When talking about Alan Wake, it seems mandatory to mention the game’s inordinately lengthy development period, but there’s a reason to discuss this not-insignificant amount of time other than for the fun of throwing numbers around.

Billed as a psychological action thriller (‘third-person action adventure with elements of horror’ is a less efficient, but also accurate, descriptor), Remedy’s latest title has by all accounts been in development for five years after being announced in 2005 - the studio’s last game, Max Payne 2, released at the end of 2003, and it’s entirely possible that the seeds for Alan Wake go back further than even that game.

But let’s keep it at five years. That’s a long time. For anything. For any endeavour of any kind. Five years, multiplied by the number of people who have touched, shaped and moulded this game, Alan Wake. Could this time have been used more productively? Perhaps. Would the world at large be any richer for efforts going towards a work that wasn’t Alan Wake? Maybe.

But let me tell you something.

If the folks at Remedy hadn’t spent the last five years crafting the game, Alan Wake, to mesmerise the rest of us, the videogame world would have been poorer for it, and after spending the hours necessary to wind, weave, battle and flow your way through the enthralling narrative and satisfying gameplay, you will similarly agree that Alan Wake was worth every moment of your time.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Alan Wake.