Oh No, I Don’t Like Alan Wake II
This article doesn’t spoil anything significant about Alan Wake II beyond those things seen in its marketing materials. It is based on completing the first several chapters of the game played on PC.
So, Remedy’s newest game Alan Wake II is one of the most beautiful and hardware-pushing games ever made. It frequently aims for and nearly achieves a photo real sensation for its environments and well-animated characters. The writing has all the twisty mysterious fun that other Remedy games are known for, including many callbacks to their entire library of titles. And the acting and characters are both instantly memorable and convincing, blending live action video and rendered details together in a way that no other games have really tried.
All of that is so awesome, and exactly what I was hoping for as someone who has devoured and enjoyed every Remedy game released since the original Max Payne.
Unfortunately, Alan Wake II’s core game play and level design both seem shockingly old and crusty to me. I feel like my nostalgia and my love of the Remedy universe have both tricked me into playing a game that boldly asks “What if The Last of Us wasn’t remotely fun to play?” Or alternatively “Do you want to play Resident Evil 4 Remake but…
