Commissar SFLUFAN Posted June 2, 2023 Author Share Posted June 2, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted June 3, 2023 Author Share Posted June 3, 2023 Gamespot has some exclusive Alan Wake II coverage: Exclusive: Alan Wake 2's New Hero, Saga Anderson, Ushers In Remedy's "Darkest Version" Of The Sequel - GameSpot WWW.GAMESPOT.COM In an exclusive in-depth look at Remedy's horror sequel, we got to meet the game's new star. Quote When players descend into the madness of Alan Wake 2 this fall, they won't just be playing as the game's titular grumpy novelist again. They'll also step into the shoes of a new co-protagonist, Saga Anderson. This surprise was teased in the recent story trailer we saw for Alan Wake 2, but even the most diehard Wake fans won't recognize Anderson--she didn't exist in the original game. Why, then, is she playing such a prominent role in the long-awaited sequel, and who exactly is she? GameSpot sat down with creative director Sam Lake, performance director Hannah Price, and actress Melanie Liburd, whose likeness and voice give the character life, to get to know Saga, where she's come from, and why her place in the story is more important than even she realizes when she arrives in Bright Falls. Alan Wake 2's Sam Lake On Resolving Mysteries: "The Tension Goes Away When You Have One Definite Answer" - GameSpot WWW.GAMESPOT.COM We asked Remedy's creative director about answering (or not) the many mysteries the team includes in its games. Quote Like the puzzling TV shows that inspired it, Alan Wake is full of mysteries. Presumably, Alan Wake 2 will be, too. After all, several of Remedy's other games, namely Quantum Break and Control, are laden with enigmas--many of which are left unresolved. Instead, players are left to try and unravel these lingering mysteries in their own heads. I sat down with Remedy creative director Sam Lake to discuss the team's approach to writing mysteries and ask why, as he put it, questions are sometimes better left unanswered. "To me, usually the tension goes away when you have one definite answer," Lake said. "And to me, in fiction and in real life, there rarely is one clear, defining answer. [There's] a way to kind of spin it around and look at it from different directions," Lake said, going on to admit, however, that there are some definitive answers in Alan Wake, and the recent QR codes hidden in Alan Wake Remastered do provide details to answer some of the lingering questions fans have been discussing over the last 13 years. "For those fans who really really want to dig in, I feel that there are answers[...] I feel it's about balance," Lake continued. "It's about giving breadcrumbs of answers but always asking enough new questions or leaving some big fundamental things open for interpretation." Alan Wake 2: Seven Lingering Mysteries The Sequel Might Answer - GameSpot WWW.GAMESPOT.COM So what if "it's not a lake, it's an ocean"? Quote Part of the lasting appeal of Alan Wake is its number of dangling plot threads and unanswered mysteries. Fans love the game's atmosphere, its story, its characters, and plenty else--but many also just really want to know the answer to some of the questions Alan Wake poses but does not resolve. We recently spoke to Remedy's creative director and Alan Wake scribe, Sam Lake, who revealed his approach to answering mysteries--or not answering them, as is sometimes his preference. But given that some of the original game's mysteries will likely merit answers, we're taking inventory of where we left off and where the story might go next. Here are seven Alan Wake mysteries that might get answers in Alan Wake 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
best3444 Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 If it gets higher than 85 at metacritic I'll buy it because I really enjoyed the first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stepee Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 I will buy it at the following price points based on this scale: 90+ $50 (msrp) 85+ $40 80+ $35 75+ $30 70+ $25 65+ $20 60+ $15 50+ $10 40+ $5 -40 EGS weekly free game 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dre801 Posted June 4, 2023 Share Posted June 4, 2023 I didn't play the first game until recently when the remaster came out. The world and story was interesting enough, but I wasn't exactly in love with the gameplay, so we'll see. Probably not a Day One buy for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted June 8, 2023 Author Share Posted June 8, 2023 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 I’m just going to say it as someone with no experience with the first game: this is no way to show gameplay for the first time. I don’t expect something super grandiose, and I realize it’s often a waste of resources. But there should be more creativity than walk to house, uh oh monster closet, shoot monster to show we RE now, go back to house and pick up item. Why demo a boring part of your game? What is that supposed to say about the rest of it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 Just now, crispy4000 said: I’m just going to say it as someone with no experience with the first game: this is no way to show gameplay for the first time. I don’t expect something super grandiose, and I realize it’s often a waste of resources. But there should be more creativity than walk to house, monster closet, kill monster to show we RE now, go back to house and pick up item. Why demo a boring part of your game? What does that say about the rest of it? But that is the first game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 Just now, Keyser_Soze said: But that is the first game So you only fight one guy at a time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 1 minute ago, crispy4000 said: So you only fight one guy at a time? Well you fight multiple but it's basically dodge and shoot light on the guy and then shoot them with the gun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
best3444 Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 I thought that new video looked awesome. I can't wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 7 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said: Well you fight multiple but it's basically dodge and shoot light on the guy and then shoot them with the gun. Multiple sounds like more fun. You’re welcome for the tip Remedy. I’ll take my consultation check now please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 Looking around at other takes across the web, I don’t understand the positive reactions. Maybe I’m the outlier? I just know if Konami showed something this drab and vanilla for their new Silent Hill, they’d be eviscerated for it. To me, this was probably the worst AAA gameplay demonstration at a summer showcase since that Scalebound boss fight years back. It didn’t look actively unfun, and wasn’t ugly, but that’s the best I can say about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted June 13, 2023 Author Share Posted June 13, 2023 'Alan Wake II' stands out in a sea of sequels | Engadget WWW.ENGADGET.COM I’m nervous about Saga’s fate in Alan Wake II – and that only makes me more excited for the full game. Quote I’m worried about Saga Anderson. She’s a seasoned FBI agent investigating a string of ritualistic deaths around Cauldron Lake, and she’s a little too impressed by all the supernatural gore she encounters. At one point, she’s talking to her partner about the cult activity they’ve seen – the dismembered body parts and necromancy and murderous villagers roaming the forests – and she says, “this place just keeps getting crazier… but this is exciting.” A few scenes later, she’s shoving a heart through a portal to another realm and inviting a witch to show her “the terror.” So, yeah, I’m nervous about Saga’s fate in Alan Wake II – and that only makes me more excited for the full game. I saw a 30-minute hands-off preview of Alan Wake II at Summer Game Fest, set in the second chapter. By this time, Saga has made her peace with the paranormal darkness of the case she’s investigating; she’s already pulled a manuscript page out of a corpse’s chest cavity and followed its instructions to Cauldron Lake, the setting of the original game. Alan Wake came out 13 years ago, and the timeline in the sequel has also progressed 13 years. The writer Alan Wake has been missing that whole time, and Saga is hunting the ghost of FBI agent Robert Nightingale, who was killed at the end of the first game. In chapter two, Saga and her partner are deep in the Pacific Northwest woods. The preview shows off gorgeous lighting, character models and environments, plus satisfying-looking gunplay and flashlight-play. Alan Wake 2 Preview - A Look At Remedy's First Survival-Horror Game - Game Informer WWW.GAMEINFORMER.COM Alan Wake 2 looks like Remedy at its spookiest. Quote During Summer Game Fest 2023, I had a chance to get a behind-closed-doors look at Alan Wake, the highly anticipated sequel 13 years in the making. The road to Alan Wake 2 was full of speed bumps involving publishing rights and finding the right ideas, hence the 13-year gap. "We've been trying and now finally everything just clicked into place," co-director Sam Lake says. "We got the publishing rights of the original game back, so we were in a position to create a remastered version for the PlayStation audience as well as a wider audience. And we were trying to do Alan Wake 2 before we went and created Control. And so there was a concept. It's not this concept; it was different, and we felt that it doesn't quite feel like Alan Wake, but maybe cool ideas on this kind of almost superhero action and is more kind of a nonlinear game. We took those design ideas and we created Control." The game universe has progressed in real-time, taking place 13 years after the 2010 first entry. Alan Wake II utilizes a dual-protagonist system, introducing Saga Anderson. Alan Wake has been trapped in the Dark Place, a nightmarish version of New York City, ever since the events of the first game. While there, Alan attempts to rewrite his reality and escape this alternate dimension. His story centers on Saga Anderson, an FBI agent investigating a string of murders in the Pacific Northwest. Alan Wake 2 interview: ‘True Detective was definitely on our mind’ | VGC WWW.VIDEOGAMESCHRONICLE.COM Remedy explains how the HBO show and '90s movies are key influences for the sequel… Quote Some 13 years after Alan Wake arrived on the Xbox 360, its sequel is finally due for release on October 17. Over the years fans of the original have been treated to the likes of spin-off Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, some Alan Wake themed DLC in Control and a remaster of the original game, but a ‘proper’ sequel has always been the primary wish and it’s finally nearly here. After being treated to a 30-minute demo during which we saw the game in action, we sat down with co-director Kyle Rowley and principal narrative designer Molly Maloney to talk about how Alan Wake 2 differs from its predecessor, and how they feel about the recent announcement that Spider-Man 2 will be released just three days later. They also explained how the character-switching mechanic and discussed the Mind Place, the interesting hub area where players controlling new character Saga can piece together the ongoing investigation. Alan Wake 2 is more True Detective than Twin Peaks | Digital Trends WWW.DIGITALTRENDS.COM We saw a chunk of Alan Wake 2 gameplay at Summer Game Fest, and it's looking quite a bit like Resident Evil. Quote If you’re expecting the same oddball, camp-horror vibe that made Alan Wake a cult hit, you might be surprised by what Alan Wake 2 has in store. From what I’ve seen so far, the sequel seems to be more True Detective than Twin Peaks, looking at the weird world of Bright Falls through the lens of a dramatic procedural this time. And it does that while modernizing the original’s horror formula, making it feel more in line with Capcom’s current wave of Resident Evil remakes. Though that’s not to say the sequel has lost any of its weirdness. Alan Wake 2 is just as much a detective story, as it is survival horror WWW.ROCKPAPERSHOTGUN.COM We've played an early segment of Alan Wake 2 and have come away very impressed from our time at Summer Game Fest 2023. Quote Behind an ominous door next to a pizza joint, I bore witness to 30 minutes of Alan Wake 2 in an extended presentation based on the trailer you might have seen at the sumSummer Game Fest showcase. I didn't get to see any of Alan himself, but I did get to see a slice of horror, investigation, and action as the other playable character Saga Anderson. And without a doubt, Remedy are making a big push for this to be a detective game alongside a survival horror one. My first impressions? Yeah, strong. The demo began in an area of Cauldron Lake, a forested zone where the light bled through the trees and then slowly became a murky, swampy, nightmarescape. I see Saga track a bloke called Nightingale, who was murdered earlier in the story, but has since come back to life (as you do). Early on, there's a bit of chatter between Saga and her companion Alex Casey (played by Remedy's own Sam "Max Payne" Lake), as they delve deeper into the forest in pursuit of Nightingale. Alan Wake 2 Preview: A Compelling Mystery Novel in Game Form GAMERANT.COM The first gameplay preview of Alan Wake 2 barely featured its titular character, but Remedy Entertainment left little doubt of its development chops. Quote Remedy didn’t expand on the combat too far beyond what was included in the gameplay trailer at the Summer Game Fest Live show, but the developers did say there will be ways to augment Saga’s abilities and her arsenal. What was on display, including a really cool boss fight, did enough to show that the Alan Wake 2 devs have evolved the combat to meet modern expectations while still keeping the framework from the first game. Where things get really interesting is with the investigation elements of the game. As an FBI agent, Saga has a few mechanics available to her that allow her to collect evidence and clues, which open new objectives and paths forward. At any point in the game, players can send Saga into her Mind Place, a small cabin with Case Board and a few other interactive elements. With the Case Board, the player will arrange clues and details to point Saga in the right direction. It’s an interesting concept that helps give the player agency in the narrative that’s unraveling. They will essentially be solving the mystery right along with Saga. Alan Wake 2 Closed-Doors Demo: Maybe Remedy's Best Game Yet KOTAKU.COM More physical, strategic combat and Remedy's brand of deep, trippy narrative look set to deliver a banger sequel Quote If you thought Control was a mindfuck, you’re not ready for Alan Wake 2. Remedy says the sequel that’s been 13 years in the making is the most expansive game the studio has ever done, and that’s saying a lot if you consider its impressive oeuvre. Part of the reason the studio is so sure Alan Wake 2 will take the crown is its concept: The dual protagonists, author Alan Wake and series newcomer FBI agent Saga Anderson, exist in two different realities, and you can swap between them throughout the survival horror gameplay. That means you could play nearly the entire game as Saga and Alan’s story, or vice versa, or swap between them as you see fit. There’s only one ending, though, and it’s sure to be a doozy, as Remedy says the team was inspired by Silent Hill, Fargo, and Midsommar while working on the long-awaited sequel Alan Wake 2 Isn't Cutting Corners In Being A Weird Detective Survival Horror Game - GameSpot WWW.GAMESPOT.COM Alan Wake 2 is Remedy Entertainment at its most ambitious, holding nothing back from being a true detective survival horror. Quote Alan Wake 2 is not cutting corners on its commitment to being a detective survival horror. It's a game that has a clarity of vision that looks to be executed by a Remedy that is firing on all cylinders. Alan Wake's return, even at this stage, is shaping up to be one of the most distinct and original games of 2023. This is a dream project that Remedy have been iterating on since the release of the first game, and after seeing 30 minutes of its brooding investigative gameplay, and tense combat, it's clear Remedy is pulling out all the stops. And for fans, the prospect of an Alan Wake sequel potentially being the studio's best game is like an idea written in a dream that's now infiltrating our reality. During my hands-off preview, I got to see an early segment in the story of the game's all new protagonist, FBI agent Saga Anderson: a serious, calculated, and introspective agent that serves as a comical contrast to her partner Alex Casey, who is more a caricature of a gruff hard-boiled agent that walked straight from the pages of a crime novel (wink wink). Together, they investigate the gory aftermath of a murder scene in the murky and rain-covered woods of Bright Falls, a fictional town in the Pacific Northwest. The pacing of the demo reinforced the idea of building tension, starting by giving Saga the chance to examine clues and gather evidence, all of which can be placed and re-arranged on a case board that is accessed in Saga's Mind Place. As the name implies, this space is a mental construct in Saga's own mind (think Sherlock's Mind Palace). With a single press of a button, Saga instantly teleports into a room within her mind that you can physically explore. This is where you'll organize evidence, view manuscripts, upgrade weapons, and access the map. The transition to The Mind Place is seamless and instantaneous, which both shows off an impressive use of Remedy's Northlight engine, and also centers the investigative aspect of the game as a core focus—and I also just adore the concept. It adds physicality to how the player interacts with evidence, giving it all a sense of weight and importance that is lost when limiting evidence to a static menu screen. Preview: Alan Wake 2 Will Be an Investigative Dream WWW.PUSHSQUARE.COM We see more of Remedy's next game - Remedy would never be the type of developer to phone things in, but Alan Wake II is un... Quote Remedy would never be the type of developer to phone things in, but Alan Wake II is undisputed proof it belongs in the top tier of the games industry. Following the new gameplay trailer revealed during Summer Game Fest, we were treated to a significantly extended hands-off demo at SGF Play Days. This PS5 sequel is the real deal, and its investigative trappings look set to be the star of the show. That familiar combat loop of shining torches at enemies and blasting them to smithereens when vulnerable is back — Remedy clarifies fights will at least be taken at a slower pace — complete with wider hub areas to explore. Our demo guide mentioned three of them. However, the most striking addition is the Mind Place, a feature accessed at the touch of a button where you can work on the case at the heart of Alan Wake II. New co-protagonist Saga Anderson toured the area — a sort of room you can retreat to whenever you like to investigate clues and develop your understanding of events. This is a seamless transition without any load screens, done on a PS5 devkit. Think of the elaborate case boards you see in crime TV shows and you're all the way there. Another point of comparison would be the more recent Sherlock Holmes titles, except Alan Wake II makes it an interactive room rather than a set of menus. By picking up pages and interacting with the real-world environment, this otherworldly room will develop with plot-relevant revelations. Remedy says you can't place these clues in the wrong places, so everyone will follow the same narrative path and be served up equal hints. Alan Wake 2 is channeling LA Noire and Sherlock with the Mind Place and it's glorious | GamesRadar+ WWW.GAMESRADAR.COM Here's how the Mind Place works in Alan Wake 2 to let you live out your investigative fantasies Quote You'd think that the fact you'll spend a lot of Alan Wake 2 not playing as Alan Wake would be the most surprising thing about Remedy's ambitious new survival horror game. But, having seen 30 minutes of Saga Anderson doing her FBI investigator thing, it turns out Alan Wake 2 is doing far more than just adding a new face to proceedings. With Saga comes a bunch of new gameplay mechanics to complement the genre shift. As an FBI investigator arriving in Bright Falls to investigate mysterious ritualistic murders, she brings with her years of investigative and criminal profiling experience. That includes an all-important Mind Place, which, if you're a Sherlock fan, you'll be correct in thinking sounds a lot like the Mind Palace. Heading to Saga's Mind Place is all about going inside her head to analyze cases. This mental construct takes the form of a physical room that you can walk around in at any time, with Saga ditching her FBI jacket to show off her knitted sweater as a symbol that this is a personal space. There's a lot going on in there, including spots for catching up on manuscript pages, rewatching cinematics on an old TV (gosh we hope there are new episodes of Night Springs), or upgrading weapons, but the main focal point is a case board along the back wall. It's here that you'll be plotting out what will essentially be the game's plot by investigating the murders happening all over the Pacific Northwest playspace. The mission I'm shown is early on in the game but the case board is already adorned with plenty of polaroids, notes, manuscript pages, and other evidence. Telltale red threads plot out when you've linked things together correctly, and finding new clues can then prompt the next stage of the Alan Wake 2 story to present itself. Alan Wake 2 preview: 30 minutes is all it took to convince me Saga is a brilliant addition | GamesRadar+ WWW.GAMESRADAR.COM We go hands-off with 30 minutes of Alan Wake 2 gameplay all focused on the game's new co-protagonist Quote Remedy hasn't been shy about saying that Alan Wake 2 is the studio's biggest and most ambitious game ever. That much is evident from the sheer scale of this project, with Alan Wake 2 not only featuring three large hub areas in the Pacific Northwest region but also the fact that it introduces an entirely new playable character alongside the titular writer – Saga Anderson, a seasoned FBI Agent with a penchant for solving difficult crimes. This new co-protagonist is the focus of my hands-off preview of Alan Wake 2, with Remedy introducing us to its new co-protagonist with a playthrough of an early part of the game. We're in Cauldron Lake, a familiar location for those who've played Alan Wake before, but it's looking nothing like I remember it. It's utterly gorgeous, with the forest brought to life with autumnal hues and a sky that suggests a storm is inbound. It's moody-looking and it's immediately very Alan Wake. It's looking very, very pretty running on a PS5 dev kit, and it only gets more visually impressive when later it begins to pour with rain. Alan Wake 2 isn't holding back when it comes to looking every bit new-gen. I'm already team Saga and Alan Wake 2 isn't even out yet | GamesRadar+ WWW.GAMESRADAR.COM Alan Wake 2's new surprise co-protagonist might just be its strongest feature Quote Sam Lake has been pondering an Alan Wake game with two protagonists since making Quantum Break, but Remedy's creative director appreciates now how momentous an occasion introducing Saga Anderson is. For Alan Wake 2, we'll have two playable heroes, spending just as much time playing as the new co-protagonist as we do the titular writer. "Looking back almost 30 years, if you think about the hero characters that we've created, there are not that many of them through the years. Now, even more than before, we're really conscious of that," Lake explains. Saga joins a short line of Remedy heroes, along with our old pal Alan, and more recently Jesse Faden from Control, but this is the first time Remedy has had two heroes vying for headline attention in a single game. "In many ways, although this is Alan Wake 2, it's as much Saga's game as it is Alan Wake's game. She's a huge part of this, and she's exactly who she needs to be for this experience and this story," adds Lake. Remedy promises that Alan Wake 2 will have "more variation" in story and combat than its predecessor | GamesRadar+ WWW.GAMESRADAR.COM Alan Wake 2's biggest changes were inspired by the lack of "variation" in the original game Quote Alan Wake 2 is the first survival horror game from Remedy Entertainment. It's a creative departure which has had major ramifications on every aspect of this long-awaited sequel: combat, pacing, story, structure, and tone. Creative director Sam Lake says that the genre switch was ultimately born out of a simple desire: "We wanted more variation." Alan Wake is a product of its time, something which was brought to the forefront in its recent remaster – every story beat is interspersed by combat, the mechanics of which barely evolve across its runtime. It's something Remedy's senior leadership is cognizant of now. "We felt that the gameplay of Alan Wake could have more depth to it, that it kind of repeated itself," says Lake, adding, "we also wanted to be more ambitious with the story. For Alan Wake 2 to embrace a more expressive set of combat systems, and deliver on a more ambitious narrative frame – two protagonists, separated by the influence of the Dark Place – something had to give. "We were looking at how we can find ways of achieving both." "As a genre, survival horror has less combat. It's less action-y and has more anxious atmosphere building, which means that when combat does happen it's a bigger event. We also wanted more depth to it. Resource management and the strategical side to combat also comes from the survival horror genre, so that fits with the slowed-down pacing. You're not just rushing forward with big explosions, so it allowed us to kind of pace [the combat] more with the story." Remedy says there's no "right or wrong way" to play through Alan Wake 2's dual storylines | GamesRadar+ WWW.GAMESRADAR.COM Remedy promises Alan Wake 2 will be enjoyable "no matter what order you play it in" Quote Alan Wake 2 has been designed as a psychological horror story told from the perspective of two playable characters. Naturally, you'll be able to spend time with celebrity writer Alan Wake, who has spent the last 13 years as a prisoner of the Dark Place beneath Cauldron Lake – fighting to retain his sanity and write a novel that would sufficiently change reality so that he can escape to those he left behind. But that's not the only web you'll be untangling on October 17. You'll also have to contend with Saga Anderson, an accomplished FBI Agent who heads to the Pacific Northwest to investigate the murder of one of her own – a case that puts her on a collision course with cultists who share a disturbing link to the missing writer. Here's the thing though, Alan Wake 2 doesn't dictate how you navigate its story, nor the order in which you play through Alan and Saga's chapters. That's something that you can decide for yourself. "The writing team has a story that they really want to tell, and our challenge as a narrative design team is to make that story playable and interactive," says Molly Maloney, principal narrative designer of Alan Wake 2. "The key thing here is that there's not a right or a wrong way to play through the content. It's literally that the content is different and enjoyable, no matter what order you play it in." You can thank Alan Wake 2 for Quantum Break and Control, says Remedy | GamesRadar+ WWW.GAMESRADAR.COM Remedy explains how Alan Wake 2 development inspired Quantum Break and Control Quote At this stage, it shouldn't surprise you to learn that the worlds of Alan Wake 2 and Control have collided. The Remedy Connected Universe may have only become public knowledge in 2020, when the AWE Expansion put Jesse Faden on a collision course with the incident in Bright Falls, but this concept of a wider universe is something leadership at Remedy has been thinking about for far longer. In fact, it's the studio's enduring efforts to get Alan Wake 2 off the ground which ultimately led to the creation of games like Quantum Break and Control. "Sam has been trying to make this game for 13 years," says Kyle Rowley, who served as lead designer of 2016's Quantum Break and is now game director of Alan Wake 2. "Every time we started a project like Quantum Break, that started off as Alan Wake 2 and shifted into Quantum Break. Control started off as some kind of game related to Alan Wake 2 and shifted into Control. But this time, we're going to do it. The longer it goes, the more messed up Alan becomes. So I think now is about the right length of time to get him out and talk about that stuff." After 13 years, Remedy's dream of Alan Wake 2 is real – and it's really going for it WWW.GAMESINDUSTRY.BIZ Remedy on going all survival horror with Alan Wake 2 Quote Remedy's last game, Control, was a real breakout hit for the developer. Released in 2019, the action adventure attracted ten million players and plenty of critical praise. So the smart business play would be to double down and immediately begin work on a sequel. But Remedy didn't do that. Although more Control is coming, the Finnish studio has chosen to do something decidedly more risky and build a sequel to its 2010 Xbox game, Alan Wake. Of course, not every business decision is based on financial gain, and that's the case here. The first Alan Wake may not have been the success Remedy or Microsoft wanted, but it has a cult following and it's a game that is close to the heart of creative director Sam Lake and the whole studio. Alan Wake references have cropped up in the games Remedy has released since, the team frequently talked about its desire to do more. And now, finally, it can. Alan Wake 2 looks like a frighteningly good time WWW.DESTRUCTOID.COM We saw a hands-off demo of Alan Wake 2 starring its new deuteragonist Saga Anderson, and it's looking like a positively great fright. Quote Remedy has been on a bit of a journey since the first Alan Wake. The team went from the Microsoft-published horror experience into the realms of Quantum Break and Control, and all the while, the writer has been waiting. With Alan Wake 2, it feels like Remedy is returning to the series with both new concepts and ideas built over the years since Wake’s first venture. In a hands-off demo of Alan Wake 2 at Summer Game Fest 2023, I got to see an extended look at just how that adventure will play out. The first big note is that Alan Wake 2 will feature two protagonists, with different viewpoints and sets of missions. Alan Wake returns, but in the session we saw, we followed Saga Anderson—an FBI agent and profiler who’s looking into a series of ritualistic murders in Bright Falls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greatoneshere Posted June 13, 2023 Share Posted June 13, 2023 Going in a more True Detective direction while keeping some Twin Peaks in there makes a lot of sense given Control's tone and vibe at times. It's a good combo. Definitely one of the few games I'm truly excited for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted August 17, 2023 Author Share Posted August 17, 2023 Remedy has shifted the release from October 17 to October 27 because they recognize that the month is stacked: Quote An update from the Alan Wake 2 team: we're moving Alan Wake 2's launch from October 17 to October 27. October is an amazing month for game launches and we hope this date shift gives more space for everyone to enjoy their favorite games. We can't wait to show you what everyone's favorite novelist is up to in the Dark Place next week. Thanks for your patience! This is what October looks like: Assassin's Creed Mirage (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, XSX/S) - October 5 Detective Pikachu Returns (Switch) - October 6 Forza Motorsport (PC, Xbox) - October 10 Lords of the Fallen (PC, PS5, XSX/S) - October 13 (RUMORED) Sonic Superstars (PC, PS5, XSX/S, Switch) - October 17 Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (PS5) - October 20 Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Switch) - October 20 Cities: Skylines 2 (PC, PS5, XSX/S) - October 24 Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1 (PC, PS5, XSX/S, Switch) - October 24 Alone in the Dark (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC) - October 25 Alan Wake 2 (PC, PS5, XSX/S) - October 27 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
best3444 Posted August 17, 2023 Share Posted August 17, 2023 Omg what a stacked month! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted August 17, 2023 Share Posted August 17, 2023 Alan Wake 2 can't compete with Alone in the Dark. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardAct Posted August 17, 2023 Share Posted August 17, 2023 On 12/10/2021 at 9:26 AM, Pikachu said: This came out of nowhere. Looking forward to it! I'll be all over this one! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardAct Posted August 17, 2023 Share Posted August 17, 2023 6 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: Remedy has shifted the release from October 17 to October 27 because they recognize that the month is stacked: This is what October looks like: Assassin's Creed Mirage (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, XSX/S) - October 5 Detective Pikachu Returns (Switch) - October 6 Forza Motorsport (PC, Xbox) - October 10 Lords of the Fallen (PC, PS5, XSX/S) - October 13 (RUMORED) Sonic Superstars (PC, PS5, XSX/S, Switch) - October 17 Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (PS5) - October 20 Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Switch) - October 20 Cities: Skylines 2 (PC, PS5, XSX/S) - October 24 Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1 (PC, PS5, XSX/S, Switch) - October 24 Alone in the Dark (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC) - October 25 Alan Wake 2 (PC, PS5, XSX/S) - October 27 Can't wait to dust off the Logitech G923 Wheel when Forza 8 Drops!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CastlevaniaNut18 Posted August 17, 2023 Share Posted August 17, 2023 I may actually buy this on PS5 instead of PC just because I don't want to fuck with EGS. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted August 22, 2023 Author Share Posted August 22, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stepee Posted August 22, 2023 Share Posted August 22, 2023 On 8/17/2023 at 2:36 PM, CastlevaniaNut18 said: I may actually buy this on PS5 instead of PC just because I don't want to fuck with EGS. It’s just going to be soooooooo much better on pc though. Since epic is actually publishing this game and helped pay for its development, and since it’s Alan Wake, I think it’s worth the extra hassle while you play this one imo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercury33 Posted August 22, 2023 Share Posted August 22, 2023 Absolutely can’t wait for this 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted August 24, 2023 Author Share Posted August 24, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaethos Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 I'm so ready for this. The new video reminded me how much I love Remedy games. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted September 6, 2023 Author Share Posted September 6, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted September 11, 2023 Author Share Posted September 11, 2023 Alan Wake 2: Exclusive Hands-On Preview - IGN First - IGN WWW.IGN.COM Alan Wake 2 is a radical sequel that looks brave enough to conquer the shadows of survival horror. Quote Deliciously pulpy horror storytelling was at the heart of the original Alan Wake. It returns for the sequel, too, but the Stephen King-isms look to be confined to The Dark Place; the New York-styled nightmare cage the titular writer is trapped in. Out in the real world (or at least what seems like the real world) – the domain of our second protagonist, FBI agent Saga Anderson – developer Remedy Entertainment has crafted a new collage from pieces of its favourite detective stories. The eerie shadows of True Detective, Seven, and The Silence of the Lambs creep through Alan Wake 2’s gorgeous digital depiction of the Pacific Northwest. For this month’s IGN First, I visited Remedy’s studio in Finland to play Alan Wake 2. Across more than an hour of play I experienced the entirety of Local Girl, the third chapter of Saga’s story. Within it, I saw plenty of things that will make long-term Alan Wake devotees happy. Manuscripts still litter the world, as do blue thermos flasks. There are generators to power up, and your shadow-burning flashlight is still a fundamental part of combat. A pair of ageing rock stars make a very welcome return. But the shift from nightmare horror to grisly detective thriller on Saga’s side of the story is the first sign of the bold, sweeping changes that Remedy has made in its long-awaited sequel. Where the 2010 original was a relentless action game dressed in a Halloween costume, Alan Wake 2 is a full-bore survival horror. It comes complete with puzzles, exploration, backtracking, and a crime fiction library’s worth of creeping dread. It feels like almost every element of Alan Wake’s gameplay has been reinvented. And, from what I can tell thus far, it’s all for the better. Local Girl begins with Saga arriving in Watery, a town established by Finnish settlers. It’s just down the road from the original Alan Wake setting of Bright Falls, and carries a similar David Lynch vibe; quaint, but off-kilter. In these opening minutes, it’s clear that Alan Wake 2 is unlike any other game Remedy has made before. There’s no urgency as I wander down Main Street, chatting with the locals about a nearby trailer park – a lead in my wider investigation into the Cult of the Tree, the story’s looming threat. But while this may be slower-paced than Remedy’s previous action romps, it’s no less weird: everyone seems to already know who I am despite this being Saga’s first visit to Watery. And Ahti is performing a rousing number at the local cafe. Yes, Ahti, the janitor from Control. I don’t know if the coffee here is damn fine, but the atmosphere certainly is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted September 11, 2023 Author Share Posted September 11, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted September 11, 2023 Author Share Posted September 11, 2023 Alan Wake’s half of Alan Wake 2 is very Alan Wake WWW.POLYGON.COM Alan Wake 2 puts the player inside Alan Wake’s head Quote A new preview we recently checked out focused on Wake’s portion of the game, set in the Dark Place, which appears to Wake as a hard-boiled vision of the Big Apple. New York is Wake’s former home and the setting of the Alex Casey crime novel series that gave him his reputation as a writer. While there, Wake needs to leverage his power to rewrite reality and escape this place to reunite with his wife, Alice, but it won’t be easy, given that his surroundings are actively working against him. The Taken return from Alan Wake as flickering silhouettes that wander the Dark Place, which you must expose with your lamp before disposing of the bodies beneath. “Have you lost the plot?” they’ll sneer as they throw you to the ground. Adding to the paranoid atmosphere, illuminated Taken often look like Wake, and non-hostile entities called Fade-Outs follow you, taunting and goading you into wasting precious light or ammo. Subtle cues differentiate them from the base enemies, so perceptive players can pick their battles. Alan Wake 2’s combat is Remedy’s take on Resident Evil 4, with an over-the-shoulder camera, heavy recoil, and a lifesaving dodge. Alan Wake’s worst quality was its tedious combat, where hordes of Taken would constantly surround the player and club them to death. In the sequel, the Taken appear slower but more erratic and deadly, lurching and teleporting toward Wake to catch him off guard. Alan Wake 2's World-Bending Writing Mechanic Needs To Be Seen To Be Believed WWW.THEGAMER.COM Alan Wake 2’s world-swapping writing mechanics are unlike anything I’ve seen before. Quote The section of the game I got to look at featured Alan waking up and discovering that he’s been on a fourth-wall-breaking talk show with Mr. Door, which was shown as a live-action sequence. I’ve been a bit sceptical about the use of live-action considering how clumsily Quantum Break utilised it, but it works a lot better here, serving to emphasise Alan’s confused mental state and disjointed reality while also being well-acted and unnerving to watch. After talking about ‘meta’ writing with Mr. Door and making both Alan and myself question our existence, the demo showed how this half of the game plays. While Saga’s sections so far have seemed more grounded, Alan’s are much more psychological, with voices whispering from the shadows and scribbles and graffiti on the walls representing his spiralling mental state. The first game was no slouch with its horror, but the way it’s told through the environment here makes it seem like even just walking around will make my hands sweat. As impressive as the Dark Place’s visual design was, what you can do to it is what really stuck with me. During the demo, Remedy showed two gameplay mechanics unique to Alan that let him change the world as he moves through it. The first was the ability to take light from specific parts of the level and bring it to dark sections, lighting the way forward and instantly changing the level’s layout and progress further. That was cool enough, but the second mechanic was the one that blew my mind. Alan can also go to his writer’s room, take a look at the story he’s in so far, and then change it using word prompts he’s collecting throughout the level. Selecting the right one for the area you’re in will completely change its design to fit the narrative Alan is writing and influence his surroundings, which got a dramatic gasp from me the first time I saw it. Alan Wake 2 at Gamescom was one of the best demos I've seen in years | GamesRadar+ WWW.GAMESRADAR.COM Gamescom 2023 | A new 40-minute Alan Wake 2 demo has got my mind reeling with possibilities Quote The Alan Wake 2 demo I sat through at Gamescom made me want to scream and shout. Not because developer Remedy Entertainment has stretched comfortably into survival horror territory, although this Dark Place prison is certainly an evocative tool for ratcheting up tension. I wanted to make myself heard because whoever was in command of the controller would not slow down. There was a lot of ground to cover in a 40-minute presentation, but I could have spent hours lost in the streets of this twisted vision of New York City – a space of stark contrasts, empowered by impossibly deep shadows and dying embers of flickering light. The visual fidelity is astounding. I wanted to breathe in the atmosphere to the point of suffocation, with the Northlight Engine being employed to deliver truly staggering scale and detail. Neon hues shimmer delicately across puddles of rain, soft light from street lamps struggles to cut through thick plumes of fog, the flashlight piercing the new Fade Out enemies with explosive volatility. When Alan heads below ground, struggling to discern fact from fiction in the claustrophobic tunnels of the subway system, I'm almost too startled to track the links back to Control graffitied all over the walls. Quote Alan is trapped in a writer's room, one which is able to give unknowable power to creative works. Tormented by a dark doppelganger, Wake is able to effectively astrally project into a twisted construct of New York formed by his subconscious mind. A place where he hopes he may find the inspiration (and clarity) to finish his next novel, 'Return'; echoes of this effort seemingly seep into Bright Falls, which may be why Anderson is encountering oddities like predictive manuscript pages of a horror story and the fictional construct that is Agent Alex Casey. Or maybe not, who knows with Remedy. What's impressive is that this notion of rewriting reality isn't being used to create elaborate, cinematic set-pieces, as it may have been in Alan Wake or Quantum Break. Instead, you're able to take a more exacting approach to writing your escape – directly manipulating the story one plot point at a time. As you explore the Dark Place, Alan will encounter sources of inspiration, ideas which he can fold into his writing. You're able to manually activate these plot elements, changing the composition of environments and narration. Dilapidated subway cars turn into tombs of ashen mass murder; forgotten supply rooms shift from mundane to macabre as new horrors are willed into existence by the rhythmic beat of typewriter keys lashing against an inked ribbon. It's impressive, and ensures that the world is always reforming around you. ‘Alan Wake 2’ Gamescom Report – We Watched Nearly an Hour of Gameplay from the Survival Horror Sequel BLOODY-DISGUSTING.COM “You left us on quite the cliffhanger," teases insipid light-night talk show host Mr. Door, as he playfully admonishes his guest for the glacial pace of Quote The expressive lighting, cast from all of the gaudy neon signs in the area, renders each scene almost monochromatic. Echoing the visual stylings of Control, it’s as if somebody has applied an overpowering colour filter to everything; immersing us in sickly green shopping districts and demonic red alleyways. Elsewhere, the deserted streets are populated only by menacing shadows, whispering away in your periphery and threatening to ambush Alan at a moment’s notice. Some of them will follow through on these warnings, while others are content to just ominously watch from the sidelines. The problem being that you can’t tell which is which until it’s already too late, creating a sense of paranoia that hangs over every single minute of our vertical slice. The city’s infrastructure is all wrong too, with road networks that don’t quite add up, stairs that ostensibly lead nowhere and bridges that can’t be accessed by any conventional means. Think of it a bit like the fake version of Paris from Inception and you’re in the right ballpark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
best3444 Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 They have been really confident showing this game around. Must be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLeon Posted September 12, 2023 Share Posted September 12, 2023 Completely forgot this was coming so soon! Might have to squeeze in a replay of the first game in the next couple weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted September 12, 2023 Author Share Posted September 12, 2023 Alan Wake 2 preview: Haunting, meta-game discourse hell WWW.GGRECON.COM Thirteen years after the first game's release, Alan Wake is back in the Dark Place - ready to tackle video games' worst writer's block. The results are horrifyingly gorgeous. Quote One particular scene in the Dark Place’s underground subway showcases Alan navigating through a train laden with charred corpses, a horrifying sight made even more visceral by the game's detailed graphics. As he climbs through the train and self-soothes by trying to convince himself that none of what he sees is real, he hears the victim’s blood-curdling screams at the moment of their untimely demise. Making it out of the cabin, an understated “F#*k me” slips through his mind. Same, Alan. Same. Another jarring moment sees Alan discovering an altar in the woods, atop which lies a very naked corpse, its untouched heart placed eerily beside it. Nothing visually is left up for interpretation here. These moments, among others, hint at the dark and twisted narrative players will navigate which you should be prepared for. If any of these descriptions made you go “nope,” this game is unlikely to be the one for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ominous Posted September 12, 2023 Share Posted September 12, 2023 Pretty sure 2023 is going to be peak video game for at least the next 10 to 20 years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skillzdadirecta Posted September 12, 2023 Share Posted September 12, 2023 This game sounds amazing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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