Today’s game is Alan Wake. Both in preparation for Halloween and my heart’s one desire to play Alan Wake II, I am replying through the first one again on nightmare difficulty.
What i’m thinking i’ll do though since i’m feeling a little impatient to get to AW2 is Play it parallel to the Second one since i’ve played through both AW1 and AWAN 4 times in the past. So i’ll do one chapter of AW1 and then one chapter of AW2. I’m still thinking this through though
I may have gotten a little out of control with the screenshots though after i discovered the built in free cam, as instead of my usual 10-20, i took 80 in just the opening section. So I figured i’d dump a few extras here today since i won’t get a chance to reuse them again.
I also got explorative with it once i realized there wasn’t a range and i could go anywhere with it (you’ll see more of that in the second section)
Alan and his Magic Spinning Flashlight
The dorky deer float i saw
I screenshotted this building as i realized that i don’t think i ever get to see a proper look at it, for how much detail it has. the only other time we’re on this side of bright falls is at night during combat.
This kitchen had a surprising amount of depth for not being able to go back here
This is where i got a little explorative with the camera and spent a large portion of my playtime exploring just unseen things:
The entire backhalf of the lodge is rendered in (mostly) full textures despite not being able to see it from the first chapter. Especially not where i’m at
An entire unused room in Birdleg’s cabin. I just thought it was interesting the window was see through on the inside when you can’t even see it from the outside
out by the coast (?) i noticed this weird water mapping thing going on. It’s hard to see but they are on completely different levels
I found some remedy debug textures on the ground under the water. Also interestingly the land under the water had depth to it, instead of just being a flat plane. I’m not really sure why this is (maybe just to be thorough?) but i thought it was interesting.
And god dammit. I leave for a few hours and the entire cabin gets stolen. Can’t have shit in bright falls
IMO, as someone who played Alan Wake 1 back to back with Alan Wake 2…don’t do it, AW2 as a game feels sooooo much better in every aspect. Unless your tolerance for jank is really high, the difference in the gunplay alone feels like you’re using two different skillsets.
Well…AW2 didn’t completely get rid of the jank, just made it a smoother part of the gameplay lol.
Also the story of 2 is really heavily related to the ending of AW1, you might just spoil yourself for a big part of the mystery.
I’ll echo this, and I’ll also say that for me personally the story of AW2 kind of demands focus and I myself would not be able to take it in properly if I was splitting attention - particularly splitting it with its predecessor and having to keep track of what happens in each timeline separately.
I’ve played a bit of Alan Wake II (I had to drop it on launch because it ate through my battery and I couldn’t fit it in), so I’m aware how different the gunplay is. Though I have to say I think I much more prefer the Jank, it has character (though American Nightmare has my favorite controls by far. They feel like a refined version of Alan Wake I’s)
As for the ending of Alan Wake 1 spoiling AW2 this is actually my 4th play through (about. I lost count by this point) so I’m not too worried about spoiling anything because ive already seen the ending a bunch of times
I should have guessed you’d be a gaming connoisseur and already had played AW1 just based on your daily posts (which I enjoy daily too btw).
But playing Alan Wake 1+DLCs more than twice? Damn, you’re not a lake, you’re an ocean 😭
I’ve always had a soft spot for it. It’s addicting to me. Every playthrough I find my love for the game isn’t a loop, it’s a spiral
Gorgeous screenshots though, I don’t remember this game looking so good
It might be the remastered version. I get your point, and the graphics in AW2 were top notch, but as someone who’s not a huge fan of the horror genre, I kind of felt nostalgic for the original game. Wasn’t that frightening 😀
It’s the original launch actually!
I agree. I find the original graphics charming, though I have a suspicion that AWII’s will grow on me
In one of the DLCs (Signal, I think?), you end up going through the kitchen, so that’s probably why it’s so fleshed out.
Man, you’ve reminded me that I need to replay this and the sequel before the Lake House DLC comes out this month! It’s such a great series.
Oh yeah. Now that I mention it I think I remember that. There’s an Alan Standee near it too I think. Interesting to think they were at least that far planned ahead with the DLCs. I always assumed they were a Post Release decision
Have fun with the replay btw! I may be biased but the series is one of the greatest imo
I agree with it being one of the greatest! I can’t wait to see where they take the story next.
Make sure you’ve seen Twin Peaks
Plan on playing Alan Wake’s American Nightmare?
I played it a few days ago. Been a while since I played AW and I enjoy Remedy’s games so it was worth checking out for me.
I thought it was alright. Aside from the main character, the voice acting is ridiculously goofy.
I’m considering it since I found out Alan Wake II is way longer than Alan Wake 1. It might be worth popping into for a day. Especially since it’s so quick
I gotta play this sometime
