The game presents fractal realities in all their abstract and frightening glory.
Remedy’s Alan Wake certainly feels its age, even with a new coat of paint, and that’s okay.
Portions of the game may deliver high-octane thrills, but its paramount moments are frightening because they’re understated.
Spirit Camera basks in the assumption that it maintains copious pride, when in fact it’s utterly devoid of it.
Male characters might spew misogynistic rants full of ugly generalizations, but the game correctly identifies these as arising from insecurity and difficult personal history.
The game has one foot firmly planted in expansive, compelling storytelling, and the other in basic gameplay.