Review
Review
What defines a story? That's a question I found myself asking pretty early on in our first few hours of Alan Wake 2. While the story does tiptoe around this question often, it always manages to keep it at the focus of the game's meta-horror story as it lingers in the backs of the player's minds.
The successor to the acclaimed Alan Wake (2010), Alan Wake 2 again brings us to the murky town of Bright Falls, Washington. While it's been some time since we've been to Bright Falls, it retains much of the energy and familiarity from the last game while also offering a wealth of fascinating new areas to explore. The developers have done an excellent job of making this town seem beautiful while showing that there is something below the surface that threatens to consume everything in it.
Following the pattern of a horror story, we are brought back to this dark town with the occurrence of a gruesome murder and it's not the first. Since 2010, several bodies have been found in the Cauldron Lake area all killed in the same ritualistic manner, by a group known as "The Cult of the Trees". Hot on the heels of the latest killing and the Cult are FBI agents Saga Anderson and her partner Alex Casey. A young but experienced agent, Saga and her partner soon find themselves at the centre of a supernatural horror story come alive as they find themselves fighting not only the cult but against "The Taken", innocent people infected with the Darkness that is trapped at the bottom of Cauldron Lake.
While Saga handles the cult and the return of the Taken in Bright Falls, we also see the return of the titular character Alan Wake. Alan who has been trapped in "The Dark Place" under Cauldron Lake since 2010 has found himself in an endless cycle of writing in order to escape his dilemma with very little success. As you would expect from something called The Dark Place, Alan finds himself navigating a dark realm utterly devoid of hope and happiness. A dark reflection of its denizen, Alan is trapped in a dark mirror of New York, where he lived what feels like a lifetime ago. Trying to write a story that will deliver him from The Dark Place and end the nightmare, Alan finds himself having to struggle with both his internal and external demons.
Adding layers to his story is the inclusion of new characters Dr Warlin Door and Alan’s own fictional detective Alex Casey. Casey’s inclusion in the story is that of a fictional movie character trying to solve a murder in the Dark Place as New York and Warlin Door is a talk show host hosting a show with Alan as a special guest. Their addition to the story is pivotal to Alan’s progression as he unearths secrets about himself and it’s important to see how they can impact Alan’s journey and it’s fun to see just how much world building is put on the shoulders of these characters as there are secrets hidden behind both that are bound to have greater impact in the future.
As we undertake both Saga's and Alan's story with full freedom on how we dive in, we see the full range of how the horror story has turned the world upside down and we discover what is truly responsible: Scratch. Wake's evil doppelganger, born from the darkness within him, made manifest with the power of The Dark Place. Alan and Saga must fight for their very survival as they are pitted against foes both physical and mental as they seek to unravel the nightmare that plagues Bright Falls and its people as it threatens to take everything they hold dear.
Returning in the role of writer and director, Sam Lake continues to steer Remedy Games in the path of creating stories and worlds that continue to impress and yet somehow stay surprisingly original. Since the first game was released back in 2010, we've been excited to see what would happen next, what we maybe didn't expect is seeing how Alan Wake 2 would progress the established "Remedy-Verse". Since Remedy started making games, they have been largely disconnected but in recent years they have been working on connecting these different worlds in a universe and Alan Wake 2 is the result.
While there are subtle references to games like Quantum Break, the main storytelling focus is taken by the FBC (Federal Bureau of Control) who have been tasked with investigating the events in Bright Falls. For those who played Control and its DLC, we would know the FBC are here because Alan interfered with them back in 2020, in his efforts to find a way to escape The Dark Place. While their role may be limited for the majority of the story, the FBC's role in the story proves to be pivotal and it goes to show how much thought Sam Lake has given to try and connect these universes in a way that feels meaningful and not forced.
Making a return are the Manuscript pages from the last game only this time they tell a very different story. In Alan Wake (2010), Alan was finding pages of a novel, "Departure", which he apparently wrote but had no recollection of ever doing so. Scattered throughout Bright Falls, they proved very useful to Alan as he unravelled the mystery of his wife's disappearance. Now in this latest chapter in the Remedy-Verse, Alan's writings are appearing again and this time falling into Saga's hands and this time around, they hold deep ramifications for her instead of Alan.
Many stories start to lose their momentum as they progress and reach their climax but Alan Wake 2 manages to hold itself to a higher standard as we are kept intrigued and excited by every moment. The game also shows just how well its developers can make typical tropes into genuine pieces of terror as we are subjected to the nightmare in Cauldron Lake.
Verdict
Alan Wake 2 is a brilliantly crafted masterpiece that shows what happens when developers are allowed to craft a game on their own terms, free from publisher interference. Balancing intense horror with action set pieces as well as focusing on the human element is where Alan Wake 2 shines. Refusing to sacrifice any of its storytelling integrity without sacrificing its pacing and tension, Alan Wake 2 is a marvel that fans have been waiting for and offers an excellent horror story that keeps us on edge and invested as its heroes suffer the fallout.
Main Narrative - Alan Wake 2 offers us an intriguing horror story that throws various curveballs at us that both honour and respect the horror genre as the game likes to remind us so very often. Maintaining good pacing, great horror, and suitable action, Alan Wake 2 offers a compelling and worthy narrative after 13 years of waiting and pays off every second - 10/10
Characters - While it didn't seem that Saga could help carry the Alan Wake series, she proves to be an excellent protagonist especially when she acts as a foil for Alan. Alan continues to show he is the conflicting hero, as he tries so hard to escape the Dark Place but also wrestles with how many people are getting hurt thanks to him. As well as Alan and Saga, several intriguing characters show promise, both for helping to support and test our heroes and also to build further on the world of Alan Wake. While its main villain may prove to be slightly hallow, Scratch's presence is felt throughout the whole story and we never forget it - 9/10
Side Narratives - As the mystery of the Cult and the Taken threaten to tear both Bright Falls and Saga apart, we are introduced to several other mysteries throughout Bright Falls. While these mysteries seem small in nature some of them hold greater mysteries for the larger universe of the world of Alan Wake and even present intriguing storytelling possibilities for the future. They also present how many characters and organizations are undergoing growth and evolution in interesting ways - 8/10
Environments & Collectibles - As a returning collectable from the last game, the manuscript pages make a staple return. While they don't undergo an evolution beyond presenting exciting narrative hints into the game's future, the developers have made a smart decision to focus on its new hero instead of focusing solely on Alan again. As the game's narrative unfolds the player is also presented with many different clues that they can use to solve the mystery surrounding Bright Falls and they are never too obvious to find. Bright Falls and the Dark Place are drastically different but they both mirror each other very well both in visuals but also in intent as they hold dark secrets that bear fruit for both Alan and Saga as they fight the darkness that threatens to escape - 9/10
World Building - Building on the already established Remedy-Verse, Alan Wake 2 strengthens the implications of a wider world that exists beyond Bright Falls. The introduction of the FBC as well as the introduction of a few choice characters showcases a wider story agenda that while unclear, shows that Remedy is planning to expand further on their inhouse universe in ways that don't compromise the integrity of each game - 9/10
I give this game 9.5/10 Cult Stashes
