2023-10-28 17:17:00
Released for the first time exclusively on Xbox 360 in 2010, Alan Wake is re-released in a remastered and multi-platform version in 2021. Signed by the Remedy studio to whom we owe the excellent Max Payne saga and more recently the incredible Controle (which also shares the same universe as our game), Alan Wake is a psychological action thriller game that will put you to the test and from which you may not emerge unscathed. So strap in and dive with me through his nightmarish story…
What is this about? You follow the story of Alan Wake, a writer who once his moment of glory has passed, finds himself lacking inspiration (but not for long). He therefore decides with his wife to go on vacation to the magnificent town of Bright Falls. But things quickly turn into a disaster, because as soon as they arrive at their holiday chalet, all the lights go out, his wife disappears in a deafening scream, being swallowed up by the darkness and our writer loses consciousness. When he wakes up, the chalet and his wife have disappeared, and 20 days have passed since this event which strangely no one seems to have noticed. During his investigation, our hero realizes that during these 20 days of absence, he wrote a horror book whose story comes to life and whose origin he will have to understand. I won’t say more to keep you a little surprised.
The game begins with the traditional tutorial, which will allow you to get used to the character and a 3rd person camera. You experience a nightmare from Alan who teaches you how to survive and fight darkness with light. For this, various weapons and accessories will be at your disposal: revolver, rifle, flashlight, flare… A whole arsenal that is very useful against the multitude of enemies who are pursuing you.
a talented writer whose only fault is being asthmatic
Usain Bolt had better watch out, our dear writer runs the 100 meters in a little over… 20 seconds (yes, I had fun counting). In the absence of an overhaul of the race, we would have liked the appearance of an endurance bar with this remaster to know when it is exhausted. However, you will have the opportunity to drive a vehicle through certain levels, which helps diversify the way you travel around the town of Bright Falls.
Morgan Freeman at your service
During your adventure, you will meet different characters, some anecdotal like the local waitress who is a little too much of a number 1 fan for my taste, but some others will have a role to play in your adventure, like the local radio host (with the French voice actor official Morgan Freeman), and especially Barry, your agent and best friend! Ah good old Barry, a colorful character as energetic as he is unbearable.
The narration, the big strong point of the game
If you like Stephen King novels, Alan Wake is for you, there will also be quite a few references to several literary works or famous authors (the book Deliverance, Hemingway, HP Lovecraft, etc.). Its distressing universe is a pleasure to explore (you call me psychopath, I would say lover of horror). But it is above all his way of telling the story, because as mentioned above, the character wrote a book which he does not remember, but throughout your adventure, you will find the pages scattered everywhere the collectible way to recover, but which for once have a real interest.
These pages can then be read (they are read by the main character which adds immersion) and they will teach you more about past events. The game will also be divided into several episodes, like a series (or a book) with a summary at the start of each episode, which allows you to get back into the swing of things straight away. Without forgetting a part in case of a long break in your adventure.
Now let’s move on to the technical part of this port. If we are far from a remake with a graphic overhaul and additions to Resident Evil 4, we still note good work on the textures with 4K resolution, reworked lighting effects and more natural shadows. The addition of DLSS to boost its performance and compatibility with ultrawide screens are also included. In addition to that, this is the port for the first time on PlayStation and Nintendo consoles (at the time, the game had been a Microsoft exclusive). However, we deplore the fact of not having any improvement in gameplay (fairly rigid animations, camera that goes wrong at certain times).
Tested on PC.
Here we have a high quality remaster of a classic psychological action-thriller game from the 2000s. If the game is not categorized as a horror game, its distressing atmosphere can still bring you a cold sweat sometimes. The way of telling the story through the pages of a manuscript is an idea straight from the genius of the Remedy studio. We can’t wait to see what awaits us next from our writer, so see you on October 27, 2023 for the release of Alan Wake 2!
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