New-to-me Games Week – Alan Wake

Unfortunately Alan Wake’s frame rate just crashed and burned when I tried to stream it, so I don’t have video. Here’s the launch trailer for the game though:

It’s really quite a shame I couldn’t stream it, because Alan Wake is one of the most intense and cinematic games I’ve ever played. The premise is this: you are a writer in the midst of a writer’s block. You and your wife are visiting a small town in Washington for a vacation, but she mysteriously disappears and you begin finding a manuscript you don’t remember writing that is coming to life around you.

There are people trying to kill you. They are ordinary, except they’ve been taken by darkness and you have to use your flashlight to break the darkness before you can harm them. The combat feels good. Supposedly the combat adjusts to your skill level, and it certainly felt that way. I’ve died a few times, but it never felt too difficult, and changing my tactics has allowed me to continue.

The game is billed as “A Psychological Action Thriller” and it certainly delivers. There are some jump scare moments, but sometimes the most scary part of the game is simply the anticipation of what will be coming. In a brilliant move, sometimes you’ll find manuscript pages describing something that will happen in the future, and that makes it all the more intense when you know you’re almost to that moment!

There are a number of cutscenes in the game, but they aren’t the only cinematic part of the game. The whole thing just feels like you’re playing a movie. This is a refreshing experience, though after playing it I’m a little unhappy at how dark my room is when I’m asleep. And that certainly says something!