I love the original Alan Wake. For me it’s one of the best games of the Xbox 360 era and lifted Remedy Entertainment out of Max Payne’s shadow. Yes, it was hammy, with some real clunky lines spoken by “I am a writer” Alan Wake, and yes, the name is right on the nose, but it’s a game brimming with atmosphere and top notch gameplay mechanics. I hope this Remaster gives people another chance to see the game how I see it, as it deserves to be remembered: in high regard.
As a remaster and not a remake, if you go into the game having not seen the original for over a decade it’s easy to think not much has changed. Things look as I remembered them, although my brain knows the Xbox 360 game didn’t render at such a high resolution – I’m playing on Xbox Series X.
Look closer and compare to the original, though, and there are clear improvements, most notably in character models, objects, and textures. Things are more detailed, less angular, and sporting far more detail. Alan Wake Remastered doesn’t look like a game developed from the ground up for release in 2021, but it still looks impressive and more than pulls off its slightly kooky TV show vibe.
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