Where do I even start with Alan Wake 2? Maybe the fact that the game has been 13 years in the making, an obvious passion project that has been stewing within Remedy in some form or another all this time? The mechanical differences that come about from a genre shift and two protagonists? The absolutely bonkers narrative that they’ve spun, calling back to most of the studio’s work since their inception, both blatantly and subtly? The issues, of which I have a few more than I like, some expected, others not? Despite not being as large in scope as an RPG or most AAA open worlds, there’s a lot to go over.
Horror is generally not my shtick. I have not watched a single horror movie and can count the number of horror games I’ve played on one hand. I am, however, very much into Alan Wake. Did at least two runs of both the first game and its remaster, got the XBLA game most people didn’t bother with (which holds absolutely no relevance to this game’s narrative, don’t worry), and even got an entirely different game largely for the ties its expansion has to the series. So it was with cautious optimism I see AW2 was revealed to be a horror game, a slower paced, more contemplative affair compared to the original's general shooter gameplay. I can say that, while I am very much more of an action guy myself, I acclimated to the differences before too long, for better and worse.
Alan Wake 2 follows a standard survival horror combat setup; a third person shooter generally set in dark environments with stiff moving protagonists. Your enemies are the darkness infused Taken, who are faster and more resilient than our protagonists. Light sources, such as flares and your flashlight burn away their shields to leave them vulnerable to conventional weaponry. Combat is tense, as you can lose control of a situation very easily and die very quickly, which makes combat rewarding to get a handle on. Different enemy types call for different tactics, as some flank, others charge, and some have projectiles, so you’ll have to think on your feet. You don’t have to fight every Taken, and are encouraged to avoid unnecessary confrontations.
There’s a limited, RE4 style inventory, and can burn through resources quickly in larger fights, so it pays to explore the environments for ammo and health restoratives. You can acquire more permanent boons such as more flashlight charges or increased rate of fire on weapons through exploration and light puzzle solving, some of which can get pretty taxing. There are a handful of semi open areas that make up the setting, gated off by progression items such as keys or bolt cutters, and they’re rewarding to explore and revisit as you’re able to access more of it
While going to survival horror was the right call I feel, and definitely feels like a natural continuation of the first game both in gameplay and narrative, there’s two changes that I don’t love. The first is the addition of random, very loud jumpscares, which are far more annoying than scary. The second, and far bigger one is the flashlight. It’s spectacularly inconsistent. I haven’t seen this brought up frequently from others and I believe it may be patched by now, but it just didn’t work the way it’s supposed to. It sort of locks on to enemies and other objects of interest, but does not do so at all consistently and can target things you don’t want it to. Whenever I would dodge and then try to flash an enemy immediately, it just wouldn’t damage the shield for several seconds, wasting both resources and time in a way that has gotten me killed. There’s one enemy type that hides in thin air as if it were diving into water, making them harder to see and immune to weapons fire. You’re supposed to use the flashlight to bring them out of hiding but it just… doesn’t work, which forces you to use far rarer and more valuable resources to render them vulnerable. Probably the most unique aspect of Alan Wake combat is infuriatingly inconsistent which is deeply disappointing given everything else the game does right, such as the story and characters.
Both protagonists are equally important, telling two concurrent stories that finally intersect at the end. There’s no predetermined order, but you do go through both in full to reach the end. 13 years have passed from the events of the original, when writer Alan Wake jumped into Cauldron Lake to save his wife. He’s now stuck in The Dark Place, an alternate dimension accessed from the lake. It manifests as a dreary and oppressive corruption of New York City that he’s desperate to escape. The Dark Place empowers art, such as books or music, allowing them to change reality, which Alan does in his “Writer’s Room” to try and place specific contexts for specific locations. For example, a cult performing a ritual in one part of a subway system may open up a pathway when written into another part, and an area that was once clean can shift in an instant to a blood soaked horror scene. It’s fascinating to see different areas react to different contexts, and leads to some interesting environmental storytelling. I viewed every scene at every location regardless of the solutions just out of my own interest.
Meanwhile FBI agent Saga Anderson, newcomer to the series, is sent to Cauldron Lake to investigate mysterious cult murders. Soon after, she finds manuscript pages that seem to dictate future events before they happen. She has her own analog to Alan’s Writer’s Room in the “Mind Place”, where she sorts through evidence that she finds throughout the world to try and solve the various mysterious happenings of Bright Falls. The gameplay here is rather simple, placing pieces of evidence on a case board and profiling people in her head (the game does explain how that makes any sense, but you’ll just have to go with it for a while). It’s usually rather obvious what evidence goes where, but her comments and deductions add nice flavor and character to her story. Whereas Alan has had 13 years to acclimate to the paranormal, seeing Saga’s reactions when things go fubar is a treat as she slowly comes to grips to being trapped in a horror story is engaging, particularly when her story starts becoming personal.
While I can’t say too much about other horror stories, I can say that this one is a wild ride. The overarching narrative is dark and layered, with gruesome murders and cult rituals set alongside some truly mind bending shenanigans, it can take a bit for some of the narrative beats to truly sink in. One of my fears when this was announced to be a horror game was that some of the levity and weirdness from their previous titles would be culled and I was so so glad that my fears ended up being for naught. A major collectible in the form of reenacting nursery rhymes, tv ads featuring the just frankly incredible Koskela brothers, and one Remedy staple set piece that will go down as one of the best moments in gaming this year are just some of what reiterated that Remedy’s tone and style.
Alan Wake 2 is a tad complicated for me. It goes deeper and more weird with its storytelling and presentation than pretty much anything else at a AAA level which absolutely deserves praise. It’s a gorgeous looking game, with a great soundtrack backing it, though I still prefer the first game's more impactful sound design in combat. I also had more than my fair share of audio issues, ranging from cutscene audio not playing, music randomly cutting out, and ambient NPC dialog repeating immediately. I am intensely looking forward to the future of the series, and it is a more than worthy return, but I can’t say I loved everything it had. I expected some aspects to be less up my alley, and I don’t fault it for that, especially considering that I seem to be the only person who never actually got tired of the first game’s combat. That said, a core combat mechanic seemingly not functioning as intended is a harder pill to swallow, and it’s overall a tad buggier than I would’ve preferred. Remedy has been consistent about updating since I played though, so there’s a very strong chance most or all of those issues have been ironed out by now.
An absolute must play for fans of Alan Wake or Remedy in general, and a very engaging horror shooter in its own right, though don’t listen to Remedy when they say newcomers can jump in and not miss a beat. If this looks at all interesting to you, please go through the first game’s story first, whether through Youtube or the remaster of the first game, it is essential to fully grasping this game’s story and world.
Horror is generally not my shtick. I have not watched a single horror movie and can count the number of horror games I’ve played on one hand. I am, however, very much into Alan Wake. Did at least two runs of both the first game and its remaster, got the XBLA game most people didn’t bother with (which holds absolutely no relevance to this game’s narrative, don’t worry), and even got an entirely different game largely for the ties its expansion has to the series. So it was with cautious optimism I see AW2 was revealed to be a horror game, a slower paced, more contemplative affair compared to the original's general shooter gameplay. I can say that, while I am very much more of an action guy myself, I acclimated to the differences before too long, for better and worse.
Alan Wake 2 follows a standard survival horror combat setup; a third person shooter generally set in dark environments with stiff moving protagonists. Your enemies are the darkness infused Taken, who are faster and more resilient than our protagonists. Light sources, such as flares and your flashlight burn away their shields to leave them vulnerable to conventional weaponry. Combat is tense, as you can lose control of a situation very easily and die very quickly, which makes combat rewarding to get a handle on. Different enemy types call for different tactics, as some flank, others charge, and some have projectiles, so you’ll have to think on your feet. You don’t have to fight every Taken, and are encouraged to avoid unnecessary confrontations.
There’s a limited, RE4 style inventory, and can burn through resources quickly in larger fights, so it pays to explore the environments for ammo and health restoratives. You can acquire more permanent boons such as more flashlight charges or increased rate of fire on weapons through exploration and light puzzle solving, some of which can get pretty taxing. There are a handful of semi open areas that make up the setting, gated off by progression items such as keys or bolt cutters, and they’re rewarding to explore and revisit as you’re able to access more of it
While going to survival horror was the right call I feel, and definitely feels like a natural continuation of the first game both in gameplay and narrative, there’s two changes that I don’t love. The first is the addition of random, very loud jumpscares, which are far more annoying than scary. The second, and far bigger one is the flashlight. It’s spectacularly inconsistent. I haven’t seen this brought up frequently from others and I believe it may be patched by now, but it just didn’t work the way it’s supposed to. It sort of locks on to enemies and other objects of interest, but does not do so at all consistently and can target things you don’t want it to. Whenever I would dodge and then try to flash an enemy immediately, it just wouldn’t damage the shield for several seconds, wasting both resources and time in a way that has gotten me killed. There’s one enemy type that hides in thin air as if it were diving into water, making them harder to see and immune to weapons fire. You’re supposed to use the flashlight to bring them out of hiding but it just… doesn’t work, which forces you to use far rarer and more valuable resources to render them vulnerable. Probably the most unique aspect of Alan Wake combat is infuriatingly inconsistent which is deeply disappointing given everything else the game does right, such as the story and characters.
Both protagonists are equally important, telling two concurrent stories that finally intersect at the end. There’s no predetermined order, but you do go through both in full to reach the end. 13 years have passed from the events of the original, when writer Alan Wake jumped into Cauldron Lake to save his wife. He’s now stuck in The Dark Place, an alternate dimension accessed from the lake. It manifests as a dreary and oppressive corruption of New York City that he’s desperate to escape. The Dark Place empowers art, such as books or music, allowing them to change reality, which Alan does in his “Writer’s Room” to try and place specific contexts for specific locations. For example, a cult performing a ritual in one part of a subway system may open up a pathway when written into another part, and an area that was once clean can shift in an instant to a blood soaked horror scene. It’s fascinating to see different areas react to different contexts, and leads to some interesting environmental storytelling. I viewed every scene at every location regardless of the solutions just out of my own interest.
Meanwhile FBI agent Saga Anderson, newcomer to the series, is sent to Cauldron Lake to investigate mysterious cult murders. Soon after, she finds manuscript pages that seem to dictate future events before they happen. She has her own analog to Alan’s Writer’s Room in the “Mind Place”, where she sorts through evidence that she finds throughout the world to try and solve the various mysterious happenings of Bright Falls. The gameplay here is rather simple, placing pieces of evidence on a case board and profiling people in her head (the game does explain how that makes any sense, but you’ll just have to go with it for a while). It’s usually rather obvious what evidence goes where, but her comments and deductions add nice flavor and character to her story. Whereas Alan has had 13 years to acclimate to the paranormal, seeing Saga’s reactions when things go fubar is a treat as she slowly comes to grips to being trapped in a horror story is engaging, particularly when her story starts becoming personal.
While I can’t say too much about other horror stories, I can say that this one is a wild ride. The overarching narrative is dark and layered, with gruesome murders and cult rituals set alongside some truly mind bending shenanigans, it can take a bit for some of the narrative beats to truly sink in. One of my fears when this was announced to be a horror game was that some of the levity and weirdness from their previous titles would be culled and I was so so glad that my fears ended up being for naught. A major collectible in the form of reenacting nursery rhymes, tv ads featuring the just frankly incredible Koskela brothers, and one Remedy staple set piece that will go down as one of the best moments in gaming this year are just some of what reiterated that Remedy’s tone and style.
Alan Wake 2 is a tad complicated for me. It goes deeper and more weird with its storytelling and presentation than pretty much anything else at a AAA level which absolutely deserves praise. It’s a gorgeous looking game, with a great soundtrack backing it, though I still prefer the first game's more impactful sound design in combat. I also had more than my fair share of audio issues, ranging from cutscene audio not playing, music randomly cutting out, and ambient NPC dialog repeating immediately. I am intensely looking forward to the future of the series, and it is a more than worthy return, but I can’t say I loved everything it had. I expected some aspects to be less up my alley, and I don’t fault it for that, especially considering that I seem to be the only person who never actually got tired of the first game’s combat. That said, a core combat mechanic seemingly not functioning as intended is a harder pill to swallow, and it’s overall a tad buggier than I would’ve preferred. Remedy has been consistent about updating since I played though, so there’s a very strong chance most or all of those issues have been ironed out by now.
An absolute must play for fans of Alan Wake or Remedy in general, and a very engaging horror shooter in its own right, though don’t listen to Remedy when they say newcomers can jump in and not miss a beat. If this looks at all interesting to you, please go through the first game’s story first, whether through Youtube or the remaster of the first game, it is essential to fully grasping this game’s story and world.