Remedy’s macabre masterpiece, Alan Wake, is frighteningly close to a true Stephen King tale.
Theyre antithetical to the poetry of fear.
Its rare to find a piece of entertainment that so openly boasts about its influences.
Remedy writer Sam Lake even name-dropped Kingway back in 2005whenAlan Wakewas a very different project.
You see,Alan Wakeisnt just borrowing heavily from Kings horror fiction.
This can lead to Constant Readers performing self-edits when relating some of his stories to friends.
Its a kind of burn while reading approach.
The most common critique of the writers work is that hes awful at writing endings.
Instead, Kings approach to writing is best summarized by the quote that opensAlan Wake.
Hes a writer who often elects to delay revealing the source of unimaginable events.
This approach is part of the reason why supernatural King stories likeItandThe Shiningare particularly effective.
You never see the face of the Devil…dont ever show it.
Theyll never forget it.
Carpenter states that this quote inspired him to feature the creature so heavily in his masterpiece,The Thing.
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That may sound like a contradiction to Kings other statement, but thats only because it kind of is.
It is important, though, to consider the context of both those King quotes.
Thats a lesson that Remedy learned the hard way during the years it took them to developAlan Wake.
That much is made clear when actually playing the game.
Remedy often found itself trying to fit a round plot into a square engine.
Its also the most likely culprit behindAlan Wakes repetitive light-based combat.
True to the work of King himself,Alan Wakes most persistent problem is the inconsistency of its narrative.
Alan Wakes opening segments are certainly its strongest in terms of story.
Its the section of the game that doesnt feel the need to tell the player everything.
Soon enough, Wake is on a mission to rescue his kidnapped wife from evil.
The first act ofAlan Wakes story adheres to Kings quote regarding the poetry of fear.
Its presented in that intentionally vague way that exists outside of logic.
Ironically, that search for answers provides more incentive to explore than even the largest of open-world game controls.
Fans will instantly recognize Wake himself as an amalgamation of several of Kings writer protagonists.
The same can be said ofSecret Windows Mort Rainey, who suffered from a similar affliction.
It is the 1998 King novelBag of Bonesthat serves asAlan Wakes most obvious structural influence, though.
Both feature writers heading to vacation homes to combat writers block.
Both rely on a lost love as a plot unit (one dead, the other missing).
Both even feature a finale involving a lake.
Unfortunately,Alan Wakes story falls apart when it tries to answer the many questions it proposes.
That aspect of the game is not truly a reference, though.
The crown jewel in Remedys storytelling isAlan Wakes atmosphere.
On its own,Alan Wakes small town is enjoyable enough to explore.
Yet, the little touches of detail Remedy has sprinkled throughout are what truly make the games atmosphere special.
This is howAlan Wakeconstructs its devil.
Its an experience defined by what it accomplishes in spite of them.
Similarly,Alan Wakeis always going to be that game.
