The Dark Place

Guide Alan Wake through the surreal Dark Place to find the Clicker, a Coffee Thermos, and confront the Dark Presence. Learn how to progress and unlock trophies.

Alright, so you've made it to The Dark Place. It's a bit… weird in here, but don't worry, I'll walk you through it. You'll start next to Alice, who's trying to tell you this is all a dream. Just nod along and start heading towards the living room. Alice is blocking the main door, so we'll cut through the kitchen instead.

Once you're in the living room, you'll see the word "Clicker" floating above a table. Hang tight for a sec, a torch will appear. Shine that light on the word, and the actual Clicker will pop into existence. Grab it, and a cutscene kicks in.

Now you're at the bottom of the lake, and Thomas Zane's here to give you the lowdown: you need to find your way to the cabin. Oh, and a doppelganger of you, Mr. Scratch, shows up. Zane says to ignore him, so let's do that.

When you get control back, you're in this crazy landscape with words floating everywhere. Keep an eye out to the left of the sofa for the word "thermos". Shine your torch on it until it changes into a Coffee Thermos. Snagging this will pop the Hypercaffeinated trophy for you.

There are other words you can zap with your torch, but the only one you absolutely *need* to hit is "path". Keep moving forward and aim your torch at the word "bridge" – this makes the bridge to Diver's Isle appear. Cross it, and then shine your light on "log cabin" to reveal your next destination.

Head through the door, and bam! You're face-to-face with the Dark Presence. You'll use the Clicker to take care of its current form. After that, Alan sits down at the typewriter. He realizes he can't just pull Alice out; the story has to make sense, and everything comes with a price. So, he chooses to stay in the Dark Place so Alice can escape.

The game then jumps to Deerfest, where Rose has taken Cynthia's lantern. Finally, it cuts back to Alan at his typewriter, writing the game's final line: "It's not a lake, it's an ocean." At this point, you'll unlock the end-game trophies: Departure, Hardboiled Writer, and Alan Wake Up. If this is your second playthrough, you might even snag the Platinum trophy!