Jean-Daniel Proulx

Overall this was a solid game with a lot of upside, certainly one of the best horror games of the year. It isn't perfect but you get plenty of play time and a good experience throughout. Pros: Original concepts/ideas: Not the first game or piece of media to mess with the concept of time but the way this was done was original with the dark place. Creative puzzle systems: MINOR SPOILERS; I really liked the mix of the lamp system and changing plot devices in different scenes in Alan Wake's universe. Amazing graphics: Feels really immersive at low settings, would love to revisit this game at some point in the future with a much better PC to see what that looks like with cranked up settings! Great acting & media blend: I thought the way the game went from real video to video game was perfectly executed. Great Sound Design: Lots to like with the sound design in this game across the board, from monsters to weapons and more. Cons: - Occasionally buggy/glitchy: There were some weird moments in the game where certain regions wouldn't render in time causing for moments where I couldn't access an area I should have access to or even falling out of the map. I attribute this to pushing my 3070 as much as possible without running my frames too low but a type of VRAM usage notification or meter in the settings would go a long way. There were other more insignificant visuals bugs as well (items floating in the air, etc). - Lack of balance: I ended up with way too many items in my inventory most of the time. I would prefer if this game cut down on items for more stealthiness just to create more fear of monsters. This is mainly an issue in the main world/overworld. - Clunky: Some more room to travel around the map in some situations would've been nice just to feel less tunneled in when fighting monsters on occasion. - Somewhat anticlimactic boss fights/moments: I feel like the "boss" fights and end of the game kind of just happen. I honestly never died from the bigger fights and the only times I did was against regular monsters especially when they pile up on you.