Nurse Birch is a minor character and enemy appearing on Alan Wake. He worked as an orderly at the Cauldron Lake Lodge, under Dr. Emil Hartman, and helped to deal with unruly patients. During the Bright Falls AWE of 2010, Birch was taken by the Dark Presence and subsequently killed by writer Alan Wake.

Appearance

Birch is a well-built, Caucasian man with grey hair. He wears a white, long sleeved shirt, turquoise pants, with a black belt, and dark brown shoes. He also carries a pen on the left pocket of his shirt. After being taken by the Dark Presence, his skin turned pale and his body became covered with darkness. He also carried an axe.

Personality

Being a nurse in a psychiatric institution, Birch attempted to remain patient and professional with the patients of the lodge, as seen when he remained composed after Alan Wake insulted him by calling him a "gorilla." Aside from his regular nursing duties, Birch would also carry out questionable and even illegal task for his employer, something that apparently caused him no moral problem.

After becoming a Taken, all traces of Birch's humanity and his former self disappeared, leaving only an empty shell at the disposal of the Dark Presence. In this state, like all other taken, Birch only repeated random sentences that he already said when he was alive.

Biography

Bright Falls AWE

After falling into the waters of Cauldron Lake following his encounter the Dark Presence on Mirror Peak, Alan Wake was rescued by Emil Hartman and taken to the Cauldron Lake Lodge in an effort to have the writer under his control. The next day, Barry Wheeler, Wake's literary agent, was contacted by Hartman and informed that his client was at the lodge. However, this was actually a trap. Upon receiving a signal from his employer, who was giving Wheeler a tour of the building to distract him, Birch and another orderly captured Wake's agent and locked in an office of the lodge's staff wing.^[1]

When Wake woke up, Hartman, accompanied by Birch in case the writer once again reacted violently, attempted to convince him that the recent events he had experienced were the result of a psychotic break caused by the death of his wife, Alice, and that he had been a patient at his lodge for a long time. The doctor then proceeded to give Wake a tour of the building. Not long afterwards, when an unnatural thunderstorm began to form near the lake, Hartman instructed Birch to keep an eye on the writer while he checked on the power. Birch later informed Sinclair of the doctor's orders, but let her know that she could call him if she had any trouble with the other patients. Upon seeing Wake back, Birch suggested he go back to his room and continue writing as Hartman had asked him to.

Soon after, while Birch watched over Wake, a disturbance erupted in the lobby, caused by the Anderson Brothers. When Sinclair called him for help, Birch told Wake to remain in his room and continue writing. He and Sinclair tried to restrain the brothers, but they proved to be stronger than expected. In addition, Tor's toy hammer had somehow transformed into a real one. The old man knocked Sinclair unconscious, prompting Birch to hide in a nearby storage closet. When Wake arrived at scene, the Andersons urged him to use the chaos as an opportunity to escape. The brothers then continued to taunt the orderly.

Not long afterwards, the Dark Presence began to take over the lodge. Birch was engulfed by the entity and turned into a Taken. When Wake tried to escape the lodge through the hedge maze, he was attacked by the Taken Birch, who was accompanied by a flock of Taken birds. Nevertheless, the writer managed to kill him and the orderly's body disappeared.^[2]

Gameplay

Description

Birch is a Chainsaw Assault Taken-type enemy that possesses a strong darkness shield, capable of withstanding an explosion caused by a flare gun or a flashbang grenade. As is usually the case with bosses, he also has more health than a normal Taken of this type or any other type of Taken.

Strategy

• This fight will consume a lot of resources. It is essential that the player collect all flares and lithium batteries in the hedge maze and waste as little as possible with normal Taken.
• Aside from Birch, the player will also have to deal with a flock of Taken birds. If they decide to take them out first, they will have to maintain their distance from Birch as he is capable of killing the player in two hits or less.
• On the other hand, if the player wants to focus on the Taken, they will have to be careful with the birds as they may prove to be too distracting. Using a flare will not only help wear down Birch's darkness shield, but will also protect the player from the birds.
• At the gazebo, the player will find, in addition to a First Aid box containing more batteries, a flare gun and a single round on floor. While a flare gun shot will not instantly kill Birch, it will be enough to wear his shield down.
• While Birch generally moves slowly, he will gain speed when coming close to the player.
• If the player chooses to continue forward, they will also be attacked by a Flanker and an Assault Taken. However, they will soon reach a Safe Haven and a small shed containing a shotgun.

Quotes

Taken

• "You can have the TV on, if you don't fight about the channels".
• "You get three pills in the evening, and you'll sleep like a baby".
• "What are you doing out of bed? Doctor Hartman will be so disappointed".
• "Stop struggling! We're all friends here. This is just part of the therapy".
• "We don't want any fighting. It makes people sad".
• "Doctor Hartman likes things to be nice. That way we don't have any trouble and I don't have to punish anybody".

Trivia

• Birch is the only boss enemy whose defeat does not award an achievement.
• In the Alan Wake novel, Alan witnesses Birch being attacked by the Dark Presence. In this account, the orderly has not hidden in the closet and is seen attempting to flee before stepping into a puddle of liquid darkness released by the Dark Presence and falling to his knees. Wake observes blood coming out of Birch's ears, who seems to be suffering from a terrible headache. Before leaving the man to his fate, Wake also notes that the liquid darkness is slowly covering Birch and overwhelming him, turning him into one of the Taken.

Behind the Scenes

• Birch's head model was originally meant to be used for Robert Nightingale back when he was meant to be playable.
• His model was reused for Michael Farabee in Alan Wake's American Nightmare.

Appearances

• Alan Wake
  • Episode 4: The Truth

Gallery

Birch in Alan Wake Remastered.

The Taken Birch

Renders of Birch's body model from Alan Wake Remastered

References