Alan Wake 2

20.12.2023

Alan Wake 2 (Alan Wake II) is a 2023 survival horror game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Epic Games Publishing. In the sequel to the game "„Alan Wake„", the story follows bestselling author Alan Wake, who has been trapped in an alternate dimension for 13 years, trying to escape by writing a horror story involving an FBI special agent named Saga Anderson. The game is out for PlayStation 5, Windows PC and Xbox Series X/S on October 27, 2023.

Gameplay

Compared to the first game Alan Wake, which was an action-adventure game with horror themes, Alan Wake 2 is a survival horror game played from a third-person perspective. Players play as either Alan Wake or Saga Anderson in two separate single-player stories that can be played in any order the player chooses, although the opening and ending sequences can be played as Saga or Alan, respectively.

Wake and Anderson traverse environments and fight enemies using a range of firearms and a flashlight, the latter of which can be "focused" to make enemies vulnerable to firearm attacks. Focusing the flashlight drains its battery, and players must strategically use a limited amount of batteries and ammo to survive. When enemies are close, Allen or Saga can perform an evasive maneuver.

Alan Wake 2 includes detective elements: when playing as Saga, players always have access to an enemy-free space called "„Mind Place“". Described by Remedy like "3D menu", Mind Place is a visual representation of Saga's thoughts. In Mind Place players control a pin board where they can connect clues to piece together the underlying mystery, as well as profile characters to gather clues. As Alan, players will instead have access to „The writer's room“ (Writers' Room), where they will have access to the main lines of a novel he is writing. By adding and changing plot details on top of the novel's foundation, they will be able to manipulate the space around Alan. As Mind Place, and so on Writers' Room they do not stop the action in the outside world.

„"The Manuscript Pages"“ (Manuscript Pages) are an element of Alan Wake, which is also in the new game: players find pages of a manuscript that foreshadow upcoming events in history. Unlike the previous game, Alan Wake 2 has a system of options for developing the dialogue.

Scenario

A naked man emerges from the dark shores of Cauldron Lake, experiencing visions of a man screaming violently before being found and his heart cut out by a group of men wearing deer masks.

FBI Special Agent Saga Anderson and her partner Alex Casey are sent to the town of Bright Falls to investigate a series of ritualistic murders. They investigate the latest victim, a naked man who is identified as former FBI agent Robert Nightingale. He is believed to have been murdered by a group calling themselves the "Cult of the Tree." In addition to Nightingale's body, Saga discovers a mysterious page of handwriting that appears to contain a prophecy about the future. While in town, the agents encounter Sheriff Tim Breaker, who promises to help them with the investigation, as well as waitress Rose Marigold, who recognizes Saga and acts as if she recognizes Saga as a local resident, even though it is her first visit to the town. Saga then performs an autopsy on Nightingale's body, but he suddenly revives and escapes from the morgue after Breaker mysteriously disappears.

As they pursue Nightingale to Cauldron Lake, Casey reveals that he has been investigating a murder cult in New York City dedicated to bringing back the missing author Alan Wake by reenacting the murders described in his books, and that Nightingale came to Bright Falls to hunt down Alan thirteen years ago. Saga finds Nightingale, now transformed into what the manuscript calls "„Taken away“ (Taken), and is forced to kill him. Saga then finds a severely shaken Alan Wake washed up on the shore of a lake, where she arrests him, while also discovering evidence that an organization called Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBC), has a presence in Bright Falls. Saga and Casey take Alan back to the inn, where he recounts how he escaped from a dream-like dimension called "„The Dark Place“" (Dark Place).

While trapped in the Dark Place, Alan constantly tries to find a way to escape. After appearing on a mysterious talk show called "By the Way with Mr. Door," Alan finds an angel-shaped lamp that, combined with his writing abilities, allows him to manipulate the Dark Place to better navigate it.

Alan navigates a dark, twisted version of New York City, following Alex Casey's investigation into "„Cult of the Word“", led by Alan's evil doppelganger, Mr. Scratch, who survived his erasure from existence, who takes him through various scenes of murders committed by the cult. Along the way, Alan also encounters Breaker, who is searching for talk show host Mr. Door, believing him to be responsible for trapping him in the Dark Place. Alan also makes brief contact with Saga from time to time, with the two exchanging important information when they can. After believing he has killed Tom Zane, who has gone mad from his captivity in the Dark Place, Alan contacts an alternate version of himself, explaining that his repeated attempts to escape the Dark Place are causing him to experience time loops.

Back in the present, Alan explains that he has written a new novel, "Return," which helped him escape the Dark Place. However, Mr. Scratch has reworked the manuscript into a horror story that is now becoming a reality. Alan warns that Scratch is looking for Clicker, who is the key he needs to fully release the malevolent Dark Presence, but also the key to its final defeat. When one of the manuscript pages, which mentions the Cult of the Tree, possesses Clicker, Saga decides to follow its trail and realizes that the novel Return has rewritten her past so that her daughter Logan drowns in an accident. Angered that Allen has written her and Logan into his history, Saga discovers the Ratchet, but before she can take it to Allen, FBC agents led by Agent Kieran Estevez arrive and detain him, as well as the Cult's leaders, who are revealed to be city developers Ilmo and Yakko Koskela.

With no other options, Saga tracks down Odin and Thor Anderson, who know more about the Ratchet. While communicating with them and saving Thor from "„The taken away“" Cynthia Weaver, she learns that Odin and Thor are actually her great-uncle and grandfather, respectively, and she has inherited their prophetic abilities, allowing her to discern the changes in reality that the Return causes. Odin and Thor also explain that the Clicker does nothing on its own, but instead dramatically enhances the creative power of the person using it, which is why it is important to Alan and Scratch. Saga then heads back to Bright Falls to deliver the Clicker to Alan, only to discover that Alan, who escaped Cauldron Lake, is not Alan, but Scratch. With his identity now revealed, Scratch kills Yakko and escapes captivity, attempting to take the Clicker from Saga. He is temporarily stopped and banished, thanks to the FBC's light technology, leaving Saga wondering what to do next...

Minimum system requirements (PC):