From the moment you drop the Alan Wake game disc into the drive of your Xbox 360 you’re assailed by one of the most oppressive and threatening settings yet created for a video game. The theme of Alan Wake is fighting darkness with light, and this ethos is very much at the centre of the entire game. Darkness isn’t just an inconvenience in Wake’s world, but a deadly force which should be avoided at all costs. Read our Alan Wake review for the verdict on its mise en scène and find out if this is the scariest game ever.
Read the rest of our Alan Wake review:
Alan Wake review
Alan Wake review: Story
Alan Wake review: Combat and controls
During story segments, when Alan Wake is moving around the town of Bright Falls looking for clues to the sudden disappearance of his wife Alice, there’s a tangible sense of apprehension. Like a location lifted directly from a Stephen King novel, the town is full of intimidating buildings, curious residents and antiquated machinery.
However, it’s the scenes which take place off the beaten track – in Bright Fall’s many secluded wooded areas – where the atmosphere becomes truly fraught. When the zombie-like Taken are nearby the world is battered by a terrifying wind which distorts your perception of your surroundings and masks the rush of enemies.
These moments require quick thinking: do you attempt to stand your ground and fight or do you attempt to reach the sanctity of that nearby light, which will offer a safe haven from the enemy? You’ll find yourself making this difficult choice many times over as you dig deeper into the story behind Alan Wake’s missing wife.
In Alan Wake, light is salvation: in the claustrophobic darkness of the wilderness distant lights are a beacon of hope and serve as a guide for the player. This dynamic obviously serves to make the darkness even more threatening, and it’s a mechanic which is at the root of the game’s incredible atmosphere and gripping story.
Throughout the game you’re offered snippets of Wake’s internal monologues – spoken as if he were recounting the story after the event – which push the narrative forward as well as providing clues. Other devices, such as radio and TV sets which expand the tale as well as adding that all-important element of immersion, reinforce Alan Wake’s adventure.
Combine these elements with a fitting soundtrack and a brilliant episodic format which makes each section of Alan Wake seem like a self-contained TV show and you’ve got the recipe for a truly mesmerising escapade.
The only thing which punctures the experience slightly is the often unconvincing animation of the some of the in-game characters. Most of the people you meet in Bright Falls possess bizarre, wax-like faces which don’t seem to animate properly. To be fair this is an issue which is present in countless other games, but when you have a title like Alan Wake – which gets so much right when it comes to immersion – such a shortcoming sticks out like a sore thumb.
Still, in the grand scheme of things moaning about such trifling concerns seem almost like nit-picking. Alan Wake is unquestionably one of the most atmospheric and foreboding video games we’ve ever had the opportunity to play, and comfortably ousts EA’s underpants-soiling sci-fi epic Dead Space as the scariest piece of interactive entertainment currently available on the Xbox 360.
Read the rest of our Alan Wake review:
Alan Wake review
Alan Wake review: Story
Alan Wake review: Combat and controls
