Alan Wake — Achievement Walkthrough

Flashbangs detonate in a bright burst that vaporises nearby Taken outright (light is their weakness). Bunch four-plus Taken together, then drop/throw a flashbang into the middle. Same dense-swarm moments as the flare-gun challenge work here — wait for the crowd, then pop it.

The revolver is your default sidearm. Just favour it as your finisher: burn a Taken's shadow shield with the flashlight, then revolver them. Cumulative across playthroughs, so use it as your go-to and you'll pass 100 naturally — top it up on a Hard/Nightmare run if short.

Levels are dotted with red explosive barrels, gas canisters, and electrical hazards near groups of Taken. Light/shoot the explosive when enemies are next to it for an indirect kill. Look for these set-ups in every combat arena — 20 across the game is easy if you prioritise blowing barrels over shooting.

Strip the shadow shields off two Taken with your flashlight boost, line them up so one is behind the other (or side by side at close range), and fire the shotgun once. The spread + penetration drops both. Easiest when two weak Taken approach together — boost both, then one shell.

The flare gun is a one-hit AoE blast. Wait until at least four Taken are bunched tightly together (let them group up while you back toward a wall), then fire the flare gun into the cluster. Big swarm waves — like the bulldozer/lumber yard fights and several scripted ambushes — are ideal. Save a flare gun shot for a dense crowd.

Flocks of possessed ravens attack throughout the game. Holding the flashlight boost on them incinerates them. This is cumulative across your whole playthrough(s), so just always boost the bird flocks rather than running. Bird-heavy sections (the early forest chapters and several set-pieces) rack up the count fast; you'll likely finish near 1,000 in one playthrough and tip over on Hard/Nightmare.

During the Anderson brothers' farm concert finale, giant Taken and waves attack while pyrotechnics and stage lights help you. Stay near the powerful stage lights (they strip shadows for free), use the fireworks/pyro as area damage, and keep moving so you never get cornered into low health. Don't get greedy meleeing — let the lights and explosions do the work and you'll finish the sequence without ever entering the red-screen low-health state.

Nightmare unlocks after one full playthrough. Enemies are far tougher and ammo/batteries are scarce, so conserve: burn the boost (focused flashlight) only as long as needed to strip a Taken's shadow shield, then a couple of shots — don't over-burn. Always fight near light sources/safe havens, dodge (it triggers cinematic slow-mo windows) instead of tanking hits, and pick up every battery and ammo box. Use flares to create breathing room when swarmed. Nightmare also contains extra manuscript pages needed for the Collector's Edition achievement, so grab pages as you go.

This is a timed run through a Taken-heavy stretch. Don't try to kill everything — run. Boost only to break through a Taken blocking your path, sprint between safe havens, and ignore optional fights. Knowing the route is everything: do a practice run to learn the path, then a committed run sprinting the whole way, only stopping to clear enemies directly in your lane. Use flares to punch through groups rather than fighting them.

No guns the entire chapter — you survive on the flashlight boost, dodging, flares (flares are allowed — they're not 'firing' a gun) and reaching light/safe havens. Use the flashlight boost to stagger Taken and slip past, sprint between lamps and generators, and use flares to clear a path through groups. Memorise the route so you spend as little time exposed as possible. It's tense but doable once you know where the safe havens are. (Flashbangs/flares are fine; just don't fire the revolver/rifle/shotgun/flare-gun-as-weapon — to be safe rely on dodging and flares only.)

Hidden supply chests are tucked off the main path, often unlocked by following the floating directional arrows or yellow-paint hints. Explore side trails in every chapter and shine your flashlight to reveal paint-arrow clues pointing to them. They carry ammo/batteries too. Track which chapter each is in with a checklist; chapter select lets you mop up any you missed.

In the final fight of The Signal, focus pure aggression: pre-position near the strongest light source, immediately boost-and-burst priority Taken, and use flares/flashbangs to clear groups instantly rather than fighting them one by one. Know the spawn order so you delete each wave the moment it appears. Sub-90-seconds needs you to never waste time — AoE everything.

The tornado approach in The Writer is a sprint. Don't fight — run the path, boosting only to knock aside any Taken directly blocking you, and beeline to the objective. Learn the route on a first attempt, then a committed sprint with flares to punch through any blockage gets you under 60 seconds.

The Writer is a surreal level built from floating fragments. The secret area is reached by taking a non-obvious branch / platforming detour off the main path during one of the assembling-platform sections — look for a route that leads away from the objective marker to a tucked-away space. Explore the optional platform paths rather than rushing to the next objective.

100 coffee thermoses are scattered across the chapters, usually glinting on side paths, porches, and ledges. They don't reset, so collect across playthroughs. Explore thoroughly, watch for the thermos shine, and use a chapter checklist to clean up the last few via chapter select.

Manuscript pages are the big collectible. A chunk of them ONLY appear on Nightmare difficulty, so a single Normal run can't get this — you need a Normal run for the Normal-set pages and a Nightmare run for the Nightmare-exclusive ones. Use a per-chapter page checklist, and note that some pages are only obtainable during a specific scene (grab them then, as a few areas lock behind you). Pair this with your Nightmare playthrough.