Alan Wake Remastered (2021) - Horror Video Game Impressions: 'Rotted Meat No.3'

The third in my series of horror video games I was unable to get through was the 2021 remaster of 2010 video game - Alan Wake. As I've gotten older and my years have began to advance, I find myself with little desire to re-play games I've already gotten through. Over the years, I have played Alan Wake multiple times, it is still a great game, and the remaster makes a great game even better.

The Synopsis: 

Alan Wake arrives in the lazy mountain town of Bright Falls with his wife, on vacation to try and help the famous writer get over his writer's block. They are not there long when Wake's wife gets captured by a dark presence from Cauldron Lake. A week later, Alan wakes up in a crashed car with no memory of what has happened to him during that time period. He finds Bright Falls is infested with supernaturally infected humans, and that the area is littered with pages from a manuscript that he doesn't remember writing, which eerily predicts the future with uncanny accuracy.

How the Game Felt:

This remaster is the only proper way to play the game. Having tried it like this I could never go back. Alan Wake was made before the advent of HD televisions, so going back to the original it is very dark and murky. The remaster makes everything look so much smoother and brighter, making the world come alive with details that before I wasn't able to see. It also appears to have had lore added that links the game to Control, a neat touch. The game is a combat heavy survival horror game split into chapters. It plays as well as it always did, and while I stuck with this I was having a genuine blast.

Reason for Abandoning the Game:

As much fun as this was to play, it is still the same Alan Wake that I have played countless times before. It felt like a waste of my game playing time to give this yet another playthrough, even if it did look better than it ever had before. In an age where I struggle to even play remakes, let alone remasters, I just didn't feel a strong urge to continue through the familiar story and levels.