Alan Wake is a psychological horror video game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released for the Xbox 360 in May 2010 and Microsoft Windows in 2012.
The story follows best-selling thriller novelist Alan Wake, as he tries to uncover the mystery behind his wife’s disappearance during a vacation in the small fictional town of Bright Falls, Washington, all while experiencing events from the plot in his latest novel, which he cannot remember writing, coming to life.
The player controls the eponymous protagonist Alan Wake. In the game, a “darkness” is taking over humans, animals and objects. These enemies, dubbed the “Taken”, are murderous shadows that attack Wake, wielding weapons of their own, ranging from mallets and knives to shovels and chainsaws. They vary by speed, size, and the amount of damage they can take, and some can teleport between short distances. Besides the Taken, the player must combat flocks of possessed ravens and animated objects.
Alan Wake was influenced by and often alludes to certain films, TV shows, and books, as well as paying homage to a number of artists and has been explored by King in a number
of his works. Wake’s narration directly alludes to King on several occasions, including the game’s opening line, in which he quotes a Stephen King essay. The game also pays homage to the film The Shining (based on King’s novel of the same name) with a hedge maze area similar to the iconic maze in the film, among other references.d works. Best-selling author Stephen King was a major inspiration for Alan Wake. The main character as a writer whose work is coming true is a theme that King has used himself. In addition to King’s work, the stories of Bret Easton Ellis and Neil Gaiman have been cited as influences, as well as Mark Z. Danielewski‘s House of Leaves.
Alan Wake received generally positive reviews. Michael Plant from The Independent gave the game a score of 5/5. He praised the game for its “flawless pacing”, which “ensures a compulsive experience”. The editing and plot were also received very positively, making the game “the kind of experience the current console generation was made for.”
Posted by Ellis Norton
