360°
7.0

Alan Wake Remastered Review - IGN

Alan Wake Remastered is a fairly inessential upgrade for existing fans, but this moody mystery is still well worth a look for newcomers.

NeoGamer232963d ago

I played thru this on 360. Kind of disappointed they didn't do more to improve the remaster. Also extremely disappointed they did not include the American Nightmare story.

Essentially, since this is new to PS I thought they would've went all out on the remaster. But it looks like they just cheaped out and did the minimum to get sales.

annoyedgamer963d ago

No American Nightmare is a deal breaker and its exclusion wreaks of greed.

Firebird360963d ago

If sales are good, I'd bet anything American nightmare will be released later. For an added cost of course

Neonridr963d ago

do they include the 2 DLCs though?

Neonridr963d ago

@NeoGamer232 - I agree it should have included American Nightmare, but that's sort of an offshoot anyways. I'm glad they at least give the 2 DLCs as they were fantastic.

NeoGamer232963d ago

@Neonridr
American Nightmare was more story and I found the game controls to be tighter and more refined.

Any Alan Wake Remaster should have the entire Alan Wake story that was on 360.

Amplitude963d ago

Wait it doesnt include American Nightmare? lmao
I was gonna buy it on PC until i found out it was bloody Epic exclusive *pukes*.

Then was gonna pick it up for PS5 but nah that's just ridiculous. What a shame. Game is amazing though and if any of y'all have never played it i still recommend it <3

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 963d ago
darthv72963d ago

The more people can play it, that passed up on it years ago, the better the odds that the sequel will finally get made.

CaptainHenry916963d ago

The sequel is already in development. I believe it's funded by Epic

DeadManMMX963d ago

i actually hate when they rereview games from another era then complain about how antiquated their core systems are. All for the clicks.

CantThinkOfAUsername963d ago

It's not just IGN, PC Gamer also did that with Diablo 2 Resurrected.

TheDoomedGuy963d ago

They shouldn't be reviewing. Self proclaimed gaming journalists and experts in the field...yet nobody voted for them and they constantly show lack of expertise and professionalism.

melons963d ago

I also hate how annoyed people get at IGN reviews. Every time their scores are one or two points to the left or right of the average, people lose their absolute minds. Baffling.

MadLad963d ago (Edited 963d ago )

It's because IGN many times have weird takes on games, and when there are much more in-depth reviewers like ACG whose reviews often don't show up on Metacritic, while IGN actually weighs heavier than other sites when affecting the metric, it becomes a problem.

Even with this review, they're more critiquing a more than decade old game still being that same game, just prettier.
That's what people wanted.

I've never seen people asking to rework any of the core of the title. Honestly, when the game comes up, many say it's one of their favorite games of that generation and they want a sequel.

And then they criticize the more grounded combat, in what is essentially a survival horror game, for not being more bombastic, and compare it to the combat in their power fantasy that is Control.

Don't get me wrong, I couldn't care less about Metacritic, but it does affect public reception for the average consumer. Games that didn't review very well are some of my favorite games all the same.
But when IGN's 7 means more than everyone else's 9 or 10, there are issues to be had.

1Victor963d ago

I agree melons I also wonder if that is the same score they gave the original as it would be a disservice to the community to score a remastered game lower than the original 🤷🏿

GhostofHorizon963d ago

I'm personally split on the issue. This particular version of the game just came out, they could have gone in and cleaned up some of the rough edges, they chose not to, it's fair to ding them for it.

I think it's useful for the people jumping into the game right now to be aware that the game is potentially dated in some parts because we've had some amazing remasters recently. They also didn't slap a full price tag on it so that's also something to keep in mind.

Still looking forward to jumping into this though.

UnSelf963d ago

They reviewed a REMASTER. There are major implications involved with that

NeoGamer232963d ago (Edited 963d ago )

If you are remastering a game for a newer era isn't it also important that you remaster the flaws that were in the gameplay and were annoying to gamers?

There are several things they could've done to bring Alan Wake forward. It is well documented that Alan Wake was overly ambitious for 360. Why didn't they spend the time to improve the core systems as part of the remaster but still keeping true to the game it was? The answer is simply money. By taking a minimalist approach they are going to make more money.

963d ago
+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 963d ago
CrimsonWing69963d ago (Edited 963d ago )

Y’know I always thought the whole “IGN only gives 7’s now” to be hyperbole, but uh, here we are.

Also, unless I’m hearing things did this reviewer say, “Alan Wake Remastered is more of a Remaster than a Remake,”

Because I still can’t figure out how the hell anyone gets a Remaster confused with Remakes at this point in time… especially when it’s in the damn title.

sourOG963d ago

I never finished it on 360 so I’m hyped to jump back in.

MadLad963d ago

Kind of a shame they didn't include America Nightmare, even though they really switched up the tone, and it definitely felt like the small budget expansion it was.

The DLC they included definitely felt more like a continuation of the story than American Nightmare did.
I'm being told a sequel is in the works, so maybe they're simply omitting it as to not be cannon. Though I wouldn't be surprised if it pops up as dlc down the road, which would be crappy.

sourOG963d ago

I think that’s on gamepass. Is it a short dlc? I’ll play it tonight while I’m waiting for the remaster to unlock.

MadLad963d ago (Edited 963d ago )

Haven't played it in years.

I know it was fairly short. How Long To Beat has it sitting at about 4 hours for the average player.

But it was less of a DLC, more of a standalone story within the universe. Before it came out on PC it was it's own Xbox Live Arcade release.

sourOG963d ago

I will check it out thanks

Show all comments (33)
90°

Best Video Game Soundtracks of All Time

From Ballblazer to The Witcher 3: unlock the hidden potential of visuals through the best video game soundtracks of all time.

Read Full Story >>
esportsdriven.com
kayoss133d ago (Edited 133d ago )

Nier Automata is not on the list?
MegaMan X?

TheEnigma313133d ago

Where is Castlevania SotN? By far 1 of the best ever soundtracks

Terry_B133d ago (Edited 133d ago )

A good list that covers a good variation of different types of video game music needs to have at least a minimum of 25 different games.

There in the list are just 9. And only one of them is from a game older than 10 years. Most of them were released in the last 3 years I think.

Its a shitty list actually..with a shitty headline and a shitty image with zelda, god of war and street fighter while none of them is discussed in the list.

esportdriven.com is now on my list..the list of shitty vg sites.

180°

Alan Wake Remastered Breaks Even After Two Years

Remedy Entertianment has revealed that Alan Wake Remastered has broke even, recouping both cost of development and marketing after two years.

Stuart5756203d ago

Breaks Even!? No profit yet, Is this normal?

Literally started playing it last night in anticipation of starting 2, still gives me the heebie jeebies, super fun game, can't wait to play through Control & AW2 in anticipation of Control 2.

Gamingsince1981203d ago

I'm not actually shocked by this news, I think I was more shocked they assumed there was enough demand to even think about making a remaster in the first place, I know there was fans of the original but it definitely wasn't that big of a fan base imo.

CantThinkOfAUsername203d ago

The original game was released in 2010 and still looks fine today so a remaster/remake is unnecessary.

shinoff2183203d ago (Edited 203d ago )

I bought mine cause it was made available for ps5. I did have it back in the day for 360 and liked it.

BanginTunes203d ago

If it took two years for this to break even how long will it take for Alan Wake 2?

Yui_Suzumiya203d ago (Edited 203d ago )

Remedy has unfortunately taken a loss on most of their games outside of the first two Max Payne titles. There's been a couple times they've almost completely gone under in the past 15 years. A big part was the original Alan Wake and it's protracted development cycle. Microsoft had to swoop in and fund the completion of Alan Wake which is why for years it was an Xbox 360 exclusive.

SyntheticForm203d ago

Alan Wake 1 is one of my favorite games to comb over and analyze because of its redirect during development. I enjoy seeing the reduction of these once large play areas into semi-open and linear spaces. I'm grateful that things worked out the way they did.

Concertoine203d ago

I remember when Control came out a lot of people reported the low sales, but it went on to do very well through sales and word of mouth. I imagine Alan Wake 2 will perform similarly as a continuation of Control and the cult fanbase of the original will also eat it up.

Neonridr203d ago

AW2 will do significantly better sales wise.

BanginTunes203d ago (Edited 203d ago )

It'll do better than the remaster sure but the first game was niche, so niche it's remaster took two years to break even, it's a game that seems to rely pretty heavily off of previous knowledge, doesn't have a physical copy, out in a busy period surrounded by other great games, and is likely the highest budget remedy game yet (outside of maybe quantum break). No disrespect I'm glad they were able to make this but it's got a lot against it

Neonridr200d ago

@BanginTunes - well not everyone re-bought the game when the remaster came out. I know I did, but I'm a diehard AW fan.

coolbeans203d ago (Edited 203d ago )

Hard to say, but its current buzz suggests it'll fare better.

Yui_Suzumiya202d ago

I'm surprised AW2 even came to fruition. God knows they had been wanting to make it since the first released but timing and development costs were always an issue until they found a publisher that would help fund it.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 200d ago
Yui_Suzumiya203d ago

Well I bought it for Switch and my laptop so I'm helping I suppose

Shane Kim203d ago

And this is why big corporations are after the Gaas money. They make one game and milk it for a decade (at least).

badz149203d ago

They should have launch it on GP, amirite, guys?

babadivad203d ago

They would have broken even a lot sooner if they had.

Show all comments (25)
430°

PlayStation Plus Monthly Games for July: Cold War, Alan Wake Remastered, Endling

The Monthly Games lineup of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Alan Wake Remastered and Endling – Extinction is Forever will be available to PlayStation Plus members on Tuesday, July 4 until Monday July 31.

Read Full Story >>
blog.playstation.com
crazyCoconuts331d ago

Another great month imo. The COD campaign on this one was great fun. I've never played Alan Wake, so a PS5 version of that is a perfect way to prepare for the next one...

taurul331d ago

You're in for a treat with Alan Wake. It still holds after so many years.
For me it's the best psychological thriller I've ever played that is not Silent Hill.
Alan Wake 2 is my most wished sequel of all time, waiting for it since 2010...

bloop331d ago (Edited 331d ago )

Sweet!! I never got around to playing it on the 360 but always wanted to. Looking forward to next month!!

Crows90330d ago

Agreed. You see I'm surprised that Microsoft hasn't bought remedy...of all the studios in their list....I'd assume remedy would be an obvious based on real actual relationships.

I liked Alan Wake and am super excited for Alan Wake 2. Hopefully turns out great ..I've actually liked ALL of their games including quantum break...except for the TV show part.

Christopher331d ago

I've never bought a CoD game, but now due to PS+, I 'rent' like 8 of them or so. I played one a few times with my nephews. Still not my cup of tea. But, it's interesting to see how many CoD games PS+ can throw at me.

LG_Fox_Brazil331d ago

Pretty damn good, I almost bought Alan Wake last month, glad I held my wallet

REDGUM331d ago

I picked up my copy of it 2nd hand just last Saturday. agghhh. If only I had waited just a little more longer.

Knushwood Butt331d ago

Me too, it's been on my wishlist for months. Glad I held out!

Elda331d ago

A pass for me due to playing Cold War & Alan Wake already.

phoenixwing331d ago

Glad I didn't buy cold war or Alan wake. Now I can enjoy them for the stories

Kassanova07331d ago

I was curious about both. Great timing!

Show all comments (49)