Over a decade ago, the release of Alan Wake cemented Remedy Entertainment—then best-known for the Max Payne series—as the arbiter of mind-bending, original, and somewhat experimental experiences that blend traditional action-adventure gameplay with atmospheric environments and existential dread. Despite a generally favorable critical response, slow sales stifled the game’s franchise potential (launching the same week as Red Dead Redemption certainly did Alan Wake no favors). In the years since its 2010 release, however, Alan Wake has become something of a cult hit; a remastered version that dropped in 2021 renewed interest and paved the way for the sequel’s announcement at the Game Awards later that year.
Alan Wake II has been a long time coming, but the 13 years in between games have given Remedy even more time to hone its game-development chops. At a hands-off, closed-door session during Summer Game Fest Play Days in Los Angeles, Remedy reps showed off the sequel’s progress with a live demo. According to Remedy, it’s the developer’s most ambitious game ever—and it shows.
What is dead may never die
Alan Wake II picks up over a decade after where the original left off, but don’t expect to see the titular character in the early hours of the game. Instead, the opening chapters put players in the shoes of FBI Agent Saga Anderson, who has come to Bright Falls to investigate a series of ritual murders alongside partner Alex Casey (who shares a name with the protagonist from Alan’s in-game novel series and looks suspiciously like Max Payne).
One of those sacrificial murders was none other than Agent Nightingale, whom fans will remember as the trigger-happy, typically inebriated ex-FBI agent from the first game. Of course, few things actually stay dead in Alan Wake, which is why Anderson and Casey have found themselves trudging through the woods tracking the rogue agent’s apparent footprints. Once again, the words found on scattered manuscript pages are coming true all around Agent Anderson, and she has discovered that light is her best defense against the shadowy figures that inhabit the darkness.
The search takes them to Cauldron Lake, a hotbed of paranormal activity where the line between fiction and reality becomes blurrier than a tabloid photo of Bigfoot. Even though the lake is quite literally a thing of nightmares, there’s something comforting about seeing it again. It’s just as atmospheric as ever; during the demo, the fog set in, rain began to fall, and crows cawed in the distance. It’s a gloomy setting, but strategic lighting and pops of color from the local fauna ensured that it wasn’t too difficult to see what was going on.
A key difference from the first game is the options players are presented with. According to a Remedy representative, there are different paths a player can take, a refreshing change from the fairly linear Alan Wake. Once the titular character is unlocked, players can switch back and forth between Wake and Anderson. Their stories are told in parallel as a single campaign with a unified ending, but there’s no right or wrong order in which to tackle each chapter, Remedy says.
Combat, perhaps the weakest point in the first game, also looks like it has been significantly improved. It’s less frantic and more strategic; Anderson’s extensive FBI training has apparently given her the ability to steadily shine a flashlight and aim a gun at the same time. While ammo and supplies are still scarce, it’s easier to make every bullet count when the approach to combat is more thoughtful. It certainly looked more fluid in our hands-off demo, although it’s hard to say if that’s because of a new design philosophy or the Remedy player’s familiarity with the game.
Have a heart
Back in Cauldron Lake, Anderson and Casey have split up, with Anderson still pursuing Nightingale. According to the manuscript, Nightingale’s heart has disappeared from the morgue (of course it has) and she needs it for a ritual to follow him over to the “other side,” known as the Overlap. When Anderson needs a moment to look over evidence and think about how the clues work together, she goes to a space in her mind that Remedy is calling the Break Room. Here, we can examine everything we know so far, from the photos on the evidence wall to various character profiles and testimonials. By combining certain pieces of evidence, the player can uncover new insights that give a clearer picture of what’s next.
In Anderson’s case, this has led her to a freezer in the general store, where she finds Nightingale’s missing heart. Returning to a so-called witch’s hut from earlier in the demo—inside of which is a coffee thermos, which now acts as a save point instead of a collectible—she completes the gory ritual and opens up the Overlap. It’s a creepy place that makes it difficult to sort reality from imagination; as she wanders through looping environments (“like a nightmare,” she notes), she hears the voice of her child, though he’s several states away.
Once inside, she’s finally able to confront the shadowy version of Nightingale, though he ultimately disappears before she can finish him off. Instead, she finds someone else washed up on the shore of the lake: a very rugged-looking Alan Wake. He’s confused, and even more so after he introduces himself and Anderson gives him a chilling message—he’s been missing for 13 years (hey, just like a certain game with the same name).
When writer’s block attacks!
The gameplay demo ended on that note, but Alan Wake II continued to dominate my thoughts for quite some time afterward. Remedy appears to be leaning more fully into survival horror this time around, and there were some genuine spooks during the demo, including one that had the entire room shouting with surprise and following that up with some sheepish giggles. While some moments could definitely be defined as jump scares, they’re certainly not cheap or random, instead contributing to the overarching story.
The Remedy reps also shed some light on other new features to expect when the sequel drops, like inventory expansions and upgrades. Aside from a cringe ex-wife joke from Alex Casey, there was nothing in this gameplay session to prevent me from being more excited than I already was for Alan Wake II. After 13 years, expectations are understandably high, and we’ll find out if Remedy can meet them when Alan Wake hits PS5, Xbox Series S/X, and the Epic Games Store.
Let’s hope releasing the same week as Spider-Man 2 doesn’t cause history to repeat itself.
