Alan Wake's American Nightmare Review (aregulardoge)
Score: 5.5/10
I love Alan Wake. I love Remedy. I think they make great games, and to be honest, I don't think this is a bad game. Still, American Nightmare has a certain reputation, especially when you consider the games that came before and after its release.
Combat is fine, definitely improved and more action-packed than the original Alan Wake. Passive flashlight shining has been removed, though the quick recharge of the flashlight makes up for it in a way. There is certainly a more diverse range of weapons compared to Alan Wake's five guns (including the flare gun), and the manuscript requirements makes looking for the lore more of a priority.
Story's also fine, not the finest in my opinion, but it was fun for me. If you're looking for the same tone that Alan Wake 1 or 2 set, this might not be your game. It's more fun if you take it as what it canonically is: a fun episode of Night Springs.
One of my biggest disappointments though was the musical section, or more specifically, Balance Slays the Demon. Club Foot was pretty fun, but there's always hype in waiting for that special Remedy number. Unlike Alan Wake's Children of the Elder God stage fight, Control's Ashtray Maze, or AW2's Dark Ocean Summoning, BStD is abrupt and sudden. There's no prelude to it, you're just tossed right in. Fight's alright, but it doesn't feel like much effort went into one of usually Remedy's best things.
Another small complaint are the manuscripts and how they're presented. Slightly annoying to have to go to such far locations to pick them up, though the increased stamina does help, and the blur that doesn't let you read the rest of the page is also a bit frustrating.
Still though, I managed to have fun in this game, and though this story has relatively little impact now with Control's AWE and AW2, there's still some lore to be enjoyed in this classic. It's $8, pretty good price for what it holds: nine hours of (usual) fun.