3/5 ★ – JetDusk's review of Alan Wake's American Nightmare.

This little departure from the more serious mood of Alan Wake is a strange one. It’s still the same gameplay you know, just tweaked to feel a bit better. The big difference comes in the tone and limited focus shown in the story mode. It’s portrayed as a cheesy episode of a twilight zone type show, and feels just as cheap by the end. I’m already aware Alan Wake likes to reuse assets repeatedly to extend gameplay, most obviously in the DLC for the original game. This game runs you through the same three locations three times, and I audibly sighed when I realized that fact while playing. I know they technically did what I asked In using the concept of the darkness more outrageously, but not if you’re doing it to make the game feel longer than it truly is. The arcade mode helps alleviate the brevity, but it’s not deep enough to sustain a player for long. I had a good time, but it’s such a confusing and disappointing experience nevertheless. It could be canon, but since it hasn’t been remastered, I hope Alan Wake 2 just starts from the end of The Writer instead.