"Alan Wake 2 is a game that shows what videogames are capable of"

Well, I imagine that a large number of people, when reading this highlighted phrase, will imagine a game that demonstrates cutting-edge technology, photo-realistic visuals, or even surprising performance. But definitely not the case where I wanted to refer to that kind of thing.

Alan Wake 2 tries to push the limits of what is possible to present and (only) achieve through a game. Using different multimedia formats to convey a plot, whether through meta commentary, live action cinematic cutscenes, different forms of interaction in the environment and fourth wall breaks, may not be a new thing. But it is certainly the game that comes closest to what was idealized by Sam Lake throughout his career, by playing with these elements in a coherent way, and delivering an experience that is unlike ANY other game I have seen playing videogames for more than 20 years.

And speaking of which, I believe that the most important thing in a game is the experience it gives you, and without a doubt, Alan Wake 2 is a game that cannot be explained. I could say that it is one of the best survival horror titles of recent decades, going head to head with classics like Silent Hill 2 or the original Resident Evil, or I could even say that it has one of the best and most ingenious plots and ways of tell a story that you can find in any medium. But it doesn't make sense, nothing I can say could do him justice.

Alan Wake 2 is a game that needs to be experienced above all else, and I hope everyone can give it a chance someday.

Alan Wake II is one of those games that tries to push the videogame medium to its maximum and absolutely succeeds in doing it.

It's very clear that Alan Wake II was heavily influenced by Control but still feels unique on its own. From it's mind bending narrative, nightmarish neon visuals and the much improved combat system, it's a sequel miles ahead of the first Alan Wake.

Without a doubt, this is my game of the year.

this was definitely the most bold game of this year, and i think with that boldness, it ended up being my favorite of the year. i had never played the first game or control before this and just watched some recap videos instead, i don't think i really needed more than that to get what was going on. i really liked the story, it was very captivating with all its mysteries, and i was all for the live action recordings it used. not to spoil things but the ending wasn't the most satisfying, but everything else was so good on the way there that i don't mind too much.

i thought the combat was alright, mainly just basic survival horror stuff which isn't a bad thing, and the flashlight was a pretty fun and harmless gimmick to add. all of saga's parts were pretty fun and well made, but playing as alan was so annoying with all of those stupid shadow things. my main complaint is that they disappear if you aim at them with your flashlight on for a bit, which sounds helpful until you realize how long it takes and how many of them there are, it gets so irritating. its not without its problems, but it has so much confidence in what its trying to do that it becomes more than the sum of its parts. very much looking forward to where their future games take this story.

They did it. After 6 years (has it ONLY been 6??) of obscenely long games, they made a new Assassin's Creed that can be completed by people who aren't suffering from crippling depression. A nice 20-hour full completion. That's the stuff!

The game? It's alright! A throwback to the first one (still one of the best, if you ask me), it retains a few elements of the Origins Era games: You have your scouting eagle, and a few too many unnecessary equipment slots. There are numbers on your swords and daggers, but they don't really matter much, and you're not picking up loot anyway. There are skill trees, but they contain about 20 skills total instead of the absolutely insane, byzantine webs of Odyssey and Valhalla. It also retains Valhalla's strange obsession with barred doors/windows, and throwing objects through gaps to open them.

Most interesting is how it's janky in almost exactly the same ways as the original games. The platforming can be just as clunky as in 1/2/Bro, when Origins had mostly solved that and featured a marked increase in fluidity. This is probably a result of making the climbing more deliberate again, as opposed to "hold up and A" that the accursed Revelations introduced via its Hookblade (remember -- the hookblade consists of two parts: the hook, and the blade). It still works pretty well overall, but there were definitely parts where I was wondering what in the holy fuck Basim was doing.

The throwbacks to AC1 don't end with the traversal, either. Throwing knives are still insanely OP. Guards are still complete idiots who won't notice if you stab someone 2 feet to their left. You can still hide in hay bales or... Whatever those booth things are, whistle at guards, and kill them one by one, stuffing that cart full of so many bodies that you could smell it from a mile away. All of these things are stupid in a way that I enjoy.

Basim's story is fine. You're out to kill the Order of the Ancients, which I guess are a precursor to the Templars, or an allied faction, or something. You are mentored by an Assassin voiced by Shohreh Aghdashloo, who has always had a distinctive, gravelly voice, but in 2023 she sounds like the AI from Godard's Alphaville. You investigate the various members of the Order, and can do so with a surprising degree of freedom, and work your way to the Big Cheese. Progression is gated by certain events, but it's essentially divided into halves, and you can go back and forth between investigation targets at your leisure.

Anyway, at the end, it links into the overall Assassin's Creed Lore, whatever the hell that is at this point. I've completely lost track of it, and I don't even know what happened here. There are no modern day segments, but there are holograms of ancient aliems, and Basim's dreams being haunted by some stupid fuckin mummy that's also related to them, I guess, and then you get a [MOVIE TITLE REDACTED] montage at the end for something that was hilariously obvious.

It don't matter. None of that matters.

Quick note on performance: On XSX, there were mild frame pacing issues throughout most of the game. It wasn't enough to be a major problem, except in a few places: there are some areas where the game outright chugs. It seemed like it happened mostly in more complex indoor areas, oddly, but for whatever reason, Damascus Prison and especially the Postal Bureau were slideshows at points. I heard the Postal Bureau played their whole album at Riot Fest, by the way.

If you've been missing the old AssCreeds, something that I'm sure none of us thought would happen during the dog days of Unity and Syndicate, Mirage is for you! It's hard to believe the series is only 15 years old, because it feels like an eternity since I heard some underpaid voice actor screaming "MAHNEY, MAHNEY, MAHNEYYYY". I hope that guy's doing fine, wherever he is.

7/10

The game is one of the best stealth experiences in the franchise imo, the tool set it gives you and the satisfying stealth puzzles as I would call if are so engaging and never bore me. The combat is interesting because it’s not particularly deep or deeply satisfying but it does what it’s designed to do, to encourage stealth but can be flashy with its counter kills. I recommend playing on hard because combat is more punishing and makes stealth that more fun. The parkour well I didn’t expect much, but what they did with speeding it up and the level design is quite shocking considering what it felt like in ac Valhalla. The weakest part of the game is how the story is designed, it has deeply intriguing start and end with so much interesting angles, but the middle is just investigation misisons in a nonlinear fashion with some uninteresting order targets that aren’t unique, as much as ac Valhalla is flawed it’s writing was it’s strongest feat in my eyes. Mirage delivers in its assassin fantasy and has a great start and ending but its narrative falls flat in the end with lacking character development, but what the team delivered from their first game and a tight deadline and budget with 2 years of dev and having to reuse Valhalla assets is amazing, and the fact that it’s such a fun experience even by the fact it’s carried by gameplay and the setting, still makes it a good ac game. It’s an appetite while these big budget titles are getting primed and polished. I enjoyed my time with it

You know, in all reality this game isn't amazing in any way, but you just had to be there. This game is still a very comforting childhood memory of mine, and there's nothing quite like the weird piss and shit oriented mini-games and surprisingly morbid story-line. I was so obsessed with this game as a kid that I had a giant life-size foxhound plush who I would call Jake. This plush has been cuddled to complete and utter destruction, but I still own an exact replica.

I love you Jake from Dog's Life on the Playstation 2