Alan Wake's American Nightmare

 PC
User Score
6.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 443 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 155 out of 443
  2. Mixed: 227 out of 443
  3. Negative: 61 out of 443

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. MrScratch
    Jun 9, 2012
    10
    This game shouldn't be compared to original Alan Wake, this is just a spin off - tv episode going live. This game introduces us further to Mr. Scratch, doppelganger of Alan Wake (whom we saw in AW). Game is more action oriented, and it fits this episode really well. You should approach this one with no expectations - take a coke, take a whole (hot) day for this one, and enjoy.
  2. JaydenPickens
    Feb 20, 2019
    8
    American Nightmare is a tough nut to crack. On one hand we get amazing story, references to the original Alan Wake game and better gameplay than in original Alan Wake. On the other hand we get a small map that we must explore three times and almost nothing changes, fights get repetitive after some time and the game is very short... this should be considered more as an expansion pack than aAmerican Nightmare is a tough nut to crack. On one hand we get amazing story, references to the original Alan Wake game and better gameplay than in original Alan Wake. On the other hand we get a small map that we must explore three times and almost nothing changes, fights get repetitive after some time and the game is very short... this should be considered more as an expansion pack than a stand-alone game. Despite all of this, I had fun playing the game and it wasn't a literal nightmare. Pickens approves.… Expand
  3. Jay_Pickens
    Jul 24, 2018
    8
    American Nightmare is a tough nut to crack. On one hand we get amazing story, references to the original Alan Wake game and better gameplay than in original Alan Wake. On the other hand we get a small map that we must explore three times and almost nothing changes, fights get repetitive after some time and the game is very short... this should be considered more as an expansion pack than aAmerican Nightmare is a tough nut to crack. On one hand we get amazing story, references to the original Alan Wake game and better gameplay than in original Alan Wake. On the other hand we get a small map that we must explore three times and almost nothing changes, fights get repetitive after some time and the game is very short... this should be considered more as an expansion pack than a stand-alone game. Despite all of this, I had fun playing the game and it wasn't a literal nightmare. Pickens approves.… Expand
  4. pnoozi
    Jul 18, 2012
    9
    Great value. Gameplay is the same as the original (that is to say, very good once you get used to it). The story isn't bad, it's just not on par with the original Alan Wake in terms of scale. I loved the setting (Arizona), thought it was a perfect change. For the price I can't give this anything less than what I gave the original Alan Wake - 9/10. It may not be a full fledged titleGreat value. Gameplay is the same as the original (that is to say, very good once you get used to it). The story isn't bad, it's just not on par with the original Alan Wake in terms of scale. I loved the setting (Arizona), thought it was a perfect change. For the price I can't give this anything less than what I gave the original Alan Wake - 9/10. It may not be a full fledged title but it still leaves me tweaking for more. You listening, Remedy? Take my money!… Expand
  5. keefbaker
    Oct 6, 2013
    8
    Unlike everyone else I much preferred this to Alan Wake because I wasn't constantly submitted to cheesy scriptwriting and a game that was REALLY trying to be scary and instead it was as scary as a CYOOT LEETEL PANDA BEAR.

    Alan Wake's American Nightmare doesn't pretend to be anything but a game and it succeeds very well at that. I even care more about the characters in this than the    Unlike everyone else I much preferred this to Alan Wake because I wasn't constantly submitted to cheesy scriptwriting and a game that was REALLY trying to be scary and instead it was as scary as a CYOOT LEETEL PANDA BEAR.

    Alan Wake's American Nightmare doesn't pretend to be anything but a game and it succeeds very well at that. I even care more about the characters in this than the first one because they're not trying so desperately hard.    … Expand
  6. Lockie
    May 23, 2012
    8
    American Nightmare isn't so immersive, as Alan Wake was, but it's still really interesting to play. Gameplay became more dynamic, but the feeling of fear was lost. Nevertheless, the storyline is good, Mr. Scratch is a perfectly-written character. In addition, it was really interesting to find out what happened with other characters of the franchise. I was glad to hear their voice again :)American Nightmare isn't so immersive, as Alan Wake was, but it's still really interesting to play. Gameplay became more dynamic, but the feeling of fear was lost. Nevertheless, the storyline is good, Mr. Scratch is a perfectly-written character. In addition, it was really interesting to find out what happened with other characters of the franchise. I was glad to hear their voice again :) It's a spin-off, not a sequel, and i didn't expect something extraordinary from this game. So, it justified my expectations. Good game.… Expand
  7. GPReS
    Jul 22, 2012
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. When I started to play AWAN I was ready to see the continuation of Alaln's journey not through real forests and real ppl, but through the place which won't let you go so easy, the place filled with darkness and evil, the place for which Alan's suffering as a loving husband who lost his wife, friend and normal life is the best food. I was ready to see his struggle, and I saw it. He's a writer, so his best weapon is his mind and typewriting machine.
    I think that the action that we've seen in AWAN is only his first attempt to run away from darkness, I'd even say - we've seen a draft of his new novel "Return".
    Advice - find all the pages to clearly understand all the things that happened in the story. AWAN is not a regular arcade game, it's the game which can easily distract from main things with all the shooting, but the seeking one will find all the answers and new food for thought here.
    So be patient, be attentive. Nothing happens out of blue in the game, and the game is simply splendid.    … Expand
  8. DrBushie
    May 26, 2012
    9
    For 10â
  9. DenzNoble
    Jul 4, 2012
    9
    A good spin off of Alan Wake for a good amount of money, arcade mode is incredible i think the pc version should have a better score not score from consolers that angry for the lose of the exclusive
  10. tarekmallo
    Jun 9, 2012
    8
    It certainly lacks the jolts and thrills of the original and the combat although highly satisfying gets a bit repetitive, however story-wise American Nightmare contains lots of references to the previous installment and altogether does a great job in serving its fans.
  11. Chapa9dj
    Aug 29, 2012
    9
    Take it for what the game really is, a spin-off, expansion or whatever you want to call it.
    It is very repetitive since you have to go back to the same places 3 times but i like it and i also like how things variate in the scenary every time i go back. It still a fantastic experience like the first Alan Wake, if you liked the previous game i'm sure you will find it interesting and worth    Take it for what the game really is, a spin-off, expansion or whatever you want to call it.
    It is very repetitive since you have to go back to the same places 3 times but i like it and i also like how things variate in the scenary every time i go back. It still a fantastic experience like the first Alan Wake, if you liked the previous game i'm sure you will find it interesting and worth playing it.

    Something that really loved about this was the Real time cut-scenes, god i hope they do the same with Alan Wake 2, and please i want more of The Old Gods Of Asgard.

    Not so wonderful or epic as AW but well worth the money and a must buy..    … Expand
  12. neomoonsevin
    Nov 7, 2022
    10
    After the events of Alan wake Barry Wheeler became sons of asgards music agent they leave Brightfalls to go on the road and arrive at Nevada desert hotel to rest up before heading to a gig somewhere in America still sad over Alans Exit during Alan wake he turns on the tv to watch a episode of night springs and falls asleep this is where the game starts were now in a pocket universe ofAfter the events of Alan wake Barry Wheeler became sons of asgards music agent they leave Brightfalls to go on the road and arrive at Nevada desert hotel to rest up before heading to a gig somewhere in America still sad over Alans Exit during Alan wake he turns on the tv to watch a episode of night springs and falls asleep this is where the game starts were now in a pocket universe of Barry wheelers dream World featuring Alan wake this game is also connected to control aswell through the projector that features as an altered item in control an awesome game another favourite in my Xbox owned list you'll be abit pissed off U repeat certain parts of the game but the outcomes are different each time another awesome game I like it I own it aswell on Xbox awesome game… Expand
  13. cmfrip
    Aug 12, 2019
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Alan wake 1 was quite monotonous; This is 'almost' like an open world game with smaller area to cross and more clear story, as well as a much lighter feel ; for that I will give 'Remedy' credit for making a better game, despite it being quite a bit more 'pedestrian' and 'guided' like a film. Noobs and casuals should play this rather than Alan Wake 1.

    Combat was the same as Alan wake 1 , with the ducking and diving mechanic making the game feel hard to die; though if your not used to it, or you are drunk, you will probably die; as the Enemies do flank you quite well.

    The game was also very easy on normal though , almost to a cake walk (I did not die even a hand full of times). Additionally with the quantity of ammo and supplies available, its hard to run out.

    The seeking and finding of the manuscripts is a simple fetch quest , and feels very random. It's hardly worth the effort and did cull enjoyment of the game, and requires considerable effort looking around for missed pages. May all noobs who see that they have missed one page the first visit of an area know that "its OK as you go back to those areas and are able to re-acquire those pages."

    There are other aspects of the game design that hurt the game, also, like how the game transitions you without asking to the next area, let alone the choice of check points sometimes. The UI at times could be better.

    The additional weapons are for the most part missable. You get these by gaining manuscripts. The nail-gun and carbine are good enough on their own, and for those thinking they will miss out on the bigger drops; which require you to participate in looking for these damn manuscripts, don't worry too much - your not missing much. The AA12 is worth getting, but its not the best gun IMO. The best gun does not require manuscripts to collect...

    The other weapons are not very good at all; to the point of being disappointing; so all this shirting around for manuscripts and finding the m16 is about as strong as the carbine (which is one of the first guns you pick up).

    The story was good and the interactions with NPC's were frequent, which did make the game live – as they were part of the flow of the game. What's more interactions are optional in order to get ideas of who other characters fit into the story. A person does open a view as to why Alan wake is motivated (though the most generic of Mac-Guffins)and I felt because of this, that it was worth talking to them. Given the quantity of the other activities and content in the game; the black and white element of the game was removed; making the game actually quite pleasant to follow. It had reasonable immersion factor too (except for the damn manuscripts :P)

    Again Remedy have proven them selves to piece together a decent immersible story. The combat though -make no mistake -is a remake of Alan Wake 1 - and to its credit , its not the best, but it is good enough.    … Expand
  14. igor-qwe
    Feb 18, 2013
    8
    The story of original game was a line of six episodes that kept you wandering of what was going to happen next. Following the story were two episodes of DLC and "Alan Wake's American Nightmare". These were not as good as was expected by many. Both DLC added Alan's travelling in his nightmares, that basically did not add anything to the original story. So if you missed them, you would stillThe story of original game was a line of six episodes that kept you wandering of what was going to happen next. Following the story were two episodes of DLC and "Alan Wake's American Nightmare". These were not as good as was expected by many. Both DLC added Alan's travelling in his nightmares, that basically did not add anything to the original story. So if you missed them, you would still know everything from the main storyline. But both DLC and "American Nightmare" added much of action moments, that could keep you enjoying the world of Alan. Regarding the plot of "Alan Wake's American Nightmare" there is not much to say. The game itself is a horror action. If you enjoyed action sequence in original "Alan Wake" then you should probably try "Nightmare". I was one of those who enjoyed action but was bored of storyline in "Nightmare". It seems that it was supposed to be three times shorter (if you played through, you know what I mean).
    You should not think that "American Nightmare" is an original game, think of it as of a big piece of DLC.
    Anyway, I would recommend it to fans and to those who liked Alan's gameplay, because not only new weapons might be used, but also a new horde mode can be played. It requires staying alive for specific time on a map (till dawn to be exact), meanwhile you are attack by enemies. Horde mode is not an original thing nowadays, but in "Alan Wake's American Nightmare" it was better than in many other games you know.    … Expand
  15. sft
    May 18, 2014
    8
    The light fantastic (revisited)

    I enjoyed Alan Wake, although I had some pretty serious gripes about the gameplay. Thankfully all the things that annoyed me about the original game (control being temporarily wrenched away from the player every time enemies approached was the worst) have gone from this follow-up. As a result this short episode is a much more satisfying, if brief,    The light fantastic (revisited)

    I enjoyed Alan Wake, although I had some pretty serious gripes about the gameplay. Thankfully all the things that annoyed me about the original game (control being temporarily wrenched away from the player every time enemies approached was the worst) have gone from this follow-up. As a result this short episode is a much more satisfying, if brief, experience (there are only about 6 hours of main story gameplay here, although there is an arcade game tagged on, which is basically a survival mode where you’re pitted against waves of enemies). The story has an unusual, Groundhog Day structure which entails the player repeating tasks several times in an effort to defeat the main enemy, Mr Scratch. This sounds dull but it isn’t because the atmosphere and combat are enjoyable enough to remain fresh through the few hours it takes to complete. I also liked the use of FMV cutscenes, which, sadly, are a rare thing these days (it took me back to 90s -- the heyday for FMV games). Overall AWAN is an improvement on the original game. I do feel, however, that Remedy will have to come up with a stronger storyline to keep the player’s interest for a full-length campaign in AW2.    … Expand
  16. iddqd4
    Aug 31, 2020
    8
    Для DLC на 4 часа сделано все крайне достойно, стрельба атмосфера, на месте. Отсюда у Remedy начинается фулл моушен видео, которое дальше перерастет в полноценный сериал QB и видео вставки из Control. 8/10
  17. laymonage
    Aug 26, 2013
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Alan Wake's American Nightmare was amazing in the beginning, but once you've got to the time loop thing, it becomes a bit repetitive. The time loop idea is nice, but they should have added more new things for each time loop. It's a good thing that they added some new weapons and a new story, so it's not too bad at all. Not as good as the original but you should get it if you like the series.… Expand
  18. PublicNuisance
    Jun 12, 2021
    8
    Following a great game, even with an expansion pack, can be a tough balancing act. Alan Wake’s American Nightmare manages to do more good than harm to the series and, while it is of a different style than the original, shows that there are many ways to make a great game. The original Alan Wake was very much a light survival horror game. There were only basic firearms; scattered bits ofFollowing a great game, even with an expansion pack, can be a tough balancing act. Alan Wake’s American Nightmare manages to do more good than harm to the series and, while it is of a different style than the original, shows that there are many ways to make a great game. The original Alan Wake was very much a light survival horror game. There were only basic firearms; scattered bits of light to heal yourself; and while it wasn’t the hardest game around it manages to have a good amount of challenge without being sadistic. American Nightmare sheds a lot of the survival horror themes in favour of more action and black comedy. Gone are the basic weapons and in their place you get automatic weapons almost right away. This isn’t a terrible thing as the action is a lot more fun than the original but it lacks the tense parts you had and also gets way too easy. Never once did I feel challenged and never once did I die. Again, I’m not slamming the game nor am I angry because if you’re going to substitute tension for action and it is great action then I can make that work and enjoy it. Had it been sub par or not fun then it would be a different story. Some other differences are that the flare gun and flash bang grenades no longer have the ability to destroy enemies. Given the reduced difficulty this isn’t a terrible thing but it is unexplained why these enemies are somehow hardened against this attack all of a sudden. The game also lacked the ranged enemies of the original. All but one enemy were only effective close range which was another part that made the game easier. The game also has a more open world feel to it. The objectives require more travel and exploration with less paths blocked off. The HUD was improved to accommodate this with a great mini map. You can also unlock better weapons by finding the manuscript pages which gave extra reason aside from back story. The manuscript pages themselves now appear to move down the page as they get read which was a nice touch from the static pages of the original. The story was once again a fun and engaging ride. It had some holes in it such as just how the trap at the end actually works but overall I still highly enjoyed it. The black humour I mentioned earlier was also a great addition to the game. Your main nemesis this game is an evil alter ego of Alan called Mr. Scratch. He shows up on televisions to taunt Alan frequently as well as torture people. The music was also another strong point of the game. If Remedy came out and said they designed the whole game around the song “Clubfoot” by Kasabian then I would not only accept it but congratulate it. The game even manages to try to recreate a music scene like the one from the original where you fend off Taken on a concert stage. It wasn’t quite as good but still fun. The voice acting and characters were once again top notch. Alan; Mr. Scratch; Emma; Serena; and Dr. Meadows all were sued well and did a great job. The cut scenes were very high quality as well. Graphically the game was much the same as the original , not to say that as a negative. Even in 2012 this was still well above average in many areas.

    I played American Nightmare on Linux using Valve’s Proton. It never crashed on me. There was the same audio issue where cut scenes had no sound that was fixed with the launch command “WINEDLLOVERRIDES="xaudio2_7=b,n". There are 3 AA settings; 4 AF settings; 2 SSAO settings; a v-sync toggle and 7 other graphics options. There is an FOV slider but there are no numbers on it. Performance was better than the original with no dips below 60 with this game. You can pause and skip cut scenes. Alt-Tab works. The game uses checkpoint saves. With the open world nature of the game save points of light are scattered around the map so you can save more often. There is still just one save slot that gets overwritten. You can’t change the difficulty after starting the game although this time you can play Nightmare difficulty right from the start. There was one little glitch w=in a scene where Alan is handed a key card but no key card is in either of the characters hands.

    Disk Space Used: 2.32 GB

    Settings Used: 8x AA; 16x AF; All High; max draw distance @ 1080P; v-sync on
    GPU Usage: 66-100 %
    VRAM Usage: 1552-1789 MB
    CPU Usage: 14-30 %
    RAM Usage: 3.1-3.9 GB
    Frame Rate: 79-142 FPS

    A departure in tone and theme but a very fun and great game overall in it’s own right. It adds to the story in a meaningful way and adds things that make the change in style work. I finished the game on normal difficulty in 4 hours and 17 minutes. I paid $4.39 CAD for it and can say it is easily worth it’s current price of 10.29 CAD.

    My Score: 8.5/10

    My System:

    AMD Ryzen 5 2600X | 16GB DDR4-3000 CL15 | MSI RX 580 8GB Gaming X | Mesa 21.1.2 | Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500GB | Manjaro 21.0.6 | Mate 1.24.1 | Kernel 5.12.8-1-MANJARO | AOC G2460P 1920*1080 @ 144hz | Proton 6.3-4    … Expand
  19. Captain_Chaos
    May 20, 2017
    8
    Alan Wake's American Nightmare is a stand-alone followup to the events of the DLC episodes of the original game. Too big for a DLC but not quite a sequel, its more of an expansion. Nightmare features what feels like quadruple the available weapons, faster flashlight energy regeneration, more responsive controls and more action-oriented encounters. There are some who decry Nightmare as ofAlan Wake's American Nightmare is a stand-alone followup to the events of the DLC episodes of the original game. Too big for a DLC but not quite a sequel, its more of an expansion. Nightmare features what feels like quadruple the available weapons, faster flashlight energy regeneration, more responsive controls and more action-oriented encounters. There are some who decry Nightmare as of inferior quality to the base game, and while it does offer an explanation for why its the same three levels repeated three times with differences only in dialogue and enemy placement, that's still obvious repetition. Regardless of this, it really does play a lot better mechanically. It includes the obligatory wave survival mode for those inclined. It also offers an incentive for tracking down the manuscript pages beyond backstory, as they are required to access lockboxes containing new weapons- however, I found the most useful weapon to be the crossbow, accessible on the third level and found simply hanging on a tree, no manuscript pages necessary. A harder cap is placed on your flares and flashbangs, but ammunition is much more plentiful to account for the more frequent enemies encountered, as well as newer, tougher enemies.

    We find a slightly older Alan, now in plaid work shirt and jeans instead of his stuffy tweed jacket, and much more experienced in facing the shadows that haunt him. Trapped in a Twilight Zone version of a Arizona highway-side town, Alan faces a cruel doppleganger called Mr. Scratch who claims to be everything he was too weak to be, but is really just a huge **** the manifestations of Alan's feelings of inadequacy as a writer and a husband. He has the opportunity to help a few people on the way.

    American Nightmare is a good play, but it will make little sense to anyone who has not played the first game from a story standpoint. If you have the opportunity to play the first game I strongly recommend doing so before playing American Nightmare.    … Expand
  20. mahirhasan37
    Sep 19, 2016
    8
    This game did not live up to the potential of the original Alan wake. still it gets a good score because of the game play it has to offer.the story is as exciting as the original and the repetitive levels with same environments adds much injury to the original.The only reason i played this game was for the ORIGINAL.
  21. gold
    Feb 24, 2022
    9
    Неожиданно, но мне понравилось больше чем основная игра. Игровой процесс остался таким же но в разы меньше и это плюс. Сама игра не так затянута и из-за этого она маленькая, но это плюс. В общем, по геймплею, сюжету, и антуражу игра мне напоминает... Medal of Honor: Airborne. Маленькие локации, минимум задач - это мне и понравилось. Но всё ровно эта игра не дотягивает до Airborne из-заНеожиданно, но мне понравилось больше чем основная игра. Игровой процесс остался таким же но в разы меньше и это плюс. Сама игра не так затянута и из-за этого она маленькая, но это плюс. В общем, по геймплею, сюжету, и антуражу игра мне напоминает... Medal of Honor: Airborne. Маленькие локации, минимум задач - это мне и понравилось. Но всё ровно эта игра не дотягивает до Airborne из-за специфики жанра.
    Итог: 9.456/10    … Expand
  22. gamerz4life
    Oct 10, 2020
    8
    Alan Wake: American Nightmare was released under the Xbox Arcade series due to Microsoft turning down their proposal for the sequel, Alan Wake: The Return. Thus, it’s more like an expansion pack than an actual sequel. It’s about 6 hours in length and for that length; you get a pretty good addition to the Alan Wake story.

    The story starts out with a TV starting to play a Night Springs    Alan Wake: American Nightmare was released under the Xbox Arcade series due to Microsoft turning down their proposal for the sequel, Alan Wake: The Return. Thus, it’s more like an expansion pack than an actual sequel. It’s about 6 hours in length and for that length; you get a pretty good addition to the Alan Wake story.

    The story starts out with a TV starting to play a Night Springs episode, and turns into the narrator describing Alan and his situation after the first game. Then a live-action sequence starts with Alan looking around in a mist and we see Mr. Scratch appear behind him before he sends Alan into a desert type setting where we see Bird Leg Cabin sinking into the water nearby. Throughout the game, you’ll come across TVs in which Mr. Scratch is taunting Alan and showing him gleefully murdering people. You’ll also run across Mr. Scratch in-level and people who have interacted with him. The background and depth added to Mr. Scratch’s character (who was really only introduced with about 2 lines in the first game) makes him an amazing antagonist. You just want to see what offense he’ll get up to next and what he’ll do against Alan to make sure he never returns from the Dark Place.

    Gameplay-wise the game controls closely to the first game while feeling a bit different, probably has something to do with this being an open-world game. You will still be collecting manuscript pages though they’re spread across the open-world so there will be more searching for them though I did find all of them but one in my first playthrough. This time through page collection, you will be able to unlock different cases with different weapons to try out. It took a bit before picking up the nail-gun (advertised on the cover art) thinking it was a weak weapon but it turned out to be a really great weapon and a lot of fun to use against enemies. Ka-chunk, ka-chunk!! While you do repeat the same three maps, the maps change; how you enter them, where the enemies are, the characters remember you and set things up so you don’t have to redo everything each time. There are different enemy types though they are all still Taken so you’ll still be using your trusty flashlight. I didn’t care too much for the Splitter type but still managed to take care of them after a bit of effort.

    Overall, American Nightmare is worth playing. It’ll add more to Alan’s story and what’s going on back in the real world with him having gone missing. It’s a quick play too, so there’s no real reason not to pick this up if you loved the original Alan Wake. Hopefully now that Remedy bought the rights to the Alan Wake series from Microsoft we’ll see a true sequel in the future!    … Expand
  23. Skyware
    Feb 16, 2020
    8
    Главное,что стот знать об этой игре,так это то,что сюжет в ней чертовски хорош.Нет,серьезно, по этому можно книгу написать.Но вот графон оставляет желать лучшего.А так,неплохое продолжение оригинала,сохраняющее геймдизайн и атмосферу оригинала.Главное,что стот знать об этой игре,так это то,что сюжет в ней чертовски хорош.Нет,серьезно, по этому можно книгу написать.Но вот графон оставляет желать лучшего.А так,неплохое продолжение оригинала,сохраняющее геймдизайн и атмосферу оригинала.
  24. Thejodjeremie
    May 8, 2020
    8
    The game is cool spin off of the original alan wake. There's lots of new weapons and environments to play.
  25. Gorbunov2004
    Mar 25, 2021
    8
    Хорошее продолжение много видов оружия много видов новых монстров жаль что в конце не было ни какой финальной схватки но так игра получилась очень даже хороша.
  26. StarkAgentos
    May 20, 2022
    10
    Прошёл игру за 2 часа. Разработчики значительно улучшили геймплей и убрали элементы ужастика. Офигенный сюжет, смешной юмор. Крутая игра.
  27. Ciocolici
    Jul 31, 2023
    8
    Alan Wake's American Nightmare falls somewhere between a spin-off and a sequel. While it continues the story directly, it feels more like a spin-off in its overall tone and presentation.

    Let's start with the story. It is decent, but when compared to the brilliance of the original Alan Wake, it falls short. The introduction of Mr. Scratch as an intriguing character adds some interest,    Alan Wake's American Nightmare falls somewhere between a spin-off and a sequel. While it continues the story directly, it feels more like a spin-off in its overall tone and presentation.

    Let's start with the story. It is decent, but when compared to the brilliance of the original Alan Wake, it falls short. The introduction of Mr. Scratch as an intriguing character adds some interest, but the overall concept lacks the depth and impact of the original game. Given the difference in scale between the two games, this discrepancy was somewhat expected. Nonetheless, considering its shorter length, the story is passable. However, my main disappointment lies in the change of the narrator. Alan Wake's narration, where we saw events from his perspective as he read and told the story, was a key factor in making the original game's storytelling so captivating. In American Nightmare, the narration is provided by a character from Night Springs, and while it's not necessarily bad, it lacks the emotional connection and immersion that Alan's voice lent to the experience. Nevertheless, the use of real actors in the cinematics is a commendable choice, with Alan Wake's actor delivering a solid performance. On the downside, the in-game supporting characters' dialogue with Alan feels unrealistic and somewhat disappointing.

    On the gameplay front, there are definite improvements. Combat and movement have received substantial upgrades, making Alan more responsive and agile. The camera is better, and Alan no longer feels exhausted after running short distances, resulting in a smoother and more enjoyable experience. Additionally, the game offers a wider array of weapons and enemies, addressing a potential issue of lack of variety from the first game. However, while the enemy variations are appreciated, the overall combat feels lighter and less intense than the first game, primarily due to the lack of the original's dark and eerie atmosphere. American Nightmare has shifted its focus from survival horror to action-adventure, presenting a lighter thriller story. The element of surprise is diminished as enemies spawn in waves, and the tension from being stalked by the Taken is less present. Consequently, the game feels less chilling and more lighthearted, though still entertaining. Thanks to the improved combat and movement mechanics, taking on the Taken can be a fun experience. The addition of the Arcade mode is a welcome inclusion, enhancing the game's action-packed nature.

    Regarding bugs, I encountered only one significant issue. The game occasionally fails to close properly, leaving a black screen after quitting. Without a second monitor and the task manager open, it becomes impossible to close the game. This can be frustrating for players without the necessary setup, leading them to restart or log out of their Windows account every time they want to exit the game.

    It's evident that Alan Wake's American Nightmare was never intended to be a true sequel but rather a light, side-story spin-off that explores the character of Mr. Scratch while providing a bit of additional story. Despite this, there is room for improvement. While maintaining its short duration, the game could have retained more of the original atmosphere, genre, and darkness that made Alan Wake memorable. However, as a separate experience, it is genuinely enjoyable and highly recommended for any Alan Wake fan.    … Expand
  28. nemix3d
    Sep 10, 2023
    8
    Unlike everyone else I much preferred this to Alan Wake because I wasn't constantly submitted to cheesy scriptwriting and a game that was REALLY trying to be scary and instead it was as scary as a CYOOT LEETEL PANDA BEAR.

Awards & Rankings

56
#56 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
94
#94 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. PC Master (Greece)
    Aug 31, 2012
    86
    There's something vaguely heroic when you have set your desperate, one-in-a-million trap and you pull the lever, just when Kasabian's 'Club Foot' crashes in and you witness the satellite plummeting from the heavens, while oil-rigs explode all around you and the Taken scream for your blood. American Nightmare is a journey that you can't abandon, until you have reached its end. [August 2012]
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jul 29, 2012
    70
    We all had hopes American Nightmare would be more of a "full-featured" title. Though it's more like a stand-alone DLC. Nevertheless, fans of the original game should not avoid it. [July 2012]
  3. Absolute Games
    Jul 28, 2012
    55
    If American Nightware were an episode of an actual television series, I would have switched the channel long before the end of the first act.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »