Alan Wake (PC/X360)

By Draken
in Gamers' Hangout

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

Pajter

Posted
Posted

I've read the difficulty adjusts automatically, so you might still be in for a challenge DL.

By the way, episode 4 will probably kick your ass. Keep playing. ;)

edit: falling off cliffs and never going below 18 batteries probably is because you're exploring a lot. I think the game's not really designed for that. It's pretty linear to be honest. But that's okay, if you're willing to play it like that. I don't even think there's a lot to explore actually. Unless you want to collect all the stuff for the achievements.

Grand Master

+Audioboxer Subscriber²

Posted
  • Subscriber²
Posted

I've read the difficulty adjusts automatically, so you might still be in for a challenge DL.

By the way, episode 4 will probably kick your ass. Keep playing. ;)

edit: falling off cliffs and never going below 18 batteries probably is because you're exploring a lot. I think the game's not really designed for that. It's pretty linear to be honest. But that's okay, if you're willing to play it like that. I don't even think there's a lot to explore actually. Unless you want to collect all the stuff for the achievements.

Yeah it's a bit more challenging!

The screen tearing in this game is bloody awful, you would of thought Remedy would've benefited from a little longer to work on it. Yeah yeah it's been in development for ages, but it's easily the worst tearing I've seen this gen.

Grand Master

DirtyLarry Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

I've read the difficulty adjusts automatically, so you might still be in for a challenge DL.

By the way, episode 4 will probably kick your ass. Keep playing. ;)

edit: falling off cliffs and never going below 18 batteries probably is because you're exploring a lot. I think the game's not really designed for that. It's pretty linear to be honest. But that's okay, if you're willing to play it like that. I don't even think there's a lot to explore actually. Unless you want to collect all the stuff for the achievements.

Achievements do not matter at all for me. Like they literally do not matter at all. :shiftyninja::laugh: So not sure why I even bother exploring, but I do it. The battery aspect though is because I just wisely use the flashlight TBH. All you have to do is watch how much battery is left and never drain it, and it generates back, so yeah that is pretty not challenging.

Yeah it's a bit more challenging!

The screen tearing in this game is bloody awful, you would of thought Remedy would've benefited from a little longer to work on it. Yeah yeah it's been in development for ages, but it's easily the worst tearing I've seen this gen.

Can honestly say I have not seen a single screen tear. This is my other console which I believe is probably set to 1080i because of the TV it is usually hooked up to, and I have not seen a single tear TBH.

But hoping to get through a decent amount right now. Wife just went out with her sister, so I have a good 3-4 hours. I am still on Mission 3, barely got to play yesterday,

Grand Master

+Audioboxer Subscriber²

Posted
  • Subscriber²
Posted

Can honestly say I have not seen a single screen tear. This is my other console which I believe is probably set to 1080i because of the TV it is usually hooked up to, and I have not seen a single tear TBH.

When it upscales to 1080p it's bad, and if no one believes me watch the Giantbomb Quicklook/read NeoGAF.

Grand Master

DirtyLarry Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

When it upscales to 1080p it's bad, and if no one believes me watch the Giantbomb Quicklook/read NeoGAF.

I believe you, and although this may sound like a dumb question, why not set the console to 720p or 1080i if it is that much of an issue?

I know due to the inherent nature of consoles, one feels as if you should not have to do that, but I know I tweak my PC graphical settings plenty to get the optimal viewing experience, so I guess I am just more open to doing the same on a console if need be. I have actually changed the output based on a certain game a decent amount of times now.

And I did double check things to make sure I just was not seeing it. The only time I do see tearing is if I hold the right analog stick down in one direction or the other and just spin and spin in place, which one would never actually do while playing the game. That is when I see tearing, and it is definitely way more prevalent when there is either a lot of light on screen and/or it is during the day time. Just normally playing the game, and I maybe see a slight tear after a few minutes, but nothing like I have seen with some other games.

Anyway, barely go to play today like I was hoping to, decided to do some yard work since it was sunny out but not hot at all, so really maybe only played an hour if that. I did finish Episode 3, so I am a bit into Episode 4, and I can say I like where things are going just based on playing Episode 4 maybe 10-15 minutes.

Also not sure if anyone else noticed this, but in the room across from your room

in the Dr.'s cabin you are staying in at the beginning of Episode 4 (the "institute" for creative people), and I think the room belongs to one of the old rockers who you met downstairs, but anyway there is a 360 console on the table with the classic green game box, and the game is Night Springs!!

Would have been so kick ass if they made that interactive some how. :laugh:

Grand Master

+Audioboxer Subscriber²

Posted
  • Subscriber²
Posted

I believe you, and although this may sound like a dumb question, why not set the console to 720p or 1080i if it is that much of an issue?

I do when I remember, but I play other games as well and sometimes forget to go down to 720p.

Only this and Resident Evil 5 have really done this as bad this generation.

Grand Master

Hedon

Posted
Posted

I haven't had any tearing at all. 1080p TV and Xbox360 on 1080p. I guess that's safe then?

Yup, you are safe, as have been most others. I am thinking something is wrong with AB's setup or something else.

Anyone watch Episode 3 yet of the prequel videos?

Grand Master

George P Global Moderator

Posted
  • Global Moderator
Posted

Yup, you are safe, as have been most others. I am thinking something is wrong with AB's setup or something else.

Anyone watch Episode 3 yet of the prequel videos?

You got a link for it online?

Grand Master

DirtyLarry Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

I am somewhat close to being done with the game I think, currently somewhere in Episode 6, and even without finishing it yet I can say what started out great did not wind up so much. And I so, so wanted this game to be amazing and not flawed at all, Remedy are true Rock Stars in my book because of Max Payne, but there are just way, way, way to many "this was supposed to happen but now this happened to stop that from happening moments." This whole mechanic was so terribly abused by this game it is not even funny.

Once or twice, hell even three times, I could live with that, but literally every single plot element and level progression element is based around that mechanic. Alan wants to do this, but now all of a sudden he cannot because something happened that of course made doing the original thing that he wanted to do that much harder and out of the way. Because of this mechanic, the game feels at least 5 hours longer than it should be, and it is a relatively short game to begin with. With that said though I can say it has taken me much longer than others to beat it as I do explore.

So let's say I spent 12 hours to beat it, the game should have been no longer than 6-7 hours IMHO.

As i said still have a ways to go, but even if it has the best ending in gaming history, which I already know it does not, i would feel the way I feel above. They just beat the hell out of that mechanic of switching things up, and the lack of variety of the enemies and the fact that once you have done maybe 5 fighting sequences tops you have done them all, literally the variety is non existent, it just was such, such a missed opportunity IMO. Truly is a shame. This could have been one of the greats. As it stands now, it is getting on my nerves trying to complete it. :no:

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Posts

    • Microsoft Weekly: Surface Laptop Ultra, Windows 11 context menus, Build 2026 recap, and more

      By TarasBuria · Posted

      Microsoft Weekly: Surface Laptop Ultra, Windows 11 context menus, Build 2026 recap, and more by Taras Buria This week's news recap is here, with Microsoft announcing the new Surface Laptop Ultra, fresh chips from NVIDIA for Windows on ARM, a no-build week, fixes for Windows 11's context menus, gaming news, reviews, and more. Quick links: Windows 10 and 11 Windows Insider Program Updates are available Reviews are in Gaming news Great deals to check Windows 11 and Windows 10 Here, we talk about everything happening around Microsoft's latest operating system in the Stable channel and preview builds: new features, removed features, controversies, bugs, interesting findings, and more. And, of course, you may find a word or two about older versions. At Computex 2026, together with NVIDIA, Microsoft announced the Surface Laptop Ultra, its most powerful laptop to date, powered by NVIDIA's RTX Spark processor. Details about this computer are currently scarce, as Microsoft has only revealed certain parts of its specs. So far, we know that the computer has a 15-inch mini-LED display, a rich set of ports, a powerful processor, and all-day battery life. It also comes with a new wallpaper, which you can already download here in full resolution. The Surface Laptop Studio is not the only NVIDIA-powered Surface, which Microsoft unveiled this week. At Build 2026, the company also debuted the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, an odd-shaped desktop with a 20-core NVIDIA Grace CPU and an NVIDIA Blackwell RTX GPU with 6,144 CUDA cores and fifth-generation Tensor Cores with FP4 precision, connected via the NVIDIA NVLink-C2C chip-to-chip interconnect for high performance. According to Microsoft, it can run models with up to 120 billion parameters locally without relying on cloud GPU infrastructure. These two new Surface devices are likely to cost quite a lot, and for those who need a more affordable device, Microsoft is preparing the next-gen Qualcomm-powered Surface Pro and Surface Laptop. This week, details about these two devices leaked in plenty of detail. Other announcements at Build 2026 include the following: Microsoft unveils new security tools for IT admins and developers building AI products Microsoft announces Scout, an OpenClaw-powered personal agent for enterprise customers Microsoft unveils MAI-Thinking-1 reasoning and MAI-Code-1 coding models Microsoft announced a new Windows 11 native command-line utility Microsoft unveils Majorana 2 quantum chip, accelerating commercial timeline to 2029 Microsoft believes that AI agents will eventually replace apps through Project Solara Microsoft introduces Web IQ, a Bing-powered search system built for AI agents Last week, Microsoft released a new Experimental build, which introduced a major Start menu upgrade. It now lets you toggle off specific parts of the menu without affecting other features, resize the menu, and hide additional UI elements. We published a closer look here, so if you want to know what Microsoft is cooking without enrolling in the Insider program and installing unstable builds, check it out. Speaking of new features, many users are very annoyed about the way Microsoft delivers them. Recently, a frustrated user shared their experience with gradual rollouts, and even Microsoft engineers admitted there is a flaw in the system that prevents new features from applying properly. One of those new features includes the ability to uninstall AI models in Windows 11 with a single click. Windows 11 is finally getting fixes for its slow context menus. Marcus Ash from Microsoft confirmed that the company is working on fixing Windows 11's context menus. Reworked context menus are going to be faster, simpler by default, and "configurable to what you use most." According to Marcus, Microsoft will share more details soon. Windows Insider Program Windows 11 preview builds, released last week, are now available for download as standalone ISO files. These days, Microsoft regularly pushes new images, allowing users to clean-install its recent Windows 11 preview builds faster and easier. If you want to try the latest Windows 11 features without jumping through the Windows Update hoops, get those new images here. Sadly, Microsoft did not release new Windows 11 preview builds this week. Come back next time. Updates are available This section covers software, firmware, and other notable updates (released and coming soon) delivering new features, security fixes, improvements, patches, and more from Microsoft and third parties. Microsoft is preparing new features for Teams. Later this month, the messenger will receive a new download manager with auto-dismissing notifications, reducing clutter and making the overall experience less annoying when dealing with downloads. Mozilla released Firefox 151.0.3, a new bug-fixing update for the browser. It is a small release, which fixes problems with pasting into text fields and the oversized VPN button on the toolbar. The update is now available for all users in the Release channel. Here are other updates and releases you may find interesting: VS Code 1.123 introduces massive upgrades for persistent AI developer workflows Microsoft OneDrive is getting a simple yet much-needed feature Microsoft faces heat after quietly blocking promised Office features on Apple systems Microsoft resumes forced Copilot app installation on some Windows PCs Browser vendors pen an open letter to Microsoft, saying "enough is enough" Here are the latest drivers and firmware updates released this week: AMD Radeon Software 26.6.1 with optimizations for F1 25: 2026 Season, World of Tanks: HEAT, and various bug fixes. Reviews are in Here is the hardware and software we reviewed this week Steven Parker dropped more mini PC reviews this week. GEEKOM Air12 2026 Edition is a low-power, affordable computer with an Intel Tiger Lake Pentium Gold processor, up to 16GB of memory, and 512GB of storage, costing just $349. It is light, quiet, energy efficient, and has modern ports on the front. However, the front-facing USB Type-C is data-only, and there are some quirks with the computer's memory, so check out the full review. The AMD RX 9070 GRE has been released worldwide, and we published a benchmark review comparing this powerful graphics card to the RX 9070 XT, 7800 XT, the NVIDIA RTX 5070, and RTX 4070. It has solid, balanced performance, plenty of RAM, and low temperatures, but watch out for mediocre ray tracing performance and not the best efficiency. Also, we reviewed the Cuktech 10 Ultra, a compact, high-power charger with four ports and a big display full of various stats. This tiny charger can pull nearly 120W and spread that power according to each connected device's needs. It also comes with a high-quality 240W cable, three power modes, and retractable prongs. The best part? It is quite affordable, just make sure you have an outlet placed in the right spot to benefit from the built-in display. On the gaming side Learn about upcoming game releases, Xbox rumors, new hardware, software updates, freebies, deals, discounts, and more. Do you remember the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally, Microsoft's first handheld console designed in partnership with ASUS? This week, ASUS revealed a new version of the device to celebrate twenty years of its Republic of Gamers brand. The new ROG Xbox Ally X20 features an OLED display, a transforming D-Pad, TMR sticks, and other changes. However, the chip inside the console is still the same. Forza Horizon 6 launched last month to critical acclaim, but the game will soon have a new rival made by those who used to work on Forza Horizon titles. Mike Brown from Maverick Games announced Clutch, an upcoming racing game with a story-driven campaign, deep car customization, and rich multiplayer. The game is coming to PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 in Spring 2027. The next update for Minecraft now has a release date. This week, Mojang announced that Chaos Cubed will be available on June 16, 2026. In addition, Mojang published a teaser of the next Minecraft movie. A Minecraft Movie Squared has now been confirmed for a release somewhere in 2027. NVIDIA GeForce Now is getting 18 new games in June. Those include Jurassic World Evolution 3, Fatekeeper, GOALS, Gothic 1 Remake, NTE: Neverness to Everness, and more. If you are a Game Pass subscriber, you can also get new games soon: Persona 5 Royal, Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions, and more are coming to the service this month. Sumer Game Fest 2026 happened this week, where we saw plenty of new games, including Alien Isolation 2, Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3, Gen Atlas from the Shadow of the Colossus creator, a new Cuphead game in 8-bit style, a new expansion for Mafia: The Old Country, and more. Finally, here are this week's Weekend PC Game Deals, full of discounts and the latest freebies from the Epic Games Store. Other gaming news includes the following: God of War Laufey announced, introducing Kratos' wife as the new protagonist Ori studio's No Rest for the Wicked 1.0 release and console plans announced Microsoft launches Godot Sample to streamline Xbox PC game development on the engine Great deals to check Every week, we cover many deals on different hardware and software. The following discounts are still available, so check them out. You might find something you want or need. Samsung 990 PRO SSD 2TB NVMe - $389.99 | 39% off Sonos Sub 4 - Wireless Subwoofer - $759 | 16% off Logitech MX Creative Console - $159.99 | 20% off This link will take you to other issues of the Microsoft Weekly series. You can also support Neowin by registering for a free member account or subscribing for extra member benefits, along with an ad-free tier option.
    • Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3 is getting a simultaneous release across PC and all consoles

      By Jose_49 · Posted

      Let's goooooooo! I've been loving the entries so far! I still have to finish Rebirth (things have been busy!)! Excited for this next installment.
    • Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3 is getting a simultaneous release across PC and all consoles

      By Fleet Command · Posted

      "Revelation?" I was hoping for this episode to be called "Reunion". Oh, well... In a related note, the Final Fantasy VII compilation has received an EC entry, short for Ever Crisis. For those who don't know, it already had AC, BC, CC, and DC entries, short for Advent Children, Before Crisis, Crisis Core, and Dirge of Cerberus. I hope it doesn't get an FC entry becaude that would be a freakin' crisis.
    • Browser vendors pen open letter to Microsoft saying "enough is enough"

      By The Norwegian Drone Pilot · Posted

      Uh, after intense testing now, 'Samsung Browser' is not the best one outside of 'Microsoft Edge' after all. Opera Air is that. It has "some" bloat, but it's far less than what both Microsoft Edge and Brave browser have.
    • Microsoft is making Windows 11's context menus faster, simpler, and configurable

      By bledd · Posted

      They should be INSTANT

  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      pestcontrol46 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      pestcontrol46 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      JKR earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Rookie
      moog19 went up a rank
      Rookie
    • Mentor
      grik went up a rank
      Mentor

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      515
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      277
    3. 3
      Skyfrog
      76
    4. 4
      +Edouard
      71
    5. 5
      FloatingFatMan
      68
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!