2014. Júl. 13.

Fear of darkness is one of man’s elemental instincts that is suppressed by the most. This is the cause why light and darkness were always the fundamental tools of the horror genre – the simple and ingenious idea is just that: forge weapons from light against opponents made from darkness. Alan Wake, the American bestselling author became famous around the world by his crime and thriller novels. He has a seemingly perfect life with an overzealous manager, a nice house, a beautiful wife, a career going up and lots of fans – but he is troubled by what can haunt any artist at least once in a lifetime. He has writer’s block, and as a result he didn’t write a line for two years. His wife, the charming Alice arranges a second honeymoon trip to the picturesque town of Bright Falls, where she hopes Alan can find not just romantic moments but some inspiration too. However, Alan finds nothing else but doubts, pain and terror. What’s more; these horrors come alive from the pages of his newest work in progress. Of course he – the player – doesn’t remember writing any new novel. There is no way to tell more about the story without spoilers, because surprises are coming continuously, starting from the first moment of the game. This is one of the main aspects that defines the atmosphere and gameplay of Alan Wake. The story is living and movie-like in almost every moment; it makes you forget that you are knocking around on the levels of a game. Luckily, there is not a hint of the well-known feeling of being a jumping-jack: “go here, go there, don’t be curious at all!” It is more like an interactive novel, or with a more thankful metaphor; like a high quality series in the psychological thriller genre. Deliberately; the developers emphasized this aspect of the atmosphere with main titles and “previously on…” parts between the episodes. (At the first time I almost fall off my chair in surprise when the rich voice of the narrator said: “Previously on Alan Wake…”) Hearing it the first time you could be averse from this episodic structure of the game,...