The PC version of Alan Wake
has followed a long, twisting path and occasionally fallen off cliffs.
Remedy's action game – its first since Max Payne 2 – was initially
announced for Xbox 360 and PC. The PC version was later cancelled for dubious reasons,
and marketed as an Xbox 360 exclusive title when it was released in
2010 for Microsoft's console. But the desire to put together a PC
version never died out at Remedy,
and in late 2011 the studio re-announced Alan Wake for PC, which
includes all the same content as the Xbox 360 version plus the Signal
and Writer downloadable content packs.
The protagonist, Alan Wake, isn't initially an action hero. He's a
popular fiction writer attempting to escape the pressures of fame and
creative expectation whose vacation in Bright Falls quickly turns Twin
Peaks weird. His wife goes missing, and his search to find her is
swiftly diverted into the realm of the paranormal, forcing him to pick
up a gun and pull the trigger to stay alive. It's an adventure heavily
informed by television shows like X-Files and Twilight Zone and horror
fiction from Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft. Presentation, character
building, and plot twists take on just as big a role as the tightly
wound action gameplay you'd expect from a Remedy title. The result is a
swirling tale of fiction that's endearingly self-aware, that
occasionally sputters and stumbles, but offers enough scares, laughs,
and thrills to keep you hooked.
The core story spans six episodes, each crafted like part of a TV
miniseries. After the first episode's exposition each that follows ends
with a cliffhanger, fades to a title screen (strangely without credits)
as songs from the game's excellent licensed soundtrack play, and then
transitions into a plot recap as the next begins. Even if episodic
gaming isn't particularly original at this point, the style of the
presentation fits with what Remedy is trying to accomplish here;
delivering a video game experience that feels like a novel presented as a
TV show.
This blending of different arts touches all aspects of the game, from
how the story is told within each episode, the way the characters are
developed, to how you interact with the environments. In place are
standard cut-scenes where characters interact and advance the action
along with plenty of inner monologue voice over from Wake as he comes
across new and strange phenomena. Like in a written work, this allows
for insight into the mind of the protagonist without the need for overly
artificial character interaction to draw it out, and various other
storytelling devices further fragment the order of reality. Techniques
employed by Remedy to convey the unfocused rage of Max Payne, a game
fans will find references to throughout Alan Wake, are used more subtly
here to generate a sense of mystery, isolation, and creeping dread.
By leaving the straightforward path to the next checkpoint and exploring
the surroundings, radios and television sets can be found in spots like
wooden lookout towers and construction site trailers. It may be
tempting for some to plow past these extras to get to the end, but I'd
strongly advise you take the time to listen to and watch everything you
can. It highlights what a great job Remedy has done building a richly
detailed game world that retains authenticity even as its plot spirals
further into the mists of the fantastic.
Details delivered through radio broadcasts and the Twilight Zone-esque
live-action "Night Springs" television show poke fun at the genre's
conventions, build out character, and dump more self-referential slabs
into Remedy's melting pot of mediums. Wake frequently stumbles across
manuscript pages which, like audio logs in BioShock, serve the purpose
of providing perspective from other characters not otherwise possible,
foreshadowing events to come, as well as explaining bits of the
backstory. The twist is the pages were written by Wake himself,
something he can't recall doing. Making sure you explore and collect as
many as possible helps to more fully develop the world and story, as
well as building tension as the game blurs truth and fiction.
Bright
Falls and its forested mountainous surroundings are masterfully
realized and resonate with realism. Wake is a famous figure everyone
recognizes, all the townsfolk know each other, and they seems more
concerned and excited over an upcoming town festival than they are with
the dangers encroaching from all sides. Of course everyone has their
secrets, some malevolent and some hilarious, and sifting through the
radio programs, manuscript pages, and talking to everyone helps solidify
their identities. While many still come off as stereotypical – there's
the staple comic-relief character, the batty old woman, the good-hearted
local cop, the troublesome FBI agent – the way they behave and
interrelate keeps them entertaining. Remedy built in a large amount of
extraneous dialogue that's worth hearing so if you find a character be
sure to hang around and listen to what they've got to say, even if not
all the voice acting is of the same high quality.
Additional character is exuded by the design of the environments.
Remedy's skill with crafting spaces that feel lived in is readily
apparent. Locations are packed with detail and feel rusted and worn.
Weeds choke the back lot of the police station, surrounding the husk of a
long forgotten vehicle. A recliner ringed with beer cans sits atop a
construction container overlooking a brilliantly lighted power plant,
reinforcing the idea that there isn't a whole lot to do for fun around
these parts. A mental therapy building is lined with inspirational
posters and idyllic paintings that reflect the ego of the proprietor and
function of the establishment. This intimate scale of detail is then
juxtaposed with sprawling vistas as you peer deep into moonlit mountain
valleys rippling with shadow. It gives the game a sense of place and
purpose, making it an easy world to identify with.
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