Alan Wake Remastered Review

We’re getting close to spooky season, and at least here in the Midwest, leaves are turning, and it’s getting chillier by the day. People are hunkering down with their favorite horror movies and scary frights to get in the Halloween spirit. Myself, however, am a bit scaredy, so I did the most logical thing this year and booted up Alan Wake for the very first time, more than a decade after its original release. Some games benefit more than others from remasters and releases throughout the years. Like words etched on a page, Alan Wake Remastered remains a product of its original time. While a slightly slicker coat of paint shines a light on its handful of issues, that doesn’t make the overall experience lose its charm. 

Alan Wake looking back on it now was truly the first brick laid in the universe Remedy Games would go on to create the years since. Playing through Alan Wake after experiencing the newer titles is an eye-opening experience as you slowly discover bits and pieces of lore or features that would be fleshed out in Control nine years later. Alan Wake, without the player knowing, was the prologue chapter in a series of stories Remedy would expand their legacy upon.

Sure, we had the “Max Payne” series held to critical regard, but the studio's experimentation and worldcrafting have only gotten weirder and more unique in their current era. While being a remastered version of the original title, the scenery and landscapes have received the biggest polishing, leading to some truly gorgeous overlooks. Character models, however, haven’t aged the same. Sure, they look updated and better than what you’d expect from an Xbox 360 arcade game, but the updated resolutions highlight character faces that look emotionless and made of clay at times. 

Alan Wake is a story taken rightfully from the likes of a Stephen King novel; this is even being referenced by Wake during your adventure. A mundane base plot that quickly unravels into something more unnatural and orherwordly. Alan Wake is a successful published author of the critically acclaimed universe crime thriller ”Alex Casey." Every successful story doesn’t come with its own roadblocks, however. Wake is suffering from severe writer's block, unable to put into words his next tale and follow up on his own success. Deciding to take a secluded vacation with his wife Alice to the mountainous town of Bright Falls, Wake hopes to clear his mind and get back on track. Remedy took special care, making sure the player stays on track, turning each chapter you play through into a television episode. I personally chose to play one chapter a night and was met with a “previously on” introduction upon returning, getting me caught up on what happened the previous session. 

Bright Falls at its surface is an ideal blink and you’ll miss it type of town I’d expect to see out here in North Dakota. A handful of unique residents to keep its few stores running, a well-kept 70's-style diner that acts as a central meeting point, and some historical landmarks from the towns old mining days to keep a trickle of tourists coming through. Bright Falls does a brilliant job at being a believable lived-in place while also working as a fantastic backdrop for the games unnatural occurrences. The few residents you do meet being looped back into the story later on helps make everything feel connected and meaningful; if you meet or witness a character or event, it was there for a purpose and not a world-filler. On that point, I suggest stopping periodically in your journey to watch the newest episodes of “Night Springs," an in-universe TV series written by Wake that mimics “The Twilight Zone.”. 

Being haunted by dreams on the trip into town for Wakes getaway retreat quickly becomes a nightmare. A car crash. Figures cloaked in shadow. Alice drowning or being kidnapped. There’s so many what-if scenarios presented as facts that the player is left questioning what’s real and what’s not. Even as the story started unraveling its threads, I found myself second-guessing the information given as if the game was apart of the in-universe story itself. With a literal storm of darkness and shadows chasing the player and the previously mentioned shadow-cloaked figures appearing at seemingly random times to chase you down, there’s almost always a sense of urgency and uneasiness. With everything out to get you, I found immense relief in the few moments of peace at the beginning of chapters or in one of the scattered streetlights, cutting a light through the darkness and letting you catch your breath. 

Alan isn’t completely helpless in his journey. You’ll receive a small arsenal of tools from a flashlight you need to use to burn away the shadows from enemies before properly finishing them off with a handful of weapons you can find scattered about. A flare gun for long-range emergency scenarios that rapidly burn the shadow off of and completely eliminate smaller enemies. While the idea of having to burn away shadow armor is a neat concept, it rapidly becomes a headache more than a problem to solve each encounter. Enemies should add tension and problems to solve each time you come in contact with them; instead, they cause you to begin dodging like wild at first sight from thrown axes. You’re unable to aim your primary weapon independently of your flashlight, which in turn burns through its battery faster, forcing the player to blindly fire at longer ranges, hoping something connects without being swarmed by larger groups. I found myself relying heavily on the flare gun and flashbangs to stand a chance against any group of more than 3. 

Thankfully the game is very generous with resources, and even when abusing these stronger weapons, I was more often than not fully stocked in most ammo types and batteries. A few chapters in you will have poltergeist objects introduced into the mix as well. The shadow forces at be will begin controlling tractors, barrels, and cars, hurdling them at you from a distance while managing your usual groups of enemies. During Chapter 5, the whole combat system crumbled for me. Too many enemies, being forced into a corner within seconds, a camera being pressed into a wall blocking your view of incoming enemies. I was quickly being stun-locked at numerous points. I’m all for a challenge, but when you’re actively fighting against how the game presents challenges to you, that’s a different story.

Alan Wakes biggest issue is its actual gameplay and controls. With thrown-in vehicle sections and general movement severely holding the overall experience back for me. Navigating Alan around is something that doesn’t feel like it was touched at all in this remaster. He is very loose in terms of stopping momentum and running. Trying to quickly turn around often led to me falling off cliffs or buildings. With a large majority of your playtime being spent navigating through trees in the woods, I found myself being caught in weird situations with the camera being stuck behind trees, enemies being completely confused by slopes and rocks, and a few rare occurrences of platforming I could’ve done more gracefully. It sucks because encounters that start off feeling intense and against the odds end up falling out of your favor due to circumstances out of your control as a player.

I think the team at Remedy understood combat wasn’t the strongest aspect here, as Alan Wake 2 is less combat focused than its initial showing here. I personally experienced a few technical hiccups as well. Voicelines cutting out at awkward moments or trailing off as if a character was walking away from me made it hard at times to fully keep up with the scenario at hand. While very rare occurrences, it still sucked to see in a game so narratively driven and its main attraction. 

The final chapter of Alan Wake perfectly showcases the highest highs and lowest lows you could want from this game. A forced driving section through crowded areas at the beginning isn’t the strongest start towards the end of the game. That’s immediately followed by some awesome suspenseful moments as reality all but fades away and the weirdness gets turned to eleven. Then, like a confused choose your own adventure book, the game throws some of the most crowded enemy encounters yet at you because we couldn’t have a game from 2010 without combat. All this leads to a stunning final "encounter.” That’s a buildup of everything you’ve been running from that I would’ve enjoyed so much more if I wasn’t frustrated by the lead up to it. 

Playing through Alan Wake in 2024 is a different experience than you may have had back in the day. While the wild story and overall setting still hold up and can stand on their own, the actual gameplay has become a thing of the past. I found myself wishing to rush through the moment-to-moment gameplay to experience the next story beat and be taken along a narrative journey without the hassle in between. If you’re fully committed to the overarching universe that Remedy is building, Alan Wake is definitely a chapter you want to experience if you haven’t already. If you’re a more casual gamer looking for a spooky experience in the fall months, this may not be the first choice I’d offer you, with other titles being more fulfilling across the board. I’m happy to have finally checked this off my backlog and see what all the hype was about 14 years ago. An overall solid experience that I sadly found myself becoming more upset with as time went on. We here at BadlandsBacklogs give Alan Wake Remastered a 6 out of 10.