Alan Wake 2 is the current hottest title in the gaming industry. From making headlines on its release to becoming the fan’s favorite, Alan Wake 2 has made this year a splendid hit for Remedy Entertainment. Indeed, Remedy has put a lot of effort and time into this title with a $77 million budget. Aiming for the game of the year, Alan Wake 2 is surely looking to get Remedy the best they deserve. Speaking of the development studios, Remedy has some great titles already up their sleeves with Control. Going further back, we can also appreciate the dialogue and nostalgia of Max Payne. Enough talking, let’s dive straight into Alan Wake 2 review!
Unfolding Alan Wake 2 Plot – A Dive into Supernatural Universe
Alan Wake 2 starts from the small town of Bright Falls and picks up the storyline exactly where it left off originally, 13 years after Alan and his wife went missing. The game starts from this very town with the FBI detective Saga Anderson investigating the current murders. Meanwhile, Alan Wake has been trapped in the Dark Place, a supernatural dimension of his own nightmares that he uses to rewrite reality!
The Protagonists
Alan Wake 2 features two main protagonists, Alan himself, and Saga Anderson. Remedy’s first black protagonist, who is accompanied by Alex Casey to investigate the current unusual murders in the town. Those who have played Max Payne should recognize Alex Casey straightaway as he has Sam Lake’s facial structure and James McCaffery’s drunk slow voice. As Saga and Alex investigate the cult killings, things start to turn weirder than ever as they experience supernatural events in the world of Bright Falls!
From Action-Adventure to Survival-Horror
The original Alan Wake was more of an action-adventure shooter, but things are much different as Remedy has put emphasis more on a horror survival shooter. It requires the players to focus more on the inventory and keep the resources up-to-date. This includes the bullets, batteries, and other in-game items.
Each Bullet Shot Matters
Alan Wake 2 is not your casual third-person shooter where you would fire multiple bursts of ammo. It is more of a tactical survival game that requires precision and awareness of the environment to kill the supernatural beasts of Brightfalls. Don’t forget your batteries, these are something essential as the monsters will tear you without some light on their faces.
The Power Lamp
Remedy also introduced something known as the power lamp which can switch environments in-game. Alan can drift away from his own disruptive thoughts and it impacts certain physical in-game elements, such as opening doors or stairways. This thing is something very impressive to explore the surroundings and discover new secrets.
You Need to Be Careful Across Bright Falls
In Alan Wake 2, Bright Falls is a daunting location and, there are many jumpscares in the game’s dull and dark environment. You need to have some batteries in your inventory to light up the environment.
Clues and Puzzles
In the game, you’ll come across numerous puzzles scattered throughout the woods and alleyways. The cult in Bright Falls has hidden locked supply caches in different areas, and you need to figure out clever ways to open them, often involving careful exploration and examination. There are also lunch boxes and strange writings that can be discovered to upgrade your character’s weapons or abilities. It’s quite easy to get lost, even if you have optional maps for each area because some objectives can be a bit vague. However, this approach encourages more intimate investigations as you focus on the atmosphere rather than being guided by waypoints.
The Boards – Case & Story
In Alan Wake 2, players find themselves navigating through the mysteries of Saga’s Mind Place and Alan’s Writer’s Room. These unique spaces take the form of small offices, serving as hubs where players can not only upgrade their equipment but also delve into the depths of the narrative.
Saga’s Case Board
Saga’s case board holds all the clues she’s gathered during her investigation, and it’s a straightforward process of placing each clue on its corresponding spot. In the midst of a complex narrative, this visual aid serves as a helpful tool to keep track of the investigation, offering more insight into Saga’s inner thoughts as you follow along.
Alan’s Story Board
In place of a case board, there’s a storyboard that he utilizes to physically alter specific locations. This is done by combining scenes with different keywords and plot threads, resulting in the emergence of new clues or the opening of passages that were previously off-limits. This innovative approach seamlessly merges gameplay with narrative context within The Dark Place, drawing on Alan’s background in writing to enhance the overall experience.
Is Alan Wake 2 Survival and Psychological Horror Masterpiece?
Alan Wake 2 is the current benchmark for games in the survival horror genre. There are some critics we found across Reddit and other platforms, which we will talk about next. But, let’s first look at how Remedy’s long-awaited title is performing in the market.
According to the prominent reviewers across the gaming industry, here are Alan Wake’2 ratings.
- IGN: 9/10
- PC Gamer: 88%
- Easy Allies: 9.5
From Breathtaking Sunsets to Neon-Lit Buildings – The Visuals Were Superb
Alan Wake is a masterpiece from Remedy Entertainment, the plot, storyline, character involvement, and in-game environments, are up to the mark. After playing, one can say what took Remedy 13 years to revive Alan Wake and bring him back into the spotlight. The exploration proves to be a consistently rewarding endeavor, marked by a pioneering presentation that challenges players to question the depths of their understanding of the unfolding narrative.
Alan Wake 2 – Game Optimization
If you are playing on a console, all good, and no worries at all. However, if you are looking to enjoy this survival on your PC, there are some concerns for you. While Alan Wake 2 is a top contender for the Game of the Year awards, is also on the list of top games that require beefy system requirements.
For all the average low-spec PC gamers like me, I have a bad news guys. Our mid-range GPUs are officially dead! Alan Wake 2 is not even crossing 20 fps on the popular AMD RX 500 and Nvidia’s GTX 1000 lineups. Some fans think it is over for these GPUs as they are now officially “Old” for today’s high-demanding titles, but some blame Remedy for badly optimizing the game. What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments. Before closing the topic, the RTX 4080 is also having a tough time getting over 60 fps at 1440! Welcome to next-gen gaming.
Final Verdict
Our final verdict for Alan Wake 2 is a masterpiece from Remedy Entertainment that engages players in a physiological horror. It allows gamers to explore the dark town of Bright Falls. The graphics are top tear, ray-tracing is on the spot and the terrifying yet beautiful environments put players into a next-generation experience. On the gameplay side, Alan Wake follows the TPP shooter, exploring the in-game areas, solving puzzles, and matching clues.
One only negative we can dig out is its high requirements for PC gamers. Call it a lack of optimization or following the next-gen graphics trend in gaming, old GPUs are having a tough time in-game.
Overall, we enjoyed playing Alan Wake 2 a lot at SpectrGaming and would give it a whopping 9 out of 10 with a possible win for the game of the year. Haven’t played it yet? Get it now from the Epic Games store. What do you enjoy the most about Alan Wake 2? Comment your thoughts below!