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Developer (Platform): Remedy Entertainment (PlayStation 5)
Publisher (Release): Epic Games Publishing (2023)
Length: 15-20 hours
Genres: Adult; Horror; Fantasy; Action
❗️Disclaimers❗️:
moderate violence and gore
severe flashing lights warning
this review contains medium-level spoilers
recommendation: must play
👍 Pros 👍
Remedy has a distinct style that absorbs the player
Sharper focus on horror pays off, lifting Wake’s second outing head and shoulders above its predecessor
Saga Anderson is a fantastic addition, balancing Wake’s gruffer personality
👎 Cons 👎
Prioritises story over gameplay
Anticlimactic end that threatens to render the experience void
Struggling to maintain a balance of style and substance the developer already perfected in Control
👀 Synopsis & Trailer 👀
13 years after bestselling writer Alan Wake went missing, a string of ritualistic murders occurs in the town of Bright Falls, Washington. Saga Anderson, an FBI agent, is sent in to investigate the killings, where she finds herself tangled in a supernatural horror story rewriting reality.
🛎️ Introduction 🛎️
My love for Control is no secret. For me, it perfectly encapsulates the balance of Remedy’s narrative stylings and diverse gameplay that represents the developer. Those stylings, forged through the lessons learned from their previous works like Quantum Break and the original Alan Wake, are razor sharp in Alan Wake 2. There’s no game with quite the same ambience that Remedy can create, even if the mechanics of the game itself borrows heavily from peers within the genre, but those ambitions come strikingly close to clashing with the game’s substance and, where they nailed Control’s balance, Alan Wake 2, impressive in its own right, feels like a step backward.
🧩 Plots 🧩
Over a decade in the making, Alan Wake 2 finally gives loyal fans some measure of closure. For newcomers that know the genre, it’s more Silent Hill than Resident Evil, but with a more measured tone. A bloody beginning kickstarts a slow-burning detective story that pivots into supernatural horror with powerful story beats and unforgettable sections. Sporting two protagonists, Remedy allows the player to switch between them and experience their stories at their own pace, but, personally, the story excels when a balance between the two is enforced. Both have to be completed to reach the end, so the illusion of choice really only works to slow down the flow, especially since Saga and Alan’s sections are so stylistically different.
Thaaat’s a p…p…pretty dead guy…
The initial mystery will tantalise fans and newcomers alike, and Alan Wake 2 does a pretty good job of conveying its broad scope regardless of whether or not you’ve played any of their previous works. It’s not perfect and, after playing I have to disagree with the idea that you don’t need to play the first game and have some knowledge of Control given the amount of threads stemming from those games at the heart of Alan Wake 2. Twists and turns delight and new plot points trace toward a confident and planned future, and, for 90% of the game, I was mostly wholly absorbed.
Locked in nightmares
Its finale feels the true weight of its own narrative ambitions, however, and leaves a bittersweet taste in my mouth. Trying really hard not to spoil anything outright, Alan Wake 2’s ending sees us back where we were when the game started. The destination after such a journey is such an anticlimax. At its core, I think the story holds far too close to the premise that horror is only right when it leaves you guessing, but this closes Alan Wake 2 with no resolutions or progression within the game’s universe, undermining the experience many have waited over a decade for with no real answers to the questions that have plagued them.
…powerful story beats and unforgettable sections.
🎭 Characters 🎭
Alan Wake 2, naturally, sees the return of the titular character where he left off in the first game trapped in The Dark Place and forced to fend off The Dark Presence he foiled. Joining him, however, is Saga Anderson, a strangely intuitive FBI agent sent to investigate ritualistic killings in the Bright Falls area. Saga’s introduction, while surprising, is more than welcome. Alan himself is a complicated, almost anti-hero character that, for me, can be a little difficult to like or relate to. Saga, thankfully, balances that dynamic by being much more approachable and amenable, without sacrificing the grit needed to be a protagonist.
Partners-Friends-Family
Supporting characters are similarly well-fleshed, filling out a strong cast with a few returning characters from Alan Wake 1. Voice acting is on point and development, what little there is, is natural and believable. Sadly, dialogue really lets them all down. A consequence of the game’s distinct style is its infection of the dialogue’s structure and wording. Every character has the same quirks when they’re talking and, what made Alan Wake in Alan Wake, now makes every character in his second outing (if one more person described the events happening as an echo of a half-forgotten dream, I was gonna let Bright Falls burn). There could be an argument made that this signifies Alan’s effect on the story, but can be really jarring in execution that hampers the actors’ performances.
Wake’s second outing sees him in a pretty dark place
Saga’s introduction, while surprising, is more than welcome.
👾 Gameplay and Graphics 👾
Almost instantly, influences from the game’s peers can be felt. I got a distinct Resident Evil 2 Remake feel from the third-person camera over the shoulder, inventory management and ‘safe boxes’, and the general combat. Silent Hill stumbles in with a similar setting and mapping system, and there’s a slight Last of Us feel with scavenging for resources. These are all compliments. While inconsistently implemented between characters, with its trademark light and fight gameplay, there’s a pretty decent balance of action and story (if weighted more in story’s favour). It can grow a bit stale coming into the latter half of the game, but it’s far more serviceable than its predecessor. Working against it, however, is a lack of variety. Aside from a few boss fights that add a couple layers to work through, combat largely remains the same from hour one to hour twenty with the same enemies largely in the same places.
Alan Wake 2 isn’t afraid of gore and knows when to use it effectively
Similarly, Alan Wake 2’s atmosphere is striking for the first half of the game. Lighting and sound design come pretty close to perfection, and the distinct environments that Saga and Alan explore carry the game further than gameplay alone would. From the deceptively bright Bright Falls that slowly becomes consumed with shadow to New York’s hellscape in The Dark Place, there’s plenty of aesthetic variety that the first game lacked. I did struggle in some places. For the most part, lighting is fine, but especially dark corners are perhaps too dark and when the sun sets in Bright Falls casting everything in an orange glow it sadly overwhelms the environment’s entire palate, making traversal a little difficult.
Welcome back to Bright Falls
Traversal itself is fine, if a little bogged down and slow, and combat isn’t the only thing players can get up to as they explore the gorgeous set pieces. Full of collectables to find, subplots to enjoy, and resource caches to unlock, for completionists, your dedication is rewarded. In addition, Alan Wake 2 introduces us to The Mind Place, a mental environment Saga and Alan (called The Writer’s Room for Wake) can access at any time to view their progress and figure out their next steps. Narratively, it’s superb, mechanically, it suffers from being shallow. Eventually, breaking the flow of the game to enter The Mind Place becomes a burden rather than something you’re excited to do, and it perhaps highlights Alan Wake 2’s biggest con: its narrative style overshadows its gameplay’s substance. Normally that wouldn’t bother me, I’m a big fan of games like Detroit: Become Human or Telltale’s The Walking Dead where story is king, but Alan Wake seems to begin a serious attempt at its mechanics only to sacrifice them at the altar of plot prioritisation.
…combat largely remains the same from hour one to hour twenty…
🧠 Final Thoughts 🧠
Alan Wake 2 is undeniable narrative art wrapped in a gorgeous and atmospheric wrapper, delighting players with meta moments and a twisty adventure through a detective story turned supernatural horror. Remedy’s style is front and centre, and, arguably, no developer comes close to their blend of self-aware storytelling. It’s tantalising and thoughtful while building a larger universe the likes gaming hasn’t quite got right yet. That all could change thanks to Remedy as long as they keep moderation in mind. Alan Wake 2 soars and suffers under the weight of its borderline pretentious writing. It focuses a little too hard on the idea that horror excels by leaving doubts in the consumer and comes scarily close to rendering its entire experience moot with an anticlimactic finale that leaves us where we started. Gameplay is fun but never develops past what you’re initially taught, adding another sacrifice to the altar that is the story, with many aspects of the game having, on the surface, interesting mechanics that hide stagnating simplicity.
On the other hand, Alan Wake 2 will be talked about and debated for years to come. There are some ridiculously smart threads throughout hinting at certain revelations that are devilishly delicious. I, for one, eagerly anticipate their next entry into the Remedy Connected Universe while also holding out hope that they don’t forget that answers don’t negate mystery but reward it.
The Phoenix Project 