Alan Wake’s American Nightmare is a strange spin-off that revolves around Alan’s evil doppelganger Mr. Scratch. Mr. Scratch was always a big question mark at the end of Alan Wake, so it’s nice to see that get a little more fleshed out even though he is so unpleasant. It takes place in the fictional town of Night Springs Arizona. This seems to be Alan trying to communicate to a sleeping Berry Wheeler (his manager) through an episode of Night Springs while Alan is in the dark place. This episode of Night Springs isn’t just full of the Taken but also full of hot babies.
It takes place in three different areas that repeat every act. The motel, observatory, and the theater. Each has a different female character that at one point or another interacted with Mr. Scratch and will help you complete your goals. Each loop you go through you gain a little more information on how to defeat Scratch and end this time loop. You do this by shooting all the taken as well as solving little puzzles using the manuscript pages you find throughout the level. You can also use manuscript pages to unlock new weapons. Throughout the levels you will find TV’s just like in the first Alan Wake, but instead of Night Springs on the TV it’s Mr. Scratch being unhinged. This is personally really annoying to watch for me since Scratch has the wacky sadistic guy persona that I hate with a fiery passion. The sexy ladies helping you throughout the levels were a weird choice as well but I guess that it’s just a product of its time.
The game also features an arcade mode where Alan is pitted against waves after waves of enemies until the break of dawn. Weapons are scattered throughout the level, although some can only be opened with manuscript pages. These are the manuscript pages found in the main story campaign so it’s advisable to find all the pages before attempting to do arcade mode. There are also safe light areas that will flicker on and off replenishing your health.
Alan Wake’s American Nightmare is a strange spin off. More combat focused with interesting areas but stunted dialogue. It’s fun if you like the combat aspect of Alan Wake but if you’re a fan of the story I would skip this one.
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