Alan Wake 2

[Thursday]

Sounds like a skill issue.

[bgmnts]

Game is actually piss easy in terms of combat sadly. More tedious than challenging when it does ratchet up.

But yeah found it quite funny after a while that the game was partially about time loops whilst I was crashing and playing the same sections over and over!

[Mobius]

Shame you are crashing. Haven't had a single crash myself on PS5

Agree the combat is rubbish. I find you can just run past everything mostly though admitttedly I'm on easy mode.

[madhair60]

Agree the combat is rubbish.

I'm on easy mode.

🤔

[bgmnts]

Shame you are crashing. Haven't had a single crash myself on PS5

Agree the combat is rubbish. I find you can just run past everything mostly though admitttedly I'm on easy mode.

PS5 is probably a better machine than Series S, even series X was liable to crash, but it's still bad really, a game should still function.

But yeah I'm on normal and it's just a mess really:

Boring bullet sponge enemies slouch towards you, except for the one that dots around really fast throwing stuff at you slowly. The aesthetic is a bit fucked as well, especially in the Wake sections where you will randomly be overcome by a blurring screen. The actual movement and exploration is fun and there's lots to do and see, but I'd have liked a more fun game.

Graphically, it looks lovely until you move and you get that sickening motion blur and film grain effect, which still lingers even when you turn it off. I am getting motion blur just scrolling down on computer email files you find in the game which is mental.

The plot is just silly rubbish but enjoyable, it maybe goes on a bit too long as I'm ready for it to end.

My favourite aspect of the game is Alan Wake's section where you are 'writing' the story as you go, and changing areas in order to progress.

The horror ambience is great but it's ruined by loads of absolute shit jump scares. Jump scares have been shit for 40 years fucksake.

The live action stuff, whatever, if Sam Lake wants to make telly or a film, he should make a telly or a film.

Solid 7 out of 10 but loses a point to the dreaded 6 out of 10 due to the poor performance, crashing at the worst time and weird screen tearing and such.



(May have the best end game ever which makes this titslly irrelevent)

[bgmnts]

Actually, on reflection, as the wave of enemies denouement crashes midway through a very crackly audio of a rock concert, I think the majority of the blame in terms of performance goes to the Series S. Something about RAM limitations.

Only a few games have had so many problems on it - the Series X was more powerful and Civ VI crashed still - so can't pin it all on the console but I assume PC and PlayStation users will have a much better experience.

May  get a Series X again and replay this, to see if it still suffers.

[bgmnts]

Completed. Headscratcher ending, ah well. Obviously, with the frustration of crashes and bugs I stopped caring about the plot a few chapters ago but it does feel very convoluted.

Reminds me of Lost.

Just makes me want to play Max Payne again really. Which I may just do. Maybe Wake would have been better just as a magic writer story rather than all this Remedyverse stuff.

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

Why did you get a Series X, but then get rid and get the inferior model?

[bgmnts]

Eh tried to sell it to give up playing video games, and thought a series s would better suit anyway, takes up less space etc. Didn't think it'd be so bad for some games.

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

Well, you know what to ask Father Christmas for when you sit on his knee then.

[bgmnts]

I get it, I'm a child etc.

Just never got over the addictive aspect of playing video games is all. Anyway, as I say, I'll give Wake a pass on the performance issues.

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

I was just being whimsical. Don't take it personally.

[Mr Trumpet]

Bumping this as it seems the most appropriate place to note the sad, too-young death of James McCaffrey, Remedy's go-to gravel-voiced legend. I haven't played Alan Wake 2 yet but I understand he had a role in it - i've seen tributes from Sam Lake and David Harewood online as well as Courtney Hope (Jesse from Control).