this is it, Remedy's best title, Alan Wake 2 screams originality and inventiveness during it's 20 or so hours of campaign, the story manages to engage the player in an way that is almost unbelievable, one of the best mystery/horror stories I ever seen in a long while, it's also beautifully voice acted and perfomed, everyone did an wonderful job.
the gameplay takes on an survival horror approach unlike the first game which was action centered, movement is more deliberate and slower this time around but they didn't sacrificed the tightness of the controls, Saga and Alan move around very smoothly, dodge mechanics works better, the gunplay feels punchy and satisfying (although there is not too much combat through the whole game especially compared to the first Alan Wake), it takes a lot of juice on the modern Resident Evil games so they couldn't go wrong with it.
inventory management is there, exploration is an must if you want to survive, enemies are very cautious and unpredictable, the classic survival horror experience that this game manages to get it right most of the time.
this game's presentation is absolutely stellar, the visuals were carefully crafted, the forests are very dense and atmospheric, the rainy NY City, the dark subway, it's absolutely incredible, animation work, FMV sequences and sound-design also deserve some heads, an unique and eccentric artistic presentation that only Remedy can do.
speaking about the issues I had with it are most directly towards on some of the polish in certain areas of the game, the UI is one of them, it's not bad per say but I think they should have done a better work of polish on it, the inventory screen comes to mind, dragging and drop items feels clunky, it's not as lightning fast or particularly smooth as like the Resident Evil 2 or 4 remakes for example, the investigation board during Saga's campaign is also very weird to navigate, some weird pauses whenever I wanted to switch between case files or placing clues, not an big deal but it was apparent.
had some glitches here and there as well, clipping through cellings when getting through doors or being unable to pick up certain items.
overall this is an fantastic game, it's by far Remedy's best title and it's miles above the first game that is not even funny, the carefully crafted visuals to the gripping narrative, Alan Wake 2 delivers one of the most creative and engrossing experiences that you can have this year, an absolute must-play for anyone who enjoys survival horror games or story-driven games, it's really that special.
the gameplay takes on an survival horror approach unlike the first game which was action centered, movement is more deliberate and slower this time around but they didn't sacrificed the tightness of the controls, Saga and Alan move around very smoothly, dodge mechanics works better, the gunplay feels punchy and satisfying (although there is not too much combat through the whole game especially compared to the first Alan Wake), it takes a lot of juice on the modern Resident Evil games so they couldn't go wrong with it.
inventory management is there, exploration is an must if you want to survive, enemies are very cautious and unpredictable, the classic survival horror experience that this game manages to get it right most of the time.
this game's presentation is absolutely stellar, the visuals were carefully crafted, the forests are very dense and atmospheric, the rainy NY City, the dark subway, it's absolutely incredible, animation work, FMV sequences and sound-design also deserve some heads, an unique and eccentric artistic presentation that only Remedy can do.
speaking about the issues I had with it are most directly towards on some of the polish in certain areas of the game, the UI is one of them, it's not bad per say but I think they should have done a better work of polish on it, the inventory screen comes to mind, dragging and drop items feels clunky, it's not as lightning fast or particularly smooth as like the Resident Evil 2 or 4 remakes for example, the investigation board during Saga's campaign is also very weird to navigate, some weird pauses whenever I wanted to switch between case files or placing clues, not an big deal but it was apparent.
had some glitches here and there as well, clipping through cellings when getting through doors or being unable to pick up certain items.
overall this is an fantastic game, it's by far Remedy's best title and it's miles above the first game that is not even funny, the carefully crafted visuals to the gripping narrative, Alan Wake 2 delivers one of the most creative and engrossing experiences that you can have this year, an absolute must-play for anyone who enjoys survival horror games or story-driven games, it's really that special.