Throughout Remedy's backlog of games, it's easy to pinpoint instances of referential material. The Max Payne series was heavily influenced by Film Noir and graphic novels; Alan Wake pays homage to David Lynch and Mark Frost's Twin Peaks, with many of the iconic locations from the TV series lovingly recreated and featured at various points throughout the game. Another consistent theme found throughout Remedy's games are televisions showing fictitious shows; these programs would parody the events of the game's story in a variety of different tones, depending on which show was playing. One such show featured in Alan wake was “Night Springs”, a parody of the TV show The Twilight Zone. Alan Wake's American Nightmare is based upon an episode of the show Night Springs, and marks the first time Remedy has returned to one of their 4th wall breaking, mock TV shows and used it to a significant extent.
Alan Wake's American Nightmare is set 2 years after the events of Bright Falls. The ever present darkness still haunts Alan, this time throwing him into “Night Springs”, a small town in Arizona. While Night Springs should exist as a television show based upon the strange events of the titular town, the darkness has taken one of the episodes Alan had previously written for the series, and has brought it and the town into reality. The realisation that the game's premise is based around one of Alan's previously completed works significantly reduces the suspense fans have come to expect from an Alan Wake game. Regardless of how the game/episode actually ends, you discover early on in the game that it still has an ending; while the original game generated suspense and tension through the uncertainty of whether Alan will be able to finish his novel.
Beyond the disappointing premise, American Nightmare is full of content that fans of the original game have come to love. Making a return to the series are the manuscript pages littered throughout the game environment. Like the past game, these pages expand the players knowledge of the series' characters, present further details on the darkness and the taken, and describe scenes that Alan will experience later on in the game. In one instance of reading these pages, Alan began to read aloud how he could hear thelegs of spiders skittering across the ground. I half expected to turn around and be confronted by one of these spiders, alas there was nothing there; whether or not this was an intentional moment of suspense is uncertain, but I don't feel the game is that clever. Disappointingly, the game had not only missed a perfect chance for a jumpy horror moment, but also ruined any chance of me being surprised by these spiders further into the game.
You had your chance, and you blew it.
Also returning to the series are the televisions, but rather than being used to show self-referential parody TV shows (presumably because you are already in Night Springs,) they are used by the game's antagonist, Mr Scratch, to relay messages of despair to Alan (in FMV, these scenes are great.). Mr Scratch is Alan's polar opposite, as Scratch's personality develops through these scenes of murder, Alan's personality develops in parallel, as he watches his adversary with disdain; it's an interesting method of expanding the protagonists disposition in a game series that is so character centric. Scratch often speaks of how he “does the things Alan didn't have the balls to do”, and this is why these FMV scenes are the most intelligent aspect of the game; they force the player into contemplating how much of Alan's personality is actually reflected by Scratch, and where the darkness's influence begins. Is he really capable of murder, or is the darkness exaggerating these scenes, in an attempt to rattle Alan and the player?
His name is Mr Scratch. He's trying to assume Alan's identity.
Combat remains relatively unchanged, albeit with new enemy types Alan encounters. These new enemy types attempt to mix up the flashlight and gun, 1-2 punch mechanic. One new enemy splits into multiple, smaller versions of itself when the flashlight is focused upon them, encouraging players to act against any instinct to do so; a feat that proves difficult as they quickly dart amongst groups of regular taken which can only be weakened by direct light. Another enemy type can transform their body into a flock of ravens, making them great flankers. The final new type of enemy is a chainsaw wielding hulk that can absorb huge amounts of damage before finally falling; these enemies justify the generous amount of ammunition and weapons found throughout American Nightmare; some of which can only be unlocked upon finding a required amount of manuscript pages.
That blade is bigger than Alan's whole body.
The world of American Nightmare is a far cry from that of its predecessor. The claustrophobic atmosphere of Bright Falls forest has been replaced with the barren stretches of Arizona's deserts; and with it, my favourite visual cue from the original game has also been removed (when the clouds would cast fast moving, exaggerated shadows on the ground, signifying the presence of the darkness and the taken.) The forest environment allowed for genuine moments of horror, as you would never know when a taken would peel away from behind from a tree; the desolate stretches of American Nightmare's environment makes it difficult to set up a tense atmosphere, the taken would spawn right in plain sight more often than not. It's clear then, that American Nightmare is more focused on combat than suspense, the inclusion of a wave based, survival 'Arcade mode' supports this. The stages of this mode have been created specifically for this mode and their environments (although inspired by them) are not featured within the story; neither would they be able to sustain story objectives, as each arena has been created small enough to learn and memorise the layout in a short amount of time.
Each of the three areas featured in the story have been built to accommodate exploration within a clearly established space; the original game's forest was created to be a linear trek from point to point, with little reason to explore off the beaten track. However, American Nightmare's lack of obstructing foliage allows for a clear view of points of interest; players are encouraged to investigate the seemingly empty cabin in the desert, or the dimly lit car park of the observatory, both a fair distance away from any level objectives. The time spent in each area is quite short, and I became increasingly concerned about the total length of the game; once completing the final objective in the third area, however, my doubts were addressed. Mr Scratch catches wind of Alan's attempts to stop him, and throws him back in time to the first area of the game, in the style of groundhog day, following another FMV scene. In any other game made by any other developer, I may have felt this move was cheap; but Remedy pulls it off well, and it not only feels appropriate for an Alan Wake game, but also for an episode of the twilight zone (or in this case, Night Springs).
Alan Wake's American Nightmare is certainly not a sequel to the original game, but serves to expand on the series fiction in an interesting way. In many ways, American Nightmare is the polar opposite of Alan Wake, trading its established suspense-thriller structure for the chance to expand on the series' distinctive combat. Even with its own flaws, the game compensates for those that can be found in the first title. Alan Wake was successful at emulating an episodic structure and mystery-thriller atmosphere of Twin Peaks; in turn, American Nightmare is just as successful in delivering a concentrated shot with all essential elements intact, just as an episode of the twilight zone would.
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