Alan Wake Remastered

Alan Wake Remastered brings the original psychological horror game from Finnish studio Remedy Entertainment to PlayStation 5 in full glory, this time in a reworked visual form with improved textures, character models, and lighting running at higher resolution and frame rate. The player takes on the role of writer Alan Wake, who, while searching for his missing wife in the fictional town of Bright Falls, discovers that the pages of his unfinished manuscript are coming true and the darkness around him is coming alive as a hostile Taken horde. Fighting these shadow enemies requires first dispelling the protective darkness with a flashlight and only then neutralizing them with a firearm, creating a distinctive combat rhythm based on light as the main weapon and forcing the player to constantly monitor dwindling flashlight batteries and other light sources.

The game is structured into episodes resembling a television series, complete with previously-on recaps and cliffhangers, matched by cinematic camerawork and an emphasis on the atmosphere of a fog-shrouded pine forest and nighttime drives along deserted roads. The musical backdrop combines ambient dread with licensed songs playing at the end of each chapter, giving the narrative an unusually personal tone. On PS5, the remaster also includes bonus content in the form of two episodes taking place after the end of the main storyline, expanding the view of the characters' fates and the mythology of Bright Falls.

The 2010 original is still considered one of the most significant psychological horror games of its generation, and its influence is evident in the subsequent sequel Alan Wake II. The remaster has allowed players who missed it on older consoles to discover the game, and thanks to a steady 60 frames per second on PS5, the controls feel more precise than ever. Even years later, the dense atmosphere, the literary ambition of the script, and the distinctive blend of action and horror still captivate, keeping Alan Wake deservedly regarded as a genre classic and essential playing for anyone wanting to understand the context of the second game.

Why play it: For fans of psychological horror and future Alan Wake II players, the remaster is essential — its dense atmosphere and the script's literary ambitions have held up even years later.