3/5 ★ – Endless_backlog's review of Alan Wake.

24hrs Initially I didn’t quite know if I liked the style of narration in Alan Wake, I get that it’s following the manuscript that he writes, but at first it just felt very daytime American TV?! I definitely got more into it as the game went on though. I loved the concept of having to defeat the Taken with different forms of light, or weaken them first before shooting rather than just being an endless shooting spree kind of game. The creativity of weapons was a joy to play a well, from flare guns to flash bang grenades. Rather than just being a collectible/trophy, it would have been fun to give the coffee flasks a purpose, Alan needs to stay awake for several days to meet the kidnapper, so having a fatigue bar that slowly drained if you didn’t find coffee every now and then would be fun! Gameplay: Bugginess led to several deaths from falling or not being able to get out of the way of attacks. Running stamina is terrible and a bit of a slog at times, the game also makes Alan unable to jump/climb objects that are clearly achievable and he does so in other areas. Also, the controls are a bit clunky, it takes far too long to hold to change weapon/torch - particularly noticed in battle. I played this in one go with the DLC, and I preferred the story as a whole with the extra two chapters as opposed to the ending after chapter 6. Overall a fun and unique game despite playing it 13 years after its initial release. From what the teaser trailers show, the sequel looks to be leaning right into a Resident Evil theme, which is exactly where this story would excel.