Recently, I have been thinking a lot about how much the evolution of the games industry has reflected and paralleled the evolution of the film industry. Games, just as films did, have gone from cheap pulp entertainment, to a boom of creativity, to being accused of corrupting the minds of children, to being over-commercialised. Both tend to go through different phases of genius innovation and milking franchises, eras of auteurs and eras of sellouts. Over the past 50 years, there have been a lot of great games. But there has never been a game, or a film, or anything like Alan Wake II.
When you look at 2023 in general, many people, including myself, would say it was one of the best years for games ever, and I believe that (although Baldur's Gate 3 is really, really good) this is the game that truly marks a milestone in the evolution of the medium. If I were to compare Alan Wake II to a film then, what would it be? If I had to choose, I would probably go with Singin' in the Rain, but not just because that film is a musical. I would choose that film because it is a film about the creation of art, just like Alan Wake II is a game about how art can change the world. I would choose it because in its depiction of cinema, it expresses its love for cinema, just as Alan Wake II does for games. I would choose it because it is one of the best.
But I also think that Alan Wake II doesn't deserve to be compared to a film. It is better than that. It is its own thing. Where people like Hideo Kojima seek to move games closer to films (His recent announcement of a "game that is like a film but also not a film or a game" with Jordan Peele, for example), Sam Lake rejects that idea. This game wants to be a game. Yes, it references and makes use of many different mediums of art, as well as live-action cutscenes but without experiencing all of these uses together, in and through the game, they mean nothing. It is the experience, the playing of the game that matters. Watching a playthrough, listening to the incredible OST, hearing it through word of mouth, it just is not the same. This is a game that has to be played to be understood.
In fact, you have to play more than just the game itself to properly understand it. Realistically, you have to play all of Remedy's games to understand it, something I am yet to achieve. While on its own, it is still a fantastic survival horror game which adapts the core gameplay idea from Alan Wake into a context which makes it work far better than it did in that original game, this is more than just a survival horror game. This is the Remedy game. No one else could have made this. When that uniqueness is combined with the great gameplay, the usual perfectly crafted Remedy atmosphere, excellent level design, mind-blowing graphics and the best story Lake has given us so far, you have an incredible game on your hands.
Tragically, though, I believe many people will never play this game. Many will see a survival horror sequel to a 2010 cult classic, the high system requirements, or (justifiably, I must admit, not everyone is a fan) Sam Lake's name on the writing credits and give this game a miss. And honestly, fair enough, this game will not be everyone's favourite game, I'm not sure I would even say it's my favourite game, but by God it is up there because this is incredible. And I believe that everyone should play this.
There is so much I have not mentioned in this review. So much about the story, about the significance of the fact that this even exists, about the fact that this game came out 13 years after the original (Really, how is that the number, can that actually be a coincidence?), any of its few, but still present flaws or the fact that in a game about being stuck in a loop, you have to play new game plus to get the true ending... But there just isn't any point. There is no way I could adequatly express the way I feel about this game any more than I already hope that I have, and if I haven't convinced you to play the game by now, I never will.
I would very strongly recommend this game, in fact, I would urge you to play it. This is one of the greats. Games have come a long way in the last 5 decades, and Alan Wake II makes me so excited for the next 5. Both games and films will continue to go through their respective phases and eras, but I can say for certain now that we are not in a loop, we're in a spiral, journeying out from the centre into the endless possibilities.
When you look at 2023 in general, many people, including myself, would say it was one of the best years for games ever, and I believe that (although Baldur's Gate 3 is really, really good) this is the game that truly marks a milestone in the evolution of the medium. If I were to compare Alan Wake II to a film then, what would it be? If I had to choose, I would probably go with Singin' in the Rain, but not just because that film is a musical. I would choose that film because it is a film about the creation of art, just like Alan Wake II is a game about how art can change the world. I would choose it because in its depiction of cinema, it expresses its love for cinema, just as Alan Wake II does for games. I would choose it because it is one of the best.
But I also think that Alan Wake II doesn't deserve to be compared to a film. It is better than that. It is its own thing. Where people like Hideo Kojima seek to move games closer to films (His recent announcement of a "game that is like a film but also not a film or a game" with Jordan Peele, for example), Sam Lake rejects that idea. This game wants to be a game. Yes, it references and makes use of many different mediums of art, as well as live-action cutscenes but without experiencing all of these uses together, in and through the game, they mean nothing. It is the experience, the playing of the game that matters. Watching a playthrough, listening to the incredible OST, hearing it through word of mouth, it just is not the same. This is a game that has to be played to be understood.
In fact, you have to play more than just the game itself to properly understand it. Realistically, you have to play all of Remedy's games to understand it, something I am yet to achieve. While on its own, it is still a fantastic survival horror game which adapts the core gameplay idea from Alan Wake into a context which makes it work far better than it did in that original game, this is more than just a survival horror game. This is the Remedy game. No one else could have made this. When that uniqueness is combined with the great gameplay, the usual perfectly crafted Remedy atmosphere, excellent level design, mind-blowing graphics and the best story Lake has given us so far, you have an incredible game on your hands.
Tragically, though, I believe many people will never play this game. Many will see a survival horror sequel to a 2010 cult classic, the high system requirements, or (justifiably, I must admit, not everyone is a fan) Sam Lake's name on the writing credits and give this game a miss. And honestly, fair enough, this game will not be everyone's favourite game, I'm not sure I would even say it's my favourite game, but by God it is up there because this is incredible. And I believe that everyone should play this.
There is so much I have not mentioned in this review. So much about the story, about the significance of the fact that this even exists, about the fact that this game came out 13 years after the original (Really, how is that the number, can that actually be a coincidence?), any of its few, but still present flaws or the fact that in a game about being stuck in a loop, you have to play new game plus to get the true ending... But there just isn't any point. There is no way I could adequatly express the way I feel about this game any more than I already hope that I have, and if I haven't convinced you to play the game by now, I never will.
I would very strongly recommend this game, in fact, I would urge you to play it. This is one of the greats. Games have come a long way in the last 5 decades, and Alan Wake II makes me so excited for the next 5. Both games and films will continue to go through their respective phases and eras, but I can say for certain now that we are not in a loop, we're in a spiral, journeying out from the centre into the endless possibilities.
2 Comments
@MikazeArtz Thanks!
MikazeArtz
2 months ago