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It’s been 13 years since Alan sank to the depths of the lake that’s not a lake, but an ocean made of darkness that he’d hoped he could contain. On the surface, the town of Bright Falls seemed to return to normal thanks to Alan’s sacrifice, but something sinister was coming to life in the woods of Cauldron Lake. To immediately establish the horror focus of this sequel, Alan Wake 2 opens with a mysterious ritualistic murder in the woods surrounding Cauldron Lake. The identity of the murders and their reason for the murder is nothing short of a shocking mystery, one so mysterious that FBI Agents Saga Anderson and Alex Casey have come to investigate the strange developments of the seemingly quiet town.
Developer Remedy Entertainment has come a long way since the first game’s release, with titles like Quantum Break and Control showing off the studio’s creativity and dedication to experimental storytelling. Not only has it continued to iterate and take huge risks – such as having a tie-in Quantum Break tv show – but it has become more refined in its process with each creative endeavor. Control established that these games coexist in the same universe, first through subtle hints before clearly confirming it with the inclusion of Alan Wake in the AWE DLC. This is all to say that Alan Wake 2 takes the lessons learned in prior games and projects, combines them in interesting and unexpected ways that not only makes it a more than worthy sequel to its predecessor, but Remedy’s magnum opus.
The Power Of The Written Word
The Remedy Universe is a fascinating one, as it draws from a variety of psychological, philosophical, and scientific ideas to create worlds like no other. As mentioned, Control marked a huge moment for the rules of Remedy’s worlds, namely the concept of the “Paranatural,” which refers to a variety of things such as Thresholds, Objects of Power (OoP), and Altered World Events. The power and influence of these concepts vary, but what is implied in Control and confirmed in Alan Wake 2 is that the Paranatural forces in Cauldron Lake are an anomaly among anomalies. Not only does this make Alan Wake 2 overflow with intrigue, but gives a whole new meaning to the idea that one powerful story can change the world.
The events of both Alan Wake games are dictated by stories written by Wake himself. This is because Cauldron Lake is situated on a Threshold, which is an area that connects Earth with other realities, and the property of this Threshold is its ability to alter reality based on one’s creativity; the two most influential cases being from the writers Thomas Zane and Alan Wake. The first game shows Alan finding pages of a manuscript he doesn’t remember writing, which describes events and horrors that will eventually come to pass. Alan Wake 2 takes this idea and pushes it even further, now affecting reality on a scale that’s both larger and more intimate.
It’s an ambitious story that blends the best of psychological horror with that of dark detective thrillers like True Detective and Hannibal, but unfortunately, that’s all that can really be said about this aspect of the game. From the very opening moment, the story of Alan Wake 2 has shocking reveals and twists that make any discussion of the story a huge risk for spoilers. What is easy to say is that it is Remedy’s best and most engaging story to date, with its only hiccups being moments of character-provided exposition that could have been delivered better; by no means does it make the contents of these moments less interesting or mind-blowing.
Intense & Well Developed Gameplay
Alan Wake 2 is Remedy’s first attempt at a survival horror game, and it’s one that is largely successful. When playing as either of the game’s protagonists, Alan Wake or Saga Anderson, players will be managing block-based inventory, scavenging for limited ammo and health items, and seeking out safe houses to save and store items for later use. Consumable items can be found in a variety of locations, such as in coolers, boxes, secret stashes, boxes attached to light poles like in the first game, or even dead enemies if players have to right upgrades. That said, the amount of items in these locations are scarce, usually containing a single flashlight battery or maybe a handful of bullets, so it’s important to loot as much as possible.
In general, one could argue that resources and items are a little too limited, especially the health items, which leads to some mechanics being under-utilized while simultaneously making certain moments all the more satisfying. Each safe house has a “shoebox” that players can store items in, but the heavy limitation of resources leads to it mainly being used for things like Saga’s charms, which provide certain buffs, and ultimately makes for a severely underused mechanic. On the other hand, the amount of ammo and flashlight batteries can make combat equal parts frustrating and satisfying. Normal enemies can be a bit of a sponge for both resources, and while purging enemies of darkness always uses the same amount of battery, purged enemies will often have a red dot appear that deals critical damage when shot, quickly dropping enemies and leaving one feeling like they survived an encounter by the skin of their teeth.
Like Control’s side missions, Alan Wake 2 makes side objectives like finding secret caches and lunchboxes worth seeking out. Flashlights will occasionally reveal yellow arrows that guide players to a secret stash of supplies, as well as yellow lights or specific symbols that indicate a secret is located in the area. Alongside stashes, both characters can find hidden items necessary for upgrades. For Saga, these are mysterious lunchboxes filled with torn manuscript pages that upgrade her weapons, and for Alan, they are symbols that correspond with specific categories of upgradable stats. These upgrades aren’t necessary to beat the game, but players will stumble on these things pretty often and are always worth picking up.
Alan & Saga, Cause & Effect
Saga Anderson is an FBI Agent that’s clearly established by her partner Alex Casey as an exceptional detective. This is due to a mental construct called “the Mind Place,” which is a room where she plots out every aspect of a case; red strings and all. Players can enter the Mind Place at anytime and will be doing so often. The main feature is the Case Board, where Saga will put all her evidence and clues on a wall and string them together, with each new image or piece of evidence opening up new questions and objectives. As the game goes on, multiple types of cases will be active at the same time: Main Cases, Background Cases, and Points of Interest. Players should regularly visit the Case Board to add new evidence and unlock new objectives; but be warned, going to the Mind Place doesn’t pause the game, so Saga is still vulnerable to attacks if enemies are nearby.
The other important part of the Mind Place is the Profiling table, which is a psychological exercise of trying to get into the mind of a killer or victim to determine their motives and possible next moves. Saga clearly has a talent for this, as she can accurately discover information that she should have no way of knowing, such as discovering someone had an important object that was never mentioned prior. It can feel a little too convenient at times, but it is an interesting and vital part of the story and the mystery surrounding her character. This is also where players can read through found manuscripts, listen to the phenomenal music that bookends each story section, and upgrade weapons.
Unlike Saga, who is more focused on understanding and surviving the world she’s in, Alan directly affects and changes the terrifying and creepy world around him. Like Saga, Alan has a mental construct called “the Writer’s Room,” which serves a nearly identical function but with slight variations. Instead of a Case Board that pieces the mystery together and unlocks objectives, Alan has the Story Board that tracks Scenes and Plot Points; the former being specific locations that are directly affected by the latter. Both are found naturally through exploration, but applying different Plot Points to the Scene players are in, which can be done at anytime, will completely change the structure and content of that scene. The right Plot Point in the right Scene will reveal something new in the narrative and unlock new objectives.
Alan Wake 2 also plays with light uniquely by giving Alan the ability to capture light from one source and put it into another, completely changing that area and unlocking new paths. For Alan, the Dark Place is one giant and dangerous puzzle that is firmly planted in the abstract, made even more clear by Remedy’s most concise and effective use of mixed media yet. In Alan’s story, players will be in and out of rendered and live-action segments, further emphasizing the cognitive dissonance found in this plane of existence and just how influential Alan is on reality itself. All in all, Remedy has masterfully tailored each character’s gameplay to what they represent thematically, allowing both to feel wholly different from one another while also directly impacting each other’s story in ways that feel natural, earned, and substantial.
Final Thoughts and Review Score
Alan Wake 2 is an incredible achievement. Visually, it is one of the most impressive and haunting games available and the ability to seamlessly change and alter the world on a whim is a technical feat that few have done successfully. In many ways, Alan Wake 2 feels like a love letter to the history of Remedy and its universe. Not only will players stumble upon characters from and references to other games, but they will also find a number of previous actors like James McCaffery, who played Max Payne. Every part of this game is a pleasant surprise that only leaves one excited about the Remedy renaissance that seems to be coming.
Alan Wake 2 releases October 27 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Epic Games Store. Screen Rant was provided with a PlayStation 5 digital download for the purpose of this review.
