A flawed psychological thriller

Alan Wake is all about the atmosphere. The light dark dynamic that is a major features of both its plot and its combat leads to some very intense battles. The game itself is fairly linear but the environment created by Remedy is impressive in its scope and graphical quality.

Sadly much of the game takes place in an inky darkness so you don't really get to appreciate the amazing vistas and odd corners and ends that are present in the game world. This is also a very plot heavy game with tons of cinematic movies. Sadly the plot is mostly incomprehensible and the character of Alan Wake can be pretty laughable ridiculous. It is often a game weighed down by its fervent desire to turn everything into a metaphor or a badly written pulp novel. Still, despite the strange confusing storyline it looks and plays pretty great and is recommended for fans of action-adventure games. Its more Hitchcock then Shakespeare - but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Also, the copious amounts of collectibles are more annoying than useful though they do encourage you to really explore the fantastic world.

8/10