ANerdzLife

INTRO:

It’s not often that a game comes around that makes me go down the rabbit hole of wanting, nay needing to understand all of the lore surrounding the world in which the game takes place. But that is the type of stranglehold that Remedy Entertainment has on me. The shared universe consisting of Alan Wake, Quantum Break and Control that they have created is incredibly fascinating and is full of lore that is right up my personal alley.

The story of Alan Wake revolves around the titular character, a writer, that had reached the pinnacle of the writing industry. Winning awards and receiving critical acclaim for his crime-drama series of novels titled ‘Alex Casey.’ However, despite his fame and fortune, he struggled with the demons that plague many of us in modern society. There is a dark side to Alan, one that rears it’s head in ways that he does not always have a grasp on or even recognize.

Alan Wake 2 takes place 13 years after the evens of the first game. This time around in addition to Alan, the player takes control of Saga Anderson, an FBI special agent that has been dispatched to the fictional town of Bright Falls to investigate a slew of murders that appear to be connected in some strange way. In Bright Falls alongside her partner Alex Casey(ha!), Saga begins to unfold and ‘read’ a story that seems to be changing right before her eyes and ears.

STORY:

The story of Alan Wake 2 is, in my opinion, one of the best pieces of writing in modern media. I think of it like a stair case where you start at the bottom and slowly move up a step at a time, with each step being a ‘step up’ in every sense of the word. In the beginning it presents itself as a simple story of ‘who done it’…then progresses into a reality bending, horror drama that has you questioning and debating what you are seeing on the screen. There are constant twists and turns, revelations, scares, and bad ass moments that keep you coming back for more.

GAMEPLAY:

The moment to moment combat is my only real gripe with Alan Wake 2. And even then I wouldn’t say that the combat is ‘bad.’ I would call it ‘unremarkable.’ It is your standard, 3rd person over the shoulder shooter, with a few added mechanics sprinkled in. There is nothing to write home about when it comes to fighting enemies.

However, there are several gameplay mechanics added in that make the overall gameplay absolutely stellar. The Angel Lamp, a physical lamp that the titular character finds, allows for the player to literally bend reality around them. One second you’ll be in a small room with seemingly no escape…and after using this lamp you’ll be in a completely different space with a new path to explore.

The Mind Place is another really cool feature, with this one being exclusive to Saga’s part of the story. This mechanic allows for Saga to enter her own genius mind to explore the crime cases set before her. There is a case board where you can attach and connect clues to help solve the pending cases. Think Charlie Day in that meme with the red lines all over it.

CONCLUSION: Alan Wake II is nothing short of a masterpiece. Could it be better? I’d say only slightly. There is nothing here that is inherently ‘bad,’ but I do think there is an opportunity for Remedy to shake up the combat in the next installment of the game. A riveting story, nerve racking horror and really fun and cool gameplay makes for one of the best games of 2023 and potentially of all time.

SCORE: 9.0/10.0