When Alan Wake II came out, it had been about 13 years since the first game. Since then, the game industry landscape has changed a lot. Many developers had to checklist a bunch of sensitivity requirements to make their games, killing creativity and alienating their audiences. You could always tell when a game was in production due to how it leaned into these requirements.
Alan Wake II came under fire for its narrative, seemingly designed to fulfill sensitivity parameters. Fans of the original became disheartened after such a long wait for a sequel that was never thought to happen. To add insult to injury, Alan Wake II was purported to be the costliest game ever to come out of Finland and would be released digitally only, adding a lot of pressure to the entire situation.
After all the controversies, Alan Wake II eventually got a physical release, and the game industry began to pivot away from sensitivity consultancy. Yet, the damage was already done, and Alan Wake II took over two years to make its money back. Was it worth the 13-year wait? Does the game coddle you? Find out in our Alan Wake II review!
Alan Wake II
Developer: Remedy Entertainment
Publisher: Epic Games Publishing
Platforms: Windows PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 (reviewed)
Release Date: October 23, 2023
Price: $59.99
A good horror story takes its time to build suspense and intrigue. Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining moves at a snail’s pace yet is canonically gripping and pulls the viewer in like the swamp of sadness devouring Artax. Alan Wake II takes this to heart, but it goes too far with its drawn-out pacing to the point that it becomes aimless. You could beat the original Resident Evil 2 in the time it takes for the story to truly begin.
Players begin in the role of Saga Anderson, an FBI agent tasked with solving the mysterious ritualistic murder of Robert Nightingale, a missing FBI agent who was a minor character in the first game. The pace is slow, and every procedure is agonized as characters deliver surprisingly clunky exposition. Saga is endowed with almost psychic-level hunches and deadly premonitions that guide her to “the dark place”, where evil entities emerge.
Playing as Saga in the Twin Peaks-inspired Bright Falls unfolds a lot like a traditional survival horror game. Environments are open-ended, packed full of secrets, puzzles, and dangers lurking in the darkness. By aiming flashlights (or other light-based tools like flares) at enemies, players weaken them, exposing their physical form to damage from firearms or Resident Evil 4-style melee attacks.
The third-person gameplay is conventional and kind of on the bland side. It isn’t much of a leap compared to the first game from 2010 and cribs a lot from the Resident Evil remakes. Saga and Alan get sidestep dodges and even a slow-mo mechanic, which is all too familiar.
The story eventually reintroduces Alan, who has been trapped in the dark place since the end of the first game’s DLC. The only way to escape this nightmarish reality is to write a horror story to manipulate reality.
His narrative intertwines with Saga’s investigation, blurring the lines between fiction and reality. The story’s themes explore the nature of free will and meta-narratives, sometimes even breaking the fourth wall for darkly comedic effect.
Alan explores shifting, dreamlike environments, facing manifestations of his psyche and the Dark Presence’s influence, including his doppelgänger, Mr. Scratch. Eventually, a character switching mechanic is introduced, allowing players to jump between Alan and Saga at their leisure.
Both characters get unique weapons and gimmicks to distinguish themselves, but thematically, it was hard to enjoy playing as Saga. Alan is such a fun character to listen to.
His rantings and purple prose soliloquies are charming, and Mathew Porretta’s breathy and over-dramatic delivery makes him command every scene he’s in. I came here to play Alan Wake II, I don’t want to play as anyone else. I don’t want Saga. I want Alan Wake.
Saga is exactly the kind of inclusion that will date this game in the future. It’s a tragic hijacking that undermines the game and cheapens Saga’s characterization. She was robbed of her own game and was forced into one where she doesn’t belong. Saga is written with no character flaws and is perfect at everything she does, making her unconvincing and false.
Saga is easily the weak link in a plot full of twists and supernatural surprises. The atmosphere is as thick as mayo left on the porch on a hot summer day in Florida. The Pacific Northwest is depicted with a strong Scandinavian flavor, giving it a surreal and off-beat feel. The traditional horror sequences are heavy with distortion and bizarre, striking visuals that are unlike anything else on the market.
These are some of the best graphics ever produced, and the use of live action footage blurs reality with the gameplay at times. The intense giallo-inspired lighting and extensive photographic effects give Alan Wake II a distinct look and feel. While we never got Hideo Kojima’s Silent Hills, Alan Wake II‘s imagery and cinematic flair during gameplay and cutscenes give us a glimpse of what it might have been like.
Alan Wake II is a very long survival horror game. It’s epic in scope, but it is padded out with extensive, yet entertaining cutscenes and dialogue sequences. If you don’t connect with the bizarre meta story and how it connects with Control or the rest of Remedy’s games, expect to lose interest. This isn’t just an Alan Wake sequel, it’s a Control sequel and ties to Quantum Theory too.
Like any self-respecting survival horror, resources are limited, and Alan/Saga need to explore or engage in some optional puzzle solving if players find themselves in a pinch. The puzzle design is a mix of investigation and environmental details, checking notes for codes and deciphering hidden meaning. They’re an excellent addition and sometimes are rewarded with accessories that add passive perks to Alan/Saga.
The most original aspect of Alan Wake II is the mind spaces for the two protagonists. Alan and Saga freely explore the room in their head in real time, where they concentrate on the details of the plot. For Alan, this means trying to come up with story details to bend reality in a way that pleases the laws of reality. In Saga, players make connections with clues and profile characters to solve mysteries.
The mystery-solving mechanic in the mind spaces is brilliant and original. They are like a more polished and refined version of the profiling from the Deadly Premonition games. You feel like you’re making discoveries like a real detective.
Alan Wake II is frustrating because it is a legitimate improvement to the original in many ways, yet it makes unbelievably clumsy steps backward, too. The safe Resident Evil-style gameplay will please average gamers, and it’s great to be able to explore and take in the details of Bright Falls and the Dark Place.
Where Alan Wake II disappoints is the dated story elements included to appease brow-beating tourists. Regretfully, one protagonist is disappointing but it’s still a very good horror game that outclasses most of the competition. It has a very dull beginning, and Saga is a grating character, but when you’re in the thick of it, Alan Wake II impresses with its relentless atmosphere and brain-melting plot.
Alan Wake II was reviewed on PlayStation 5 using a code purchased by Niche Gamer. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Alan Wake II is now available for PC (via Epic Games Store), Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.
