Alan Wake (2010) - How Long to Beat, Player Count, Cast and Crew

About

Alan Wake came out on May 14, 2010 for Xbox 360, then for PC on February 16, 2012. On Steam, 90% of 46,552 player reviews are positive (Very Positive). 166 people are playing it on Steam right now, with a peak of 605 in the last 30 days. It is Verified on Steam Deck. The main story takes about 8.5 hours, doing everything about 32 hours. It was nominated for 1 award.

Alan Wake is a psychological horror action-adventure game developed by Remedy Entertainment. The narrative centres on Alan Wake, a bestselling thriller novelist experiencing writer's block. He travels to the small town of Bright Falls with his wife, Alice, seeking a change of environment. Shortly after their arrival, Alice vanishes under mysterious circumstances. As Alan searches for her, he discovers pages of a thriller novel he does not recall writing. The events described in these pages begin to manifest in reality, and Alan encounters hostile supernatural entities known as the "Taken," who are controlled by darkness. The gameplay involves navigating Bright Falls and using light to combat these dark forces. The storyline explores themes of reality and fiction, along with the influence of the written word.

Story

When the wife of the best-selling writer Alan Wake disappears on their vacation, his search turns up pages from a thriller he doesn’t even remember writing. A Dark Presence stalks the small town of Bright Falls, pushing Wake to the brink of sanity in his fight to unravel the mystery and save his love.

What is happening now

Alan Wake is a shooter-adventure that tasks players with surviving supernatural threats armed with light-based weapons across a haunted Pacific Northwest setting. Originally released in 2010, the game has maintained a devoted following partly due to its interconnected lore with Remedy's later work Control - a narrative link that continues to intrigue fans exploring the studio's shared universe. Recent coverage has revisited Alan Wake's atmospheric design and storytelling approach, with comparisons drawn to how its unsettling tone and reality-bending narrative structure might have played out as a 1990s-era production. The game's influence on subsequent indie projects is evident, with spiritual successors adopting its blend of eerie small-town dread and darkly surreal atmosphere.

How long to beat Alan Wake

from 22 players

Main storyrushing through the story

8.5 h

Main + extrasstory plus side content

13 h

Completionisteverything the game has

32 h

More in the Alan Wake series

1 other title

Alan Wake II

2023 · 4 stories

From the people behind Alan Wake

shared cast and crew

Games like Alan Wake

same kind of game, other series

Resident Evil 4

2005 · Capcom Production Studio 4

The Evil Within: Limited Edition

2014 · Tango Gameworks

Resident Evil: Revelations

2012 · Capcom

Dead Space 2

2011 · Visceral Games

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City

2012 · Slant Six Games

Dino Crisis 2

2000

Cast and crew

2 credits

Crew

Petri Alanko

Composer

Voice cast

Ilkka Villi

Cast

Awards

0 won, 1 more nomination

British Academy Games Awards 2011

Nominated: Audio Achievement

Media

Watch trailer 1 Watch trailer 2

Releases

Platform

Date

Xbox 360

May 14, 2010 (Europe first)

PC (Microsoft Windows)

February 16, 2012

Earliest full release on each platform; regional dates can differ.

PC and Steam Deck

Steam store page

Steam Deck: Verified works great out of the box

Minimum

Recommended

OS *

Windows XP SP2

Windows 7

Processor

Dual Core 2GHz Intel or 2.8GHz AMD

Quad Core 2.66GHz Intel or 3.2GHz AMD

Memory

2 GB RAM

4 GB RAM

Graphics

DirectX 10 compatible with 512MB RAM

DirectX 10 compatible or later with 1GB RAM

DirectX®

9.0c

Hard Drive

8 GB HD space

Sound

DirectX 9.0c compatible

Requirements and Deck status as listed on Steam, checked Oct 28, 2026.

Alan Wake player count

concurrent players on Steam

166playing now5m ago

193peak today

60530-day peak

605highest we have seenOct 25, 2026

Oct 23daily peak, last 13 daystoday

Players counted on Steam every one to six hours; the daily peak is the highest count of the day.

Alan Wake achievements

67 achievements on Steam

Rarest

No Punctuation Special 2: Complete the episode without reloading the game or restarting a checkpoint.

2.4%

Collector's Edition Find all of the manuscript pages in the game, including the ones in Nightmare mode.

2.6%

Run-On Sentence Special 1: Complete the episode without reloading the game or restarting a checkpoint.

2.6%

Hypercaffeinated Discover all coffee thermoses.

2.7%

Bright Falls Aficionado Absorb every bit of local history and culture.

2.7%

Licensed Properties Special 2: Discover 10 Night Springs video games.

2.7%

All 67 achievements by how many players unlocked them

Fast and Furious Special 1: Make it through the final battle in less than 1 minute and 30 seconds.

2.8%

Tick Tock Special 1: Discover 10 hidden alarm clocks.

2.8%

Whirlwind Special 2: Make your way past the tornado in under 60 seconds.

2.8%

Creative Space Special 2: Discover the secret area.

2.8%

Meet the Deadline In ''Mirror Peak,'' make it from the Coal Mine Museum to Cauldron Lake in 30 minutes.

2.9%

Gunless Wonder Make it to Cauldron Lake without firing a single shot in ''On the Road to Cauldron Lake.''

2.9%

Every Nook and Cranny Discover all of the hidden chests.

2.9%

Alan, Wake Up Complete the game on Nightmare difficulty.

Picking Up After Yourself Find all of the manuscript pages in Normal mode.

3.1%

License Revoked Special 1: Complete the episode without using a single vehicle.

3.1%

Cardboard Companions Special 1: Discover all of the cardboard standees.

3.3%

Words Will Never Harm You Special 1: Trigger all of the furnaces in the basement.

3.5%

Go Gentle Into That Good Light Special 2: Make it through the approach to the lighthouse without firing a weapon.

4.5%

Iron Will Special 2: Survive the final encounter without being seriously hurt.

5.1%

Couch Potato Watch every single TV show.

6.5%

An Idyllic Small Town Make it through ''Night Life in Bright Falls'' in one go without dying or restarting even once.

7.1%

Heartbreaker Special 2: Have some poison poured in your ear.

7.4%

Medical Opinions Listen to Hartman's recordings.

7.7%

Kill Your Darlings Special 2: Defeat the final obstacle between you and your goal.

8.6%

Carny Knock over five can pyramids.

8.7%

Ding! Special 2: Complete the elevator ride.

8.7%

A Friend Indeed Special 1: Follow the signal to its conclusion.

A Friend in Need Special 1: Find someone to help you.

10%

Taken Season Defeat 50 Taken with the hunting rifle.

10.1%

What Light Through Yonder Window Defeat 50 Taken with the flaregun, the way Shakespeare intended.

10.5%

Child of the Elder God Have a rock'n'roll moment without dropping to a low health state.

11.4%

KBF-FM Listen to all of the radio shows.

12.8%

If It Flies, It Burns Burn 1,000 birds.

13.2%

Drink 'Em Both Up Put de lime in de coconut twice.

13.3%

Boob Tube See what's on TV.

14.5%

Hardboiled Writer Complete the game on Hard difficulty.

20.5%

Come One, Come All Kill four Taken with a single shot from the flaregun.

22.9%

Right of Way Drive over 15 Taken.

24%

Tornado Wrangler Defeat the tornado.

26.9%

Departure Complete the game on Normal difficulty.

26.9%

Heavy Metal Survive the bulldozer attack.

27.1%

Energized! Use 100 batteries.

27.5%

The Lady of the Light Discover the secret she guards.

28%

Gatekeeper Cut the power to the transformer yard.

28.2%

It's Not Just a Typewriter Brand Defeat 50 Taken with a shotgun.

28.9%

Iron Horse Encounter a steam engine.

29.2%

Perchance to Dream Take a moment to reflect on past events.

29.3%

Thunder and Lightning Defeat 50 Taken with flashbang grenades.

29.7%

Two For the Price of One Kill two Taken with a single shotgun blast.

29.9%

Collateral Carnage Defeat 20 Taken with indirect means.

30.9%

Wheels Within Wheels Meet the kidnapper.

32.1%

Missed by a Mile Perform a cinematic dodge 20 times.

32.2%

They're Heeeeeere! Inanimate objects shouldn't move of their own accord. Put a stop to this affront, oh, say, 20 times.

33.2%

The Six-Gun Scribe Defeat 100 Taken with the revolver.

33.2%

Sound and Fury Kill four Taken with a single flashbang.

34%

Damn Good Cup of Coffee Discover 25 coffee thermoses.

34.6%

Finders Keepers Discover 5 hidden chests.

38.7%

Back! Back, I Say! Save yourself with a flare.

39%

Park Ranger Enjoy the sounds and sights of Elderwood National Park.

39.8%

Paging Mr. Wake Find 25 manuscript pages.

40.2%

Under a Thin Layer of Skin Defy the park ranger.

49.1%

Bright Falls' Finest Call for help.

55.9%

Nordic Walking Take a walk through the logging area, meet one of the quirky locals.

56.6%

Float Like a Butterfly Perform a cinematic dodge.

65%

Let There Be Light Get a generator running.

70%

Follow the Light Take a night course of light education.

82.8%

Share of Steam players who unlocked each achievement.

In the news

All 11 stories

The best feature in the original Alan Wake is an absence: the man has no reticle

1 outlet · Oct 24, 2026

Is Control Resonant teasing Alan Wake 3? Resonant’s director explains Remedy easter egg

1 outlet · Oct 21, 2026

Silver Pines Is A 2D Silent Hill Meets Alan Wake, And It Even Scares Me At Its Lowest Price

1 outlet · Oct 17, 2026

Remedy May Be Building Alan Wake 3, as Director Quietly Helms Mystery Project Since January 2025

1 outlet · Sep 30, 2026

New Alan Wake Meets Resident Evil Metroidvania on Steam Is Punishing, Immersive, and Hard to Put Down

1 outlet · Sep 22, 2026

New Alan Wake Release Leaked

1 outlet · Sep 18, 2026

Alan Wake’s Return Trademark Filing Sets Off Speculation About A Potential New Title

1 outlet · Sep 18, 2026

"Why do we need more graphics?": 2010's Alan Wake was as photoreal as videogames ever needed to be, reckons original Thief designer

1 outlet · Sep 11, 2026

More headlines - the next 3

Alan Wake 2010

About

Story

What is happening now

How long to beat Alan Wake

More in the Alan Wake series

From the people behind Alan Wake

Games like Alan Wake

Cast and crew

Crew

Voice cast

Awards

Media

Releases

PC and Steam Deck

Will it run on my PC?

Alan Wake player count

Alan Wake achievements

Rarest

In the news