Tahseen Alan Wake 2 Review

This game has to be one of the most uniquely put together pieces of fiction out there. Remedy have created a stellar narrative that twists and turn in such unexpected ways alongside an outstanding cast of character played by actors who appear both in game and in live acted video segments. Saga Anderson has to be the standout in this game, Played by actor Melanie Liburd, who did a fantastic job alongside the ensemble of talented actors. They took this beautify complex narrative and played it to perfection. However, the narrative isn’t flawless, at times it gets messy and during some parts, it’s just very conceited and full of itself. The weak link has to be the gameplay, especially the combat. I had hoped that they would have iterated on the horrible combat from the original Alan Wake. It looks so much better but still controls horribly. I understand that in a survival horror game you're not Rambo, but there is a way to make an enjoyable horror combat system. This games combat fell shy of the mark. It has this boring repetitive unresponsive combat that I really did not enjoy. I dreaded the combat sections. I felt that during some of the greatest parts of the game, the combat let it down tremendously. The graphics however are gorgeous and the visuals are stunning. The way that remedy mashes together multiple mediums of masterfully crafted storytelling really put the gameplay to shame. Alan wake is still as unlikeable as he was in the first game, even if I was more interested in his struggle this time around. He has cooled down a bit and is no longer the arrogant drunk asshat he was in the first game But he still can’t write to save his life. Stop with the horror and switch to ANY OTHER GENRE! Saga Anderson was the better protagonist by a mile. I was having fun playing as her, the FBI agent who has been sent to piece together and uncover a mind bending mystery. The game is split into chapters and I had completed all of the Saga’s chapters that I could before the game eventually forced me back onto Alan Wake. The thing I liked about Saga was how she is in the same shoes as the player so to speak. We are following her and going through the story, confused out of our minds trying to piece it together. Having someone who is just as confused as the player really helped me feel connected to her. To top it all off, one of my favourite gameplay mechanic in this game has to be Saga’s mind palace. It is a mental projection of a room in which Saga, along side us “the player” is able to collect all the information given to us. We can then link it together on a cork-board with red threads piece by piece until we solve the case one piece at a time. Such an amazing way to portray the inner workings of a detective. On the other side, Alan has his writers room and its not as fleshed out. Alan gets to change the story, which in turn changes the reality in the dark place. Its a fun gimmick for sure, but nowhere near as interactive as Saga’s mind palace. The game has two distinct locations. Bright Falls & The dark place. Bright Falls is the better location. The dark place while lovely to look at, just doesn't have that same lived in feeling that Bright Falls has. Goes to show that Alan can’t write for shlt. The dark place is just a topsy turvy New York that perpetually in the dark. On the nose there much Wake. The ending was something else. I played the game well after the real ending was added. I was quite disappointed with the first ending. I hated the sequel bait. I then looked up to see how to get the true ending, only to find out I would have to play through the game (and all those combat sections) again. I was not going to put myself through that again. Out of the question Sam Lake you hack, I looked that shlt up online, f that. Much better and more satisfying of an ending but I had wished they had put that in as the final ending. Music was bangin’ tho, more of that and less of Alan’s sorry excuse for writing - 8/10