I loved Alan Wake 1… The gripping narration by Wake, the quirky residents of Brightfalls and the consistent pacing of the story were all positive aspects.

I’m 7 hours into Alan Wake 2 and, despite its enhancements, I’m almost ready to put it down…

First off, the pacing is really bad for >!Saga!<'s part of the game. Every 10 minutes I have to pause the game and use a menu to sort through evidence. I enjoy detective style gameplay but the game is constantly stopping to accomodate this.

And then >!Alan Wake!<'s section just further adds to the pacing issues. Puzzle after Puzzle blocking my progress and frequently respawning Taken… And you guessed it, more menu hopping. It also feels like the plot is just moving at a snail’s pace during this section.

Environments are so big and spread out that you are forced to backtrack often. It’s so much of an issue that they implemented a map to help when you get lost… Alan Wake 1 environments had long winding pathways but generally there was only one way forward.

Lastly, where’s the charm? Alan Wake 1 was filled with interesting characters with personality. Alan Wake 2 seriously darkens the mood and apparently it gutted the quirks with it. I actually feel like the voice acting overall is missing a lot of needed emotion that was present in AW1.

Yeah I want to see the conclusion to Wake’s story… but these constant road blocking puzzles, menus and environments are trying my patience.