Alan Wake is, in my personal opinion, one of the best horror games that have gone through my hands. Maybe because I chifle everything that has inspiration in twin peaks . And have some weakness by Remedy Entertainment, who have an innate talent and we owe them the conception of the Max Payne saga. And because the protagonist is a novel writer; Those who dedicate ourselves to this we usually be a little _ pa ‘there _ and it is easier to feel identified.
And because, fuck, it’s pretty fear.
It may not be a terrifying experience like others that we have seen in recent years. It does not reach the level of P.T, which is scary. But here the psychological terror goes a step ahead of the rest of the games that try to replicate it. Play as few with concepts as her eyes as light and darkness , but is able to take them to your land to use them as a game mechanics . In the shadows, they are in danger, but under a streetlight, you are safe. Like when you go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and go through, almost with the eyes closed the corridor, until you reach the safe area, to your goal, avoiding the monsters that we create in the head.
At the moment I am writing these lines, it is not official that we are going to have Alan Wake Remastered , but it is true that it was filtered months ago and now it has appeared in a massive way in several Taiwan establishments. To be confirmed, it would arrive at PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series next October_. If this is real, it seems, should be announced in an imminent way. It’s good news, because I want to relive that nightmare.
And if you did not do it in your day, it is an opportunity that you should not waste, even at the expense of the improvements it includes. The saga will continue, that was clear since the Crossover of Alan Wake in control was published, the last work of the Finnish study. With this version it would be the premiere of the Saga in PlayStation , since the original only arrived at Xbox 360 and PC. So adding all the platforms, it is necessary to improve the nationally disdainful figures that you have for me is the best work of remedy , whose latest data, collected in 2016, place that you sold 4.5 million units around the world .
But, _ Why is it so good Alan Wake and why is this remastery? _
As the great Joaquín Sabina would say, the truth is that Snect the reasons to praise Alan Wake. Before I have dropped a small scrape about how well the game is the importance of light against darkness in this eternal battle. And I do not know if here the shadow is more elongated the more I approach the light **, because everything is a bit abstract. What I do know is that the most important weapon of the protagonist who gives name to the game, beyond any firearm, is something as simple as a lantern.
The adventure, more than a trip by Bright Falls , where the game is developed, is a tour of the psyche of the good of Alan. And there, our main enemies, are the so-called _ owned _ . Something like the monster that awaits us in the hallway when we go to the bathroom at night. If we attack them directly, we will not hurt them. First you have to point them down with a flashlight to revoke the darkness to make them vulnerable. And if the flashlight does not work completely, any light object serves. Or sleep with light on.
I would not dare to catalog either Alan Wake as a survival horror, but maybe it fits me better as an adventure of terror **. Because it is not based on giving scares or faced with abominations. But yes to provoke anguish, both for the siege of enemies and for the development of their history, which is overwhelming to each page we write.
The main role is left Alan Wake, a mountainous city inspired, as we say, in the mythical Twin Peaks series. There, the writer goes with the woman of him Alice so that, accompanied by nature, find the necessary inspiration to write. And go if he does . Although, when he starts to use enough the typewriter is when he sees as the woman he disappears being dragged by the shadows and goes in his desperate search.
Alan Wake, the game, not the protagonist, plays perfectly with narrative ambiguity, being that one of the biggest tricks of him. Do not expect concise explanations at the recurring cinematic scenes of him, because in this case talk more about environments, scenarios or documents that we find ourselves on our way . Even a television show! Then, it is in your hand to interpret what you want.
And that is part of the magic of him. Nothing more starting from the game say a phrase that perfectly defines the work: _ The explanation is the antithesis of the lyric of fear _ .
What can we expect from Alan Wake Remastered?
Taking into account everything discussed, although I have not wanted to deepen too much at some points not to change some surprises, it is necessary to review what should include or what this remaster will improve.
Obviously, it is mandatory to go to 4K and 60 fps . The original title, from 2010, went back in certain areas, especially in full of enemies and explosions. If you add _ ray-tracing _ , you should also, my mouth is like to think about some specific scenarios, the use of lighting contrasting in the devastating darkness that we find in Bright Falls.
After its release, Alan Wake received two DLCs that not only expanded the story of him, but explained some of the points that were open from the plot in the base game: The signal and the writer . In fact, can be said that the true end of Alan Wake is in the second DLC . It would not make sense that they were not included. And they could also add Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, a spin-off more focused on action; And that it was quite bad, to tell the truth.
Now, it’s just waiting … _and Awakening _ .