Alan Wake

An insanely good survival horror game that aged like fine wine. Not the most mind blowing story but the execution is top notch and really has you listening to the dialogue and monologues. Combat is just the right amount of difficulty with enemies properly using their strength in numbers to gang up on you, which really rewards you for knowing how to maximize your flashlight, batteries and flares. The only sad thing is that part 2 is exclusive to epic games.

A good game, wish it was more open and not so linear, but the idea, concept and story line are good.

Bought this game while having no idea what it was about and im glad i did! Story is good and different from what I've been playing. its a shame that alan wake 2 is an epic game store exclusive

Very solid game, but there is no enemy variety at all so it does get a bit repetitive.

While some mechanics like the shared dodge/run button and the low stamina can sometimes be annoying especially when trying to flee enemies, the overall gameplay felt much smoother and engaging than how others have described it. While there is no crosshair, aiming wasn't as hard as perceived from gameplay videos, thanks to some sort of bullet magnetism being present. Early on. The game was supposed to be open world but that idea was ditched by the final release, however this still impacted how the world felt thanks to how the locations were interconnected in a meaningful way.
The game's strong atmosphere, compelling characters, and strong writing deliver a well crafted story experience although some of the more interesting background information was left out of the game and instead presented in side materials such as comics, a web series, and novels.
Despite both DLCs being strong narratively, the second one suffered in gameplay sections that required some platforming to be done, due to the more realistic way Alan moves and controls. This made some jumps harder to land, resulting in having to reload the last checkpoint (or restart the whole episode if you want to get the achievement for finishing the DLC without dying).
8/10

Alan Wake is mainly a horror-shooter game that is based on the paranormal story of a writer (Alan Wake himself). Story of the game begins with Wake going on a vacation with his wife to a remote lake town. When they reach the town, his wife mysteriously disappears and he begins to search for her.

You go to many different places in the search for your wife. In the game, you mainly fight with the "dark presence", which is a kind of evil energy that possesses people and objects and make them attack you. You mainly use guns and flashlight in order to fight with enemies. Enemies who are possessed by dark presence is also protected by it, so you need to use light to destroy the protection barrier on enemies before you kill them with a gun.

Playing mechanics are pretty simple and easy to understand. Guns, flashlights and ammo are available in certain areas, you just need to explore the environment a bit. The game perfectly mix the story with the gameplay. Although fights and behaviours of enemies begin to be repetitive and predictable after some time, story always manages to keep you focused on the game and the dark and haunting atmosphere always keeps the tension alive and the scenary is great. The game is also very good at describing the psychological situation of a protagonist who sometimes finds it difficult to differenciate between reality and dream and it is also an important factor that keeps your interest during the game.

I like the story and presentation, but the gameplay is way too wack to reccomend tbh. I just turned the gameshark on and did god mode the whole way through. If you do that it's pretty good, but then it's not a game now anymore is it.

Used the game to improve my vocabulary and prepare for the CAE exam.
Writing 10/10
Storyline 10/10
Gameplay exists only because this is a game, but is serves it's function well, even if it's repetitive at times, still 8.5/10

Alan Wake is a total mind-bender, blending creepy storytelling with some seriously spooky vibes that will have you on the edge of your seat, clutching your controller tight. The game’s dark, atmospheric visuals and eerie sound design create a legit horror movie feel, making every shadow feel like it’s hiding some dark secret. It’s a wild ride that’s perfect for horror fans who love a good scare, with plenty of jump scares and creepy moments to keep your heart pounding. Overall, it’s a must-play for anyone looking to get their scare on and dive into a mysterious, chilling world.

A great game for its time! Some mechanics are really fun. The story is pretty good as well, even though it kinda started getting slow towards the end where it was mainly just combat. It can be easily felt how this game was made with love and passion.

A moody, atmospheric thriller with a compelling narrative and unique light-based combat. The gameplay can feel repetitive at times but the strong storytelling and eerie setting make it a memorable experience.

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🎚️ Difficulty

🔲 My grandma could play it
🔲 Easy
☑️ Normal
☑️ Hard
🔲 A challenge to be reckoned
🔲 In the heat of confrontation, (Only PVP games)

🗺️ Graphics

🔲 MS Paint
🔲 Bad
🔲 Meh
🔲 Normal
☑️ Very Good
🔲 An original artistic direction
🔲 Beautiful
🔲 Masterpiece

📚 Story

🔲 This game has no story
🔲 Basic element of the contractual requirements
🔲 It's there for people who want it
☑️ Well written
🔲 Leading to more in-depth researches/thoughts
🔲 A model to get inspired by

⌛️ Length

🔲 0 (No story)
☑️ Short
🔲 Average
🔲 Long
🔲 To infinity and beyond

🎶 Music

🔲 Just filling noises/No music
🔲 Trivial and uneventful
☑️ Good and/or fitting the game's artistic dispositions
🔲 Memorable
🔲 Transcending whispers of a forgotten world

🕹️ Interest

🔲 I would rather watch paint dry
🔲 Hard to enjoy
☑️ Repetitive and/or uninspired
☑️ A good moment
🔲 Sticking out of the pack
🔲 You will remember it long after

🔁 Replayability

🔲 A one-time experience
☑️ For achievements
🔲 If you wait a few months/years (or with mods)
🔲 Definitely
🔲 Infinitely replayable (or almost)

🐛 Bugs

☑️ Never heard of
🔲 Minor bugs
🔲 Can get annoying
🔲 Impacts the player's experience badly
🔲 The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

⚙️ Requirements

🔲 You can run it on a microwave
☑️ Low
🔲 Average
🔲 High (Not well-optimized)
🔲 NASA computer

💰 Price

🔲 Free
🔲 Underpriced
☑️ Perfect Price
🔲 Could be cheaper
🔲 Overpriced
🔲 Complete waste of money

🤑 Worth Buying

🔲 No
🔲 If you have nothing else to play
🔲 Wait for sale
☑️ Yes

🎯 Expectations

🔲 It's a completely different game
🔲 This game is a scam
🔲 It's missing many features they announced
☑️ Looks very similar to the steam page
🔲 Better than expected and/or announced
🔲 Masterpiece, no patch or feature has to be added.

✒️ Final Rating

🔲 1
🔲 2
🔲 3
🔲 4
🔲 5
🔲 6
🔲 7
☑️ 8
🔲 9
🔲 10


Thank you for taking the time to read and think about this review.
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never a dull moment in this game. equal parts fun and terrifying. loved each Twin Peaks homage/reference. highly recommended

its scary as f**c to play, because of the environment building and sound design, but i also keep thinking about what happens next in the game, engaging storytelling, loved it

Bad writing and voice acting, mediocre gunplay and exploration, but still enjoyable and unique-ish enough to justify a playthrough

Este juego refleja mucho la gran influencia de stephen king en su narrativa. Aunque el juego no llego atraparme por completo alan wake ofrece una corta odisea con dinamicas algo inovadoras como lo es la luz y sus enemigos. Un juego competente que cumple su funcion como juego de terror.

I love the damn flash grenades! The effect of slow mo after u get the enemy.. Yeah the game is unpolished but it has good style and sound. In the end of each part i was rlly tired of this game and just chill, listening the music. Such a pity, that the developer had to change the Final David Bowie song((

This game is amaizing.Alan Wake is one of my favorit games of all time.Amaizing story fun characters good gameplay and much more.In my eye this game is a must play classic.

But why no steam releas for AW2 on steam :(

I don't like horror games but I ended up playing it on stream and the game holds up well. The Graphics are ok, the story is amazing and drags you in. The shooting feels kinda stiff but that might be Intentional for the horror aspect of the game. Over all a very Solid game I was suprised!

I tried so hard to finish this game, but How Long To Beat says I still have twice as much playtime left and I've been playing it off and on for almost 2 years. I've been waiting to play Alan Wake 2 because I wanted to finish this story first, but the gameplay just does not hold up. It's incredibly boring and tedious. It does create some genuine tension, but the mechanics are so outdated that I've finally accepted I'm going to have to watch the rest of the story on YouTube so I can finally play Alan Wake 2.

Alan Wake is an action adventurer game where you play the titular character, Alan Wake, a haunted writer in more ways the one.

The game opens up with Alan and his wife, Alice, seemingly on a getaway to a small town as a vacation, and a break from writing. See Alan Wake is an author, but he's got a severe case of writers block, and thus a vacation could do him some good.

What follows is a tangled mess of lovecraftian otherworldly horror, time within time threads and a nightmare of gameplay mechanics. Whether that nightmare is worth it to you, largely comes down to whether you're vested in "Remedy's Cinematic Universe™", as Control and Alan Wake both co-exist in their own shared universe.

Alan Wake shines with its story, and the story and how it ends is what will drive you through the nightmare of tedium that is the gameplay aspects of the game. What also doesn't shine is the titular character himself, that leaves a lot to be desired. You could dismiss it as the trope of the haunted writer, like Jack Torrance of the Shining, but Wake really comes across as the most unlikely of characters, rage alcoholic in nature, punching as his go to instinct, abusive and dismissive of his wife and her trauma. You do not play for Alan Wake, you play for Alice and to see her to a safe end, and then Alan Wake has everything coming for him. There's also a fairly obvious sequence, where a dog is in danger, but Alan Wake ignores it, and it ends up dead shortly after. What the F Remedy writers? And you are supposed to be sympathetic to this protagonist?

The game has this really weird off-centered over the shoulder look, making for rather awkward and at times frustrating gunplay, adding to that is limited and highly repetitive mechanics, such as removing a "shield" from all enemies via the flash light, and idiotic cinematic dodge sequences, that slows down gameplay every time you successfully dodge an attack. The game is structured like set-pieces, constant checkpoints and samey encounters that needs to be tackled in the same way, all of them. The game also absolutely loves resetting your collection of ammo, batteries, flashlight upgrades and guns all the time, that it become comically idiotic towards the end, after it reset the character for the umpteenth time, only to give him new guns, ammo, ect right after.

Towards the end I just wanted those sequences over with so I could see the story ending. Given that only 28% of the players have the game completed on normal difficulty as per the Achievements, that says a lot and that most probably gave in to the darkness long before they saw the ending.

Environments are also incredibly repetitive, the entire game takes place in the wooded area of Bright Falls, and every location looks like the last.

There's also a case of Collectible idiocy and if I see another Coffee Thermos there will be table flipping, these serve no purpose other than to break you out of the immersion and the tension of the story.
Worse yet is the Manuscript pages, littered throughout the game by a character introduced later in the game, he explains that he tried to spread them out in the path of Alan Wake, yeah well he did a piss poor job of it and they are easily missable. The game certainly doesn't warrant a second playthrough, and you cannot easily go back and collect them. And what with them being such a central aspect of the story, makes it even dumber. Some of the pages are also only available on the highest difficulty, lul wut?

Remedy is a bit of a hot mess of a studio, they largely want to make cinema, stories better off as a TV series, which shines through all of their games, whether it's their earlier works of Max Payne or their later works of Control. Gameplay takes a clear second place to the overall narratives and stories told. Add to that rights to Max Payne sold off to Take-Two Interactive, which is why Max Payne 3 weren't made by Remedy, Quantum Break owned by Microsoft and lastly but not least, they are in bed with Epic games, which is why Alan Wake 2 is no where to be found on the Steam platform. Remedy is a studio that does not know what they want.

And now they have partnered with another company to finally cinematize their universe, which is probably where they should have gone in the beginning.

It may be a bit late, but for me, this game is very fun. Even though it is very old, I still enjoy it. 😁

Pretty good. You don't have to play this if you want to play Alan Wake 2 but it does provide some context and background for the second game and its story. The story in AW1 is still quite good.

This is definitely a late review, but accidentally stumbling upon Alan Wake, I certainly wasn't expecting to love it this much. I have played third-person shooters before, but implementing the use of a flashlight as a survival tool introduces a new play style into this truly interesting horror game. But I suppose after playing it 6+ times across different platforms, on Nightmare mode, and after I 100% it on Steam and PS5, Alan Wake has lit a fire in me. Or flicked on that Clicker in me. Remedy being a company I knew very little about before Alan Wake, it truly opened my eyes to how creative developers could get when given the right tools. Especially when playing other Remedy games and connecting the dots between them. This really awoke me to a game I never knew I would love and Sam Lake's bizarre mind!

This is actually a well thought out plain horror game that acts more like an action game with horror themes. It wears its inspirations on its sleeve pretty openly and I like it for that because this makes it easy for those interested in horror games and media avenues to explore once the game is over. If you are new to horror but don't think you can handle Resident Evil, Silent Hill or horror games of that nature, I would recommend this as this is the game that got me into horror games and horror media.

I have never played this game but something about it is really nostalgic.

I guess you could argue that the gameplay gets tedious and I wont lie the games constant attempts to be cinematic with the slow mo and what not does get a little annoying late game, but I'd say the devs actually do try to push you into certain situations that keep encounters somewhat fresh. Though near the end of the game its kinda just guns blazing.

Writing isint breath taking but I do thinks its above average, especially for its time.

Oh boy, are you ready to fight the same group of about 5 enemies hundreds of times in a row? How about being told over and over again that the story (that barely exists) is coming true, or that the darkness is bad? Then, boy, do I have the game for you!

This game feels like the epitome of the mid 2000's games that were ashamed to be video games instead of books or movies. It's like if a writer saw five minutes of Resident Evil 4 and thought they could make a quick buck. For a game about a writer, it loooves to kill the pacing by shoving several groups of enemies down your throat right when the story is about to end. I feel like this could've done better as something like Until Dawn.

I made the mistake of playing this on normal. Don't. The enemies love to spawn behind you, and to flank you. I thought it was funny though, that the enemy that dashes around a lot gets treated like some big threat. when all it does is stay out of your way.

Pretty fun game overall, at times the combat felt a bit repetitive but it had some awesome moments, a great soundtrack and an interesting story.

I really enjoyed the story of this game! Some points felt more annoying than difficult but it was all worth it for the stage defence portion of the game, loved the parts revolving Odin and Tor, 7/10

An action/horror shooter from the makers of Max Payne. I have played through it half a dozen times since it first came out, and still sometimes find myself playing through it again and again! Everything from the shooting mechanics to the story and characterization. It's clear Remedy put everything they had into this game. Not to mention the myriad references and Easter-eggs to their earlier Max Payne games, which I also love! It's good on console too, but the earlier Xbox 360 version tends to sometimes have texture popping and very slight frame-rate troubles. PC is way better though. Easily one of my favorite video games of all time!

Alan Wake is a game I’ve owned for years but kept putting off. Now that I’ve finally played it, I can say it absolutely met my expectations.

The game leans heavily on its narrative, which is by far its strongest aspect. The story is complex but generally well-written, and it does a genuinely good job of keeping you engaged throughout. It’s consistently compelling and easily the game's main selling point. That said, Wake’s narration is delivered in a strangely detached way—I found it distracting at times. It’s the most Patrick Bateman-esque voiceover I’ve ever heard -> Let’s see Paul Allen’s narration.

Unfortunately, the combat doesn’t hold up as well. It’s fine at first, but it becomes repetitive quickly. By the midpoint of the game, you’ve pretty much encountered every enemy type, and the solution for all of them is identical: shine your flashlight (and boost it - batteries are everywhere), then unload whatever weapon you’re carrying. It's still engaging enough and I never found myself bored with it, it's just a little uninspired.

Movement is another weak spot. Wake feels sluggish, and even when sprinting, he barely moves faster than a light jog. This gets especially frustrating during chase sequences, where you’d expect more urgency. Jumping is awkward too, and the few jumps I needed to make in the campaign are clumsy at best. Oh yeah and the camera is horrendous, really took a while to get used to and it often feels like the most dangerous enemy in the game.

One major highlight for me was the visuals. Everything is crisp and clean, and I really miss when games had this kind of look. Sure, the textures are basic and the character models are dated, but the art direction and environmental design still manage to shine.

Overall, I had a good time with Alan Wake. I’m glad I played it and look forward to moving on to American Nightmare next. I probably won’t revisit it, but it was a solid, worthwhile experience for a single playthrough.

Great story and inovative gameplay mechanics, for it's time.

Perhaps it's that it shows its age, or maybe I didn't get to the point where the story actually gets interesting (beginning of Ep 2.), but this game did not click for me. The pace so far seemed a bit of a drag gameplay-wise, and the story, which by the looks of other reviews must have some turn I did not get to, seemed kind of boring/generic, following a stephen-king-esque style. It may well be other people's kind of story so I guess it should be a thumb sideways kind of review, but for me, it's a shrug.

don't get me wrong, for a game focused on storyline, it has way too much unnecessary and clunky combat

Planning to play Alan Wake 2, I finally finished the game after 10 years of dropping on the first chapters. The narrative is great and I really like the Stephen King vibe of the game, the soundtrack is awesome and keep listening to it outside the game. However, the gameplay is quite repetitive and in the end I was just "please, just end", probably I will think better on the game when I stop being sick with it.

Alan Wake, released back in 2010, is still one of the most unique games I’ve ever played. I just replayed it recently after last touching it in 2011, and honestly, it still holds up. The atmosphere, the light vs. dark mechanic, and the whole episodic story thing are pretty solid. It doesn’t feel like a typical horror game; it’s more like a thriller with a hefty dose of mystery. As a big Remedy fan who’s played all their games, I can say Alan Wake 2 (released in 2023) is easily one of the best games I’ve played in a long time. They really knocked it out of the park.

The one downside to the first game? Combat can get repetitive. I mean, how many times can you shine a flashlight at someone before it gets old? But honestly, the world, story, and overall vibe more than make up for it. Also, RIP James McCaffrey. He voiced Thomas Zane in Alan Wake and really brought something special to the role. His legacy with Remedy, especially as Max Payne, will never be forgotten. And seriously, I just wish Alan Wake 2 would get released on Steam at some point. It really deserves to be there too.

If you're thinking of getting Alan Wake so you have the context to play Alan Wake 2 just watch a plot synopsis on youtube the actual gameplay parts of this game are the weakest parts. However if you're here for Remedy's multi media presentation and world building then i think playing this one is worth it.

One of the best Psychological Horror games out there.

This was not only my first psychological horror game, but also my first horror game overall - and i absolutely loved it. Even the game was originally released around 2010, the graphics, gameplay and atmosphere still feel top notch even today.

The writing and story were absolutely mind bending.

I would highly recommend it to everyone.

ONE OF THE BEST GAMES, HANDS DOWN.

I usually do not like this genre but Alan Wake held my attention the whole way through. I am severely disappointed with Remedys choice of making the newer Alan Wake Epic exclusive and then pretending it's confusing why it flopped.

This Game is an object of Power, It Entices your mind with the ever rising stakes of a man pursuit again an impossibility and to mend his mistake for his one true love. The environment re-enforces the fact that reality is in layers with its small town community and mystic of the nature.
The story the pace, although stretched engrosses one if you immerse yourself in the setting, at least that is how I like to play.
One of the personal favourite games to date.
Rating : 9.5/10

Very astonishing storyline, the gameplay is decent. If you are bored and want to experience something new and dark this is the game for you.

The gameplay isn’t anything special, combat is notably generic, I got quite bored quite quickly. The story seems kinda interesting but the gameplay is so boring to get to it that the time investment doesn’t seem worth it. I played for about an hour and a half but was offline for some of it

Absolute awesome atmosphere and great story. Not to forget the shared world with Control. Oh and Heavy Metal.

The story really was something else! The way the mystery unfolded kept me completely invested. Definitely the highlight of the game for me.

After all these years finally finished the game. It was just as good as reviews made it to be back in the day!

Stephen King novel as a game?

Yeah, the best way to describe Alan Wake is to be sucked into a weird, thrilling and a bit scary world, full of meta-references to the whole genre. And this was cool story-wise!

Foreshadowing – oh my god, this is the best part of the game. Finding a note that contains a vague spoiler does not feel “spoiling” at all, even more - this is why I wanted to proceed further every time!

The plot becomes more and more intriguing and a bit weirder with the whole play-through, and it’s the story that made me complete the game. But…well, the Stephen-King-ish style strikes back with the ending. He likes to create absurd endings and explanations, that give a weird after-taste. And Remedy did the same. The Magic Clicker ending is not bad, it totally makes sense in this kind of universe, but it does not feel, you know, as satisfying as the rest of the plot?

But this game is old enough for the gameplay to be weak. Collect batteries, collect bullets, now point the flashlight and shoot. That’s it. It was fun for the first chapter, but then I started hating it. Higher difficulty = more challenging. But I wanted to skip it, so lowered the difficulty to the easiest one just to get to the story instead. So instead of challenging, it became just boring, but fast.

But I would definitely recommend this! Yes, this feels a bit outdated, but even in 2025 enjoying A. Wake journey totally worth the time spent.

This game has an incredible. If you like Black Mirror, Twin Peeks, or the Twilight Zone then you gotta play this game! I cannot say more because I don't want to spoil but anyone who is a fan of those shows can probably already try to imagine why I'd mention them.

Alan Wake review

This is a fun horror-shooter with a deep story for a player to unravel. Graphics are good if a bit dated, sound design is perfectly fine as well. Gameplay however can get repetitive and boring. Despite that I would definitely recommend the game as the story is good and worth experiencing. I'm eager to play Alan Wake 2 if it ever comes to Steam.

I knew this game is good when I did not pause it while making food in kitchen -- I never heard NPCs repeating a phrase.

It's good, but not great in the story department. The gameplay is, at its best, okay -- but usually frustrating. However, its sequel (Alan Wake 2, not American Nightmare) is excellent and this is more or less required reading for it.

Its cool, Good story and mechanics and plus it will run on most potato's.