Alan Wake is one of those bittersweet games where you feel great after playing it, but sad that there's not more of it beyond the expansion pack. The game has so many bizarre and perspective-shifting events in it. It's like Twilight Zone meets Dark Shadows meets psychological horror. Just when you think you've got the world packed into a neat little box, you realize you've only got one piece out of many sorted out. The character dialog and character interaction is fluid and multi-layered, the character arcs that explore each facet of the characters are fascinating. The twists are wild and exciting. The music is appropriately quirky and discordant.

The mechanics aren't really the best part of the game. It's better as an interactive movie. It's not the best shooter, survival horror game, or jump-scare game. The combat can get repetitive. Not repetitive enough that it becomes a chore though. The action stays tense and the difficulty ramp is reasonable. Get it and the stand-alone whether it's on sale or not. 8.3/10

Alan Wake is one of those bittersweet games where you feel great after playing it, but sad that there's not more of it beyond the expansion pack. The game has so many bizarre and perspective-shifting events in it. It's like Twilight Zone meets Dark Shadows meets psychological horror. Just when you think you've got the world packed into a neat little box, you realize you've only got one piece out of many sorted out. The character dialog and character interaction is fluid and multi-layered, the character arcs that explore each facet of the characters are fascinating. The twists are wild and exciting. The music is appropriately quirky and discordant. The mechanics aren't really the best part of the game. It's better as an interactive movie. It's not the best shooter, survival horror game, or jump-scare game. The combat can get repetitive. Not repetitive enough that it becomes a chore though. The action stays tense and the difficulty ramp is reasonable. Get it and the stand-alone whether it's on sale or not. 8.3/10