Alan Wake II

While full of minor (and a few major) flaws in design and gameplay, I've never had more fun playing a narrative videogame since Half-Life 2. If you're into Remedy games and the lore of Alan Wake, this game will be a mesmerizing survival horror classic.

Its AAA graphics, sound and atmosphere invite you to expect the same standards in game mechanics and design. But Remedy isn't an AAA studio, and although they have released titles that played comparatively smoother (e.g. Control), Alan Wake 2 has just too many stale and frustrating gameplay aspects keeping it from being a truly great...well, game. Its weird, lynch'esque narrative is worth the experience, though it should've been tied up with the same amount of love it was set up with.

Found it dull, combat very clunky and very very slow. Thought the story was all over the place.

This survival horror third person shooter offers a one of a kind AAA gaming experience, starting off as a Twin Peaks-esque procedural in a Pacific Northwestern town before taking weird and wonderful turns into ritual murder cults, surreal nightmare alternate dimensions, experimental Finnish art cinema, and whimsically absurdist rock opera musical numbers. Scary, funny and constantly surprising, it might occasionally frustrate but will never bore.

I enjoyed the atmosphere and exploration of the survival-horror parts, as well as the detective aspect to provide some respite and recap the plot. Combat began to tip towards being frustrating in the latter stages. I really appreciate the attempt to push the envelope in terms of how a narrative is told, even though not all of it landed. The amount of Sam Lake and extended whimsical sections made me roll my eyes.

So far it's a prettier, dumber Disco Elyisum. But I haven't uninstalled...

pacing - 5.0 sound design - 9.0 story - 8.0 writing - 7.5 characters - 7.0 *unpredictable🟢 *ambitious⚪ *side content🔴

My All Time Favorite Piece of Media. Masterpiece.

I wish I could say that I unequivocally love this game because I do love so much of what it's doing. I love the vast majority of its narrative decisions, its atmosphere and visuals, and all of its stylistic choices, but I find its gameplay and certain design choices far too frustrating to give it full marks. But it's a special piece of work and we need more like it regardless of my hangups with it