I’m so glad I replayed this game. It’s immensely beautiful.

Being able to actually concentrate on and enjoy Abby’s side of the story this time was great. On my first playthrough, I think I was so focused on Ellie that I mostly forgot Abby’s side quickly. Abby is such an interesting character, and her almost learning that she’s a good person through her struggles with the WLF (who we find out are much deeper than Ellie’s perceived ‘evil’) and the Seraphite; she saves Yara and Lev FROM the WLF despite her previous hostility toward the group as a whole, and I think that just shows that she really is a good person, despite what Ellie makes us think in the first half of the game.

And whilst listening to the dev commentary, I got a better idea of the ending. I like to think that final flashback with Joel and her leaving the guitar behind symbolises her forgiveness for Joel (and perhaps even Abby?), alongside her moving on from that pain she felt regarding his death. That’s what Neil says in the commentary, and I took a liking to it. Plus, seeing the fight between Ellie and Abby again was insightful, seeing her have a flashback of Joel right as she’s about to kill Abby, and stopping; I believe she does this for a number of reasons, including that Joel wouldn’t have wanted it, and that Lev would be left alone. I don’t know, I just love the complexity of Ellie’s obsession, an obsession over someone who we find out is actually in of itself a complex and good hearted individual.

Oh yeah, and the game’s super fun too. What a great game.

Alan Wake 2 is without a doubt one of the best directed and written games I have ever played, with absolutely stunning graphics/art design and fantastic characters.

I have tons to say about this game, but I'll get the negatives out of the way first: the combat was super hard to get used to in The Dark Place. Having to flashlight boost Taken when some of them are just shadows ultimately confused me because I couldn't tell the difference between a Taken and some shadow. Anyway, I got used to it eventually and really liked it by the end. My only other issue is it's original ending; locking the true ending behind a NG+ is fine, in fact, it works very well for this game! I'm glad they did it, but the original ending is so much of a cliffhanger that it's also annoying. I wanted to know so bad if Logan was okay and if Return really paid off, and I didn't want to play through the whole game again with minimal changes just to find out. (I watched it online)

ANYWAY

First of all, the visuals impressed me right off the bat. The sunset reflecting off of Cauldron Lake and through the trees is absolutely beautiful. The way light is used throughout the game is stunning; for example, the sunny Bright Falls with all it's puddles shining and varied colours of the Deerfest banners is so nice, but the eery darkness of The Dark Place/Bright Fall's forests illuminated by only a flashlight gives off an amazing atmosphere. It's crazy how well they pulled the 'survival horror' element off, especially with how different it is to their other games. Even Bright Falls doesn't feel safe.

Speaking of the survival horror genre, it's pulled off very well, but the combat isn't anything to write home about. It's not bad at all, I very much enjoyed it, but it just works (for me). But that's all I need. The atmosphere, like I said, is amazing, with the dark environments lit up by your flashlight; it really feels like you have total Control (haha), only seeing what your flashlight sees, in a sense. It's very immersive. Traversing through these environments really encapsulates 'survival horror' to me. Also, the Overlaps as Saga were amazing, being stuck in a loop (or a spiral) that gets more and more horrific as you descend. Truly some of the best moments for me.

It's funny how they subvert the genre too, with Illmo and Jaakko's commercials and Mr. Door's segments just being straight up funny! (except for Illmo's Return review. that made me sad) The 'We Sing' chapter too; not even funny, just mesmerising. Walking through a living musical based around Alan's life, with a banger in the background? And the way the music loops until you reach the next area and it DOESN'T sound off? And Alan's solo singing moment? What an absolutely awesome segment, certainly one of the best of the year.

On top of that, Saga's storyline starting off as a murder mystery whilst slowly transitioning into Alan's supernatural horror story was awesome to watch unfold. Her Case Board mechanic was so fun to do, as well as the Profiling. Actively being a part of the investigation as a player is something that I imagine was hard to input into the game, but it's done very very well. And when they subvert THAT into the Dark Place segment where she has to face her anxieties was amazing, especially as I connected with that struggle with anxiety.

The characters in this game are one of the stand out points for me. I didn't really like many of the characters from Alan Wake 1, apart from Alan himself. Odin and Tor too of course, and I thought Barry was funny at times. Even Alice, I thought she was pretty boring. But all of these characters, ESPECIALLY Alice, I love in this game. They are so much more interesting, or at least lovable. Odin and Tor are explored more, Rose is interesting, Alice's storyline really caught my attention... they really are all awesome. Even the new characters, like Saga and Mr. Door, they're very cool.

Also, I really didn't expect the FBC to be so involved in the game, which was awesome! I was expecting a Jesse Faden namedrop, but ehhh maybe it'll happen in the DLC. At least we got the Object of Power namedrop! Ahti too, I didn't expect to see him at all, let alone that much. Very cool to see him.

I don't think I have anything else to say, and I think i've written enough lmao. Seems fitting for a game about a writer though...

So, in conclusion, I love this game. I love the characters, I love the story, I love the atmosphere. It has flaws, but none big enough for me to take it below 10/10. Remedy have proved themselves over the years with their mind-bending games, and Alan Wake 2 is the best one yet. I'm glad I have another company I can put my faith in now.

(I probably didn't even get half my points across right throughout this, but just know that it's amazing. I also probably have other things to say but i've said too much already haha)