I can honestly say that Remedy and I are at odds. Here is some history for you. I didn’t start playing their titles until Alan Wake became backwards compatible on Xbox One. Since, and this is a personal opinion, I thought the Xbox 360 was one of Microsoft’s worst consoles due to faultiness of the system, I played most titles on PlayStation 3 when it came to the HD generation. Once the Xbox One became available and Rise of the Tomb Raider was an exclusive title, I decided to pick that system up. When Alan Wake became viable to play on Xbox One, I gave it a try. In short, it wasn’t good. Time passed on and Remedy brought us Control and after experiencing that game with its technical problems, I just felt like Remedy may not have the games for me. All of that changed once I played the Series X version of Control, which fix those problems, and it made me feel this is what Remedy should strive for. 

As for Alan Wake 2, it released to outstanding reviews. It received praise for its graphics, horror, and use of the Northlight engine. It was a sight to see with the high bar of quality Remedy was able to set and achieve. With my purchase, I was intrigued to see what it had to offer. After spending some time with the game, it made me come back to my odd standing with Remedy and made me ask: Why is Alan Wake 2 not an enjoyable game?

Just hear me out on this. I do give Remedy the props they deserve for the haunting atmosphere, and jump scares with its Eternal Darkness-style cut ins at unexpected moments. The story and writing gets deep and intriguing as you progress and I love the added character of Saga and her journey. As a fan of mysteries and Phoenix Wright, the game incorporates my love for fiction, comedic adventure games, and suspense. Remedy is top-notch at providing the thrills when they give a well produce cinematic structural game. 

When it comes to the gameplay and challenge on the other hand, it feels unbalanced. Outside of the terrible Grand Theft Auto camera movement and the deep blackness to showcase the darkness, Alan Wake 2 isn’t enjoyable with the spongey basic enemies, the lame use of the flashlight from the first game, unfair boss fights, lack of a fair upgrade system, and a nonsensical inventory that barely grows throughout the playthrough.

There’s a way to present fear and make you feel like you’re at the edge of your seat. This isn’t the way when you spent a long time fighting and because the camera and darkness on the screen decided to take a 420 break with the Atari Jaguar, you get stuck redoing fights from the very beginning. I found this especially rough, as the boss fights have about 2 or 3 phases you have to beat in one go. It gets annoying and could turn players off. Who loves investing their time and energy into a 7+ minute fight, only to get hit 3 times, by not fault of your own, and have to redo that same fight from the beginning? Heck, we don’t want to redo a 2D Mario stage because we missed a coin somewhere!

Yes, Control wasn’t perfect either in the beginning for me. Although, Control isn’t meant to played in the same manner. I had to learn that Control is meant to be played like Contra and once that clicked with me, I had to use quick reflexes here and there. It became about movement and being strategic in using the environment. Yes, I died alot and I had to redo boss fights over, but Control gave me a better chance of survival and defeating them in the next try or two due to tight gameplay, a better use of the camera, and clearer patterns. Alan Wake 2 doesn’t provide that.

As I wrap up, I do find Alan Wake 2 to be a good game. It has a lot of problems but it also has potential. If the problems I had with it were fixed with an update, I think the game would be outstanding. Since Control has set a high bar of what their design choices for game play is something that helps balance out the difficulty. As of right now, it just isn’t enjoyable for me. 

Sidenote, Alan Wake is a writer and can changed things with his writing in this game. Why can’t he give Saga and himself unlimited ammo and unlimited battery usage? Maybe that would make the game too easy and take away the survival portion in the game. You know what? I can deal with that sacrifice to make myself enjoy the game a bit more.

Featured Image: My English Domain

The Boss Rush Podcast: The Flagship Podcast of Boss Rush Media and the Boss Rush Network

The Boss Rush Podcast – The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and the Boss Rush Network. Each week, Corey, Stephanie, LeRon, and their friends from around the internet come together with other creators, developers, and industry veterans to talk about games they’ve been playing, discuss video game and entertainment based topics, and answer questions solicited on social media and the community Discord. 

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