Alan Wake, who received positive reviews from many horror fans for his gripping storyline and unique fighting style using light, is back in the second installment. Alan Wake 2, which returned after 13 years, showed a two-person main character through a new person named Saga Anderson while continuing the system and background of the previous work.
Inven was able to check out Alan Wake 2’s PS5 gameplay through Play Day at the Summer Game Fest in LA, USA. The Chapter 2: Heart demo lasted about 30 minutes, and I was able to watch the part where I defeated the Nightingale, the boss of the chapter.
At the beginning of the chapter, Saga and FBI colleague Alex Casey, played by Sam Lake, arrive in the familiar small town of Bright Falls to investigate the Nightingale’s murder.
First of all, unfortunately, in this hands-off demonstration, I was only able to experience the saga point of view among the two main characters. As already revealed in the trailer, I just ‘encountered’ with Alan. Most importantly, this chapter brings Alan, who disappeared 13 years ago, back to the saga.
Through this process, players can alternate between playing Saga and Alan as they like after the mission is over. In the cabin that becomes the break point, you can choose the character you want and experience it. Switch between two realities to play as Alan Wake in The Dark Place or the story of the saga in the Pacific Northwest.
What caught my eye the most was Saga’s ability. Saga can be entered into a storage in the head called a Mind Place. It’s such a place that makes use of her characteristics as an FBI and gives off the feeling of a police office.
Easily accessible with the touch of a button, this mind place allows you to review the clues you have acquired and progress through the content through profiling. Not only that. You can check the map, view past pages, or even upgrade the weapons of the saga.
However, it should be noted that time does not stop when you enter the Mind Place. Time in Mind Place runs exactly the same as real time. If you enter the mind place in the middle of a battle, you will be attacked by the enemy. It should always be a safe place to use the new abilities of the new protagonist.
The feature of the previous work, the use of light, continues in this work. It’s like using a flashlight to drive out the darkness, or going under a streetlight to avoid being taken. It’s the same with weakening the taken with light before shooting it properly.
And in the case of Saga, they take this supernatural phenomenon very calmly. This is because you have already experienced the paranormal in the previous events of the Demonstration chapter. She very calmly turns on her flashlight, shines it, and fires her gun. Of course, the developer who played the demo must have been calm.
The horror aspect is neither too much nor too little. Alan Wake’s unique Lovecraftian directing remains as well as the jump square that pops out once in a while when tension reaches its peak or from an environmental point of view. It’s not unconditionally dark or unconditionally protruding, but the spooky and sometimes bizarre atmosphere was saved well. The overlapping space between reality and the dark place, called overlap, is also bizarrely expressed in a flickering way.
According to the developer of Remedy, who introduced the game on the spot, this work is a title that can be played very interestingly by both players who have not played the first part and those who have been waiting for 13 years. By following the character of Saga, I was induced to get used to the world of Alan Wake. He said Alan Wake 2 is a sequel, but it is a consideration for players who do not clearly remember the previous work or who are new to the game because 13 years have passed.
Also, he said that you don’t have to play Control or Alan Wake 1, but if you’ve played AWE and Remedy’s previous games, you can easily understand the beginning of this title. It can be a huge entrance, not an ordinary entrance.
Remedy Entertainment’s masterpiece, Alan Wake 2, which returns after 13 years, will be released on October 17, 2023 on the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
