Alan Wake's American Nightmare
A thrilling new storyline, hordes of creepy enemies, serious firepower and beautiful Arizona locations, combined with a fun and challenging new game mode!
Alan Wake's American Nightmare is a action, adventure and horror game
developed and published by Remedy Entertainment.
Released on May 22nd 2012 is available only on Windows
in 10 languages: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish - Spain, Japanese, Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Russian.
It has received 8,639 reviews of which 6,274 were positive and 2,365 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.1 out of 10. 😊
The game is currently priced at 2.21€ on Steam and has a 70% discount.
The Steam community has classified Alan Wake's American Nightmare into these genres:
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Requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS *:Windows XP SP2
- Processor:Dual Core 2GHz Intel or 2.8GHz AMD
- Memory:2 GB RAM
- Graphics:DirectX 10 compatible with 512MB RAM
- DirectX®:10
- Hard Drive:8 GB HD space
- Sound:DirectX 9.0c compatible
Reviews
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[H1]Introduction:[/H1] After playing Alan Wake, I was already itching for a sequel, the cliffhanger ending just left me wanting more in the worst way. I needed to see what would happen next, where the story might go from there, but my expectations were high, and in the words of Alan Wake himself in the first game; "A story is not a machine that does what you tell it. A story is a beast with a mind of its own. You can create it, shape it, but as the story grows, it starts wanting things of its own. Change one thing and you set off a chain reaction of events that spreads through the whole thing. The characters need to be true to themselves. The events need to follow a logic that fits the story. A single flaw and the magic is gone. The story dies." I think that statement also rings true of a story's audience, if you mess up a story by adding in a bunch things that don't fit, making all sorts of unnecessary alterations to the formula, then fundamentally changing the narrative by making it all come from another direction, effectively reducing the continuation of the story from where it left off to that of a secondary plot of lesser importance, then that's more than enough to kill the story. But enough about Alan Wake 2, let's talk about a lesser appreciated yet infinitely better executed follow up to the story of Alan Wake, as presented in Alan Wake's American Nightmare. [H1]Visual Presentation:[/H1] It should come as no surprise that American Nightmare looks mostly the same as the original Alan Wake, although the characters models aren't quite as detailed and the the lighting is noticeably brighter throughout the game. It's by no means an amazing looking game, but the visuals hold up reasonably well and everything is recognizable, so the visuals are best described as adequate. [H1]Audio Presentation:[/H1] The audio quality in Alan Wake games has always been the series strong suit and American Nightmare is no exception. The sound effects, music, and voice acting are mostly excellent, although gunshots sound rather generic and unimpressive, which is typical for most videogames. [H1]Gameplay Mechanics and Features:[/H1] American Nightmare builds upon the same gameplay as its predecessor, utilizing the familiar Fight With Light combat mechanic in which the player must focus the beam of the Flashlight upon standard enemies (Taken) in order to strip away the shadows that protect them before they're vulnerable to gunfire. However, as a welcome twist, there are new enemy types which require alternative tactics to defeat. For example, the first new enemy you'll encounter is a Splitter, an enemy which will split in two every time light is focused on them up to three times, so if you're not careful and attempt to fight them using the standard method, you'll actually end up facing more enemies, potentially overwhelming yoursehim There are also Taken Spiders which attack in groups and can be defeated using either the flashlight or firearms on their own. And the Birdman who can transform into a flock of Ravens to evade incoming attacks and flank the player. Part of the plot involves Alan Wake being trapped in a time loop (sound familiar?) by his doppelganger Mr. Scratch, ergo you replay the same three stages three times over to reach the ending, but each time the story changes a little and the characters you meet will help you by completing some of the tasks for you each time which prevents it from being too repetitive or tedious. American Nightmare also features a Survival Mode in which the player must fight relentless waves of enemies until dawn, complete with Online Leaderboards so you can compete against your friends. The mode is rather basic, but nevertheless fun to play if you're into that sort of mini-game. [H1]Story:[/H1] Alan Wake's American Nightmare tells the story of Alan Wake's desperate attempt to successfully free himself from The Dark Place beneath the unearthly waves of Cauldron Lake by means of altering an old script he worked on for the television show Night Springs, in which he must face his doppelganger, the devious Mr. Scratch, who was originally invented by Thomas Zane to act as a sort of substitute which would take Alan's place back in the world outside The Dark Place. Unfortunately, a number of sensationalist articles in tabloid magazines filled with wild speculation in regards to his disappearance as well as exaggerated articles regarding the wild parties and scandalous fights he got into with paparazzi have evoked the powers of Cauldron Lake, turning Mr. Scratch into a psychotic serial killer with terrifying supernatural powers at his disposal. Mr. Scratch has been using these powers to torment Alan by trapping him in a time loop, forcing him to repeat the same sequence of events while attacking him and all those around him. Alan's only hope of escape lies in recovering the Manuscript Pages necessary to alter the twisted story by revealing a hidden message in the stars. Mr. Scratch is honestly the best part about this game, the sort of villain you love to hate. You can really tell that both Ilka Villi and Matthew Poretta had fun portraying Mr. Scratch and their enthusiasm is a big part of what makes the character so entertaining. Mr. Scratch is easily the most well-executed villain in the series so far, he's a complete psychopath who delights in charming people by playing the part of Alan Wake, yet acting far more friendly, enthusiastic, and patient than the real deal, then suddenly taking them by surprise by committing wanton acts of violence against them. Throughout the game Mr. Scratch reveals that he plans to not only replace Alan Wake and take over his life, but to emotionally manipulate/murder his wife Alice, then fire his best friend/agent Barry Wheeler, just to hurt him. Ultimately, he plans to use his dark powers to release The Dark Presence from deep within Cauldron Lake upon the world, hence his moniker, The Herald of Darkness. Unfortunately, the Mr. Scratch featured in this game has nothing in common with the so-called "Scratch" in Alan Wake 2, so everything that makes him likeable, entertaining, yet terrible and terrifying is completely absent in the sequel. [H1]Performance:[/H1] Much like the original Alan Wake on PC, American Nightmare still runs flawlessly on modern hardware despite being released over a decade ago, so at the time of this review all you have to do to enjoy the game is push the play button. [H1]Final Verdict:[/H1] Alan Wake's American Nightmare is an underappreciated gem which unfortunately never received a Remastered Version like the original Alan Wake did, despite being an incredible and worthy follow up to the game, which is less than I can say for the mismatched assortment of half-baked ideas wherein Alan Wake isn't even the main character titled Alan Wake 2. I highly recommend Alan Wake's American Nightmare to fans of the series, as many of the elements featured in Alan Wake 2 which actually work not only originated in American Nightmare, but are better executed!
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if anyone tells you that you should skip ALAN WOKE'S AMERICAN NIGHTMARE, they're wrong. this game rocks. it's a pretty short and sweet experience, the combat has been touched up, and it looks pretty. it's a little dumb but i think it's allowed to be a little dumb. they earned it. plus if you don't play it you will miss out on some really nice live-action performances, remedy has cooked yet again.
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This time Alan finds himself in an episode of the television series Night Springs, for which he himself wrote the script. The most exciting themes of the show (quantum immortality, parallel realities and mirror doubles) left some imprint on the consciousness of the fiction writer. He is left alone with his dark essence, the slightly psychotic Mr. Scratch. The evil double constantly appears on televisions scattered across Arizona and intimidates the main character in every possible way. The plot of the game is quite simple, and its specificity, the time loop, forces us to go through the same locations several times. The main difference from the original game is that you no longer need to run away from enemies. As a rule, Alan carries a hunting rifle, a submachine gun and a couple of flash-bang grenades - darkness, beware! The manuscript itself no longer leads the hero by the hand, as in the original. If previously everything written in it inevitably came true, now Wake himself has to fulfill the conditions described on pieces of paper in order to move forward. If Alan does everything as written, something happens that moves the plot forward. American Nightmare looks much nicer than the dlc episodes in the original Alan Wake, but the emphasis on shooting is a little confusing - after all, the game mechanics are designed to run away from enemies, and not to kill them on an industrial scale. American Nightmare cannot be compared to the first part either in plot or atmosphere, but in any case I would recommend playing it to fans of the Alan Wake.
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Short, simple and a dumb fun spinoff to the original game. If you wanted the horror aspects of Alan Wake to be expanded then you should go play Alan Wake 2. American Nightmare is not about that, it's just about making a fun gameplay out of the systems that already have been build for the Alan Wake 1. Making it more of the Arcade-like Third Person Shooter than a Action-Horror that the original game was. It's not bad at all, it's fun to play, the story is very basic, the gameplay can get repetative but it works. As a simple spin-off it's a very fun experience. But I am gonna say this - Thank god that this game was not made as Alan Wake 2 as originally planned. Because as Alan Wake sequel it fails, it isn't a sequel. The Alan Wake 2, that we have today, IS.
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This was a great iteration on the base game of Alan Wake, and it helps to ground some of the prior game's events. Finishing up the first entry, I still had all manner of uncertainties caroming around in my head: "Is Alan really just going to get left stuck in the Dark World"? "How are Alice & Barry getting on after all of this"? And I guess most importantly... "How much of this is actually happening"??? And I think American Nightmare does a great job of answering all of these questions -- the last one most importantly of all. See, throughout all of American Nightmare (up to and including its own slightly ambiguous end), there's the "Night Springs" motif, with Serling-esque narration lending a surreal patina to everything that takes place. But throughout all of this story -- with events that are explicitly said to take place two years following those of the first game -- Alan continues to drive home the point that a narrative is able to influence our reality. It's kind of the driving theme behind the game. Mr. Scratch spews forth from the twisted & salacious rumors that took root after Wake's disappearance in the first game; events are able to be modified & even determined by Wake's narrative; and Wake's appearance in this small, isolated Arizona town is made possible by the "Night Springs" episode that he writes and we play. This episode of "Night Springs" is basically the wedge that Alan leverages to finally free himself from the Dark World. It's a small, adjacent pocket dimension residing somewhere between our world and the Dark one. So this all goes back to dispelling my uncertainties with the first game. All of the horror and magic and evil *did* happen, and any and all psychological components and trauma & drama are the necessary narrative trappings needed to imbue the Dark World with power. Everything is mutable & fungible... everything is as real as the next thing. Oh! And another big theme: it's not just what's explicitly written in a story that carries weight... what is implied can be just as impactful. That's a theme that I believe all of Remedy's games will lean on quite heavily. So that's all of the narrative stuff. I clearly think it's great. It contextualizes and embellishes upon the first game in some really profound ways, and Alan's character is shown to have grown. How's about the gameplay? It's better! The story this time around takes place in a time loop, and this enables Remedy to make the most of three recurring areas. So it's smart design, and as you loop through the areas you uncover more manuscript pages, which can be used to unlock better weapons, which can in turn be used to dispatch the ever more dangerous enemies you face as the loops continue to iterate. Additionally, the tedium of retreading common ground is alleviated somewhat by the fact that the game acknowledges the time loop in its story, and each iteration is slightly augmented. Similar to Wake's own experience, it's familiar, but slightly different. As far as the game feel, the controls and combat are more fluid this go around. So while the fundamental gameplay loop is more or less the same as before, the act of fighting off hordes of Taken just *feels* better this go around. That being said, if the first game's combat loop didn't do it for you, this is unlikely to change your mind. It does the fundamentals better, but doesn't mix things up too much beyond that (though it did get rid of the dumb birds, so good call there). Quick, snappy, and poignant, this final DLC is an integral part of Alan's story, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the mainline experience.
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Online players
25
Developer
Remedy Entertainment
Publisher
Remedy Entertainment
Release
22 May 2012
Platforms