How long is Alan Wake and how many episodes are there?

If you're wondering how long is Alan Wake, or you want to know how many episodes the story is split into, then you've come to the right place for some answers. As this adventure takes a lot of cues from TV shows, the reasonably-sized campaign is divided into distinct episodes instead of chapters, so it can be helpful to know the total episode count if you're working out how far into the game your current progress has taken you. With that in mind, we're here to explain how long is it exactly, and how many episodes there are, so you can figure out how far into your nightmare you are in Bright Falls.

How long is Alan Wake?

Alan Wake how long — (Image credit: Remedy Entertainment)

For those playing the game normally without too much attention to collectibles or extras, Alan Wake’s main campaign will probably take you between 10 and 15 hours, with variations depending on the difficulty and your own level of skill. The game can be quite challenging at points and while it is linear, the maps are large and explorative. You may even get lost at times in dark shadowy woods, or just struggle to take down some murderous lumberjack or possessed farming equipment. Much of it will depend on your own level of skill or investment.

Alan Wake completionist and collectibles playthroughs

Alan Wake how long manuscript page — (Image credit: Remedy Entertainment)

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If you’re looking to complete every aspect of the game, to find all the collectibles, pages, coffee, and old TV shows, you might find your playtime doubled from the usual amount. Alan Wake has a lot of collectibles and special achievements, and combined they might bring your final playtime to 25 hours or even more. Players looking to 100% the game should expect to spend a lot more time on it as a result.

How many Alan Wake episodes are there?

As mentioned, Alan Wake is split into Episodes instead of chapters or levels, though the game doesn’t tell you how many to expect. However, we can tell you that there are 6 Episodes in the main campaign, with some variation in length between them. They’re listed as the following:

Episode 1: Nightmare
Episode 2: Taken
Episode 3: Ransom
Episode 4: The Truth
Episode 5: The Clicker
Episode 6: Departure

How long is the Alan Wake DLC?

For those who play the DLC, there are also two more optional episodes, The Signal and The Writer, which will take about an hour and a half each. They’re not especially meaty, but they could make for a suitable helping of seconds for those who enjoyed Alan Wake and could go for more, or just want further details on his story.

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.