• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
  • We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.

Recommend me media (Games, shows, movies) that's similar to Alan Wake, Twin Peaks or Wayward Pines

Seijuro

Seijuro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,858
I wasn't sure if I should post this in Gaming or Etcetera, but decided to put it here.
I love the setting of a small town or resort town where something mysterious is going on, with some outsider coming in and getting wrapped up in whatever is lurking there, with a slight horror twist. I just love the vibe. Help me Era, what else is there?
 
AliceAmber

AliceAmber

Drive-in Mutant
Administrator
May 2, 2018
6,704
Gravity Falls and Life is Strange. Both are very obviously inspired by Twin Peaks, but are very enjoyable.
 
Astro Cat

Astro Cat

Member
Mar 29, 2019
7,745
Kentucky Route Zero and Deadly Premonition are the only two I can think of. DP is kind of weird and not very good though. Kentucky does it best.
 
viral

viral

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,633
Higurashi also counts I guess? It's nothing like Twin Peaks, but it fits the criteria of "new person moves into small village and mysterious stuff happens".
 
Orayn

Orayn

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,973
Are you open to anime? Summertime Rendering is similar and very good so far. Probably won't have official subs for a while due to Disney Plus, unfortunately. Plot is hard to describe without spoilers but it connects to the same vein of "small town with some really weird, dark stuff going on."
 
kurahador

kurahador

Member
Oct 28, 2017
17,565
X-Files: Resist or Serve - had to mention this as I just watched the whole playthrough of it on youtube as part of the series marathon.
Castle Rock
 
bushmonkey

bushmonkey

Member
Oct 29, 2017
5,604
For games: Thimbleweed Park and like others I'd highly recommend Deadly premonition. The combat is bad but the atmosphere in the town and the chats with the townsfolk is so reminiscent of Twin Peaks in a good way. I'd also classify Disco Elysium in that same vein.
Movies: the wailing

Edit: Gravity Falls is also a reallly good shout.
 
Sam Bridges

Sam Bridges

Member
May 3, 2022
326
Control would be your obvious first stop if you're big on Alan Wake, especially since there is a... connection between the two, which is all I could say without spoiling anything
 
Jokerman

Jokerman

Member
May 16, 2020
6,945
I'm gonna be alone on this one but the movie Identity gave me that kind of vibe. I think it's a bit underrated.
 
OP
OP
Seijuro

Seijuro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,858
capybara-dive said:
Wayward Pines book series by Blake crouch
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Thanks, I see there's only 3 books, so it should be manageable. Are they very different from the show?

Orayn said:
Are you open to anime? Summertime Rendering is similar and very good so far. Probably won't have official subs for a while due to Disney Plus, unfortunately. Plot is hard to describe without spoilers but it connects to the same vein of "small town with some really weird, dark stuff going on."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I honestly haven't thought about anime at all, but I'll take a look.

Mindwipe said:
deadline.com

Alfred Molina To Star In Amazon Police Drama Series ‘Three Pines’ From ‘The Crown’ Producer Left Bank

Alfred Molina is to star in Amazon police drama series Three Pines, which comes from The Crown producer Left Bank Pictures.
deadline.com deadline.com

Coming soon, sounds like it is pretty similar to what you're after. Heard good things.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yeah it sounds pretty good, thanks!

Sam Bridges said:
Control would be your obvious first stop if you're big on Alan Wake, especially since there is a... connection between the two, which is all I could say without spoiling anything
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I claimed it last year from PS+, maybe I should give it a try. I literally forget about the game unless I read about it here, I don't know why.
 
phranc

phranc

Member
Nov 13, 2017
872
Days Gone and Until Dawn take place in the pacific north west. That's about the extent of the similarities.
 
RedVejigante

RedVejigante

Member
Aug 18, 2018
5,646
Doesnt exactly match your criteria, as it's missing the supernatural angle and is basically a police procedural/dramatization of a real life series of murders, but Bong Joon-ho's Memories of Murder, beyond just being a stellar film, revolves in part around a detective from the big city whose sent to a countryside town to investigate a potential serial killer.
 
hydruxo

hydruxo

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 25, 2017
20,441
Control is basically a mixture of Twin Peaks and X-Files. Alan Wake is obviously much more overtly inspired by Twin Peaks with all of its homages, but Sam Lake is a huge fan of Twin Peaks (and Lynch in general) so that TP influence is also very evident in Control as well.

I'd also throw in Disco Elysium in the mix, though it's not really inspired by Twin Peaks as far as I can tell. It's just that it has the "detective in a town figuring out the weird shit that's happening" vibe that you're looking for.

Also as far as shows go, True Detective S1 is fantastic and has some occult themes to it that make you want to keep watching to see what happens. Stranger Things as well if you haven't seen it.
 
OP
OP
Seijuro

Seijuro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,858
Since it's recommended a few times - what's the best way to play Deadly Premonition today?

Gavalanche said:
Midnight Mass for a tv show is a must watch,
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

RedVejigante said:
Doesnt exactly match your criteria, as it's missing the supernatural angle and is basically a police procedural/dramatization of a real life series of murders, but Bong Joon-ho's Memories of Murder, beyond just being a stellar film, revolves in part around a detective from the big city whose sent to a countryside town to investigate a potential serial killer.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Thanks, I already seen and loved those.
 
Sam Bridges

Sam Bridges

Member
May 3, 2022
326
Seijuro said:
I claimed it last year from PS+, maybe I should give it a try. I literally forget about the game unless I read about it here, I don't know why.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

You really should jump on that. Not only will it satisfy the entertainment niche you're currently craving, it's also easily Remedy's best game, stunningly beautiful, incredibly atmospheric, and genuinely thrilling gameplay. It'll twist your mind into a pretzel in all the best ways, just like Alan Wake.
 
Bony Manifesto

Bony Manifesto

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,587
The X-Files got the format down to a science. Especially in the early seasons when it was filmed in Vancouver (standing in for various mid-west towns).
 
HammerFace

HammerFace

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
2,227
Seijuro said:
Since it's recommended a few times - what's the best way to play Deadly Premonition today?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I think the Switch version works with less crashes. The PC version crashed all the time on me. But also make sure you have a full map of the town and possibly even a guide on you. The map is necessary.
 
gforguava

gforguava

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,705
Black Spot(aka Zone Blanche), one of the best things Netflix has released.


www.youtube.com

Zone Blanche

www.youtube.com www.youtube.com

Fun Fact: Netflix is so bad at advertising that there isn't even an English language trailer on youtube.


edit: American Gothic and Riverdale for two more television shows.

And for a non-supernatural version, Bates Motel.
 
Last edited:
Teenage Fansub

Teenage Fansub

Member
May 24, 2019
22,199
I saw Ingmar Bergman's Hour of the Wolf recently and parts of it definitely reminded me of the Black Lodge sequences. I wouldn't be surprised if it was an influence.

edit: I guess nobody else is old enough to remember Northern Exposure 😂
en.wikipedia.org

Northern Exposure - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
CommodoreKong

CommodoreKong

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,710
AliceAmber said:
Gravity Falls and Life is Strange. Both are very obviously inspired by Twin Peaks, but are very enjoyable.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I would 100% agree with these 2 picks.

Sam Bridges said:
Control would be your obvious first stop if you're big on Alan Wake, especially since there is a... connection between the two, which is all I could say without spoiling anything
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The big problem with Control is you're basically in a big office building most of the game, I don't feel the same atmosphere in Control that I do with Wake.
 
Doc Holliday

Doc Holliday

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,815
Carnivale
Dark is great, but I it's very different I think than Twib Peaks
American Gothic was good but it was cancelled early
 
dlauv

dlauv

Prophet of Truth - One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,513
American Gothic is basically a more homely Twin Peaks that leans harder into the supernatural. Was prematurely canceled but what's there is memorable.

Seijuro said:
Since it's recommended a few times - what's the best way to play Deadly Premonition today?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Xbox for the original look and game balance, or Switch for the Director's Cut. PC with patch looks best but is too unstable to recommend over the others.
 
ryseing

ryseing

Bought courtside tickets just to read a book.
Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,546
For lovers
The first season of Riverdale is very much Twin Peaks inspired.

Do not bother after that.
 
nachum00

nachum00

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,418
The Prisoner
1968 British TV show about a government agent that tries to quit but gets abducted and put in a strange village where no one is allowed to leave.

You can watch it free on Tubi
 
You must log in or register to reply here.