Gripping, TV-series-style story
Mentioned in ~3 in 5 positive reviews
“The story is genuinely one of a kind a writer trapped inside his own horror manuscript.”
Steam review · 16.4 h played ↗
Alan Wake
Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.
Very Positive · 90%Very Positive · 90%Remedy Entertainment2012Horror · Action · Adventure
The verdict
A story-first, Twin Peaks/Stephen King-style thriller with superb atmosphere, held back by repetitive, clunky flashlight-and-shoot combat. Skip it if gameplay matters more than narrative.
Great for
Story-driven players who love Twin Peaks, Stephen King vibes and Remedy lore, and can forgive dated gameplay
Main risk
Combat is repetitive and clunky for 10+ hours, with a short-winded hero and enemies spawning behind you
What players love
Superb creepy atmosphere
Mentioned in ~1 in 3 positive reviews
“proves that a strong atmosphere can carry a game even when the graphics are no longer fresh.”
Steam review · 25.7 h played ↗
Unique light-based combat idea
Mentioned in ~1 in 7 positive reviews
“Such a unique mechanic of using a flashlight to make the enemies vulnerable.”
Steam review · 7.8 h played ↗
Holds up visually and runs well
Mentioned in ~1 in 8 positive reviews
“the graphics still hold up to this day.”
Steam review · 9.2 h played ↗
Great soundtrack and music
Mentioned in ~1 in 15 positive reviews
“The soundtrack in this game is on point, so every song matched the environment really well”
Steam review · 18.4 h played ↗
Memorable characters like Barry
Mentioned in ~1 in 15 positive reviews
“Barry is on my Mt. Rushmore of video game characters.”
Steam review · 9 h played ↗
What players complain about
Repetitive, boring combat loop
Mentioned in ~1 in 2 negative reviews
“shine your flashlight, shoot, sometimes throw a flare. now do it a trillion times until your brain walks out of your skull on its own”
Steam review · 10.7 h played ↗
Alan's tiny stamina and clunky movement
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 negative reviews
“Alan himself, guy has the stamina of a 40-year chain smoker and gets winded after sprinting five meters”
Steam review · 9.5 h played ↗
Overlong pacing, same forest repeatedly
Mentioned in ~1 in 7 negative reviews
“I swear to god this game is 70% walking through the same ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ forest.”
Steam review · 9.9 h played ↗
Story better watched than played
Mentioned in ~1 in 8 negative reviews
“you're better off reading a solid plot summary online and jumping straight into the sequel”
Steam review · 9.5 h played ↗
Bad camera and enemies spawning behind you
Mentioned in ~1 in 10 negative reviews
“You'll constantly be hit by enemies that are off-screen, that you don't even know exist.”
Steam review · 12.6 h played ↗
Unfair difficulty and ammo shortages
Mentioned in ~1 in 10 negative reviews
“the combat is so bad there is not enough ammo for the number of enemies thrown at you”
Steam review · 2.3 h played ↗
System requirements
From the Steam store page
Steam Deck: VerifiedController support8 GB
Minimum
OSWindows XP SP2
ProcessorDual Core 2GHz Intel or 2.8GHz AMD
Memory2 GB RAM
GraphicsDirectX 10 compatible with 512MB RAM
Storage8 GB HD space
Recommended
OSWindows 7
ProcessorQuad Core 2.66GHz Intel or 3.2GHz AMD
Memory4 GB RAM
GraphicsDirectX 10 compatible or later with 1GB RAM
Storage8 GB HD space
OSWindows XP SP2
ProcessorDual Core 2GHz Intel or 2.8GHz AMD
Memory2 GB RAM
GraphicsDirectX 10 compatible with 512MB RAM
Storage8 GB HD space
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