XBOX World February 2012 had an eight page preview of Alan Wake's American Nightmare. Below are notes taken from the information:
- The game is set in Night Springs which is located in Arizona.
- Inspired by From Dusk 'Til Dawn, urban legends, B movie classics and The Twilight Zone.
- The game was a result of Remedy experimenting with several techniques.
- It's focused more on action compared to Alan Wake.
- The plot is narrated by the Night Springs voice over rather than Alan.
- Remedy has created an open world for the arcade game, but like previous titles, they are focusing on the storyline also.
- American Nightmare acts as a bridge between Alan Wake 1 and 2.
- The game is episode nine in the story.
- Early in Wake's career, he wrote several episodes of Night Springs, this an episode he wrote.
- In the game, Mr Scratch is trying to hunt down Alice, but Alan is trying to stop him. The events take place 2 years after the events of the original game. Wake's fans created several legends about what has happened. The legends goes that Wake travelled into the woods, but emerged as Mr Scratch, now a serial killer made real by the Dark Presence.
- There is a story mode in the game.
- There is also a "Fight 'Til Dawn" mode, in which players must fight the Taken until daylight. Alan will be armed with ammo, a flash-light, flares and flashbangs. The mode will also take the protagonist through several unique maps including a graveyard (where nothing can possibly go wrong), a trailer park to a goldrush ghost town.
- Mr Scratch taunts Wake through a televisions, where he does "horrifying deeds".
- New manuscript pages, TVs and radios give the player backstory into the game.
- Poets of the Fall are back as the Old Gods of Asgard. In the game, the OGoA are on a reunion tour with Barry Wheeler as their agent.
- There's new licensed music tracks which will appear throughout the episode.
- Players can join the experience, they don't need to know the back-story from Alan Wake and the two DLC packs. However if you played the previous games, the plot will continue and be expanded upon.
- The game is significantly bigger than any previous episode in the original games or the DLC.
- The player will need to visit the same locations many times (in a non-linear way) during the storyline since the levels has a hub design.
- Several locations has been revealed. Wake will visit a gas station, a mountain-top observatory, an old drive-in theatre and motel in the desert.
- The mountain-top observatory will reveal a secret message in the stars.
- There's new weapons, new environments, new enemies and new a new colour palette.
- The Splitter is a new enemy which divides into two Taken if the flashlight beam hits them.
- The Birdman is another new enemy which can turn into a flock of birds when the player tries to shoot at him using the flashlight beam or gun. He will appear as a flock of birds but will take human form just before attacking.
- A new weapon is a crossbow which can perce the darkness that protects them without burning away the darkness. This is probably the most effective tool against the Splitter.
- Other new weapons include an Uzi, military grade rifle, and a nailgun.
- American Nightmare will be similar to episode four and five from the first game, starting from the Old Gods of Asgard Stage fight.
- The pace in the game has increased compared to the original titles.
- American Nightmare is two thirds action and one third story.
