Our first impressions of Alan Wake 2 are very positive. Ah, the following text will not contain spoilers for Alan Wake 2, but it may contain spoilers for the first game. So don't worry!
I've always loved Alan Wake and Remedy in general. Since Max Payne 2. It's one of the only production companies I can be proud of having played everything it had to offer. Control, for me the best game of 2019. And now comes Alan Wake 2This makes the Remedyverse - the shared universe between Remedy games - even more robust.
Without further ado, let's get to my impressions of the 6 or so hours I spent in Alan Wake 2.
Remedyverse
First of all, don't play Alan Wake 2 without having finished the first game and without having finished Control. Preferably, you have played the DLCs of Alan Wake and AWE DLC of Control. Anyone who hasn't done so will miss out on a lot, as the second game is not very didactic in terms of its references, without giving too many explanations for events in the first game.
If you loved focusing your flashlight and shooting various possessed enemies in the forests of Bright Falls or levitating and telekinetically throwing things at the heads of degenerate employees of the Federal Control Department, hold your breath! Alan Wake 2 takes a completely different direction.
The focus of the game is the investigation of strange events taking place in Bright Falls, thirteen years after the first game and also on the author's creative process Alan Wake. The game even has very different climates between the playable characters, Saga Anderson, an FBI detective, and Alan Wake, an author who was lost in the Dark Place 13 years ago (the same amount of time between the releases).
Saga and Alan
The parts with Saga are very investigative, focusing on real crimes (but with the bizarre things that happen in Bright Falls). The atmosphere here is very reminiscent of True Detective (HBO series) and Se7en (a movie starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, directed by David Fincher), in and around the countryside and forests of the small town of Bright Falls.
Saga organizes his investigation in a separate place, existing only in his mind, called the Mental Place. There, the player separates the clues and evidence into separate folders, which are attached to the wall. You can also profile suspects and witnesses using intuition. It's a very well done part, but quite simple, there's nothing very complicated to do in the Mental Place. The content, however, is very engaging and delves into the various bizarre cases she investigates.
With Alan, the gameplay remains investigative, but with more interaction with the scenery. The atmosphere here is close to that seen in Controlwith scenes that change according to the context and Wake's interaction with the environment.
Similar to Saga, the writer has a separate area where he can put his creative ideas into action, because what happens to him in the Dark Place is a reflection of what he writes on his typewriter.
Both protagonists face enemies, but in a much more contained way than in hordes. Instead of endless bullets and countless resources, there is scarcity and the need to run when you have no other option. I feel a very Resident Evil in the fighting, and the body horror of the game reflects this perception even more, especially in comparison to Resident Evil 7.
Enemies still require the shadow to be removed in order to be vulnerable. But now damage causes lacerations in their skin and blood spurts everywhere. And enemies don't always appear, there are several moments when there are no enemies nearby, but the tension of having to face someone and use up the scarce ammunition keeps the player on their toes.
Alan Wake 2 has references and more references
The game is still a psychological thriller, like the first one, but now it's very horror-oriented, with scares (jumpscares) and a very heavy atmosphere. The game has no qualms about showing corpses with horrible wounds and nudity.
Alan Wake 2 is a sea of references and connections to previous Remedyincluding Max Paynewhich she produced, but whose rights belong to Rockstar. Getting to know the developer's universe leads to an even more immersive experience.
Graphically, the game is superb at Playstation 5. Unfortunately, there is a lack of Ray Tracing even in quality mode. And the lack of reflections in mirrors, which is a bit odd for a 2023 title. Due to the engine, similarly to Quantum Break e ControlSome textures are "grainy" at times, which can be a charm or a problem, depending on who is playing.
Keeping up the standard of the previous game, the sound design is fantastic and really helps with the immersion. Tense music and unsettling noises, as well as ending songs that sound like the end of a series episode, keep the standard high. The dubbing of the characters is also excellent. It's a game with technically good production levels.
Alan Wake 2 won't please everyone, and it doesn't want to. It's a survival horror with a hint of the weirdness of Remedy and I think it will tend to get more and more bizarre if it follows the company's pattern.
What did you think of our first impressions of Alan Wake 2? You'll soon be able to check out the full review of Save State of Alan Wake 2. Alan Wake 2 is now available for PC, PlayStation 5 e Xbox Series X/S.
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