Game:

Alan Wake (2010)

Duration: 59:06

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Alan Wake is an action-adventure game developed by Remedy Entertainment. The story follows best-selling thriller novelist Alan Wake as he tries to uncover the mystery behind his wife's disappearance during a vacation in the small fictional town of Bright Falls, Washington, all while experiencing events from the plot in his latest novel, which he cannot remember writing, coming to life.

In its pacing and structure, Alan Wake is similar to a thriller television series, with episodes that contain plot twists and cliffhangers. The game itself consists of six episodes, and the storyline is continued by two special episodes, titled "The Signal" and "The Writer", that were made available as downloadable content (DLC) within the same year of the game's release. Together, they make the first season of a possibly longer story. Additionally, a six-episode live-action web series called Bright Falls acts as a prequel to the game, and a number of related books also expand upon the Alan Wake story. Alan Wake Remastered, featuring the full game and both DLC episodes and published by Epic Games Publishing, was released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in October 2021. A Nintendo Switch port was released on 20 October 2022.

Chiefly written by Sam Lake, Alan Wake took over five years to create. The game was originally developed as an open-world survival game as an anti-thesis to Remedy's prior linear Max Payne games, but struggled over three years in merging the gameplay with the action-thriller story they wanted to tell. After an intense two-month period, the team reworked the game to be a more traditional linear game broken into an episodic approach but which better supported the planned narrative structure and capable of reusing much of the open world assets already built. Microsoft Game Studios published the game for the Xbox 360 in May 2010, followed by a Windows port released by Remedy Entertainment in February 2012.

The game received positive reviews from critics, has garnered a cult following, and is often praised for its visuals, sound, narrative, pacing, and atmosphere. Alan Wake was awarded the first spot in Time magazine's list of the top 10 video games of 2010.Alan Wake's American Nightmare, a stand-alone spin-off/follow-up, was released in February 2012 on the Xbox Live Arcade service. One cancelled sequel became the foundation and inspiration of Remedy's next title, Quantum Break. Later, Remedy released Control in 2019, which takes place in a shared universe with Alan Wake. A proper sequel, Alan Wake II, was announced at The Game Awards 2021 in December and is planned for release in 2023.

Alan Wake is described by Remedy as "the mind of a psychological thriller" and "the body of a cinematic action game" put together.In interviews, the game's creators hold that the game does not belong squarely in the survival horror video game genre.The game is primarily set in the fictional idyllic small town of Bright Falls, Washington. The main gameplay happens in various areas of Bright Falls – such as the forest, a national park, or a farm – during the night time; these are punctuated by calmer, non-combative sequences set during the day.

The player controls the eponymous protagonist Alan Wake. In the game, a "darkness" is taking over humans, animals and objects. These enemies, dubbed the "Taken", are murderous shadows that attack Wake, wielding weapons of their own, ranging from mallets and knives to shovels and chainsaws. They vary by speed, size, and the amount of damage they can take, and some can teleport between short distances.Besides the Taken, the player must combat flocks of possessed ravens and animated objects. When enemies are close, Alan can perform a slow-motion cinematic dodge maneuver.

The Taken are protected by a shield of darkness, initially rendering them impervious to attack; they can only be injured with a firearm after exposure to light, which burns the darkness away. This puts significant emphasis on flashlights in conjunction with conventional weapons, such as a revolver or shotgun. Flashlight beams act as a reticle.The handheld lights Wake can carry can be boosted, which destroys the darkness faster, but also reduces the light's battery level. Besides the conventional shooter gameplay need for reloading ammunition, the player must also insert fresh batteries into the flashlight when they run out, or wait for it to recharge slowly. The strength of the darkness protecting an enemy can vary among the Taken. The amount of darkness "shield" remaining on an enemy is represented by a corona of light that appears when aiming at an enemy. Instead of traditional health bars, this shield is represented by a circle that decreases in diameter as it weakens. A stronger darkness may recharge over time.When a Taken is finally destroyed, it disappears.

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