Five years ago, when Remedy showed Alan Wake at E3 2005, it was quite possibly, the best thing I had ever seen. Little did I know that I would have to wait five years to walk the streets of Bright Falls. After various design changes and cancellation of the PC version (sob), Alan Wake is finally out in the open. Does the game live up to expectations or…you know what…screw this – Alan Wake is an astounding game and you all owe yourself to go pick this fantastic game up.  For all those people out there who believed that games could never present audiences with compelling stories…its STFU time, because Alan Wake is finally…well, A. Wake.

The Story

“In a horror story, the victim keeps asking “Why” but there can be no explanation and there shouldn’t be one. The unanswered mystery is what stays with us the longest and it’s what we will remember in the end. My name is Alan Wake. I’m a writer.”

Alan Wake is a world renowned writer who in recent times has been suffering from writer’s block. He, along with his wife Alice, comes to Bright Falls, looking to hide from the pressures of the world and let the beautiful, idyllic town hopefully give him inspiration to end his creative drought. However, things soon start to go downhill, as Alice goes missing and Alan wakes up a week later in a car crash. If matters weren’t worse already, Alan is hunted down by the locals who seem to be possessed by a Darkness.

This supposed thriller quickly morphs into a horror story as Alan finds manuscript pages of a story written by him, which ironically he doesn’t remember writing. Alan soon realizes that the words on the manuscript pages are coming true and he must quickly get to the bottom of this mystery, or perish in the process.

The story may not seem like much at the beginning, but Remedy has intelligently paced the narrative to make sure that there are enough twists to keep the players guessing. The episodic nature of the game helps this cause, and is most certainly not just a gimmick. Just like the famous TV series Twin peaks and LOST, each episode ends with a cliffhanger and the screen fades away to the credits. Every episode adds a little more to the story, and while some pertaining questions are answered, many more arise.

The game does seem to go slightly over-the-top with some of its story elements, but the last hour of the game in simple words is one wonderful mindf**k. I knew Remedy was out to mess with my head, but I had no idea how brilliantly it would all come together. Not every game keeps me up at night…I guarantee you that Alan Wake’s ending will be discussed for many a moon. I strongly suggest people who have completed the game to head over to the official Alan Wake forums and see for yourself, the various theories about the game’s ending. All those other reviews out there which criticize the story either didn’t have time to collect all the manuscript pages, or just plain don’t get it. What we have here, folks, is pure genius.

Remedy took a risk with the way it presented its story in Alan Wake. We know this is a video game, about an author whose books are coming to life, presented to us in a TV series format. There was a lot that could have gone wrong but fortunately not a moment feels disjoint. The player is constantly handed manuscript pages that contain a snippet of info about what is soon going to happen. This may seem like a bad decision, as letting the player know what’s coming, isn’t the best story-telling method in a thriller. However, the writing on these pages is such that, players can easily be misled into believing something that will not come to pass.

While not necessary to complete the game, I would advise anyone who plays the game to collect all the manuscript pages, as they add a lot of depth to the already enticing story. If you wander off the strictly linear path (ironic…wasn’t this supposed to be a open world game once upon a time?) the game lays out, you will be treated with the Twilight Zone esque TV series called Night Springs, each acted out in hilarious cheese-induced fashion. It’s not much but provides a hearty laugh or two in the grim backdrop that is Bright Falls. Watch out for a particular one, where a scientist claims that he cannot be shot, thanks to a paradox control machine. Let’s just say that someone pulls the plug and things end up…err…messy.

Alan Wake, as the name suggests, focuses almost completely on our protagonist, with itsy-bitsy cameos by his friend and agent, Barry Wheeler and the sheriff, Sarah Breaker. Most of the characters serve as means to push Wake’s story forward and hence are mostly forgettable. Except Barry…someone who has got the flaming eye of Mordor strapped to his head has got to be interesting.

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