Alan Wake Remastered Reviews

  • FejerFejer1,712,744
    22 Jan 2024 01 Jul 2024
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    Alan Wake Remastered is the re-release of the fan-favorite Alan Wake which was released May 2010 on Xbox 360 by Remedy Entertainment (Control, Quantum Break, Max Payne 1 & 2). It is a linear psychological horror game taking place in an idyllic town where the protagonist fights people corrupted by darkness with the help of a flashlight. The remaster developed by d3t with the support of Remedy and released in October 2021.

    At the time Alan Wake came out back in 2010 it was pushing visual boundaries on the Xbox 360 hardware with beautiful volumetric light and shadow effects, detailed moody woodland areas with rich plant foliage and in general a gripping psychological-horror storyline inspired by the works of Stephen King, which resulted in a strong fan following. For that matter if you are new to the Alan Wake games and would like a proper review, I would suggest checking one of the many reviews of the original Alan Wake version: Alan Wake Reviews

    Alan Wake was followed by 2 additional DLCs "The Signal" and "The Writer" and a shorter Xbox Live Arcade game called "Alan Wake's American Nightmare". The 2 DLCs are included in the Remaster, but the XBLA title is not included.

    Unlike a full-on remake this remaster only offers a visual facelift. Effects, lighting and shadow quality are bumped up, character models are reworked with new shaders for skin and hair, while texture resolution is increased. And of course, on high-end consoles like Xbox Series X and S, you get a resolution boost, plus 60 frames-per-second gameplay. Now this is where I personally have a big problem with the changes found in the remaster: While the character models, especially the faces, are more detailed with additional geometry and shading, they look somewhat off and often times a bit unattractive in my opinion. Especially the character of Alan Wake who is often shown in close-up in cut-scenes screams "uncanny valley". Compared to the original face where Alan looked somewhat tired an exhausted (which was in line with the story of the game) in the remaster he has awkwardly squinted eyes and a slight smile making him look weird. It is not as terrible as seen in "The Definitive Edition" of GTA: Trilogy, and new to the game might not notice it as much, but for someone like me who finished the old game multiple times and loves the character, the new design is not what I expected and comparing the old and new designs distracted me throughout my whole playthrough.

    There is an additional technical problem with the video cut-scenes. The game features Xbox's "Quick Resume" feature meaning that on Xbox Series S|X you don't need to close the game app when you turn off the console or switch to a different game and you can continue right where you left off. I noticed that whenever I used "Quick Resume" to continue the game, the cut-scenes audio would not play. Closing the game app and restarting it would fix the bug. I'm not sure how the QA overlooked this problem and I suspect this won't be fixed since the game has been out for more than 2 years.

    The game still contains the same achievements as the original game, that means you need to finish it at least twice (the 2nd time on the Nightmare difficulty) and find all the numerous collectible. Together with the 2 DLCs it takes around 15 - 25 hours to get everything done. Luckily there is a walkthrough: Alan Wake Remastered Walkthrough

    While some aspects of the game, like the linear approach and countless collectibles are somewhat dated for today's standards, Alan Wake is still worth a visit, even if the remaster doesn't offer anything new for those who already played through the original game. The Stephen King inspired story is very good and the visual improvements (except for the character model changes) make it more enjoyable on modern hardware. There are also a few minor additions, some QR codes leading to videos which creates a bridge between the first game and the recently released Alan Wake 2.

    For me personally the original Alan Wake was one of my favorite games of all time and I welcome the improvements, except for the new faces.
    4.0
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