Alan Wake 2
Review
A Bold Return To Darkness
by Quinn Levandoski
reviewed on PC
Delivering On Ambition
It's not uncommon for a sequel to outdo its predecessor, but it's almost unheard of for that to be the case when the follow-up lands over a decade later. Yet, here we are, and Alan Wake 2 is not only a bigger, better game than its predecessor, but it's among the best games, period, to come out in a year full of hits. The original Alan Wake was released in 2020 by Remedy, the iconic developers more recently responsible for the likes of Control and Quantum Break. The studio's ambition has sometimes outpaced its ability to deliver on its lofty ideas, but Alan Wake 2 is a perfect culmination of form and function that has instantly propelled itself into the conversation for best-in-genre.
What genre that is, exactly, has changed a bit since the original Alan Wake. While both wear their David Fincher and Steven King influences on their sleeve, Alan Wake 2 is a much more horror-forward experience that reins in the action for a slower burn. Time has passed in-game the same as it has in the real world, and Alan Wake 2 kicks off 13 years after the famous writer went missing in Bright Fall, Washington. The place hasn't gotten any less creepy, though, and the game opens with FBI agent Saga Anderson and her partner showing up to investigate a bizarre string of grisly cult murders in the woods around Cauldron Lake.
Split Narratives
In a bold move for a franchise named after its original protagonist, the Alan Wake 2 campaign is equally split between two characters, two settings, and two stories, though the two unsurprisingly bleed into each other in truly exceptional fashion. What's more, players have largely free agency to switch between the two and tackle each protagonist's missions in whichever order they like. Bouncing back and forth to keep the two somewhat in step is satisfying, but I'm sure there are those who will prefer to stick with one half for longer periods of time. This may appeal to some as the two halves play remarkably differently.
Anderson's narrative has a strong, small-town Twin Peaks meets Mindhunter vibe that starts out relatively grounded before descending into chaos. Alan Wake 2 isn't afraid to take these early hours relatively slow, letting the mystery and investigation breathe a bit and introducing the player to the game's Mind Place mechanic. I'm a sucker for games that find creative ways to implement menus and UI, and this mental manifestation (used in similar ways by Saga and Alan) of thought processes and memory does it wonderfully. For Saga, the Mind Place is a cabin, and it's where she stores all the evidence she's uncovered and cases she is working on. In practice, this investigative board, complete with notecards, polaroids, and red string, functions as a mission tracker, but it's also a fantastic way to grab a quick refresher after a play break or when things get hectic.
For Alan, his mental space is a writer's room, and it's befitting of his bizarre predicament. While Saga's story starts off like a crime thriller with some supernatural elements, Alan, on the other hand, is still stuck in The Dark Place after the finale of Alan Wake. There, he wanders through a bizarrely surreal New York City, both rummaging around as prey but wielding the uncanny ability to literally rewrite reality. It starts weird and only gets weirder as recursive retcons, mixes of live-action and digital models, and more intertwine with each other while fitting perfectly with the game's narrative around the power of writers, fiction, and the human mind.
Slower But No Less Scary
While both narratives have their moments of exploration, puzzle-solving, and dialogue, Alan and Saga still have to fight back The Taken. These darkness-shrouded creatures are fairly similar in appearance and function, but Remedy has made the excellent decision to tone down the number of enemies and instead make each one scarier. Players still need to use light in its many forms to burn away The Taken's cloaks of darkness, but doing so is harder, and enemies can step back into the shadows to regenerate. This makes even one or two of The Taken a terrifying sight, which is much more narratively befitting than constantly mowing through hordes of villains.
Fighting The Taken and investigating the mysterious Cult of the Tree are made exceptionally more entertaining by Alan Wake 2's absolutely stellar visual design. The character models and environments are of exceptional quality, but everything, from subtle animations to the way flora and debris are scattered, makes Bright Falls feel completely alive and lived-in, and the wooded areas are stunningly beautiful. This Walden-esque paradise contrasts strongly with the horrors happening within, and if it weren't for the near-constant threat of death, it'd be tempting to stop and look around for a while. Alan's twisted New York is equally stunning, mixing neon lights and dilapidated construction areas with mind-bending elements of the abstract. The only audio or visual glitch I experienced was that sometimes, characters I was speaking to would be muffled as they're supposed to be when they're far away, but this happened rarely enough that it hardly detracted from my enjoyment of the game.
It could be easy to take a cursory glance at Alan Wake 2 and think it's little more than a collage of genre staples, but the game is so much more. Like the best works in any medium and genre, these references and familiarities feel like homages and love letters, never like crutches. The promising young FBI agent, a creepy cult in the woods, and the sleepy Northwestern town are incredibly engaging because the tropes are backed up by wonderful writing, a palpable atmosphere, and a narrative that's legitimately engaging. It also makes everything that much more satisfying when it twists and turns in unexpected directions. Alan Wake 2 sets a new bar for Remedy, and I can't wait to see what they follow it up with next.
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9.7
fun score
Pros
Engrossing narrative, bold design choices that pay off, wonderful visuals
Cons
Some occasional audio glitches
