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Alan Wake is right up there with Silent Hill 2 as an all time horror great!

Velurian

Member
I really liked the game but my experience was hindered by the fact that I played after Silent Hill 3 and that was my favorite horror game...
I even wrote a review: https://steamcommunity.com/id/lilleredel/recommended/108710/

Alan Wake is like a very relaxed spook story with a wonderful ambiance and an excellent soundtrack. Albeit it cannot be considered an open-world-game, its beautiful surroundings leave some room for exploration and if you take the time to let yourself be engulfed by the little details out there along with numerous radio and TV broadcasts it really sets an excellent mood to the whole game.

The only real problems I have with the game are related to tactical choices made by the developer such as constant savepoints and regenerating health. What really could have been tense masterpiece where you run around in the haunted forest with 10% hp in share panic and terror is now more of a spooky walk in the park. An occasional weird camera angle is also a bit distracting ...
8/10

As far great horror games go here are some great ones in no specific order:

Silent Hill 3
The Evil Within 1 ja 2
FEAR


On my to play list:
Alient Isolation
Dead Space 1 and 2
Resident evil 2 remake

For some reason Amnesia did not click with me and also, jumpscare or grotesque scenes are not my thing (outlast - böö).
Resident Evil 7 felt a bit like too much after had not played horror games for a while tho...
 
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CatLady

Selfishly plays on Xbox Purr-ies X
Maybe I played a diffent SH2 then the rest of the world because I thought it wasn't very good at all. Matter of fact, I traded it in as soon as I closed it out and I don't do trade ins. This was the OG XBOX version.

Same. A friend who was a huge fan loaned me some Silent hill 2& 3 remastered(?) collection for the 360 and I thought it was stupid, nonsensical and sucked. Maybe you had to be there for the original but from what I experienced I don't get what's great about SH.

I do love Alan Wake and have played it several times, but someone else mentioned Dead Space 1&2, yeah, those games are some scary ass games and the only ones that ever gave me freaking non-stop anxiety.
 

Arachnid

Member
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ChoosableOne

ChoosableAll
It was a good game but i remember nothing but a flashlight. Silent Hill 2 was something special. Maybe because it was my first survival horror experience, i don't know(i can't remember which game i played first, RE or this one).

I can't forget that foggy road trip, then that radio buzzing noise and... you know. I searched on Youtube for a gameplay video and i found out that i remember almost everyhing about that intro(till that first encounter at 18:00) --> youtube link. Maybe it was the first time i was attacking a creature with a wrench, hopelessly. It was disturbing, shocking. That radio sound and foggy, deserted atmosphere didn't help either.

I couldn't finish it back then because it was too complex and scary for me at that time. But it still stays in my heart. I would love to play it if there ever be a remake.

I can't say something like that for Alan Wake. It's below Evil Within and Fatal Frame on my list of survival horrors(and nowhere near to Resident Evil 2, 4, Silent Hill 2 and Siren). I think i like Japanese survival horror games more:)
 
I liked Alan Wake.
It's good, but not Silent Hill 2 good.

The objective Top 5 horror games of all time:
  1. Silent Hill 2.
  2. Resident Evil (2002 GameCube remake).
  3. System Shock 2.
  4. Alien: Isolation.
  5. The Shalebridge Craddle mission from Thief: Deadly Shadows.
You forgot Fatal Frame 2.
 

OnionSnake

Banned
Cu8SVTVWcAA7DZJ


The product placement got pretty blatant, the battery mechanic itself was just tedious. Definitely a stepping stone to Quantum Break/Control. Would love a revisit of this game.
 

Hydroxy

Member
Its a really good game. The story and the atmosphere is so good. Unfortunately the combat becomes very repetitive around halfway mark.
 

Arachnid

Member
I haven't played it so I wouldn't know.
I did play the one on Wii U, Maiden of Black Water... or something.
I liked it.
That one was alright.

Just to let you know though, you goofed. Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly is the only survival horror game I believe to be on the same level to (or at least close to and somewhat contestable to) Silent Hill 2. It's a legit classic. You missed out fam
 

rofif

Banned
People forget how terribly sh2 plays. It's the junkiest game ever with most locked doors and confusing mazes in existence. It is the story and atmosphere which helped it exceed poor gameplay. Alan Wake plays great, looks great and atmosphere is great... Just not as heavy or serious as sh2.
Evil within 2 is also a good comparison. A bit more scary than aw but not as scary as sh2.

So on the scariest level, sh2 no doubt is the best.
But aw is the one I reply every now and then
 
It's very good, especially if you're into suspense (is it that a word in english?) and atmospheric stuff like Twin Peaks and Secret window. The game is really good at that.

It's not really an horror game.
 
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sobaka770

Banned
Alan Wake is first of all not really a horror game, mostly like a tense paranormal thriller. I did not play SH2 but I can say that while I enjoyed Alan Wake I don't see it as a particularly great game in terms of mechanics and the story... I mean for videogames it's pretty nifty but Remedy has a Stephen King problem as in they don't land the endings to their supernatural stories and having "Darkness" as antagonist, please...
 

ChoosableOne

ChoosableAll
People forget how terribly sh2 plays. It's the junkiest game ever with most locked doors and confusing mazes in existence. It is the story and atmosphere which helped it exceed poor gameplay. Alan Wake plays great, looks great and atmosphere is great... Just not as heavy or serious as sh2.
Evil within 2 is also a good comparison. A bit more scary than aw but not as scary as sh2.

So on the scariest level, sh2 no doubt is the best.
But aw is the one I reply every now and then
Alan Wake released 9 years after SH2. I agree that SH2 is confusing though.
 

RJMacready73

Simps for Amouranth
absolutely fucking loved this game on 360, everything about it, the feel of it, the narrative and episodic nature of the levels and the story was genuinely great.. yeah top top game and one of my favourites
 

ethomaz

Banned
It is not even a horror game... c'mon.

Said that SH2 is these pinnacles of game design that happens one single time in a franchise.
 
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M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
The issue is when you play SH2 when you don't really speak English, it's trash tier game. I like it, but only after I revisit the game with proper English knowledge, but even then the gameplay is barelly passable.

Alan Wake, I don't know. I play though it once and then just forget it, I like the OST and the book included in special edition, is probably more interesting than the game.
 

stn

Member
AW didn't strike me as a horror game, more of a psychological thriller adventure of sorts. I didn't scared playing it even once. Solid game though.
 

rofif

Banned
Cu8SVTVWcAA7DZJ


The product placement got pretty blatant, the battery mechanic itself was just tedious. Definitely a stepping stone to Quantum Break/Control. Would love a revisit of this game.
I never understood that complaint. These are just batteries. like in real world which the game partly mimics. It's a funny observation but nothing immersion breaking
 

Bryank75

Banned
Never played it, even though I had 360. People were saying RDR launched at the same time, so that is probably why....
 

Shrap

Member
Didn't think they call it a psychological thriller or something? It's not a horror. That was what made me a bit disappointed initially - there was nothing scary in it. Still it was fun to play, the story was decent and I really liked the use of lighting. Solid 8/10.

I'd never put it near Silent Hill 2 or any other all time great horror games.
 

OnionSnake

Banned
I never understood that complaint. These are just batteries. like in real world which the game partly mimics. It's a funny observation but nothing immersion breaking
Nothing else in the game was based in reality except the product placement.
 

elenapska

Member
I never felt horror with Alan Wake, but I remember these:
- Barry was an excellent second character
- AW story was great and sometimes humoristic without being forced.
- I loved the atmosphere, perhaps the best of its time.
- The combat was very basic. The game mechanic was poor
- It took a long time to develop, and the result wasn't what we were expecing.
 

Alan Wake

Member
Still Remedy's best game. I replayed it last year to celebrate its 10th anniversary expecting it to feel old but it held its ground well. The combat is still a bit tiresome, but I love everything else about it. The environments, the goofy characters, the dialogue and not least the story. Since then they've just gone completely crazy story wise.

Alan Wake had charm, it had funny moments. Just the Taken lines are worth a chapter of their own.

You get two pills in the morning...!
 
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TheAssist

Member
did you beat the game? i felt the same way when i first tried to play it and ended up quitting. after years of people hyping it i went back and finished it last year and truly fell in love after really digging in and getting past the first parts.

Yeah I played through it relatively fast. Maybe I wasnt in the right mindset. Maybe I was a bit disappointed because I was watching the game from the beginning (back when it was open world and they showed off all the cool tech and wether effect on intel events for their new quad core processor). God I am old -.-

I mean its fine. One does not have to like everything. I dont hate it, I just found it a bit mediocre
 

Life

Member
Why would such a linear game even be compared to SH2? It was repetitive - point a flashlight and shoot to win. Style over substance.
Do you know what it feels like to check your map, see a door and think "well shit, if this door is locked, I have no idea where I need to go next." ?

Hardly any games put you in that position. It's just sad how linear games have become.
 
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Hulk_Smash

Banned
Most of the way through and I am enjoying it. I like the episode breaks/recaps. I kinda wish more story-driven video games would follow the tv episode format. It gives each chapter a more distinct feel and allows you to know when it is a good time to take a break for the night.

Graphics hold up for a game this old. Also, I love the tv show-with-in-a show they play in game. Nice touches.
 

fart town usa

Gold Member
It's a good game, flashlight mechanic and gunplay feel fantastic. A bit too linear but I really enjoyed it. Only played through it once.

I'd rather play Alan Wake over SH2. I love SH2 but I've always thought the movements and combat felt sluggish/floaty. In terms of atmosphere, SH2 absolutely destroys Alan Wake.

As far as I'm concerned, RE 96 is the GOAT and everything else is fighting for 2nd place.
 
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Warablo

Member
The narration and story is pretty good, but feel like the gameplay gets repetitive after awhile and the story never concludes. Remedy always has me wanting more from the story. I enjoy their stories but feel like it always ends in a cliffhanger.
 
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Alan Wake

Member
Barry is a kind of character that I've been missing in Remedy's games since then. But AW is full of great characters (which made Quantum Break feel even more disappointing).
 
Alan Wake was a phenomenal game back in the 360/PS3 era, but nowadays it is fairly obvious that it relied heavily on a single mechanic to make it unique amongst other games at the time. Much like how Red Faction: Guerrilla relied on its destruction physics, or Fracture on its terrain gun, or Timeshift on its time manipulation, Alan Wake relied on its excellent lighting mechanic for combat.

Luckily, it had a campy story as a plus, but in 2021 it's gameplay and environments are very repetitive and needs a good amount of forgiveness to be consider "amazing."

Silent Hill 2 is a near masterpiece to me. Unfortunately, I have never been able to truly come to terms with whether or not a good portion is solely nostalgia, as I grew up with the Silent Hill and Resident Evil series. I can see why the game turns off a handful of people, but Silent Hill is a series that stays in your mind always. Alan Wake is a fun game that you'll randomly remember once a year.
 
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martino

Member
Yeah... sure if you only play microsoft games.
i don't even consider this game a "microsoft game"
funding talented (imo) studio doesn't make content they produce part of the publisher dna if it doesn't own it. (true for from software too)
 
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I really liked Alan Wake and I thought it was up there with some of the very good horror games. I feel Silent Hill 2 is in a class of its own. The atmosphere, presentation and even the story to this day are near impossible for any game to match imho.
 
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