Alan Wake 2 Review
“Wake me up inside” Written by: Hunter (ReaperHunter23)
I’ve always been fascinated by the games from Remedy. Whether it was the more straightforward drama of the Max Payne games, or the more experimental uniqueness of Control and the first Alan Wake game. So when Alan Wake 2 was announced in late 2021, my interest was captured. The most exciting aspect to me was that it was being touted as Remedy’s first survival horror game. Remedy’s previous titles had always kind of flirted with being spooky or unsettling so the idea of them fully committing to the horror aspects this time was an exciting notion. And now after a couple years of waiting the game is out. So let’s take a look to see if the return of Alan Wake was as fascinating as I was hoping for.
Image Credit: Remedy Entertainment, Epic Games
Alan Wake 2 picks up thirteen years after the events of the first game. The story starts off by following the perspective of Saga Anderson, an FBI agent who is investigating a string of recent missing persons cases. Her investigation soon finds her following the trail of a cult. She also finds a page of a horror story written by Alan Wake that is describing the events of her investigation before they happen.
Alan Wake himself goes on his own journey throughout the game as well. Alan’s branch of the story details his attempts to escape from The Dark Place, the eldritch location he wound up in at the end of the first game. So Alan must navigate The Dark Place while fighting off his ever increasing insanity long enough to write a story that will lead him to freedom.
I found the dual narrative angle to be pretty effective. It lays a solid enough foundation for the plot, which affords them the chances to be more experimental with meta-narrative as well as the other more out there themes of the game. It helps that Saga and Alan’s stories are pretty complimentary of each other. Saga’s detective story is the more straightforward of the two, while Alan’s journey is where the game chooses to get weird most often.
The characters are all pretty charming in their own right. Alan Wake himself bounces back and forth from being a rather sympathetic hero to stark raving madness throughout the story and it is really compelling to witness. Saga is likable enough but I feel like the game doesn’t give her a lot to work with story wise. Thankfully the side characters such her FBI partner, Alex Casey, have a good dynamic with her. Other recurring characters such as Mr. Door, and the returning Old Gods Of Asgard all have a unique charm about them as well.
Image Credit: Remedy Entertainment, Epic Games
So the story does a good job at juggling the two protagonists, but how does it handle juggling them in the gameplay? In the moment to moment gameplay, Alan and Saga play mostly the same with some differences in arsenal. The thing that is truly different about Saga and Alan’s levels are the overall gameplay loop you go through with each character.
Saga’s segments tended to be a bit more straightforward. Go to a location and investigate for a little while, things get spooky. Make your way back through the level but now you are fighting monsters. Outside of the typical survival horror gameplay, the two unique gameplay elements that Saga has are the case board and the profiling systems. As you explore with Saga and talk to people the game will make a note of any important details that get filed away as evidence. This evidence would be applied on the case board as answers to questions, eventually resulting in an image of a classic detective story string theory. Profiling would see Saga put herself in the shoes of any key witness or other character she chatted with so that she could come up with a crucial piece of evidence with the power of intuition.
I’m at a weird spot with how I feel about these elements. I think the profiling was largely kind of silly because it seemed like Saga was able to make a pretty far leap in logic to come up with the right answer all the time. And the caseboard is kind of cool in theory but I found it better saved as something for me to do when starting a session to refresh myself on details I might have forgotten, rather than something that was ever guiding me to information I didn’t already know or some kind of new earth shattering revelation. They felt like they were there to have you go through the motions of being a detective rather than make you have to deduce anything like a detective really would.
Alan’s segments were more abstract and surreal. He spends his levels searching The Dark Place for inspiration on how to proceed with his story. Alan’s gimmick is the plot board, which involves him taking keywords or phrases and applying them to specific settings he’s in to change them. I really enjoyed this mechanic. I found myself changing a scene to every variation just to see what was changing around me. Alan’s other gimmick was his lamp that would change specific environments by absorbing light sources. It was a solid way to add a bit of a puzzle element to traversing The Dark Place.
I think one of the key improvements Alan Wake 2 makes from the original is the level of focus the gameplay has. The first game very often felt like it had one foot in the door of being an action game, while not really having mechanics that were conducive to quality enemy encounters. Which would lead to the pacing grinding to a halt sometimes. This time around, the gameplay is much more complimentary of the story and pacing.
Enemy encounters are fewer and farther between. The game will often just let you sit and gestate in the atmosphere of the environments. Encounters typically only consist of a few enemies that need to be shot at just enough times to make you sweat. This makes all of the instances where the encounters turn up the intensity feel that much more impactful. The only minor gripes I have with the gameplay would be the weird checkpointing as well as the boss battles that ranged anywhere from tedious to shoulder shrug inducing.
Image Credit: Remedy Entertainment, Epic Games
The biggest strength of Alan Wake 2 is its incredible sense of presentation. The game has a vision and will stop at nothing to see that vision realized. One of the most standout ways about how the game presents itself is its usage of live action video. Remedy has experimented previously with usage of live action footage which was usually relegated to diegetic television segments. Alan Wake 2 goes a step beyond and we see full on pivotal character exchanges being portrayed by these live action segments. I think perhaps the most impressive thing about this is that I didn’t feel any level of disconnect when the game recreates these sets in-engine.
The actual in engine aesthetic of the game is gorgeous as well. This ranges from the dense forested areas you investigate with Saga to the surreal nightmares that Alan has to navigate. The game makes masterful use of lighting to tell its story. In the more grounded segments with Saga the passage of time throughout the day is used to really sell the building intensity. The game will have the sun gradually get lower and lower to directly reflect the threat of the cult and The Dark Presence that is starting to manifest more and more. And in Alan’s sections, oppressive uses of red and green light will be used to really sell the atmosphere of the area he’s navigating.
The sound design, performances, and score all come together to complete the package. Horror games live and breathe on their sound and this game does a stellar job at making it feel like there’s always something just beyond your field of view. I remember one instance in the forest where I was being attacked by a wolf and the sound of its panting and moving made it feel like it could be breathing down my neck as soon as I exited the safety of the light post. The performances are well done on both fronts. Matthew Porretta, Melanie Liburd, and James Mcaffery all do a great job as the voices of Alan, Saga, and Alex Casey respectively. The live action performances were also well done with Ilkka Villi and David Harewood as Alan and Warlin Door.
And lastly, the music in this game rules. Whether it's the score of the game itself or a wonderfully made rock tune from Poets of The Fall, the music did not miss. Major set pieces are elevated by standout song choices, notable and poignant melodies will supplement the atmosphere of the levels you are traversing. Each chapter has an interstitial screen with a song for you to listen to while you process recent happenings. It all comes together to make Alan Wake 2 a great experience sonically as well as visually.
Image Credit: Remedy Entertainment, Epic Games
Summary
I feel pretty confident in saying that I have never played a game quite like Alan Wake 2. It is a must play if you are someone like me and enjoy when games are not afraid to be weird and out there. I can see how it could be divisive for some people. Horror die-hards might think it's too easy. Fans of other cinematic narrative heavy games might think it's too weird. But as far as I’m concerned, the quality and commitment to its vision make this game a worthwhile experience. The survival horror gameplay acts as the perfect vehicle for the game to deliver its world and story to you. Everything from the game’s interesting characters and intriguing mystery plot, to the themes and meta narrative, to its atmosphere and excellent presentation all gel together to make Alan Wake 2 a fantastic and truly unique experience.