Alan Wake Remastered- PS5- The Darkness Throws Everything It Has at You

Alan Wake/ Alan Wake Remastered (2010, 2021) was developed by Remedy/D3T and published by Microsoft Game Studios/Epic Games
Out of all possible ratings: Terrible, Bad, Average, Good, Great....
My rating, based upon my playthrough experience, is: Good!

As much as I would like to give Alan Wake a "Great" rating, I can't. There are annoyances within the gameplay and some moments where the game seems to lose focus on what makes the game to unique and compelling. Such annoyances would be Wake dodging a lot when you simply try to sprint, the game constantly taking your items (I know why this is done. But in some instances, it leads to some particularly hard encounters whereas masochistic challenges are not fitting for this game), and the CONSTANT shoulder-swapping camera auto-alignment. It would have been nice if the devs reworked the camera controls to allow the player to set their own camera bias, via right-alignment or left-alignment.

With that out of the way I can safely say this is one of the most atmospheric and compelling games ever made. The way the story is told to the player via manuscript pages is brilliant. These manuscript pages will tell the player of events that happen in the future, whether it be very late in the game or a few minutes later. This builds anticipation for the events and gives the player a sense of unease, as they know what's to come, but don't know when.

The story itself is very well written and thought out. The first time I played through it in 2010 I didn't fully understand the ending but this playthrough made me realize I missed some things along the way which affected my understanding of the story. The DLC adds something to the narrative but overall, I felt both DLCs sucked. They did. Sorry, die-hard fans, the DLC sucks. And I mean sucks in just about every way you can imagine minus some extra bonuses to the original story. Alan Wake's American Nightmare is the expansion you should play but is not included in the remaster and largely deals with the enigmatic Mr. Scratch.

Per the graphics and atmosphere, the graphics are still surprisingly good, albeit the facial models look dated, but the atmosphere, shadowing, lighting, and distortion effects are all phenomenal, and are easily the games strongest assets when used in conjunction with the Pacific Northwest backdrop. The American Nightmare expansion used all the same effects, but with a different backdrop and was not nearly as effective. When you use a flare, or the flare gun, or a flashbang, it is a sight to behold.

The sound score fits the game very well. The ambient noises and sounds in the distorted, ghostly forests immerse you in your surroundings, and like the distorted shadows do visually, the distorted sounds will play tricks on your senses. There are a few cool songs thrown in there for people that care to listen to the radio sessions scattered throughout the game, and during main events like the Anderson farm showdown.

Controls are very important, and Alan Wake isn't as nuanced as newer control layouts or thumb stick sensitivities, but the controls work fine. The only issue I have, which is a large one as I find this very annoying, is the auto-swapping of the camera from your right to left shoulder, or vice versa. If the controls aren't broken this category isn't much of an issue, and Alan Wake passes this category fairly well.

I recommend this game to everyone that has an interest in psychological horror games, or anyone that loves narrative driven games with strong atmospheric qualities.

Alan Wake/Alan Wake Remastered is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, PS4, Xbox 1, Xbox 360, and PC.

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DHG played Alan Wake Remastered on PS5

Part 12