LogIn13 years well spent.
Remedy is going to release Alan Wake 2 on October 27, but the game is still largely a mystery. Or was, before several outlets got a chance to fully see its gameplay and the work done in the 13 years since the first game.
“It feels fantastic. It’s been such a long journey,” shared creative director Sam Lake (via VGC). “Looking back, all that pain and suffering along the way was fine, and I guess there are some learnings from a philosophical level on life here.”
Image credit: Remedy
Lake holds high hopes for the title calling it the studio's "biggest project yet". It will let you experience two different visions through the eyes of its protagonists – Alan Wake himself and the FBI agent Saga Anderson. You will switch between the two and uncover new secrets in vastly different worlds.
As Sony's Sid Shuman noted, Saga's journey through Bright Falls is filled with "creepy forest trails, trailer parks, cult hideouts, and a dilapidated local amusement park." At the same time, Alan's Dark Place is a twisted version of New York City. Both are full of horror necessary to hunt down The Taken.
Image credit: Remedy
Alan Wake 2 is definitely different from its prequel. In 13 years, Remedy has changed a lot:
“I would say the first game was more of an action-oriented game and I think that that was because of the tools that we had available to us at the time and the story that we were looking to make,” principal narrative designer Molly Maloney told VGC. “It’s been 13 years, and not only has Remedy evolved and changed, but the industry has evolved and changed as well. We have a lot more technical capability than we had at that time.”
This time, the game is more horror than action and it ties the story with gameplay nicely.
“This time around, that was our ambition. Firstly, with the duality of choosing which character you play as, but also how we bring storytelling closer to actual gameplay. That led to, on Saga’s side, she’s an investigator and a profiler, so what does that mean as a gameplay element?”
Image credit: Remedy
Saga's part is definitely intriguing. Her safe space, the Mind Place, is a sanctuary that allows her to take a breather and organize her thoughts and the clues she gets from outside. It's what you expect to see from a detective: case files, records, documents, and notes. She puts clues on a Case Board trying to see the connections between them – true detective work.
Alan's space is a Writer’s Room where he can transform reality and find his own conclusions. The two campaigns are supposed to mirror and complete each other, creating a great effect – one Remedy is proud of.
“A core theme of the game is duality – two worlds, two characters, fact and fiction,” Maloney explained. “So Saga and Alan have very unique perspectives on the situation, and I actually think agnostic to her being an excellent entry point, she also provides really valuable context as to what’s going on, whereas Alan is very much immersed in what’s going on.”
Image credit: Remedy
The result took the team a very long time, but from what we've seen so far, it was worth it.
“I’m so happy that we didn’t get to do it back then,” Lake said, “because I think that we have grown, we have learned and there’s plenty more experience to tap into. The very fact that Alan Wake ended up being trapped in the Dark Place… that’s suffering! And it’s all for the benefit of the story. We couldn’t have done this before now.”
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