Alan Wake 2 Review: Meanwhile…

Welcome to Remedy's (latest) evolution.

I’m absolutely in love with Alan Wake 2. It’s the next glorious evolution of Remedy’s signature gameplay and doesn’t put a foot wrong.

If you consider yourself a long-suffering fan of the original Alan Wake, found Remedy through Control, or have been following the studio since Max Payne and its signature bullet time, there is something for you within Alan Wake 2. Hell, there’s something for everyone in Alan Wake 2.

The easiest way to describe this sequel is to start with the lore and core of the original Alan Wake, and then mix in the absurdity, polish and quirkiness of Control. Finish off with visuals and mechanics straight out of the Resident Evil 2 remake, and you’ve got the surface level of what to expect. Digging deeper, a considerable amount of what makes this franchise what it is is because of Twin Peaks, and new investigative mechanics wouldn’t feel amiss within a Sherlock Holmes procedural.

Alan Wake 2 picks up thirteen years after the events of the original title; if you want the full story, make sure you not only play it and Control, but Alan Wake’s American Nightmare too. As Alan continues his struggle to escape the Dark Place, FBI agents Saga Anderson and Alex Casey (a Max Payne stand-in since Remedy doesn’t own the IP) descend upon the small, sleepy town of Bright Falls, Washington. A horrific ritual murder has been committed, and needs investigation.

While Alan’s name adorns the game’s (digital) box art, Saga is the true star of the show. You start, properly, as her and you continue down her path for quite some time before Alan truly comes into play. She’s adept with a flashlight and sidearm, and luckily so — the traditional combat loop of blasting away a shield of darkness before barraging an enemy with bullets remains so in this iteration. A proper over-the-shoulder camera assists with this task, and thankfully both Saga and Alan have gotten their cardio in; you don’t find yourself gasping for air after a short sprint.

Saga is a prolific FBI agent, able to jump into her own Mind Palace Mind Place on a whim, using her imagination to work on photo- and string-laden clue wall to properly theorise and deduce. Switching between the real world and the Mind Place is instantaneous — though some loading screens are noticeable when moving between certain scenes — and the functionality is crucial when deciding your next steps. That could mean exploration, opening up new dialogue branches, or even revisiting the clue board for further pondering.

Reading previews from American-centric hands-on opportunities with Alan Wake 2, I’ll admit I was concerned about the Mind Place. I shouldn’t have been; it’s extremely easy to get used to, and equally as fun — if not moreso — to engage with. I was comfortable with it all before the end of the first chapter, and find it to be logical and understandable in ways proper procedurals should take note of.

In contrast, Stevivor’s Matt ‘Ponk’ Gosper has described Alan’s Mind Place equivalent — in which he’s piecing together his next novel (or rewrite) — as an NBC writer’s room. He’s spot on. Unlike Saga, you don’t use the mechanic to figure out what happens next; instead, you rewrite the world in ways that sometimes feel logical and other times not. I’ve already found myself unsure of what to do next in some of Alan’s sequences, and that’s never been true with Saga.

In fact, I’ve found myself playing far more as Saga than Alan with the time I’ve had to review, and I’m extremely surprised by that. Alan’s sections are certainly far more terrifying, I should note, so there’s that; while I also want to play to learn what’s happened to Alan since the events of American Nightmare, Saga’s story does that equally as well as Alan’s.

While Saga patrols the real world, Alan works within the Dark Place itself, which has fittingly manifested itself as a macabre version of New York that matches Mr Scratch’s Wake-a-like skin. Alan’s world is violent — and full of jump scares — yet equally mixes in the pulp noir aesthetic that Max Payne is known for. Saga’s tale (pun very intended) really lets Remedy lean into its Finnish roots in hilarious — and sometimes disturbing — ways. Whatever Remedy sets out to do in any given instance, it does it damn well (like a good cup of coffee).

Thanks to kind PR handlers (and Remedy itself), I was able to play the opening hours of Alan Wake 2 on Windows PC via Epic Games Store and Xbox Series S before setting in to complete the remainder of this review on Xbox Series X. I have no real complaints about performance on any of these platforms. In my time playing, I’ve only noticed two real glitches and they were both on Xbox Series S. Sound occasionally desyncs or drops out; the other time, Sam Lake’s character of Alex Casey dropped his coffee cup only to wear it on his ankle for the remainder of the scene he was in. In both instances, a quit exit to menu and restart fixed the problem.

While I wouldn’t hestiate in recommending Alan Wake 2 on Xbox Series (or, presumably, PS5), I think the PC version wins out only because of the drag-and-drop functionality experienced within Saga’s clue board or Alan’s writing board. It’s something that’s intuitive made even more so with a keyboard and mouse.

Our Alan Wake 2 review will be finalised in the coming days; quite honestly, I’m sitting somewhere at the 9-10 mark at this stage and I can’t imagine anything will bring it down. This is absolutely fantastic, y’all.

[Update: 29 October] After twenty-five hours in — and credits rolled — I can absolutely attest to Alan Wake 2 being an absolute banger.

Full of loops and rituals, the story told by Remedy’s Sam Lake is multi-layered; it delves into self-doubt, the artistic process, connections with family and friends, duty to community (and one’s self) and so, so much more. On its own, it’s ridiculously enjoyable; to fans of Remedy’s work, it’s both the holy grail and a fantastic tease of what’s to come. I cannot wait.

I’ve bounced between Series S and Series X in my playthrough, and have noticed that Series S seems to crash pretty much immediately after a switch between Saga and Alan. Checkpoints are generous, so it’s largely no big deal (though annoying). What is annoying is that I’ve missed one optional video playing as Alan, so I’ll need to start up an entirely new playthrough to grab one of two remaining unearned Achievements. The other — one awarded for collecting all in-game weapons — seems bugged… unless we’re all missing something hidden?

After finishing the story proper, I can confirm that Saga’s bits are by far my favourite, though Alan’s tale amps up near its conclusion. You can’t have one without the other, and I’m so, so incredibly excited to see how this (parasitic?) relationship continues not only in confirmed DLC, but in future iterations of Alan Wake (and Control?) to come.

Alan Wake 2 is nothing short of a masterpiece, and a game that you absolutely need to play. Kudos, Remedy.

Alan Wake 2 was reviewed using promotional codes on Xbox Series X (primary), Xbox Series S and Windows PC via Epic Games Store, as provided by the publisher. Click here to learn more about Stevivor’s scoring scale.

Alan Wake 2 27 October 2023 PC PS5 Xbox Series S & X   Buy on Windows PC via Epic Games Store Buy on the Microsoft Store