in fantasy.

[@ghostcinema9792]

Listen I love your criticism on stuff but the Spider-Man PS4 critiques were completely wrong. That’s how Spider-Man operates Peter never has time for the people in his life that’s why he ain’t with Mj and can’t stay for the birthday party. That’s how Spider-Man functions always has. That’s the point of being Spider-Man

[@ericknorskr8568]

yeah he missed the entire point of peter's miserable life in the comics lmao (not counting everyone around him dying)

[@benhillman8384]

A lot of the themes are a bit on the nose, and a lot of the set-pieces are kind of wonky, but there are these moments where the flurrying combination of words and images are *so* suddenly evocative that it’s hard for me to feel negatively about the whole. It also borrows a *huge* amount from In the Mouth of Madness - not just in terms of the exact premise, but also in the ways it structurally oscillates between down to earth and full gonzo elements and the focus on meta subversion of the “author,” but Wake misses the opportunity to explicitly go as far as the movie where it ascends through the meta layer of a new medium from book to film.

[@rosienroller]

I once again heavily recommend Deadly Premonition. When it comes to being a well made game, it fails, but it has such a vision and a real passion of vision behind it. I also recommend Swery's J.J. Macfield, and The Island of Memories.

[@Etrius0023]

Yes, Deadly Premonition is amazing. Not the Director's Cut on PS3/PC or Origins on Switch though. Play the original Xbox version, the other versions are outsourced ports that are worse in every way (think Silent Hill HD Collection level of bad).

[@josef-ralfdwerlkotte8333]

Its bad but also sooooo good.❤

[@robertmoorhead2406]

Sophie from Mars has an interesting video on Alan Wake's symbolism, and how much of Wake's own metatextual elements are tied in with Sam Lake and Max Payne. Lake used his own face as a model of Max Payne in the first game, and after the second Remedy lost the rights to the character. A stranger with your face, going out in the world to do things while you remain trapped in the dark. Yes, it also borrows heavily from Twin Peaks, but so do... a lot of games. Deadly Premonition, Mizzurna Falls, Darkside Detective, Life is Strange (especially 1 & 3), Silent Hill, et cetera et cetera. Twin Peaks is just pretty influential amongst game devs of a certain period time.

[@meursault7030]

Thanks for that little list of Twin Peaksy games for me to wishlist ;)

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

I love Sophie & I will watch anything about Remedy, bc I find them fascinating despite completely agreeing with 97% of the good faith criticism the studio/their games get --- eg it's gratifying to hear analysis that actually points out how thinly Remedy women are characterized, I absolutely see it but they have so much goodwill earned & it's tropey representation but not as gross or egregious as other studios so I've never heard anyone actually articulate that specific critique --- but I don't remember watching this yet so thank you for giving me something Sophie + Remedy to look up later! Thanks Internet Stranger, may something really cool randomly happen for you this week!

[@LeMicronaut]

The max payne license is an interesting point, but more of a coincidence. Alan wake was released two years before mp3 and remedy and apogee sold the max payne license to take two way way back in 2002 for 34 million and some stock. Mp3 was 2012 (with several delays). The evil doppelganger aspect i think was more an american nightmare thing, but it's funny that american nightmare and max payne 3 were released only 3 days from one another (may 12 and 15th). Thanks for the vid reccommendation though.

[@joeabernathy5402]

Except every game you listed other than Deadly Premonition isn't completely on the nose about it and in DPs case, swery actually understands David Lynch. This is just Twin Peaks references for the sake of Twin Peaks references and the bit about Max Payne is a stretch and sounds more like an overindulgent fan theory. I like the game but it's over reliance on Twin Peaks and it's clearly stitched together campaign really do hurt it in the end.

[@LeMicronaut]

@@joeabernathy5402 Yeah, being someone who never saw Twin Peaks, none of the game particularly rubbed me the wrong way, but the video's compelling.

[@hemangchauhan2864]

Alan Wake is flawed (almost all covered here), but this analysis is critical even to its strengths. It's core strength of stories telling story, while not perfect, is pretty unique in game form. The notes are all laid directly on your path, small reads about the upcoming situation and builds anticipation on how it will play out. Absolutely not comparable to Control's or MGS5's notes/logs. Its understandable that you're a great fan of Twin Peaks and media cannibalism isn't exactly great. But this analysis wonders the "what could've been" too much, even in your 'What It Is' section. This hurts whatever you were aiming for in this essay. Finally, I don't know if the remaster had the DLCs or not, but the bonus chapters in original PC version concludes Zane's, Dark Presence and Alan's arc. I thought it was a good finale.

[@P3DR0877]

Agree.

[@Archerized]

I agree. I also felt like some of the criticisms mentioned eg. the interact button being circle or game switching to the most recent picked up weapon, were a little too harsh? I agree that these are inconveniences but they are not that major. Like it doesn't take you long to learn both of these things and you can adapt how you play quickly.

[@M0joPin]

@@Archerized criticisms are harsh, because half of them are petty nitpicking. Zane's main problem with the game is that it's heavily inspired by Twin Peaks, which he considers to be plagiarism. That's all there is. Almost everything else he talks about is explained in the game/personal preference issue/consequence of a rushed release/something completely made up. In the end what we've got from this essay is just another personal crusade against something Zane doesn't like.

[@notaraven]

I feel shadows has a thing against referencial or inspired media. His previous video about Slenderman had a lot of similar views on media theft. To be fair a creator should be careful where and how to refer to other works so as to not hamper the story. I am just so on the other camp I can't help but be amazed lol. I grew up with 90s cartoons that would just throw up their hands and say "screw it lets just do a start wars episode but with our characters". I take it as a sign of respect and care when others look at a work for inspiration.

[@reganpt1]

@@Archerized Yeah those nitpick critiques seemed like they came from someone that has no idea how to play video games. Complains about not knowing what gun he's holding and wasting ammo..... literally has an icon of what gun you're holding on the screen. There are countless games where interact is B(xbox)/Circle(PS). Even if it's different... seriously how hard is it to condition to that during a play through of a game? This was still a good video and I love all his in-depth critiques but these nitpicks were flat out stupid.

[@yoopergamerboy]

Man, I respect your opinion, but for someone who does video essays and loves to dive deep in to understanding something, I'm amazed at how much you missed the mark or just failed to understand certain things. Alan meeting Barbara in the back of the diner during the normal sequence wasn't some solid proof of the super natural. It was a strange landlord from a small town who just gave Alan the keys and then kinda disappeared. We the player, playing a horror game, sense something is up but a normal person would just think it was weird. Not difinitive proof of the supernatural. And the lodge sequence was all about giving hints and understanding of the drive, power, and secret behind The Darkness. And complaining about the papers dropped around that you need to collect to piece together the full story in a non linear way? Really? Why is it wrong when Alan Wake does it but totally fine when other games like Bioshock do it? This game is like an onion, it's beauty is in the intertwining layers and the eventual realization that the reason the game is so tropey and some characters are cliche like Alan's wife, is because the game we are playing is the book Alan is writing under threat from The Darkness as an attempt to escape. That's why there are papers he can find that seem to change the world. I love Alan Wake, as a reader, it was a delight to have a story in a game that challenged me and intrigued me the way Alan Wake does. I'm a little shocked that you were unable to pierce the surface of this title and only cared about the references and tropes... Although yes the driving sucks. But if nothing else this game gave me the song Coconut so...

[@miffedmeff7302]

I actually agree with his points. I personally preferred Remedy's later games and Alan Wake just feels like a prototype or test trial for the more finished and fleshed out game that is Control. If you actually watched his video and disregarded the click-baity title (hate that everyone has to resort to clickbait), you would've seen that for every criticism he had, he had equal amounts of praise for the game. It's a fairly nuanced take on a game that is not without its flaws.

[@yoopergamerboy]

@@miffedmeff7302 I disagree. I did watch the video and I would appreciate not being lumped in with those just knee-jerk reacting and attacking the person instead of his essay. I still think that every bit of praise Shadows gave was nothing more than a back-handed compliment. Which is just a dressed up insult really. I did not find it terribly nuanced. This is KZbin and I have my Master's to work on but if you want a good argument for what I think Alan Wake does well, Games As Lit 101 does a fantastic job laying out what it is that Alan Wake does so well. I actually suspect that the game just appeals to a different kind of player. For me, gameplay is secondary to atmosphere, story, and the feelings a game evokes. It is why I like ME2 despite it's hum-drum gameplay. Actually, I kinda agree on Alan Wake's repetitive combat. It just doesn't matter to me. It is a means to a greater end. Also, too much of the essay was just "I love Twin Peaks how DARE this game!" which, if applied to every time that happens in art, we would have no new, good art. Any hoo, hate the game if you want, I just wanted to point out that those saying Shadows is wrong here... I think they are right, I just wish they wouldn't resort to ad hominims. There is no need to attack the person when the essay itself can be taken down. So I submitted my own opinion. God I hope the sequel is good. I haven't played Control, is that any good?

[@_chemicalbeat_]

​@@yoopergamerboyControl is fantastic! I really enjoyed it and love the connection it made with Alan Wake. I've always loved Alan Wake from when I first played it in 2011. I still absolutely love it all these years later and have wanted a sequel for so long. I'm so excited to see what the sequel will bring us and what's in store for Alan.

[@rainbowstormgaming]

I'm 23 mins in and this is atrocious. Really trying to sit through the whole thing. - Your analysis of the gameplay can be summarised as: "It is bad by modern standards", I lose count of how many games that applies to. - Your analysis of the story is exhaustingly repetitive and can be summarised as: "This movie and book already did this". Nostalgists are awful critics, it never even occurred to you that while an old man like yourself has seen this fossils, most other people haven't? Nor do they care about them? - Your critiques are thus conflicting, you critique it for being old, but then critique it for being nothing new. 26 mins: You are treating it as a movie not a game. We get it, you got a mediocre degree and make it everyone else's problem, but at least analyse a game properly. The engagement and fast pace is a necessity for the game. Oh my gosh only 30 secs later: Do normal people usually take dreams as gospel? Why are you again making bad comparisons... Starting to believe you made this at a time when Alan Wake 2 was upcoming and couldn't think of a better way to get clicks. 27:41 Thanks for explaining how video games work... 28:14 Are you joking? Do you not understand why people play games? This video should be titled "I don't like the story of Alan Wake". You are clueless about gaming. 28:55 A major plot point is things literally being written into existence. You could have analysed how the mystic forces are at play here, instead you keep sticking to your film degree angle. I am done here, it's excruciating. I would say don't analyse any other games, but looks like your career has taken care of that. People don't want preached politics especially not from the worse side.

[@RAyLV17]

This video actually convinced me to watch Twin Peaks and then again play Alan Wake.

[@koolgool]

Twin Peaks is great, I hope you do

[@Dong_Harvey]

Yes, fire walk with us

[@onewomanarmy6451]

Yey, Twin Peaks is an amazing watch and this video tickled my "it's time to rewatch Twin Peaks again" feels so that's what I'm going to do. I wish I could completely forget everything about it just so I'd have the joy of watching it for the first time all over again and maybe even more that first rewatch you do simply to make sense of what you just watched. I really hope you'll enjoy it.

[@mattymclaughlin5900]

Alan Wake is good, Twin Peaks is barely a show

[@CrossRetro]

The only thing I got from this nearly two hour review is that you really, really should play the Old Hunters DLC for Bloodborne

[@traditionaljeffery7800]

I don't think I've ever seen such a bitter review of anything in my life. Nothing is immune from criticism but at the very least it needs to be constructive. I hear several complaints about how Remedy games should be something that you like in theory but I didn't hear anything approaching what you would have done differently. It sounds like you have a great understanding of storytelling but next to no understanding of what that means in the context of making a game.

[@pandapig192]

Sloppy work.

[@Killer-hy9ly]

Im gonna have to disagree man, the gameplay may not be up to snuff to a few other of Remedys games but the story is Timeless and keeps me coming back.

[@miffedmeff7302]

Being derivative (one of the major criticism here), does not mean that its bad. Porting a popular work of art to an entirely different medium is an artistic endeavor in and of itself. I wholeheartedly agree with your opinion that the story of Alan Wake cannot be entirely original, but that's not an issue for me, and many others who love this game

[@joeabernathy5402]

His problem isn't that it's unoriginal. His problem is that it's references for the sake of references without any narrative context and seemingly completely missing the point of the original work they're referencing. We can all tell Sam Lake loves David Lynch but he doesn't actually understand Lynch. One reference that really bothered me when I played the game was when the FBI agent calls Alan "HP Lovecraft. "A reference that makes no sense because that's not the kind of fiction Alan Wake writes. It's just a reference for the sake of it. I actually have similar issues with the original Bioshock. It starts out with all this pretentious Randian wankerery that has very little to do with actual story that's told. It's all set dressing to make it seem smarter than it actually is. Vague references to deeper concepts and works do not equal narrative depth. This is true for Alan Wake, Bethesda's games and the entire Bioshock trilogy.

[@dennyt2704]

​@@joeabernathy5402 it depends, has there ever been a statement about why they chose certain authors? It's not like Lovecraft is the only one that doesn't fit Alan. Could it just be them pointing out Nightingale is a goofball trying to be a typical movie/tv cop? That type of thing is rather typical of police in other media. Not that it matters overall.

[@joeabernathy5402]

@Denny T Not that I'm aware of but given how on the nose everything is just seemed like it was there just because they wanted to reference Lovecraft and Alan is a writer.

[@dennyt2704]

@@joeabernathy5402 Fair. I guess my thing is he also called Alan James Joyce, Bret Easton Ellis, Hemingway and a few others. Came off as condescending to me in the context.

[@Pandor18]

For me this is specially true because the first time I played the game I didn't know any of the references and the game was perfectly good. In particular the idea that waking up and not knowing if it was an hallucination, a dream or a memory. Maybe I knew The Twilight Zone(as la dimensión desconocida) but the episodes inside the game were good and stand in their own

[@buttertool6211]

welp, that's certainly a youtube video title of all time...

[@StakeFromJateFarm]

Triggered

[@danielclark-hughes692]

@@StakeFromJateFarm 🤨

[@GoodbuyWhorses]

Such a stupid joke

[@StakeFromJateFarm]

An opinion? That's different than yours? On the internet no less! Cover your little eyes, quick!

[@xBINARYGODx]

@@StakeFromJateFarm you reaction is funny given you clearly got triggered at something using that meme yet again.

[@joannetiu471]

Ok the eye patch criticism has me thinking... is Twin Peaks all you are thinking about while playing Alan Wake? The rock band is called the gods of asgaard and Odin, one of the members, is named after the eye-patch wearing Nordic mythological god. I am not a fan of Alan as a playable character because he was, to me, obnoxious and unlikeable but perhaps we should just appreciate the game for what it is. Maybe yhe creators were drawing from inspiration from modern literary works but that was what made this game unique. In my view, AW's primary inspiration was the classic Stephen King protagonist and setting and not necessarily the one television series based on a SK novel.

[@evancrew1234]

I wish you talked about how janky the climbing and jumping is, there are times when you need to climb up a waist-high object, and Alan will clip and jitter his way onto the object as you mash the jump button, making you feel like simple climbing is a glitch you’re exploiting

[@jstro-hobbytech]

He neglects the fact they were on a deadline and almost broke along with being less than a decade into 3d video games maturing as a story-telling medium.

[@bradydavis5791]

How does one go on for an hour and 40 mins just talking bullshit through expressing an extremely bad opinion? I would respect it more if it made sense, to be honest.

[@DecayingReverie]

I can't say I really agree with much of your criticism. For a long time, Alan Wake was my favorite video game. I found that it captured exactly what I love in that cozy Stephen King style of horror. I thought it had some flaws, particularly in that the narrative isn't as deep as I think it wants to be and doesn't quite execute a cohesive story, but I overall didn't have much in the way of the complaints. The combat is a bit clunky but I found it unique. To me, clunkiness isn't a very criticizable element simply because if you look at essentially any of the early games considered hallmarks of horror such as Resident Evil or Silent Hill, half of their appeal is how clunky and sluggish they feel. My feelings toward Alan Wake are tied with nostalgia so it is hard for me to look at it from the perspective of someone who had a lot of horror under their belt when they first play it, but I found the atmosphere (including music, sound effects, and visuals) really made a scary game, though jump scares were a big part of that. I also really liked Alan's voice actor and character. Where I think they really went astray in the plot was the DLC and American Nightmare. It is really hard for me to make much sense of the plot in those. I was frustrated by the open ending of the game, but as I've gotten older, I think I prefer when you don't quite get closure. It is seldom in life when we get closure and few stories in life are actually done just because you are no longer involved. Anyway, I really love your videos and even though we have differing views toward this game, I'm still glad to see another perspective.

[@dman10187]

Love your channel man. That said you saying you never buy or play dlc is the craziest thing ive ever heard. I couldnt imagine doing that. Something like Fallout New Vegas for example most of the best content was post launch. Crazy.

[@alcoholicgoat]

​​@@thomasb.8101 Isn't the DLC dirt cheap for Alan Wake? Also, imagine skipping the Mass Effect 2/3 DLC. What a miserable way to look at things. Dlc can be cynical but some of the best content is DLC. Outlast Whistleblower. The Evil Within's Kidman DLCs. Last Of Us Left Behind. I hate The Witcher 3 but don't people endlessly praise the dlc for that game?

[@Saugerdees]

Is the DLC not included on the remastered version? I thought it was.

[@dennyt2704]

​@@alcoholicgoat On release the first DLC was free. The second was, $10 or so in Canada? Though to be fair the 360 Microsoft points stuff was so dumb and would justify anyone not wanting to buy DLC to me 😂

[@dennyt2704]

​@@Saugerdees it is.

[@_holy__ghost]

@@alcoholicgoat late to the party, but may i ask why you dislike the witcher 3? im currently replaying it and im interested in your thoughts

[@MamokZalku]

"i own hundreds of books" what a flex for someone afraid of collecting typewriter pages and non-linear storytelling

[@medhros]

There is a game called Vampyr which is in a format that could work very well in this story because you actually get to know the people you are dealing with. It is a really underrated game.

[@D3sdinova]

Ive been wanting to play that game for years

[@medhros]

@@D3sdinova it is really really good!

[@samuelconnel2166]

One of the most unique and immersive gaming experiences all while having decent gamplay and systems . I really can't think of a more underrated game.

[@QMMarc]

It's the second best Vampire game in the market tbh, I find some of it's gameplay annoying (I rather it be more Gothic, not the style, the game, where enemies don't respawn vs respawning enemies to give you materials or whatever) but the part where you have to know the people and that improves their ''blood'' is so fitting, even if most of them are kinda boring, but that's life not everyone's the most interesting person in the universe, but it's a very interesting idea and def, as you said, underrated.

[@travismcnasty4239]

It's a great game except for the part where you play it.

[@DeadSceneMedia]

I'm not watching this whole thing, but you need to take a writing course because that shit is bland, a speech class to work on your charisma, and a media literacy course so you stop taking things at face value

[@captainredfield1179]

I really like your videos, especially the anatomy of a franchise ones, but I can't agree on this one. I think you miss the point a few times and while I respect your opinion and agree that Alan Wake has some issues, it's still an amazing game.

[@D3sdinova]

There are so many things you got wrong or didnt understand, but you also have some valid points. A section where you face overwhelming numbers where you get to use the clicker manually attempting to hold your ground or push through sounds amazing. But i think that was impossible for technical reasons. Is it a bad game though? Definitely not.

[@ToxicToucan]

Pretty sure the DLC comes free with most versions of the game? Seems strange to review something without a wider view including all its content. Also, referencing something does not automatically make it bad, in fact the game got me to watch Twin Peaks which is an awesome show. (With its own ups and downs you could make a video called "Twin Peaks is actually a bad show") The creators are not trying to just steal it, when I played the game with the commentary on the Swedish developers specifically state Twin Peaks multiple times as inspiration for the Americana setting.

[@BatTech_]

You'd straight up need to go out of your way to get the game without the dlc chapters. For anyone playing the game these days it's just a part of the game.

[@Darxide23]

The guy wearing an eyepatch is because the band is called "The Old Gods of Asgard" and Odin was the head god of the Norse and he only had one eye. Maybe they did that specifically because of Nadine, but it also fits thematically with the band name. That's just a major point I feel you missed. I'll also contend that Alan Wake is a good game that suffers from an unfortunate development cycle due to Microsoft's demands. I still think Remedy have all the same issues with story telling described here, but it would have been much, much better. I think the game is still regarded as well as it is because it's more than the sum of it's parts and you can tell there's a better game somewhere in there. Many of the problems described with the game stem from a weak, almost incoherent story. But I didn't get too many complaints about the game systems themselves. A few, such as constantly resetting your inventory, but on the whole it's mostly the shortcomings of the story that causes the game to suffer as much as it does. I also think there are a lot of unfair criticisms. I was yelling at my monitor during the rant about there being no sinks or bathrooms or electrical cords on appliances. Are we really going to mention those as criticisms? Even bringing them up in any way at all just feels disingenuous to a fault because those are the kinds of things absent from the _vast_ majority of games. How many times have you played an MMO or a huge open world sandbox game like Skyrim and stopped to think about where all the citizens live. As soon as you get outside of the city full of shops and inns and smithies, that's it. There's just wilderness. Maybe a cabin or two. Nobody criticizes these games for that. There's only so much realism you can reasonably include in a game for not just the time limitations, but budgetary limitations as well. It's just unfeasible in most cases to include all of that without resorting to corner cutting measures like using stock, pre-made assets. On the whole, I agree with most of the points brought up, but not the conclusion. The game is strangely good and enjoyable despite every part of the game, when examined in a vacuum, point towards it being a bad game.

[@zan8117]

Deadly Premonition actually attempted an openworld Twin Peaks around the same time. Deadly Premonition and Alan Wake probably got a lot of people like myself who have never seen Twin Peaks to actually watch the show. Twin Peaks came out when i was like baby and didn't get to watch it until I had access to it on Netflix.

[@valder8423]

these longs videos need timestamps

[@pkthe13th]

Yeah, I can't finish this one. You're letting your love of Twin Peaks distract from AW being a love letter to it among others. The references aren't even that heavy beyond TP.

[@binjoofficial]

you meet the fuckin log lady 3 minutes into the game

[@rusteddenial453]

@@binjoofficialu also meet Stephen king esque monsters as soon as u start the game and also hear mad max esque monologing just as soon so what is ur point dumbo

[@contractzero1194]

The game is shit. The story is shit. The game play is shit. The awful, dull narration is shit. I stopped reading the manuscripts after the first chapter. WHY IS IT CONSTANTLY NIGHT TIME!?!? Then when it daylight. Boom I get knocked out and it's night time again. Walk through a trail in the woods kill shadow people. Find ammo. Walk through the woods. Kill shadow people. Find ammo. Over and over and over again BARRY BARRY BARRY BARRY WHERE ARE YOU BARRY. Fuck that game.

[@altusshow7574]

Yeah, he's like "Alan wake is like Twin Peaks, that's why I hate it. Here are ways it's different from twin peaks, which is why I hate it." Also everything twin peaks referenced, he thinks Alan wake stole from them. The eye patch? That's because he's Odin, not Nadine from twin peaks. Oh, there's a town? Just like twin peaks! There's a dog like in twin peaks! He has some valid criticisms, but he seems to be searching for reasons to hate it.

[@WobblesandBean]

I agree. By that same vein, should we hate Toy Story for using the carpet pattern from The Shining, because it's such a glaringly blatant reference? Or literally EVERYTHING based directly on HP Lovecraft? You'd have to denounce over half of all horror media of you did that. Toy Story isn't trying to be The Shining, just like Alan Wake is not trying to be Twin Peaks. It's perfectly fine to judge the game as its own story, completely removed from TP. I'm not sure why he zeroed in on the TP references, as there are plenty of other references to story-driven horror classics in AW.

[@dylanthehopelessrema]

I assumed the band member of “The Old Gods of Asgard” wore an eyepatch (1:15:52) because that’s how Odin from Norse Mythology is almost always depicted. I mean I don’t really know what they were trying to say with that reference but it’s a hollow reference to something new so that’s refreshing

[@MrOrdinaryundone]

Most of Remedy's games contain references to Norse Mythology; it seems to be a pet interest of Sam Lake at least but given that the majority of the people there are Finnish/Scandinavian it makes some sense they'd have a familiarity with it. The Max Payne games in particular are very steeped in Norse fatalism.

[@sarkic4743]

And he still ignored all that to say he's just a Twin Peaks reference...

[@ToxicToucan]

Bro really thinks the A button should be the universal interact button and not jump? This dude has some wild takes. I feel like I am being gaslit as I watch this video listening to his this man read the script like he is a slow William Shatner.

[@Azu_303]

Great video! But the "Who is the writer?" part is not a reference about Twin Peaks, but actually a novel called "House of Leaves".

[@donavonhoward114]

Wow, I think people are overthinking what's bad or good. If Alan Wake is really a bad game, then about 90% of games are just terrible. We are jaded into being overly critical. I'll tell you what a bad game is. A bad game is Dynamite Ducks. I don't think Alan Wake is even on that radar.

[@itcouldbelupus2842]

Yes, most games are bad. Yes, it's easy to pretend things aren't that bad if you don't think about it too much.

[@Glassandcandy]

I usually love your work, but it feels like you’re missing a crucial point in this game which is it’s metafiction. Yes, the characters in the game are simple and one dimensional- yes Alan is a writers Gary Sue, yes it is HIGHLY derivative of other better works. But all of that is purposeful- the whole idea is that all of this, in universe, is the creation of two writers, Alan wake and Thomas Zane, both of whom are shown throughout to be mediocre and largely unoriginal copycats of better authors. The story is purposely made derivative in its surface text because it’s created by unoriginal hack paperback writers LARPing as Steven King and all of that is done to service a rich subtext about the creative process in general and the authors precise relationship to their own work. It really feels like you didn’t try to engage with most of the theme and nuance in the games subtext here and you took it all on its face. Part of this can be rationalized by not playing the two DLC missions, those are both necessary and serve to recontectualize a lot of the base game, and while I agree it’s shitty to truncate a story for profit, you shouldn’t just ignore them. That’s like someone judging bladerunner based on the theatrical cut and refusing to even watch the Final Cut version. You’re purposely making the story worse for yourself and not giving it a chance to actually win you over

[@KiaraValentine]

Sorry but I don't agree at all. And yes, I've seen it all anyway. I love King's books, I love Koonz's books, I love Twin Peaks and I love Alan Wake and, even more, Control. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@EdgarciArts2980]

I'll support you in having this opinion, but nothing could ever convince me of this lol

[@t.a.hargrove1212]

Oof, as someone who played Alan Wake before knowing about these other features, I think this video is generally off the mark. This was the first interpretation of these themes as a game, and it works well. I love twin peaks because of my love of Alan Wake, so all this sits flat with me. Huh. We’ll.

[@christopherkelley5875]

While plenty of your criticisms have a point, I do think you’re being a little hard on the game. I experienced Alan Wake years after being a fan of Twin Peaks and found the references amusing. I do think it could have been a better game with some more time and polish, but it’s still pretty interesting. Didn’t love it, but still cool.

[@willkayegmail]

Gave up about an hour after I got tired of your Twin Peaks jokes and you decided to waste time talking about toilets in a video game. ETA: Skipped ahead to the very end of the video to see a final thoughts wrap-up and just got more Twin Peaks jokes. As someone who loved this game but never watched Twin Peaks, I do not care at all about the thing that seems to have got you so hung up.

[@rollingvice]

you will never make it. just give up

[@Eriko-cy7iy]

Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?

[@patrykzukowski7471]

What. Alan Wake is an amazing game. Terrible horror, but if you spent more than an hour or two with it it becomes crystal clear that this game's goal isn't to be scary. The combat is one of the most original out there and it's hella engaging.

[@micah3k]

im not disagreeing but did you comment this before watching the video? just curious

[@Vassilinia]

For games with a story, good gameplay isn't enough to make it a "good game". You can't make it part good and part bad and call the whole thing good. Maybe if you don't mind stories too much, but this is a channel that definitely places huge emphasis on the narrative.

[@patrykzukowski7471]

@@Vassilinia Alan Wake's narrative is one of the best out there, super self aware and achieves its goals perfectly.

[@Vassilinia]

​@@patrykzukowski7471 "self aware" is code for "has problems but please accept them since we know they're there". The fact that the first thing you praised was the gameplay, and didn't mention the story or themes until prompted, says all I need to know. Like the guy above mentioned, you could have at least watched the video before crying about it in the comments.

[@ZZZZZZDDDDADA]

how is the combat the most original out there? there is a lot of games with similar play style, if you are saying original of its time, it is still pretty average compared to the games released on the same year and the engaging part its really subjective and even then i find it hard to believe you since the game dosent encourages any strategy nor actually tries to be challenging since once you master the mechanics which will take you 2 or 3 levels you realize that's it, there is little to no variation between enemies and even when the game could take advantage of its scenery it dosent use it, the city levels are exactly the ones as the one in the forest, you can say that there is the driving part that allows you to explore but its actually filler with no purpose whatsover. The game gives you lots of ammo and batteries so why should i explore when i know i have what i need and in the case i needed something its still bland since the game just end up giving me ammo anyway by following the original path

[@illuminahde]

You have crazy eclectic taste homie. Love it.

[@TheeManWIthNoLife]

Eh, I like Walmart Brand Lynch. Walmart makes good stuff. Also, the DLC's do some cool shit with the gameplay. I love this game and its a miracle it turned out good at all with the shit they had to go through last minute! P.S. If shadow people came after me I'd start blasting, too! I aint gonna be the dumbass in zombie movies who gets their ass ate because "Oh, I can't shoot my best friend! Waaa!" Fuck that shit! My shadow/zombie best friend is getting shot in the ass! I don't care! Survival of the fittest, baby!

[@kevinalford]

I can't say you're wrong, but it was a different time when the game first came out.

[@Geebees93]

In regards to Spider-Man, this is how Peter's life works, even in the comics. He struggles with being Spider-Man because he has no time to be Peter Parker. It's the reason his personal life is constantly a dumpster fire. He's quit being a super hero so many times, but always goes back because he has the power to do something about injustice and so he must. His whole thing is "With great power there must also come great responsibility." It's a given that he skips out on the party. There's crime to fight, he has to juggle his job, and he has to try and maintain some sort of life. Being Spider-Man sucks, but he loves and hates it anyway.

[@ianbirge8269]

We're hitting levels of pretentious snobbery that shouldn't be possible with this.

[@franklinlamar5584]

I wonder what he has to say about Alan Wake 2

[@GB-sh9st]

DLC is unfortunately the industry standard now -- Old Hunters DLC is worth the money, and doesn't affect the main story much either. Not all DLC is Oblivion horse armor.

[@rincewind4202]

I think that the band member eith the eyepatch is more of a reference to Odin having one since the band is called Old gods of Asgard

[@sarkic4743]

And he's fucking called Odin...

[@bloodmachine6049]

Should really note, the QR codes are in the game originally, well at least in the pc version, the remaster just has them now link to the videos, they are not a remaster addition.