One of the biggest announcements from The Game Awards was the reveal of Alan Wake 2. We knew it would happen at some point in time as Remedy themselves kept giving us hope, but to see it happen officially and so quickly still blew our minds. It’s been more than a decade since the first game came out and despite there being no sign of a sequel, Remedy released the AWE expansion for Control and then remastered the original Alan Wake which more or less solidified an incoming sequel. Today we officially have the announcement so let’s take a look at what Alan Wake 2 is going to be like.
“My name is Alan Wake, I am a writer.”
A quick teaser, no gameplay, a new look for our main man Alan, the return of Matthew Poretta as Alan Wake, a release window alongside the platforms is what we got at first glance.
“If our lives are already written then it’d take a courageous man to change the script.”
Diving just a bit deeper into the madness and Sam Lake himself confirmed that the game will be the first-ever survival horror game made by Remedy. The original Alan Wake had a really spooky ambiance and some really good scares along the way and to get confirmation that they are going full survival-horror is indeed very good news if you ask me.
“For it is said on moonless nights, they may still haunt this place.”
As for the platforms, the game is going to hit both the PS5 and the Xbox series X, which if you ask me, is very good news that this game is multiplatform and not exclusive anymore, alongside the PC.
“Find the lady of the light gone mad with the night, that’s how you reshape destiny.”
Finally, there is no release date but the game is set to launch in 2023 and Sam Lake promised that it’ll be well worth the wait and I trust that guy. He writes some brilliant stories there is no doubt. According to Remedy, they were holding back on releasing a sequel despite having an idea but now, they are confident and are moving forward with their vision. Before leaving, he said they are going dark for now but will return with more information in the Summer of 2022.
“Steven King once wrote that nightmares exist outside of logic and there’s little fun to be had in explanations.”
Music
Back into speculation territory so I don’t want anyone to take any of this as confirmation as these are things we are hoping or wanting to see in the game. With that out of the way let’s get to it. The first thing that I want personally more than anything is the integration of another song from Poets of the Fall. Max Payne featured “Late Goodbye”, Alan Wake featured a whole bunch of songs from them including but not limited to “War” and “The Poet And The Muse”, Quantum Break had a version of “The Labyrinth” hidden and Control featured “The Dark Disquiet” and the amazing and original song that played during the Ashtray Maze titled “Take Control”. Poets and Remedy are like peanut butter and jelly and I want their new song to be featured in the game. They are my favorite band and it’s been a while since the launch of their new album so hey, why not feature the entire album in Alan Wake 2?
Great Plot
Survival horror you say? We trust the skills of Remedy there is no doubt, but if it’s going to be survival horror then please don’t make it annoying to find and craft stuff and make us deprived of everything just for the sake of it. Balance that out and make sure the resources can be managed more via smarts and less via design. Secondly, go all-in on horror and don’t hold back. Make Alan Wake 2 a memorable adventure that stands strong with the likes of other horror games and isn’t something that is overlooked. New locations will be great but please allow us to visit Bright Falls from the first game at least once just to see what has changed and how that town is fairing these days. There are a lot of memories we have from that setting and the world-building was just incredible so to see Alan stuck there, battling his psyche and the darkness to break free can make for a great plot.
Sam Lake knows how to write and the writing in all Remedy games is very top-notch except maybe the endings. I love Remedy, don’t get me wrong but there is a consistent problem with their games. They don’t know how to properly end them.
Control kind of ended decently so we are hoping that Alan Wake 2 will have a proper beginning, middle, and end.
Open World
Having a small hub world like in The Evil Within 2 or an even larger open-world map will sell the survival horror fantasy perfectly if you think about it. Stealthing your way across, scavenging resources, and finding small traces of light all the while running and hiding from darkness-infested humans and creatures can add a great element of resource management alongside crap your pants horror and will be something that we would love to see implemented to some degree here.
Continuing on that survival horror theme, guns will still be a big part of the experience I am certain, and since Remedy is masters of creating the best feeling pistol out of any other game in the industry. I want those guns-blazing moments to be rare and make you feel like you are truly fighting for your life. Shifting the gameplay from action to escape is a very good turn for the franchise and there is no doubt in my mind that Remedy will nail it no matter what choices they make.
Conclusion
Finally, from what it seems, the trusty flashlight will return for the sequel and we just want Remedy to expand a lot on that idea. They can do stuff like Alan wrapping a chain of Christmas lights around him which work for a short duration. Or him carrying a pocket light that can get him out of tricky situations but can only be used for a few seconds at a time. The last game had horror elements but was an action game first, this time around however since it is going survival horror, more reliance on the light and less on the guns will be an incredible and downright terrifying gameplay mechanic that will be as entertaining as it will be challenging.
These have been a few things we were able to think on the top of our heads after seeing Alan Wake 2. The more information that gets released the more certain we will be towards how the game is going to be. We can however say without any doubts that Alan Wake 2 will be a blast to play when it comes out in 2023. Remedy and Sam Lake know how to make badass characters wearing cool coats and Alan Wake is one writer whose words you shouldn’t take lightly.
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