Alan Wake is described by Remedy as “the mind of a psychological thriller” and “the body of a cinematic action game” put together.In interviews, the game’s creators hold that the game does not belong squarely in the survival horror video game genre.The game is primarily set in the fictional idyllic small town of Bright Falls, Washington. The main gameplay happens in various areas of Bright Falls – such as the forest, a national park, or a farm – during the night time; these are punctuated by calmer, non-combative sequences set during the day.

The player controls the eponymous protagonist Alan Wake. In the game, a “darkness” is taking over humans, animals and objects. These enemies, dubbed the “Taken”, are murderous shadows that attack Wake, wielding weapons of their own, ranging from mallets and knives to shovels and chainsaws. They vary by speed, size, and the amount of damage they can take, and some can teleport between short distances. Besides the Taken, the player must combat flocks of possessed ravens and animated objects. When enemies are close, Alan can perform a slow-motion cinematic dodge maneuver.

A major element of gameplay is the optional discovery and collection of manuscript pages from Alan Wake’s latest novel—Departure. Although Wake does not remember writing this book, its storyline seems to be becoming real around him. These readable manuscript pages are scattered around the game world, out of chronological order; they often describe scenes that have yet to occur and act as warning and instructions for proceeding through upcoming challenges. Other optional collectibles include coffee thermos flasks scattered around the game world (100 in all), as well as discovering television sets which show different episodes of the fictional Night Springs series, radios airing talk and music from Bright Falls’ local radio station, and textual signs around the town. The radio shows and signs provide a deeper understanding of the town’s history and culture. The game’s downloadable content episodes introduce other collectibles such as alarm clocks.

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