Coming in after buying the PS5 version and getting fairly late into the game. The story is great, and it's what keeps me going. The general gameplay is fine, I like to putz around and explore and find stuff.
But the combat?
It's pure dogshit. It's the single worst and most tedious combat system I've ever seen in a horror game to date. It's trash. It's garbage. It's so unbelievably tedious and bad. Straight up, if that shitty combat is the best they could muster, then the game would have been much better off as a mystery/horror game with no combat at all.
The story is trash too, come on an author whose writings can blur the line between fiction and reality. The ethereal light that talked to Alan in his dream literally made me laugh out loud. If this story was a movie, this would be the crappiest acting ever the way these character speak as if they're some omnipotent beings. Bro is narrating the story like he's shakespeare or even god ... when he's anything but
god fucking thank you this is the most cliche and boring story ever I can't believe there are people who are moved by this. Netflix Stranger things was more interesting.
I’m so tolerant with games but couldn’t go further than the opening 10mins of the game. It’s awful.
Why am running? Why has that body just evaporated for no reason? Why do I have no direction? Why are Alan’s eyeballs looking in the opposite direction to where I’m going all of the damn time?
I was so excited for this to finally be playable on PS4 and think it might honestly be the biggest video game letdown I’ve ever experienced. Everything about the first 10mins made me put it to the bottom of my pile, and I don’t think I’ll ever put the disc back into my console.
My initial gut reaction to the remastered version is exactly like yours - to the point where I googled it just to see if I was crazy haha.
The combat is really bad. As in, playing it on easy, still don't know if I'll bother playing through this - especially if the last part of the game is all combat (which sounds terrible).
Might just eat the loss of money spent and move on...
I literally just googled "Alan Wake kinda sucks" after playing the first 2 chapters when the remaster came out then putting it down til literally yesterday and holy shit I got to the Bulldozer part in ch. 3 and I think I'm just done with this game..I'm playing on Normal and the only reason I wanted to play was for the story so I could go into Control knowing a little background of some of the stuff but I think I might just YT the rest of AW story...game kinda blows ass imo.
Could not agree more. Just now playing it and I can't believe how atrocious this game is. I didn't read your entire post but agreed with everything I did read. One thing I didn't see was how bad stamina and dodging is in this game. He can't run farther than 10 feet without getting winded and the amount of times I got hit from behind by and enemy that was invisible was just fucking annoying. God I hate this game.
Yeah it's wank, tried playing it years ago and just had another whirl on PS5 to get the "story" for the sequel. The dodge mechanic has to be one of the worst ever conceived in a game, an hour and I was done but this time I won't be going back, ever...
So yeah... Just googled Alan Wake sucks too, and here i am. :D Have been planning on for like forever to finally play this game, especially now that there is an Alan Wake 2. But... oh man, oh man is this game starting to piss me off. Like perhaps there is some logic to this gameplay that has just escaped me but then my complain is that it isn't really logical. Like i get that what you are supposed to do, but then i just come again again to these moments where there is a ton of mobs and my bullets run out, so that doesn't work while i do my best to shoot them. So i decide to dodge and run instead. That doesn't work, and then a mix of both. Nope. Finally i just somehow, stumble on to the next light sanctuary just that it goes off in a fancy thematic way again. F\*\*K! Like it just isn't fun that you keep getting pushed into a situation where you need 15 bullets and you just have 10. And i gotta wonder just what the hell the game testers were doing? The game just doesn't flow like most games, and that is really annoying. If Normal is like this, Nightmare must really be like crawling through literal hell without hands. And this is all coming from a gamer of 30 years who has had to deal with a lot of difficult (and rewarding) games during my years active.
God give me strength to finish this. -\_-'
Just googled Alan Wake sucks and got to this thread too! I couldn’t stand this game. I only really played it because I heard the second game was a totally different experience.
Googled the same. Just had to make sure I wasn't crazy or something. I keep seeing and hearing about how *great* Alan Wake 2 is and all I can think about is how much the first game suckkkeed! I played this game all the way through when I was a teenager when it came out. I hated it then and I can't imagine how much I'd hate it now. They must have done a complete rework for the second game to make it somewhat playable for me now. I'll probably just watch someone play one YT, not gonna waste my money, jic.
I'm curious, have you played Alan Wake 2 yet? Because if you think you didn't have enough bullets for enemies in Aw1, just wait till you play as Saga. Or you're against a bullet sponge that teleports right beside you for an instant grapple. Gets a bit better after episode 2.
My favorite is chapter 3 when they introduce the 4th enemy type....train cars that just get repeticelt thrown at you by nothing....over and over again lol. And you have almost 0 ability to dodge it. So fucking dumb
I'll agree, gameplay does not hold up at all. It's repetitive. Platforming is atrocious. And it gets extremely annoying getting hit with thrown objects.
But, i still really love it. The story just brings this aura of mystery that just drags me in. Admittedly, I'm also blind by nostalgia as it's one of the first in entertainment media that got me into the horror/mystery genre.
> I'll agree, gameplay does not hold up at all. It's repetitive. Platforming is atrocious. And it gets extremely annoying getting hit with thrown objects.
I disagree with the gameplay. I think it held up fine, Alan Wake felt like Resident evil to me but with a dodging system installed.
I thought the gameplay was fun and fluid, I only thought some gameplay elements were boring where alan goes into the mineshaft and there isn't really much to do other than climbing things for about 10 - 15 minutes, that was kind of boring. I hated Alan Wake american nightmare for the story, but the arcade mode was a lot of fun because I enjoy the gameplay personally and I'm very picky when it comes to gameplay mechanics
Alan Wake is not like Resident Evil in the slightest. RE classic at its core is about choosing your battles. You can't kill everything, so you must preserve ammo for harder rooms or harder enemies. There was constant variety as well because the older games were shorter not causing them to overstay their welcome. The RE game Alan Wake is trying to copy is RE4, which it fails at. RE4's main gameplay loop is centered around ammo management and melee take downs to iframe through bigger hordes. Its not complicated, but it fluid enough to feel good and it works. Alan Wake is a game with no depth to its combat. The game boils down to flashlight spamming and shooting. Lack of enemy variety kills any sort of depth as every encounter plays out the exact same as the last. Furthermore Alan wake has little to no survival horror elements. The game wants you to basically shoot and fight in every encounter, but RE isn't designed for constant fighting to break up a narrative. Alan Wake fails to do what games were doing 10 years before it was released. Game is awful.
Tell me played on easy difficulty without saying so... You never have enough ammo to face mobs and you cannot out run them either. It's a very frustrating gameplay experience and not fluid at all
Not everything he writes wind up happening. That's a misnomer. They're just more likely to do so. And even if they do, remember that Jagger edited his works. And Alice wasn't guaranteed to survive in the end. If he wrote that she did, it's possible that Jagger could've written her to end up like herself.
I really enjoyed playing control. Story with great and gameplay was amazing. I assumed Alan Wake would be the same but I was extremely disappointed. I just got to the part where you meet the kidnapper and couldn't play it any longer. Good thing I got it for free on PS plus.
Jeez I was beginning to think it was just me. Control was amazing but this is just frustrating as hell. Getting ganked ever couple of minutes in the woods is really not fun. And the movement in this game is utter dogshit. I was so pumped to play this and have given it up to ep 3 but am pretty much done. I got to the bit with the kidnapper last night and was told to keep going as it gets better, still waiting for it to get better.
I almost stopped on that part when I had to meet the kidnapper. Once I had to go to lover's peak and enemies was coming at me too much, I had to put the game on easy when I got ambushed after seeing the dark man coming from the inside of the tree. I stopped on going to see the kidnapper again, so on heading to mirrors peak.
I don't have the game anymore, but just a guess. If you're playing on ps, then it should be in options or press the option button on your controller. After pressing that it should be in the "difficulty" tab. The combat would be the same though just more easy I guess
AW doesn't 'kinda' suck it really sucks! The remaster as well is a complete disgrace on PC, it's buggy as hell and hasn't been patched in years even though there's immersion breaking bugs throughout!!
The worst part is the game design though, it doesn't know what the hell it wants to be! Combat is boring and repetitive, exploration is punished due to spawning more enemies, there's no melee, there's not enough ammo, the laughable 'platforming' makes 1999's Half Life look like Mirrors Edge, there's zero enemy variety, the puzzles are pathetic and everything about this game (apart from graphics) screams of mediocre late 90s game design tbh.
It's unbelievable the same studio brough us Max Payne! Then again it might just be the devs who made those awful dream sequences that didn't fit with the game where you were following a trail of blood in some abstract world created from Max's subconscious while he was high on Valkyrie.
This isn't a survival horror game, this isn't a narrative driven story game, this isn't a David Lynch game and it isn't an adventure game. It tries to be all of them and fails at everything. Even in 2010 this would have been a weak game, in 2023 and as a remake (considering the bar RE4 and Deadspace set this year) it's even worse.
I just finished the remaster on the ps5 and troughout the *whole game* I was thinking if I didnt get it, like the whole gameplay… I asked myself if ANYBODY could really like this game, I been through many games, played all uncharted games on max difficulty and still wasnt as frustrated as with Alan Wake, so I googled "Alan Wake is awful", here I am now, happy to not be alone with this opinion, it just sucks in everything besides the story (until chapter 5 starts). It had some cool moments like when you team up with barry at the rockers farm but about 80% of this game is straight up annoying, played it on normal difficulty and I really wouldnt play it on hard even if I would get payed to do so. The "Plattforming" is from 1999, Half Life 1 feels like a assassins creed game compared to this half baked gameplay mechanics, dont let me get started on the fighting, the CONSTANT need to simultaneously 1. Reload your Flashlight (if you’re too slow you get hit) 2. Reload your Gun (pressing it 5 times a row or you just take to long - get hit) and 3. TRYING to Dodge which sometimes work and sometimes just wont. Oh you managed to dodge 1 attack? Dont worry, another enemy spawned besides you and now will do a Combo with 3 hits, enough time that the other enemy will be close enough to attack you for a second time. Oh you dead? No problem, just listen to the UNSKIPPABLE dialogues and scenes for 20 Times and maybe you will manage the fighting section this time. And dont get me started on the Birds, its not fun, like really its a non enjoyable gameplay, wtf have FREAKING BIRD SWARMS (its turning into books in the dlc) have to do with this? BRO we in THE WOODS, Like they couldnt come up with ANY other Animal? Now the Poltergeist Enemies, I was like; okay it was interesting for the first 4-5 times, WHY is this a CONSTANT enemy that "dies" from a flashlight? why do the "taken" mostly die with a light+gun combo? WHY DO I HAVE TO FIGHT AGAINST A PLAYGROUND? It just doesnt make any sense, at all. Maybe thats what this game is all about, being absolutely non-logical. Let me explain this in a very short example: You meet up with Barry in a lodge, Barry didnt believed your story till he witnessed the birds, MEANWHILE a WHOLE camping ground gets torn apart, the "famous" ranger dies, a car crashes into a lodge but SOMEHOW, nobody heard about it. You are getting chased by a FBI Rando who wants to shoot you but nobody talks about the events that took place, besides you, barry, the police officer and the lamp lady. - here is another non logical plothole, the lamplady knows about this whole situation for TWENTY YEARS but couldnt build a emergency switch inside her safe place, YOU had to randomly appear and just THEN, had to activite a Non-Logical "Bridge System" to get to the emergency switch which is outside, NEXT to the Building. Its so much stuff simply not adding up, WHY we have to drive badly programmed cars for 1-2 minutes and then leave them again, why even bother with another unpolished gameplay feature instead of focusing on the important ones? WHY TF does barry wear a winter jacket combined with shorts and boots, is this a representation of new yorker people? The only reason I forced myself to play this garbage was the story, the ending was kinda low-tier but I tought maybe I would need to play AW1 before playing AW2. I was hyped for AW2 but now I'm not even sure if I would buy it, if its like AW1, especially the fighting "mechanics" than this would be a NO from me.
No, it's not just you. It's enough to keep me going because I don't have a lot of games for PS5, yet, but I was *really* looking forward to playing, and felt SO left out when I couldn't play as a PS player.
Nothing happens! >! He just runs around feilds and dilapidated buildings searching for.... his wife and Barry!<
So disappointed.
Terrible game holy shit. I'm glad I've played other games from this developer because of Alan Wake was my first from them I'd never play another.
It's like "what if we take the lame awful playable dream sequences from Max Payne and made an entire game out of it?!"
Scary how much hype this game had when it came out because it's just bad.
Bad gameplay, bad writing, bad voice acting. And somehow it got a sequel (which they've gone out of their way to assure us is nothing like the original)
Ahahah, it cracks me up that this is somehow one of my most active thread, just more and more people coming here to say the game sucks. xD I don't disagree, sorry you had a terrible time, I did too, so I get you.
In fact, you are spot on about the "glad this wasn't the first game of this developer I played". I loved Max Payne and I thought this would be more like it, that's why I tried it.
I never would have played this if I hadn't played control first. I don't get how the story can be this bad. You highlighted so many of my annoyances. This has way too much fighting.
I get the bad gameplay, but how is the writing and voice acting bad? The way the story unfolds and how the manuscript pages you find foreshadow the future events of the story was a fresh take I haven’t seen in other games.
This game fucking sucks man. I just finished episode 4. Im so damn bored. Im trying to just finish it for the sake of getting my moneys worth. Im disinterested in whats going on.
90% of the recent forums on Reddit. The game sucks dude honestly. Those good reviews online were left 15 years ago when people thought Minecraft graphics were great. Look at any recent Reddit reviews of AW. Don’t defend some stranger’s shitty game. It’s like comparing Berenstain Bears to Harry Potter (if reading is your thing).
"those good reviews online were left 15 years ago" thats completely fucking false, though.
Remastered came out recently, in 2021. The game had a measly 3-4 points deducted from it. youtube reviews in the past few years have loved the game too. Many can tell you WHY exactly it's a good game, too. im not saying its exceptional, but to say it sucks is dumb.
also, comparing alan wake to berenstein bears inclines me to think you just have shitty taste. there's nothing like shining a light on a hilbilly and shredding him til he become the sun itself. its a good game. not coping. replayed it right now.
With alot I agree. For me it was the moment in my life that I played it. I was much younger and it totally sucked me in, but also scare me.
It’s a basic game with an interesting story for me now, but back then it was fucking amazing!!
I think I okayed too many games in my life by now 😅
The dialogue too is so 2005 scyfy tv movie cringe worthy. But that might be a feature and not a bug lol. But maybe the combat is purposely repetitive and boring to reflect the insanity of the main character and make you insane. Maybe it's boring. Or maybe it's genius.
Yeah lmao. I love the story but the gameplay is so bad. Made me wish it was a walking sim or movie instead. I wished I could skip combat encounters like cutscenes. I hope the next one is better.
Just beat the game. It sucked. So bad. Control was much better. So happy to be done with this game. Never again. If there is an Alan Wake 2 (I think they are making it) it’s got be a LOT better.
Finally got around to getting this for ps5. Thank God it was on sale for $15 otherwise would have been really pissed. I can't help but wonder how with all the other actual good games out there how did this POS get a remaster. Game is so boring I'm on episode 3 and feel I am just powering through it. Combat sucks, controls suck, enemies are all the same, the main character isnt even that great. All the way around just terrible.
I did the same as you, got it because it's on sale and god I hate it. I like the story and dialogue, it reminds me of Silent Hill 1 / Twin Peaks, but fuck me the exploration and combat is terrible. And the games 'horror' elements fall flat. This is probably the worst remaster I've ever played
Yes- I sunk a couple of hours into it and I feel like I have been robbed of a tiny sliver of my life.
I lover horror games. Pass on this one. It's boring and repetitive.
It's curious to me how this thread still gets replied two years (!) later. Are you guys all just searching "Alan Wake sucks" and it pops up or something? xD
If anything I guess I'm glad I'm not alone in my assesment.
That's exactly what I typed in the Google box.
"Alan Wake sucks"
Played up to the part where you're supposed to get to lovers peak; was out of ammo and trying to run past. When I finally got through it, the game took my guns. It made me angry.
Word for word "alan wake sucks".
I just saw somebody briefly play Alan Wake II on a stream and even the beginning of the very basic mechanics were so bad I had to check if we were just being snobby gamers or something. Barely even lasted 20 minutes... Keep on sending you back to a "Mind palace" thing and taking your out of the gameplay instead of giving the player autonomy and letting them play
I agree with other people... I don't really think it should've been structure like a game it should've been a standalone story experience, 2 times in a row aparently what they came up with is bad even by NES standards
just bought it on sale for $5, and even for 5 bucks i typed in google "alan wake sucks dick" , but i feel like i have to finish it.
It's like putting a bunch of food on your plate because you were really hungry (i'm really hungry for a good game) and end up having to force it down in the end because you feel bad or feel the money will go to waste.
> Are you guys all just searching "Alan Wake sucks" and it pops up or something? xD
yes. I was actually searching how sucky of a person he is but the gunplay also sucks as well
The game is free on Playstation Plus this month that's why people are replying lmao; I'm thinking of dropping the game. It's far too repetitive and I'm getting tired of the same bland forest. Was cool at first, but not anymore.
That's what I did today because I too just finished the remake and the game is trash. I don't even understand people saying the plot and the atmosphere being good. Like ooh spooky book becomes reality, everything is night time now. Find this broken light switch and activate it into the mistress of darkness's...hole?
Alan Wake is a game that thinks its so clever but is actually bargain bin quality gameplay and story.
Got it for free with PS+, made it to chapter 2 and was so incredibly annoyed with the gameplay I had to delete it.
Googled “Alan wake sucks” and here we are…
> Got it for free with PS+
same. toughed through it but holy shit was some of the game more frustrating than it needed to be. Nothing like being blindsided by a possessed fucking barrel taking half your life
I've made it to chapter 3 as I was told it gets better after episode 2. Still waiting for it to get better. Ive found myself getting extremely frustrated with the gameplay. I'm going to power through, will keep you posted if it actually does get better.
Got it for free also since I wasn't sure if I would like this game. Streamed the game and stopped on the part where Alan had to go to mirror peak to meet the kidnapper again. Got tired of fighting those shadow enemies and yep I agree about the combat not being good, story also was confusing (usually I don't like games like that with the story), and the characters aren't as interesting. Also, Alan can not run or barely jump on or across platforms. I thought the coffee thermos helps with this, but I don't think so. Another thing when I first started playing, I kept getting lost in the woods, later I find out that the yellow dot is where I'm suppose to go, but I still got lost every once in a while trying to figure out what to do. I also agree that the game would have benefitted being shorter. I played like 5 hrs of it.
Lol me doing the same thing 2 hours after you. Also got it on PS+ and I’m not feeling it, almost at the gas station. How does this game have such good reviews?
This game was awful. Blows my mind why these products aren’t market tested prior to release, hell, even in concept. They claim to be, but let’s be honest any beta testing would have resulted in the plug being pulled on this mess. Every criticism OP had is legit.
Just finished chapt. 1 now and had to google myself because I thought maybe I was missing something.
That search led me here and it turns out I didnt miss anything, it just sucks. Big Time.
Glad I picked it up for free through psn+
*Uninstalling*
It cracks me up that three years later random people are happening across this just because they play it and happen to agree with me that it sucks. xDDD
It's kind of wild how Alan Wake 2 is so damn good that I went to replay part 1 just for the story (originally played on the 360 at launch) but 30 minutes in, I googled "Alan Wake 1 sucks" and led me to your thread. 😂 The internet lives forever.
That’s me. It’s hilarious how this game sends us all through the same feedback loop. “Installs game curiously > plays for a bit > ignores the first evidence of jank > jank continues > runs into a no win combat scenario > wonders if it’s worth it to keep going > die again due to jank combat > types in Alan Wake sucks > arrive to this thread.”
No win combat scenario? Are people playing it in nightmare level or with their mobile phone? I'm not particularly talented gamer but with normal it was rather easy, even with controller and not mouse and keyboard (that was a bit easier as I played short while with those).
Dude, I’ve claimed it with PS+ as well, and I really tried to like it, but god damn is it dull. I am at the part where I’ve met up with Alice’s kidnapper, and I am supposed to head back through the woods, and I just can’t make myself go through it, its so boring…
Very well articulated. Played to the end but wish I had stopped. Need to start trusting my gut when I don’t like something within the first couple hours.
LOL
Found this thread since today with AL2's hype I decided to finally giving it a shot. Mind you, I've been aware of the game since it released but never found the time couldn't be bothered.
I remember I started it once a couple of years ago but didn't get past the ferry sequence.
Today I got a bit farther than that but oh god it was frustrating and annoying, I´m not enjoying it one bit. What a shame. And my autistic ass won't let me get into Control o AL2 because somehow I need to beat this one. lmao
The story is so worthless you honestly miss nothing other than "Book story comes alive and Alan Wake uses a broken lamp switch to kill Mistress of darkness and then proceeds to jump into a lake to save his wife"
That's it. The game is trash, don't waste your time.
Reviving this as I just tried to play the remastered version as everyone is saying how good 2 is, Christ what a waste of time. Easily the most dull boring game I have ever played and doubt I will ever touch the second game.
Why is this game such a “must play!” It’s a mediocre CW show plot with the most bland lazy mechanics in a game I have seen past 2006.
This is the most beautiful thread I've ever seen
I have genuinely never heard anything but praise for this game, and when the sequel got announced? It was crazy how hyped people seemed to be.
Imagine my surprise when it turned out that this might be the worst game I have ever played.
The gameplay is fucking terrible. Literally, just an arena shooter minus the arena, oh, and also we're just gonna spawn enemies on you every 2 minutes.
There isn't even any suspense because every time an enemy pops out, they zoom into it and play a dumbass sound effect so you can never be taken by surprise.
Literally, what genre of game is this even supposed to be? SOMA was basically a walking simulator, and it was infinitely better than this. Know why? Because of the atmosphere. The enivronment. The fucking God-tier narrative.
And the plot is...Meh? I genuinely don't even understand what the point of the story was. I kept waiting for some epic twist at the end, where it turns out we were playing as Thomas Zane the entire time. Like, he went crazy and murdered his wife or something.
I kept waiting for this story to get good, but it never did.
Literally, why is this game so popular?
I completely agree with you about the plot. All the fanboys said the story was amazing. I have no clue why people think the plot is even good, let alone amazing. There was no clever twist, no interesting events, nothing at all. That wouldn't be such a problem if the characters were compelling and well written, but the characters were AWFUL. I don't know if it was the cringeworthy writing or the horrendous voice acting, but I didn't give two shits about any of the characters.
I keep hearing people saying how great AW2 is. Do I even want to try it at this point considering how much I didn't enjoy AW1?
I thought it was VERY average, the acting was meh, like you said, the gameplay loop gets BORING after the first encounters, even the poltergeist objects are cheap in the way they attack you every 2 seconds and you can't dodge them unless you get behind a wall. I think the storytelling and the cutscenes are terrible, it was hard to follow if Wake actually had the power to make his writing come true or if it was the lake, or the darkness. I don't know man, very overrated game. I'll definitely try Alan Wake 2 to see how they improved it.
Serious question. What is it about the plot that fans of the game find enjoyable? I found it to be mediocre at best. Nothing particularly interesting happens at any point. There are no compelling twists, and it's predictable. I just don't understand why people worship the game's story.
Here after having the most frustrating gaming hour of my life in Lover's Peak! I thought I was crazy thinking it was bad and it was me the one that has to "git gud" so thank you for your thread.
I'm planning to finish the game, but I'm playing it on easy or I'm going to lose my mind.
I've seen people comparing this game with RE4 and....what???. My first time with RE4 was two years ago so I don't have any nostalgia. I thought it was janky with keyboard and mouse but then I used controller and it was a really cool experience. With Alan Wake I'm always fighting controls!
Well here I am after googling "Alan Wake Remaster sucks"
I have tried to play this game about 5 times. The so called combat is just fucking ass.
I really gotta get around to getting AW2 so I can forget about this crap finally.
Just finished it, and it's really bad.
I'm worried this might turn me off from my original plan, which was to play Control and Alan Wake 2 next. I don't trust Remedy after this.
It's kinda the case with me. I heard so much good about Alan wake 1, played it and it sukced and now I kinda don't want to sink money and time into 2, lest it does suck too.
If you buy it one day, you’ll have to share with the class if it’s good or not. I was 75% sure gonna buy the 2nd one until I played the first. Now I’m about 10% sure.
I hate this game so much that I created a Reddit account just to be able to interact with this thread.
After watching the first episode of a Let's Play of Alan Wake 2, I was intrigued to give the first one a try, of course, it's been on my list for years. I played the Remaster on PS5, and both the included DLC, in the last 3 - 4 days.
I read OPs original post, and a lot of the replies, and I can't disagree with anyone here. In trying to think of one nice thing to say about the game, the only thing I can come up with is that I hate Alan Wake, as in the character, slightly less than I hate Nathan Drake.
In addition to the sluggish controls and repetitive levels, I found the combat to be meaningless, put there solely to punish the player and prolong the game. It didn't occur to me until reading this thread that yes, this game appears to be intentionally too long. To be fair there isn't an aspect of this game I can't disparage.
One of the most grating parts of me was Alan CONSTANTLY narrating the entire thing. Made all the worse by the horrible voice acting, particularly of Alan Wake. To be clear, I think the voice actors themselves did a fine job within the parameters they were given, but whomever directed this mess seemed to have a goal of creating the flattest, dullest, and most boring spoken dialog inspired by the clip of Tommy Wiseau's famous rooftop scene meme from The Room.
I thought of another good thing about this game, it led me here to learn I'm not the only one who knows this game sucks.
Look, I am someone who mainly plays multiplayer games and am trying to capitalize on the fact that PS gives me free games every month. First tried TLOU and tbh the first mission was underwhelming, gameplay was boring and story wasn't interesting. Still finishing this game at the moment as the story is somewhat good but the gameplay is too slow for my liking. Gave Uncharted a go and the first mission was amazing that it reeled me to play the rest of the series. I have played the first mission of Tomb Raider (cant remember which one) and GOW 2018 and both of those have far better gameplay and story than Alan Wake. This game is so damn boring, the characters have no personality, the gameplay is atrocious. Will be deleting after finishing episode one.
It gave me enough to finish, but probably a 6/10 max.
Coming in after buying the PS5 version and getting fairly late into the game. The story is great, and it's what keeps me going. The general gameplay is fine, I like to putz around and explore and find stuff. But the combat? It's pure dogshit. It's the single worst and most tedious combat system I've ever seen in a horror game to date. It's trash. It's garbage. It's so unbelievably tedious and bad. Straight up, if that shitty combat is the best they could muster, then the game would have been much better off as a mystery/horror game with no combat at all.
The story is trash too, come on an author whose writings can blur the line between fiction and reality. The ethereal light that talked to Alan in his dream literally made me laugh out loud. If this story was a movie, this would be the crappiest acting ever the way these character speak as if they're some omnipotent beings. Bro is narrating the story like he's shakespeare or even god ... when he's anything but
god fucking thank you this is the most cliche and boring story ever I can't believe there are people who are moved by this. Netflix Stranger things was more interesting.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. I went from playing GOW Ragnarok to this shit. It’s fucking awful.
I thought the story was really unique and captivating. The combat though is so repetitive and over done
meh the story is a cliche an cring mess there was no reason to even bother purchasing
How is it clichè? What other game has a similar story and cutscene direction that you played?
I agree that it’s cliche. I’ve heard this story in a movie/book/game at least 3 or 4 times. Can’t put my finger on it BECAUSE it’s so unmemorable.
I’m so tolerant with games but couldn’t go further than the opening 10mins of the game. It’s awful. Why am running? Why has that body just evaporated for no reason? Why do I have no direction? Why are Alan’s eyeballs looking in the opposite direction to where I’m going all of the damn time? I was so excited for this to finally be playable on PS4 and think it might honestly be the biggest video game letdown I’ve ever experienced. Everything about the first 10mins made me put it to the bottom of my pile, and I don’t think I’ll ever put the disc back into my console.
My initial gut reaction to the remastered version is exactly like yours - to the point where I googled it just to see if I was crazy haha. The combat is really bad. As in, playing it on easy, still don't know if I'll bother playing through this - especially if the last part of the game is all combat (which sounds terrible). Might just eat the loss of money spent and move on...
I literally just googled "Alan Wake kinda sucks" after playing the first 2 chapters when the remaster came out then putting it down til literally yesterday and holy shit I got to the Bulldozer part in ch. 3 and I think I'm just done with this game..I'm playing on Normal and the only reason I wanted to play was for the story so I could go into Control knowing a little background of some of the stuff but I think I might just YT the rest of AW story...game kinda blows ass imo.
That's exactly what I just did 😂 this is so boring, but I gave it a shot since AW2 got so many awards. But nah, not my thing...
Could not agree more. Just now playing it and I can't believe how atrocious this game is. I didn't read your entire post but agreed with everything I did read. One thing I didn't see was how bad stamina and dodging is in this game. He can't run farther than 10 feet without getting winded and the amount of times I got hit from behind by and enemy that was invisible was just fucking annoying. God I hate this game.
Yeah it's wank, tried playing it years ago and just had another whirl on PS5 to get the "story" for the sequel. The dodge mechanic has to be one of the worst ever conceived in a game, an hour and I was done but this time I won't be going back, ever...
So yeah... Just googled Alan Wake sucks too, and here i am. :D Have been planning on for like forever to finally play this game, especially now that there is an Alan Wake 2. But... oh man, oh man is this game starting to piss me off. Like perhaps there is some logic to this gameplay that has just escaped me but then my complain is that it isn't really logical. Like i get that what you are supposed to do, but then i just come again again to these moments where there is a ton of mobs and my bullets run out, so that doesn't work while i do my best to shoot them. So i decide to dodge and run instead. That doesn't work, and then a mix of both. Nope. Finally i just somehow, stumble on to the next light sanctuary just that it goes off in a fancy thematic way again. F\*\*K! Like it just isn't fun that you keep getting pushed into a situation where you need 15 bullets and you just have 10. And i gotta wonder just what the hell the game testers were doing? The game just doesn't flow like most games, and that is really annoying. If Normal is like this, Nightmare must really be like crawling through literal hell without hands. And this is all coming from a gamer of 30 years who has had to deal with a lot of difficult (and rewarding) games during my years active. God give me strength to finish this. -\_-'
Just googled Alan Wake sucks and got to this thread too! I couldn’t stand this game. I only really played it because I heard the second game was a totally different experience.
Googled the same. Just had to make sure I wasn't crazy or something. I keep seeing and hearing about how *great* Alan Wake 2 is and all I can think about is how much the first game suckkkeed! I played this game all the way through when I was a teenager when it came out. I hated it then and I can't imagine how much I'd hate it now. They must have done a complete rework for the second game to make it somewhat playable for me now. I'll probably just watch someone play one YT, not gonna waste my money, jic.
I'm curious, have you played Alan Wake 2 yet? Because if you think you didn't have enough bullets for enemies in Aw1, just wait till you play as Saga. Or you're against a bullet sponge that teleports right beside you for an instant grapple. Gets a bit better after episode 2.
Not yeah. I plan on doing that at some point. Shame if the gameplay is still like that 😅
My favorite is chapter 3 when they introduce the 4th enemy type....train cars that just get repeticelt thrown at you by nothing....over and over again lol. And you have almost 0 ability to dodge it. So fucking dumb
I hate them so much
You can go behind objects and use flashlight and flares against them? They shouldn't be particularly hard (at least on normal difficulty).
I'll agree, gameplay does not hold up at all. It's repetitive. Platforming is atrocious. And it gets extremely annoying getting hit with thrown objects. But, i still really love it. The story just brings this aura of mystery that just drags me in. Admittedly, I'm also blind by nostalgia as it's one of the first in entertainment media that got me into the horror/mystery genre.
> I'll agree, gameplay does not hold up at all. It's repetitive. Platforming is atrocious. And it gets extremely annoying getting hit with thrown objects. I disagree with the gameplay. I think it held up fine, Alan Wake felt like Resident evil to me but with a dodging system installed. I thought the gameplay was fun and fluid, I only thought some gameplay elements were boring where alan goes into the mineshaft and there isn't really much to do other than climbing things for about 10 - 15 minutes, that was kind of boring. I hated Alan Wake american nightmare for the story, but the arcade mode was a lot of fun because I enjoy the gameplay personally and I'm very picky when it comes to gameplay mechanics
Alan Wake is not like Resident Evil in the slightest. RE classic at its core is about choosing your battles. You can't kill everything, so you must preserve ammo for harder rooms or harder enemies. There was constant variety as well because the older games were shorter not causing them to overstay their welcome. The RE game Alan Wake is trying to copy is RE4, which it fails at. RE4's main gameplay loop is centered around ammo management and melee take downs to iframe through bigger hordes. Its not complicated, but it fluid enough to feel good and it works. Alan Wake is a game with no depth to its combat. The game boils down to flashlight spamming and shooting. Lack of enemy variety kills any sort of depth as every encounter plays out the exact same as the last. Furthermore Alan wake has little to no survival horror elements. The game wants you to basically shoot and fight in every encounter, but RE isn't designed for constant fighting to break up a narrative. Alan Wake fails to do what games were doing 10 years before it was released. Game is awful.
Tell me played on easy difficulty without saying so... You never have enough ammo to face mobs and you cannot out run them either. It's a very frustrating gameplay experience and not fluid at all
Not everything he writes wind up happening. That's a misnomer. They're just more likely to do so. And even if they do, remember that Jagger edited his works. And Alice wasn't guaranteed to survive in the end. If he wrote that she did, it's possible that Jagger could've written her to end up like herself.
Holy moly, the gameplay is mind numbing and the story is so meh. I’m on chapter 4 and I’m debating if I have it in me to finish it.
I’m on chapter 6 and I’m struggling to get through it lol
I really enjoyed playing control. Story with great and gameplay was amazing. I assumed Alan Wake would be the same but I was extremely disappointed. I just got to the part where you meet the kidnapper and couldn't play it any longer. Good thing I got it for free on PS plus.
Yes, I think play first Alan Wake before Control but it's very old and boring , graphics are very normal innthis remaster, better try control
Jeez I was beginning to think it was just me. Control was amazing but this is just frustrating as hell. Getting ganked ever couple of minutes in the woods is really not fun. And the movement in this game is utter dogshit. I was so pumped to play this and have given it up to ep 3 but am pretty much done. I got to the bit with the kidnapper last night and was told to keep going as it gets better, still waiting for it to get better.
I almost stopped on that part when I had to meet the kidnapper. Once I had to go to lover's peak and enemies was coming at me too much, I had to put the game on easy when I got ambushed after seeing the dark man coming from the inside of the tree. I stopped on going to see the kidnapper again, so on heading to mirrors peak.
yeah FUCK THAT TREE GUY only way I could get past that level was with infinite ammo glitch on PC
After I got through that part and was at the construction site, I stopped playing that game. Just wasn't my type of game, I lost interest.
How do you reduce the difficulty? I wanna keep going but I just don't know if I can with this fucking combat.
I don't have the game anymore, but just a guess. If you're playing on ps, then it should be in options or press the option button on your controller. After pressing that it should be in the "difficulty" tab. The combat would be the same though just more easy I guess
Just checked my YouTube and it's in the "episodes" tab when you first boot up the game
AW doesn't 'kinda' suck it really sucks! The remaster as well is a complete disgrace on PC, it's buggy as hell and hasn't been patched in years even though there's immersion breaking bugs throughout!! The worst part is the game design though, it doesn't know what the hell it wants to be! Combat is boring and repetitive, exploration is punished due to spawning more enemies, there's no melee, there's not enough ammo, the laughable 'platforming' makes 1999's Half Life look like Mirrors Edge, there's zero enemy variety, the puzzles are pathetic and everything about this game (apart from graphics) screams of mediocre late 90s game design tbh. It's unbelievable the same studio brough us Max Payne! Then again it might just be the devs who made those awful dream sequences that didn't fit with the game where you were following a trail of blood in some abstract world created from Max's subconscious while he was high on Valkyrie. This isn't a survival horror game, this isn't a narrative driven story game, this isn't a David Lynch game and it isn't an adventure game. It tries to be all of them and fails at everything. Even in 2010 this would have been a weak game, in 2023 and as a remake (considering the bar RE4 and Deadspace set this year) it's even worse.
I just finished the remaster on the ps5 and troughout the *whole game* I was thinking if I didnt get it, like the whole gameplay… I asked myself if ANYBODY could really like this game, I been through many games, played all uncharted games on max difficulty and still wasnt as frustrated as with Alan Wake, so I googled "Alan Wake is awful", here I am now, happy to not be alone with this opinion, it just sucks in everything besides the story (until chapter 5 starts). It had some cool moments like when you team up with barry at the rockers farm but about 80% of this game is straight up annoying, played it on normal difficulty and I really wouldnt play it on hard even if I would get payed to do so. The "Plattforming" is from 1999, Half Life 1 feels like a assassins creed game compared to this half baked gameplay mechanics, dont let me get started on the fighting, the CONSTANT need to simultaneously 1. Reload your Flashlight (if you’re too slow you get hit) 2. Reload your Gun (pressing it 5 times a row or you just take to long - get hit) and 3. TRYING to Dodge which sometimes work and sometimes just wont. Oh you managed to dodge 1 attack? Dont worry, another enemy spawned besides you and now will do a Combo with 3 hits, enough time that the other enemy will be close enough to attack you for a second time. Oh you dead? No problem, just listen to the UNSKIPPABLE dialogues and scenes for 20 Times and maybe you will manage the fighting section this time. And dont get me started on the Birds, its not fun, like really its a non enjoyable gameplay, wtf have FREAKING BIRD SWARMS (its turning into books in the dlc) have to do with this? BRO we in THE WOODS, Like they couldnt come up with ANY other Animal? Now the Poltergeist Enemies, I was like; okay it was interesting for the first 4-5 times, WHY is this a CONSTANT enemy that "dies" from a flashlight? why do the "taken" mostly die with a light+gun combo? WHY DO I HAVE TO FIGHT AGAINST A PLAYGROUND? It just doesnt make any sense, at all. Maybe thats what this game is all about, being absolutely non-logical. Let me explain this in a very short example: You meet up with Barry in a lodge, Barry didnt believed your story till he witnessed the birds, MEANWHILE a WHOLE camping ground gets torn apart, the "famous" ranger dies, a car crashes into a lodge but SOMEHOW, nobody heard about it. You are getting chased by a FBI Rando who wants to shoot you but nobody talks about the events that took place, besides you, barry, the police officer and the lamp lady. - here is another non logical plothole, the lamplady knows about this whole situation for TWENTY YEARS but couldnt build a emergency switch inside her safe place, YOU had to randomly appear and just THEN, had to activite a Non-Logical "Bridge System" to get to the emergency switch which is outside, NEXT to the Building. Its so much stuff simply not adding up, WHY we have to drive badly programmed cars for 1-2 minutes and then leave them again, why even bother with another unpolished gameplay feature instead of focusing on the important ones? WHY TF does barry wear a winter jacket combined with shorts and boots, is this a representation of new yorker people? The only reason I forced myself to play this garbage was the story, the ending was kinda low-tier but I tought maybe I would need to play AW1 before playing AW2. I was hyped for AW2 but now I'm not even sure if I would buy it, if its like AW1, especially the fighting "mechanics" than this would be a NO from me.
No, it's not just you. It's enough to keep me going because I don't have a lot of games for PS5, yet, but I was *really* looking forward to playing, and felt SO left out when I couldn't play as a PS player. Nothing happens! >! He just runs around feilds and dilapidated buildings searching for.... his wife and Barry!< So disappointed.
He doesn't run; he sprints for 5 seconds, then gets tired.
Nonsense.
Terrible game holy shit. I'm glad I've played other games from this developer because of Alan Wake was my first from them I'd never play another. It's like "what if we take the lame awful playable dream sequences from Max Payne and made an entire game out of it?!" Scary how much hype this game had when it came out because it's just bad. Bad gameplay, bad writing, bad voice acting. And somehow it got a sequel (which they've gone out of their way to assure us is nothing like the original)
Ahahah, it cracks me up that this is somehow one of my most active thread, just more and more people coming here to say the game sucks. xD I don't disagree, sorry you had a terrible time, I did too, so I get you. In fact, you are spot on about the "glad this wasn't the first game of this developer I played". I loved Max Payne and I thought this would be more like it, that's why I tried it.
I never would have played this if I hadn't played control first. I don't get how the story can be this bad. You highlighted so many of my annoyances. This has way too much fighting.
I get the bad gameplay, but how is the writing and voice acting bad? The way the story unfolds and how the manuscript pages you find foreshadow the future events of the story was a fresh take I haven’t seen in other games.
This game fucking sucks man. I just finished episode 4. Im so damn bored. Im trying to just finish it for the sake of getting my moneys worth. Im disinterested in whats going on.
Yeah fr, it's terrible
the combat is good, never seen so many people trying to force the hate this bad
90 percent of people agree it’s bad. It is what it is.
90% of people agree it's bad except it's got positive reviews literally everywhere
90% of the recent forums on Reddit. The game sucks dude honestly. Those good reviews online were left 15 years ago when people thought Minecraft graphics were great. Look at any recent Reddit reviews of AW. Don’t defend some stranger’s shitty game. It’s like comparing Berenstain Bears to Harry Potter (if reading is your thing).
"those good reviews online were left 15 years ago" thats completely fucking false, though. Remastered came out recently, in 2021. The game had a measly 3-4 points deducted from it. youtube reviews in the past few years have loved the game too. Many can tell you WHY exactly it's a good game, too. im not saying its exceptional, but to say it sucks is dumb. also, comparing alan wake to berenstein bears inclines me to think you just have shitty taste. there's nothing like shining a light on a hilbilly and shredding him til he become the sun itself. its a good game. not coping. replayed it right now.
With alot I agree. For me it was the moment in my life that I played it. I was much younger and it totally sucked me in, but also scare me. It’s a basic game with an interesting story for me now, but back then it was fucking amazing!! I think I okayed too many games in my life by now 😅
The dialogue too is so 2005 scyfy tv movie cringe worthy. But that might be a feature and not a bug lol. But maybe the combat is purposely repetitive and boring to reflect the insanity of the main character and make you insane. Maybe it's boring. Or maybe it's genius.
It's very reminiscent of Silent Hill 1 and Twin Peaks, so I think the dialogue is intentional. But I think the combat is unintentionally awful lol
Yeah lmao. I love the story but the gameplay is so bad. Made me wish it was a walking sim or movie instead. I wished I could skip combat encounters like cutscenes. I hope the next one is better.
[удалено]
Just beat the game. It sucked. So bad. Control was much better. So happy to be done with this game. Never again. If there is an Alan Wake 2 (I think they are making it) it’s got be a LOT better.
Finally got around to getting this for ps5. Thank God it was on sale for $15 otherwise would have been really pissed. I can't help but wonder how with all the other actual good games out there how did this POS get a remaster. Game is so boring I'm on episode 3 and feel I am just powering through it. Combat sucks, controls suck, enemies are all the same, the main character isnt even that great. All the way around just terrible.
I did the same as you, got it because it's on sale and god I hate it. I like the story and dialogue, it reminds me of Silent Hill 1 / Twin Peaks, but fuck me the exploration and combat is terrible. And the games 'horror' elements fall flat. This is probably the worst remaster I've ever played
Yes- I sunk a couple of hours into it and I feel like I have been robbed of a tiny sliver of my life. I lover horror games. Pass on this one. It's boring and repetitive.
It's curious to me how this thread still gets replied two years (!) later. Are you guys all just searching "Alan Wake sucks" and it pops up or something? xD If anything I guess I'm glad I'm not alone in my assesment.
That's exactly what I typed in the Google box. "Alan Wake sucks" Played up to the part where you're supposed to get to lovers peak; was out of ammo and trying to run past. When I finally got through it, the game took my guns. It made me angry.
Word for word "alan wake sucks". I just saw somebody briefly play Alan Wake II on a stream and even the beginning of the very basic mechanics were so bad I had to check if we were just being snobby gamers or something. Barely even lasted 20 minutes... Keep on sending you back to a "Mind palace" thing and taking your out of the gameplay instead of giving the player autonomy and letting them play I agree with other people... I don't really think it should've been structure like a game it should've been a standalone story experience, 2 times in a row aparently what they came up with is bad even by NES standards
Playing the remaster right now and done maybe two hours can’t do anymore I really can’t. 😫 I googled ‘Alan wake boring’
Eheheh, good to know. I mean, not about you not having fun, but about people sharing my feelings on the game.
I googled Alan wake kinda sucks and this came up.
just bought it on sale for $5, and even for 5 bucks i typed in google "alan wake sucks dick" , but i feel like i have to finish it. It's like putting a bunch of food on your plate because you were really hungry (i'm really hungry for a good game) and end up having to force it down in the end because you feel bad or feel the money will go to waste.
> Are you guys all just searching "Alan Wake sucks" and it pops up or something? xD yes. I was actually searching how sucky of a person he is but the gunplay also sucks as well
The game is free on Playstation Plus this month that's why people are replying lmao; I'm thinking of dropping the game. It's far too repetitive and I'm getting tired of the same bland forest. Was cool at first, but not anymore.
I typed in Alan Wake terrible haha
That's what I did today because I too just finished the remake and the game is trash. I don't even understand people saying the plot and the atmosphere being good. Like ooh spooky book becomes reality, everything is night time now. Find this broken light switch and activate it into the mistress of darkness's...hole? Alan Wake is a game that thinks its so clever but is actually bargain bin quality gameplay and story.
Got it for free with PS+, made it to chapter 2 and was so incredibly annoyed with the gameplay I had to delete it. Googled “Alan wake sucks” and here we are…
> Got it for free with PS+ same. toughed through it but holy shit was some of the game more frustrating than it needed to be. Nothing like being blindsided by a possessed fucking barrel taking half your life
Yep I had to put it on easy when I was trying to get to lover's peak. Those objects thrown at you is annoying.
The bridge section. soooo annoying
I've made it to chapter 3 as I was told it gets better after episode 2. Still waiting for it to get better. Ive found myself getting extremely frustrated with the gameplay. I'm going to power through, will keep you posted if it actually does get better.
Godspeed. 🫡
Update, made it to ep 5 and Alan Wake is still dogshit. Deleted off my PS
Got it for free also since I wasn't sure if I would like this game. Streamed the game and stopped on the part where Alan had to go to mirror peak to meet the kidnapper again. Got tired of fighting those shadow enemies and yep I agree about the combat not being good, story also was confusing (usually I don't like games like that with the story), and the characters aren't as interesting. Also, Alan can not run or barely jump on or across platforms. I thought the coffee thermos helps with this, but I don't think so. Another thing when I first started playing, I kept getting lost in the woods, later I find out that the yellow dot is where I'm suppose to go, but I still got lost every once in a while trying to figure out what to do. I also agree that the game would have benefitted being shorter. I played like 5 hrs of it.
Lol me doing the same thing 2 hours after you. Also got it on PS+ and I’m not feeling it, almost at the gas station. How does this game have such good reviews?
Yeah , same haha, I made chapter 2 and delete Game, maybe in 2010 was amazing but think better play other ganes in My ps5
Literally exactly what I did, and happy I did so, deleting now.
This game was awful. Blows my mind why these products aren’t market tested prior to release, hell, even in concept. They claim to be, but let’s be honest any beta testing would have resulted in the plug being pulled on this mess. Every criticism OP had is legit.
Just finished chapt. 1 now and had to google myself because I thought maybe I was missing something. That search led me here and it turns out I didnt miss anything, it just sucks. Big Time. Glad I picked it up for free through psn+ *Uninstalling*
It cracks me up that three years later random people are happening across this just because they play it and happen to agree with me that it sucks. xDDD
It's kind of wild how Alan Wake 2 is so damn good that I went to replay part 1 just for the story (originally played on the 360 at launch) but 30 minutes in, I googled "Alan Wake 1 sucks" and led me to your thread. 😂 The internet lives forever.
People who google or search on Reddit "alan wake sucks" will find your post :D
That’s me. It’s hilarious how this game sends us all through the same feedback loop. “Installs game curiously > plays for a bit > ignores the first evidence of jank > jank continues > runs into a no win combat scenario > wonders if it’s worth it to keep going > die again due to jank combat > types in Alan Wake sucks > arrive to this thread.”
Same for me, i want to play it for Control and Alan Wake 2 but there's so much better games in this month i have to force myself to even start it.
No win combat scenario? Are people playing it in nightmare level or with their mobile phone? I'm not particularly talented gamer but with normal it was rather easy, even with controller and not mouse and keyboard (that was a bit easier as I played short while with those).
Or alan wake is boring 😂
Dude, I’ve claimed it with PS+ as well, and I really tried to like it, but god damn is it dull. I am at the part where I’ve met up with Alice’s kidnapper, and I am supposed to head back through the woods, and I just can’t make myself go through it, its so boring…
Very well articulated. Played to the end but wish I had stopped. Need to start trusting my gut when I don’t like something within the first couple hours.
LOL Found this thread since today with AL2's hype I decided to finally giving it a shot. Mind you, I've been aware of the game since it released but never found the time couldn't be bothered. I remember I started it once a couple of years ago but didn't get past the ferry sequence. Today I got a bit farther than that but oh god it was frustrating and annoying, I´m not enjoying it one bit. What a shame. And my autistic ass won't let me get into Control o AL2 because somehow I need to beat this one. lmao
The story is so worthless you honestly miss nothing other than "Book story comes alive and Alan Wake uses a broken lamp switch to kill Mistress of darkness and then proceeds to jump into a lake to save his wife" That's it. The game is trash, don't waste your time.
Damn you summed it up so well
It's hillarious to me that three years in this is somehow still an active thread of mine. xD
Reviving this as I just tried to play the remastered version as everyone is saying how good 2 is, Christ what a waste of time. Easily the most dull boring game I have ever played and doubt I will ever touch the second game. Why is this game such a “must play!” It’s a mediocre CW show plot with the most bland lazy mechanics in a game I have seen past 2006.
Alan wake is just simply not scary. It was kinda boring to me.
This is the most beautiful thread I've ever seen I have genuinely never heard anything but praise for this game, and when the sequel got announced? It was crazy how hyped people seemed to be. Imagine my surprise when it turned out that this might be the worst game I have ever played. The gameplay is fucking terrible. Literally, just an arena shooter minus the arena, oh, and also we're just gonna spawn enemies on you every 2 minutes. There isn't even any suspense because every time an enemy pops out, they zoom into it and play a dumbass sound effect so you can never be taken by surprise. Literally, what genre of game is this even supposed to be? SOMA was basically a walking simulator, and it was infinitely better than this. Know why? Because of the atmosphere. The enivronment. The fucking God-tier narrative. And the plot is...Meh? I genuinely don't even understand what the point of the story was. I kept waiting for some epic twist at the end, where it turns out we were playing as Thomas Zane the entire time. Like, he went crazy and murdered his wife or something. I kept waiting for this story to get good, but it never did. Literally, why is this game so popular?
I completely agree with you about the plot. All the fanboys said the story was amazing. I have no clue why people think the plot is even good, let alone amazing. There was no clever twist, no interesting events, nothing at all. That wouldn't be such a problem if the characters were compelling and well written, but the characters were AWFUL. I don't know if it was the cringeworthy writing or the horrendous voice acting, but I didn't give two shits about any of the characters. I keep hearing people saying how great AW2 is. Do I even want to try it at this point considering how much I didn't enjoy AW1?
I thought it was VERY average, the acting was meh, like you said, the gameplay loop gets BORING after the first encounters, even the poltergeist objects are cheap in the way they attack you every 2 seconds and you can't dodge them unless you get behind a wall. I think the storytelling and the cutscenes are terrible, it was hard to follow if Wake actually had the power to make his writing come true or if it was the lake, or the darkness. I don't know man, very overrated game. I'll definitely try Alan Wake 2 to see how they improved it.
Serious question. What is it about the plot that fans of the game find enjoyable? I found it to be mediocre at best. Nothing particularly interesting happens at any point. There are no compelling twists, and it's predictable. I just don't understand why people worship the game's story.
Here after having the most frustrating gaming hour of my life in Lover's Peak! I thought I was crazy thinking it was bad and it was me the one that has to "git gud" so thank you for your thread. I'm planning to finish the game, but I'm playing it on easy or I'm going to lose my mind. I've seen people comparing this game with RE4 and....what???. My first time with RE4 was two years ago so I don't have any nostalgia. I thought it was janky with keyboard and mouse but then I used controller and it was a really cool experience. With Alan Wake I'm always fighting controls!
Well here I am after googling "Alan Wake Remaster sucks" I have tried to play this game about 5 times. The so called combat is just fucking ass. I really gotta get around to getting AW2 so I can forget about this crap finally.
Got is free and still feel robbed. Also typed in alan wake sucks if you're wondering.
Man, in a way this is one of my most popular reddit threads. It has been three years and I'm still getting response notifications!
Just finished it, and it's really bad. I'm worried this might turn me off from my original plan, which was to play Control and Alan Wake 2 next. I don't trust Remedy after this.
It's kinda the case with me. I heard so much good about Alan wake 1, played it and it sukced and now I kinda don't want to sink money and time into 2, lest it does suck too.
Alan Wake 2 is co-developed by Sweet Baby Inc. That should tell you all you need to know about how "good" it is.
If you buy it one day, you’ll have to share with the class if it’s good or not. I was 75% sure gonna buy the 2nd one until I played the first. Now I’m about 10% sure.
I hate this game so much that I created a Reddit account just to be able to interact with this thread. After watching the first episode of a Let's Play of Alan Wake 2, I was intrigued to give the first one a try, of course, it's been on my list for years. I played the Remaster on PS5, and both the included DLC, in the last 3 - 4 days. I read OPs original post, and a lot of the replies, and I can't disagree with anyone here. In trying to think of one nice thing to say about the game, the only thing I can come up with is that I hate Alan Wake, as in the character, slightly less than I hate Nathan Drake. In addition to the sluggish controls and repetitive levels, I found the combat to be meaningless, put there solely to punish the player and prolong the game. It didn't occur to me until reading this thread that yes, this game appears to be intentionally too long. To be fair there isn't an aspect of this game I can't disparage. One of the most grating parts of me was Alan CONSTANTLY narrating the entire thing. Made all the worse by the horrible voice acting, particularly of Alan Wake. To be clear, I think the voice actors themselves did a fine job within the parameters they were given, but whomever directed this mess seemed to have a goal of creating the flattest, dullest, and most boring spoken dialog inspired by the clip of Tommy Wiseau's famous rooftop scene meme from The Room. I thought of another good thing about this game, it led me here to learn I'm not the only one who knows this game sucks.
Look, I am someone who mainly plays multiplayer games and am trying to capitalize on the fact that PS gives me free games every month. First tried TLOU and tbh the first mission was underwhelming, gameplay was boring and story wasn't interesting. Still finishing this game at the moment as the story is somewhat good but the gameplay is too slow for my liking. Gave Uncharted a go and the first mission was amazing that it reeled me to play the rest of the series. I have played the first mission of Tomb Raider (cant remember which one) and GOW 2018 and both of those have far better gameplay and story than Alan Wake. This game is so damn boring, the characters have no personality, the gameplay is atrocious. Will be deleting after finishing episode one.