Alan Wake

In a horror story, there are only victims and monsters. In the topsy-turvy surrealist narrative of Alan Wake 2, it certainly doesn’t seem so black and white. In fact, this horror story lives somewhere in the middle, where heroes and villains are interchangeable and not everything is as it seems.

Remedy has built a world that, despite being a fantastical realm of twisting shadows and realities, is solidly anchored in authenticity. Outstanding environmental design and some brilliant visuals and sound make Bright Falls and its mountainous surroundings look and feel alive. Though the camera can cause issues and the supernatural story that's more interested in asking questions than answering them, it's a tough game to put down once you've started. Remedy's done a great job of mixing elements of written work, television, and videogames to create an experience full of scares, laughs, and thr...

Just when you think this story is going to zig, it zags. Even when you lay all of the clues out, connect the dots, and have that "a ha!" moment, this game turns your "a ha!" into a "wait, wha?" It's a thrilling, creepy, tense masterpiece of a story with some truly wild moments, with characters who are believable despite their surreal surroundings. The rest of the game doesn't completely match up, unfortunately, but none of the issues are so bad they can ruin an amazing overall experience. Ala...

As it is, you’ve got an above average third person torch-‘em-up that’s still got issues and will take some getting used to with the old mouse sensitivity issues. Worth a punt if you’re stuck for something to do, but it’s not one you have to rush off this second to buy.

How Remedy got from a stunning play-on-words-name like Max Payne to Alan Wake, I’ll never know. It must have been a really sleep deprived meeting when that name was given the go-ahead. Remedy wanted their new protagonist to be an everyday man, yet every time I hear his name, I can’t help but think of two comical characters: Alan Partridge – Steve Coogan’s finest example of comedic brilliance – and Alan Titchmarsh – whose afternoon chat-show on UK TV is just as much of a joke. Both...