Alan Wake 2 is one of the big blockbusters of the end of the year. Adventure video game with a horror tendency, it aims to seduce with its in-depth scenario and its unique universe. In this file, we compile the essentials to know about this title which risks marking the year 2023.
The end of 2023 promises to be great for gamers. Many big games are planned and choices will have to be made. Among these blockbusters, we find Alan Wake 2, the latest baby from Remedy studios. A work long awaited by fans. You shouldn’t miss it!
Alan Wake 2 is the game we were hoping for. It took more than a decade for the Remedy studio to release a sequel to its masterpiece. In this file, we will compile the essential things to know about this project. Release date, gameplay, story, we tell you everything. Ready to enter the dark lair?
What is Alan Wake?
Before getting to the heart of the matter, it is necessary to lay down some basics for newbies. Alan Wake is a game developed by Remedy Entertainment released in 2010 on Xbox 360 (2012 on PC). This is a third person adventure/horror title where we must progress through more or less open levels by eliminating the monsters who want to attack us.
Classic gameplay that serves an extremely worked storyline. Remedy is known for its narrative games (Max Payne, Control, Quantum Break) and Alan Wake is undoubtedly its masterpiece in this area. We follow the story of Alan Wake (yes!), popular novelist victim of blank page syndrome. In order to find inspiration, he left with his wife to isolate themselves in Bright Falls, a small town lost in the northwest of the United States. But strange events will disrupt his retirement: his horrific writings will interfere with reality and it will be up to him to fight them.
More than an adventure game, Alan Wake is a true gem of writing. A gripping story that knows how to build suspense and doesn’t let go until the last second. Everything is served by a stifling universe which draws its inspiration from Stephen King’s novels or the Twin Peaks series. A real lesson given to the industry at the time. Its release was unfortunately a little overshadowed by that of another big game at the time, Red Dead Redemption, which arrived the same week.
Also read – Read Dead Redemption is coming to Switch, why it’s the perfect opportunity to (re)discover this classic
Alan Wake had the right two DLCs as well as a spin-off titled American Nightmare. In 2019, Remedy released Control, a totally different game but which takes place in the same universe, but with which the links with AW remain tenuous. It is finally in 2023 that the sequel arrives on the market. Finally !
When is Alan Wake 2 release date?
Alan Wake 2 will be available on October 27, 2023. A busy month of releases, since we will also see Assassin’s Creed Mirage (October 5), Super Mario Wonder (October 20), Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (October 20), Total War Pharaoh (during October) and even Cities Skylines 2 (October 20). October 24). We will have to make choices!
What platforms is Alan Wake 2 released on?
Alan Wake 2 is released on PC (only on the Epic Games Store), but also on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It is an exclusively new gen game, there will therefore be no PS4 and Xbox One version. Also forget about a release on Switch.
What is the price of Alan Wake 2?
Alan Wake 2 is entitled to a lower price than other AAA. In fact, Remedy chose to distribute your game only digitally in order to reduce costs. Here are the prices:
- PC: 50 euros
- Consoles: 60 euros
A Deluxe edition is also sold and brings various bonuses, such as future DLC included, outfits or skins for your weapons.
- PC: 70 euros
- Consoles: 80 euros
The absence of a physical edition is a choice made by Remedy in this era of everything dematerialized, but this disappoints collectors a little. No collector’s edition for them.
What is Alan Wake 2 gameplay like?
Alan Wake 2 resumes the gameplay of the first part. We control the main character from a third-person perspective. We must progress through the levels and face monsters. To defeat them, you must weaken them with the flashlight before shooting them. The big difference with the first episode, according to the studio, is that the clashes will be significantly fewer, but more difficult and more impactful.
The novelty of this Alan Wake 2, is that the player will no longer only control Alan. In addition to the tortured writer, we are in charge of Saga Anderson, FBI profiler who is leading the investigation in Bright Falls. If the gameplay seems similar for the two characters, the atmosphere of the levels crossed seems completely different. It’s like having two games in one.
The American site IGN published a long 11 minute video that only focuses on gameplay. This shows the beginning of the adventure. We see Saga Anderson investigating the town of Bright Falls then heading into the forest. A sequence that condenses investigation, exploration and combat. Interestingly, we discover the heroine’s mental palace, a special level which serves as a break menu.
For its part, Nvidia has published another gameplay video, this time to show its technologies on PC via its GeForce graphics cards. Yes, Alan Wake 2 will be ray-tracing compatible. With Phantom Liberty, it will also be the first to support DLSS 3.5 to improve performance. A title that promises in terms of gameplay, but also in terms of technique.
What is the story of Alan Wake 2?
Please note, in this paragraph, we are going to spoil the end of Alan Wake the First of the Name. If you haven’t done so, you can skip ahead to the next chapter.
Alan Wake 2 takes place thirteen years after the first part. Our writer is still trapped in the dark lair after sacrificing himself to save his wife. He wanders through a nightmarish universe where his creations come true, jumping from vision to vision in the hope of finding an exit. The icing on the cake is that he is stalked by a mysterious monster.
And meanwhile, in the real real world of real reality, the FBI profiler Saga Anderson travels to Bright Falls to investigate strange ritual murders. Little by little, the stories of the two heroes will intertwine. What links between these assassinations and Alan Wake? Will the novelist manage to escape from his hell? Questions that will find their answers during the adventure.
Do you have to have done the first episode before embarking on this new part?
Remedy assures that it is not necessary to have done the first episode to understand this second. In fact, he tells a completely different story that starts on new bases. However, it is still better to know Alan’s previous adventures to grasp all the subtleties of the plot. That’s good, since the 2010 game was re-released in a remastered version in 2021. The latter is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Switch. We strongly advise you to delve into it to revise.
Note that the Alan Wake DLC isn’t really necessary, since they tell a somewhat separate story (we follow our hero evolving in the dark lair). Same thing for the spin-off American Nightmare, which is not included in continuity.
Finally, we talked about Control a little above. If the two games share the same universe, their links are limited to a few references. On the other hand, one of its DLCs discusses the writer at length, but it is not necessary to have done it to understand Alan Wake 2 either.
Is a sequel already planned?
A third part is not yet in the works. However, Remedy has already announced that Alan’s story will continue in the future. This will be done through two paid extensions. No information on the subject, but we already know their name: Zone X and La Maison du Lac.
Who are the creators of Alan Wake 2?
Alan Wake is a game from Remedy Entertainment. Finnish studio based in Espoo (in the suburbs of Helsinki), it started in the 1990s by developing benchmarks (via Futuremark) and the game Death Rally. But it was in 2001 that he became known to the general public with Max Payne.
Max Payne is the title that changed everything. While at the time video games were still seeking their legitimacy, Remedy offers a strong, well-written adventure with a sticky atmosphere worthy of a film noir. A critical and commercial success which was followed by a second part in 2003, just as qualitative. Note that the third episode, released in 2012, was developed by Rockstar, and not by Remedy. We will modestly move on to the 2008 film…
In 2010, Remedy released its fourth game after a long development of five years: Alan Wake. Once again, the studio shines with its writing talent: it is now its trademark. All of its games will follow the same formula: classic and effective gameplay centered on action and accompanied by in-depth storytelling.
Despite a somewhat disappointing Quantum Break in 2016, Remedy confirms its place as a studio that counts with Control in 2019. A game that stood out thanks to its nervous combat, its convoluted story but also and above all its artistic direction inspired by brutalism.
In 2020, Remedy is partnering with Epic Games for the distribution of its upcoming games. Currently, we know that Control 2 is in development as well as a multiplayer spin-off called Condor. A remake of Max Payne 1 and 2 is also in the works. Alan Wake 2, for its part, should once again show the qualities of the studio in the eyes of the general public.
