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Alan Wake was the first game I upgraded my PC for, and I’d do it again for Alan Wake RemasteredWould you remedy that frame rate too?
Would you remedy that frame rate too?
Heck, back then I wasn’t even trying to play Alan Wake at the time, either. While the PC version didn’t come out until 2012, I first came to Alan Wake a year later in 2013, according to my Steam achievements, and man alive, my PC just wasn’t up to snuff. I remember just about getting through the first section easily enough, where Alan’s chilling out in his mountain cabin trying to write his new crime novel but then discovers his wife’s gone walkabout. But as soon as Mr Wake got plopped into those tall, ominous forests… Woof, it was literally like I was looking at some kind of torch-based slideshow.
Wake Up - Alan Wake Launch TrailerWatch on YouTube
Wake Up - Alan Wake Launch Trailer
How wrong I was.
I know now that Remedy’s games are often pretty monstrous on the performance front. Just look at Control, whoseinitial PC requirementswere heftier than one its sentient fridges. Remedy did later revise Control’srecommended PC spec, thankfully, but it stilltakes quite a tollon the old ray tracing front for those with the latest and greatest graphics cards.
Much to my delight, Remedy confirmed that Control is now part of the expanded Wake-verse as well, hinting at more Alan Wake adventures to come at some point in the future.
Of course, Alan Wake obviously came out long before ray tracing was even a twinkle in Nvidia’s eye, and it doesn’t sound like the new remaster will have it either (although, golly, can you imagine what those dark, torch-lit forests would look like if it did?). Even so, Remedy’s third-person shooter was truly a beast on PC, and I still remember feeling sad and disappointed that I’d have to wait a while before I could play it properly.
I’m glad I did, because I loved the rest of Alan Wake, and I’m excited to play it again. Indeed, untilDorfromantikcame along and completely rewrote my rarest achievement showcase widget on Steam, I always felt a surge of pride whenever I saw my Gunless Wonder achievement sitting there on my Steam profile. That’s awarded to players who make it to Cauldron Lake without firing a single shot in the “On the Road to Cauldron Lake” chapter - a feat just 2.6% of players have achieved in the last decade or so - and man, I can still remember the thrill of trying to complete that challenge on my first playthrough. It is my single, most defining memory of Alan Wake as a whole, too, because that is onelongstretch of game to go through without engaging in any of the action. It was tense and stressful, but also immensely satisfying to pull off.
I’ll fully admit that Alan Wake is neither the coolest or sexiest game to say, “This is the one I upgraded my PC for,” but gosh darnit if I don’t also love it a bit more for that very reason. Maybe I’m wrong and thousands of you upgraded your PCs for Alan Wake back in the day as well (and if so, should we form some sort of Alan Wake upgraders support club?). Fortunately, I think my current PC is in a much better shape to run the upcoming remaster without having to revamp my GPU all over again - and with today’sbest graphics cardsstill being such a pig to get hold of, it’s probably just as well. Even if it wasn’t, though, I think part of me would still be tempted to do a little cheeky upgrade for it, just for old times sake. For all its flaws, Alan Wake is now forever bonded with my PC building history book, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
