So Yes, It Began with a Dream...

Welcome to week 2 of my all-time favorites collection for February! 

Caesar's Soundtrack of the Week

This week's entry: 

Alan Wake

Stephen King once wrote that "Nightmares exist outside of logic, and there's little fun to be had in explanations; they're antithetical to the poetry of fear."
In a horror story, the victim keeps asking "Why?" But there can be no explanation, and there shouldn't be one. The unanswered mystery is what stays with us the longest, and it's what we'll remember in the end.

Alan Wake is a psychological action thriller made on May 18th of 2010. (February 16th of 2012 for PC, which was also my 12th B-day!)

In Alan Wake, you play the titular character, an author of thriller novels who is searching for his wife who has gone missing during their vacation to the fictional town of Bright Falls. Amid his search, Alan comes across scattered pages of his latest novel, which he has not written and has no recollection of writing. Much to Alan's horror, this thriller of his begins to come to life. 

The story takes great inspiration from multiple works of literature, movies, TV shows, and more. Stephen King was a large inspiration in the development of the game, even being quoted during the game's title sequence. Alan Wake also pays homage to other horror works including The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. The game is played in an episodic format, taking place over the course of 6 episodes + 2 DLC episodes. 

Alan Wake's soundtrack is composed of 2 main sections; the score composed by Finnish composer, Petri Alanko, and the 3 songs made by the Finnish rock band, Poets of the Fall. (POTF)
The score of Alan Wake does a brilliant job of matching the story's theme of dreams and nightmares. From start to finish, the score of the game can start in a grandiose fashion of calming pianos and strings, and change into creepy and haunting melodies as you wonder what strange nightmare lies in the darkness. An interesting thing to note is that of the piano in the score, as it is a much "warmer" instrument than the orchestra which it accompanies, it acts almost as a light in the dark within the game's more haunting soundtrack. 

The Poets of the Fall's 3 songs within the game are War, The Poet and the Muse, and Children of the Elder God. Of these 3 songs, War is the only one not written just for the game. War was included in the game as the lyrics of the work link strongly to the storyline. The other two songs are actually written under the name "Children of the Elder God" and are "diegetic music" (this is a term for music. Diegetic music is music that is a part of the fictional setting. AKA the characters within the setting hear this music. This is also referred to as source music.) written by characters in the world. My personal favorite among these three is The Poet and the Muse. This song among the 3 songs is much more somber and haunting almost, which greatly goes along with the game's story and has deep ties to the game's protagonist. 

This game is one that I count among my favorites due to its characters, music, art, and story. Alan Wake carries many great memories for me due to story moments I greatly connected with as I played. Alan Wake was remastered for PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo consoles just two years ago. The game, Control, also takes place in the same world as Alan Wake. I highly recommend getting your hands on this game and trying it out if you get a chance. Especially as the sequel to the game, Alan Wake II, will be coming out later this year!

Until next time!
- Caesar Salad

P.S.
There are also quite a few licensed songs played in the game from various bands including "Space Oddity" by David Bowie, Young Men Dead by The Black Angels, and How Can I Be Sure by Anomie Belle. Though among all of the licensed songs, this one plays the most and is my favorite...