For a studio that is known to consistently break the mould and pull creative left turns every chance they get, Alan Wake II still manages to be a wholly masterful surprise that exceeds lofty expectations. The Finnish game-makers' latest effort is a mind-bending, slow-burn horror-survival game that breaks new ground in terms of storytelling, mission structure, and presentation.
Powered by a seemingly inexhaustible pool of creativity, Alan Wake II bucks the trend at virtually every stage to create a storytelling experience that could not be delivered through any other medium but that of video games. The game is equal parts unsettling as it is breathtakingly beautiful and the balance that Remedy achieves with a slow-burn detective story paired with a healthy portion of mind-bending horror is downright masterful.
Alan Wake II: All Thriller No Filler
Story
Alan Wake II takes the players back to Bright Falls, in the shoes of FBI Agent Saga Anderson, as she and her partner, Alex Casey (played by Sam Lake himself) investigate a grisly murder that reeks of cult activity. Soon after, they discover that something else far more dark, sinister, and physics-defying may be afoot in this sleepy town. This leads to her discovering the deep, sinister secrets of the Cauldron Lake and the Dark Place, which eventually leads her to our tormented writer of horror "autofiction", Alan Wake. Saga discovers a source of malice in Bright Falls that is turning people into the "Taken", shadowy beasts out for blood.
For those concerned about whether they'll be able to follow the story if they haven't played the original - rest easy. Saga's campaign has her explore much of Bright Falls' mystery in a way that sheds light on the last game - allowing players to piece together the events of the last game. However, if you've played the original, you will have a deeper understanding of the lore and characters such as Scratch, Thomas Zane, and the Old Gods of Asgard. Save for that, Alan Wake II is not obtuse to the point where you'll be clueless if you haven't played the original.
While Saga continues her investigation in Bright Falls, Alan continues his journey in The Dark Place, the dimension in which he has been trapped for 13 years. Presumed missing/dead all this while, Alan has been chipping away in his Writer's Room in The Dark Place all this while trying to write his way back to the real world. The story plays out in 2 sections - while Saga's section is a slow-burn detective thriller a la True Detective and Dark, Alan's personal nightmare dimension section is wall-to-wall craziness and horror that regularly throws curveballs the player's way.
The story moves at a steady, brisk pace - allowing players to play through each section in any order they please. The player can choose to switch realities and play as either Alan or Saga. To finish the story, players must complete both Alan's and Saga's chapters individually - the order they choose to do that is left entirely up to the player. This creates a deeply rewarding experience as players can witness the same events through different points in the story with vastly different perspectives.
At its core, Alan Wake II is a story about telling stories. It dives deep into the heart of what makes a powerful story and the impact it can have on the world around it. In the case of Alan Wake, his stories quite literally manifest themselves into reality - forcing him to question just how much damage his creations can wreak on the world. This causes him to examine the craft he has dedicated his life to.
Saga, on the other hand, has to be the world's best detective as she dives deep into the minds of witnesses, suspects, and even victims, to piece together the clues to solve crimes in a matter of hours, if not minutes. While I initially felt that Saga would pale in comparison to Alan in terms of character complexity and general flair - I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it was not the case. Saga is a deeply compelling character who has several layers to her beneath the Batman-level detective skills. Ultimately, while I thoroughly enjoyed Alan's foray into madness and general weirdness, I found Saga's arc just as compelling, if not more in parts.
To not spoil major story beats and character revelations - let's just say Saga and Alan's arcs are deeply interlinked and a certain creative decision with Saga's character made her all the more compelling and deeply rooted in the story of Bright Falls. The two protagonists are aided by a cast of solid support characters like the aforementioned Alex Casey, Ahti the Janitor (from Control), Tim Breaker (played by Shawn Ashmore), and Mr Door.
The tonal shift between the two story sections is handled quite brilliantly and never really feels jagged and disorienting. Instead, players might appreciate the more grounded nature of Saga's arc after several different levels of mind-bending Alan Wake sections and vice versa. Alan Wake II is a triumphant achievement in storytelling and one that will probably be talked about for years to come. Now that the Remedy Connected Universe is up and running in full swing, I cannot wait to see more of what this world has to offer. The game has organic tie-ins with Control that never feels hamfisted and even has nods to Remedy's seminal Max Payne. For one, Det. Alex Casey is voiced by the incredible James McCaffrey and played by Sam Lake - giving us a hint as to what the upcoming Max Payne remakes might look like.
The story will take about 12-13 hours to complete on Standard difficulty - with an additional 8 hours or so if one were to complete the numerous side quests and collectibles strewn across the world. The game's most notable achievement in narrative and level design that stands out is the fact that it has virtually no filler. The game's narrative is incredibly lean and polished to weed out any fat - meaning that no level or section ever feels boring or rote, with each having significance to the overall arc. Suffice it to say, Alan Wake II's story will hijack your senses in the best way and leave you wanting for more by the time the credits roll.
Gameplay
While the narrative design alone was enough to bowl me over - I might even say the gameplay is just as much a hit. The original 2010 felt more like an atmospheric horror that often turned into a shooter - with Alan taking on hoards of Taken with his trusty flashlight and weapons. The sequel pumps the breaks in a big way to slow down the pace of combat to the point where it is now a full-on survival-horror experience. Resources such as Flashlight batteries and ammo are quite scarce, paired with an Inventory system that tasks players with rationing their resources and taking frequent breaks from combat to make sure they're prepared for the next fight.
At any given moment, the protagonists will be fighting no more than 3 enemies, but the fact that each enemy is now more resilient than before makes it a far more rewarding combat loop. Hoards of Taken will occasionally overwhelm you by sheer force of numbers, running away is not just an option - it is imperative. Conveniently placed Safe Havens (light sources) allow players to take a breather and avoid the Taken. The Inventory management and survival-horror mechanics are reminiscent of games like the newer Resident Evil 2,3, and 4 Remakes. While it takes cues from Capcom's new remakes, the combat loop never feels derivative of other works.
The star of the show, however, is a fantastic technical marvel that is the Mind Place and Writer's Room. Both Saga and Alan employ a certain mechanic that allows them to take stock of their situation and drive the story and level forward. Saga uses the Mind Place, a version of the Baltimore Field Office in her head that allows her to put Clues up on the board to solve murders by stringing together evidence and eyewitness accounts. This serves a dual purpose as it is not only an essential mechanic to drive the story forward, but it also acts as a good visual representation of the story so far - allowing players to keep track of events, characters, and story beats.
The Writer's Room is Alan's version of the Mind Place where he uses the Plot Board to change the version of events in his story to change the environment around him in The Dark Place. This allows Alan to get through puzzles, access previously inaccessible areas and witness murders that drive the story forward. The switch between these mind places and the game world is seamless. With the press of a button, the game seamlessly switches to either the Mind Place or the Writer's Room without any loading screens or pause in gameplay.
The game continuously keeps players on edge even when there are no enemies on the screen. Throughout my time with the game, it always felt that there was always someone in the room tuning the guitar string just close enough to the point of breaking but never truly ever releasing the tension.
While the story is never truly linear, what makes the game even more of a joy to experience is the almost open-world and open-ended structure of missions. Saga and Alan can both individually make their way through sizeable open-world chunks and uncover new mysteries and collectibles strewn across the map. Saga gets to explore the lush and deeply unsettling woods and the surrounding towns while Alan has to wade through a nightmare version of New York that is equal parts terrifying as it is downright gorgeous.
All of these in congruence make for a uniquely singular gameplay experience that feels truly fresh. Remedy's innovative gameplay design and Northlight Engine create a style of game that I don't think I've ever played before. Alan Wake II is undoubtedly the most unique gameplay experience I've had in years and carries forward Remedy's legacy of innovation and creative daring.
Presentation and Performance
Alan Wake II is out now for new-gen consoles as well as PCs. I reviewed this game on a PC running an NVIDIA RTX 3070 as well as partially on the PS5. The beefy system requirements that were released gave me strong cause for concern as issues with optimization are a major conversation around games that require hardware of this sort. I am happy to report that the game runs seamlessly on modern consoles as well as PCs. In all my time with the game, I did not experience any significant frame rate drops, texture pop-ins, or crashes.
For a game that looks this gorgeous, it is a wonder that my PC didn't immediately catch fire. While I was not able to play with Path Tracing on PC or console, the game looks downright gorgeous. This is achieved through not just great fidelity - but also extremely smart lighting and environment design. Both New York and Bright Falls look and feel exceptionally great.
The game consistently ups the ante in terms of presentation, splicing in FMV footage with in-engine gameplay sections. These live-action cutscenes are acted and written to perfection with Ikka Villi (Alan Wake) putting on an absolute show as the perenially confused and unhinged Alan. While Villi provides the performance, Matthew Porretta voices the character yet again. The Talk Show segments in particular were some of my favourite segments in the entire game - slicing through the horror and tension with a healthy dose of dark humour and much-needed levity.
The game's magnum opus comes in the form of a genuinely breathtaking segment in the Dark Place featuring Sam Lake, Ikka Villi, and the Old Gods of Asgard, played by the real-life Finnish rock band and frequent Remedy collaborators, Poets of the Fall. The band provides many songs to the game, including a fantastic 14-minute musical, Herald of Darkness. The level is reminiscent of Control's masterpiece - the Ashtray Maze and dare I say, it might have even trumped Remedy's effort from 2019.
Alan Wake II is a resounding technical masterpiece that will deeply resonate with players from a purely visual and sonic perspective. The game truly feels new-gen and stands as a testament to just how far we've come in terms of technological advancement.
Final Word - Alan Wake II
Wake II, at its core, is a survival-horror game that dives deep into its protagonists' psyches. A technical masterpiece that aims to fully harness the power of modern hardware, Alan Wake II is a visual and sonic treat that is nigh unmatched. Pairing relatively simple gameplay mechanics with atmospheric tension and horror, the game is a truly pathbreaking achievement in video games that will be talked about and dissected for years to come.
An absolute technical marvel, Alan Wake II is a triumphant creative left hook that will floor players by the time they reach the end of the first chapter and it then proceeds to impress even further. Alan Wake II is a strong contender for Game of the Year and it truly solidifies Remedy as one of the few major AAA developers unafraid of taking massive creative gambits.
