Alan Wake 2 First Impressions
After so long, a sequel to the 2010 action-adventure horror game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Microsoft Game Studios is finally released last year, Alan Wake 2.
While I haven’t played the first Alan Wake, I was very keen to playing this once since it got a lot of attention, accolades, and coverage in 2023. It got so much recognition that Alan Wake 2 received; even winning GOTY awards in multiple events like The Game Awards 2023 and Finnish Game Awards 2024.
Two expansions have been in the books for Alan Wake 2, with one already released and the other one to be released some time in late 2024. Word got around my work’s management department and they said we’ll work on Alan Wake 2 in hopes that we will get traction once the second part of the expansion (Lake House) comes out. With this, I have finally played the game, this isn’t an Alan Wake 2 Review; these are my first impressions!
Alan Wake 2 Graphics
Remedy raises the bar in Alan Wake 2 with its high fidelity graphics that make you think “What the hell? Is this live-action?” Then you notice the cutscene seamlessly transition into gameplay without you even noticing it.
The game looks so good it can pass as a movie. Moving around, the graphics do not drop at all and it maintains its realism and crisp. Alan Wake 2 is one of the most consistently great looking games be it in cutscene or gameplay.
However, Alan Wake 2’s main drawback is that it takes tons of GPU power which is why certain graphics cards (anything past RX 5000 series and RTX 1600 series) cannot play the game at all.
Yeah, this game is crazy good looking, but it might be one of those games that arguably asks too much from the consumer to play. Still, that is the price people have to pay for their desire for ultra-realistic high-fidelity graphics.
Alan Wake 2 Gameplay
Alan Wake 2 is a survival horror that focuses heavily on its narrative. Its gameplay mechanics revolve around exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat, all which were surprisingly balanced out pretty evenly.
The most unique and exciting part for me was the Mindboard of Saga Anderson which puts you into her headspace. The mindboard is where Saga Anderson pieces together clues she finds all over the game world. I am assuming that certain clues are required and will show up if you mainly progress the main story with minimal exploration but it’s nice to know players have the option to find out more about the story.
Honestly, the combat is a lot like the early Resident Evil games, where you have limited ammo and health items and need to explore thoroughly to progress the story. There’s not much for me to say on this matter other than it is simple yet it works so there is no complaint I can give on this matter.
Alan Wake 2 Enemies and Level Design
Since combat is a large of Alan Wake 2, enemies is something we should look at.
In the first few hours, enemies are pretty standard. Most of them are humanoids that get taken down after a couple of shots and they only have melee attacks so you have some time before they attack you. Occasionally some of them will sprint at you so be careful of those.
Some of them will also have some sort of barrier that you have to dispel using your flashlight before being able to damage them which is a neat additional combat feature that can keep you on your toes.
Using this flashlight feature will partly consume a charge of your battery so you need to find more batteries to reload them once they are spent.
Finding batteries, ammo, and health items require exploration so ease/difficulty of areas is a must look as well.
Alan Wake 2 features semi-open areas large enough for you to spend an hour or two to explore them. Not only will you find resources that help you fight enemies and survive but there are also side quests or side tasks to accomplish. Finding and completing them will reward you with neat trinkets, resources, and backstory of the game so there is tons of incentive.
The early areas of Cauldron Lake and Brightfalls feel alive and look beautiful. Walking around Cauldron Lake is as creepy as it is mesmerizing; the sound of the leaves rustling, the wind breezing, the water on the river rushing calmly, and the footsteps sloshing the mud and wet leaves on the ground are so well-made.
Alan Wake 2 Story, NPCs, and Setting
The start of Alan Wake 2 introduces a short intro with Alan and briefly explains what is going with him without actually revealling anything. Afterwards, the focus turns to a person who crawls out of a lake; later discovered as Cauldron Lake.
We take control of this man and the game lets us walk through the forest and eventually get killed. It’s all a mystery!
Saga Anderson and Alex Casey then arrives at Cauldron Lake and now we play as Saga; as an active member of the FBI, to investigate what happened in Cauldron lake; which is related to the man we played as earlier.
This game’s opening is just excellent seed planting of mystery and horror.
By the time you get to Brightfalls, so much has been introduced from characters, enemies, possible plot points, story, and so on. You will be hooked, I assure it.
Is Alan Wake 2 A Good Game? Is Alan Wake 2 Worth it?
Yes, Alan Wake 2 is a good game. However, it requires such powerful hardware; particularly graphics card, that a lot of people will not be able to play it. Other than that, the game is excellent fun and such a good horror game—even for someone like me who never really plays horror games.
Fans of the recent Resident Evil remakes will probably enjoy Alan Wake 2 since there are great similarities in its controls and several gameplay elements. The characters are also likeable and well acted from Alan Wake and Saga Anderson to Alex Casey and Tim Breaker. Those who have played other Remedy Entertainment games may even notice several actors as familiar, this is because actors from other Remedey games also show up here but with a different name and character—or are they different?.
More Alan Wake 2 Screenshots
Alan Wake 2 FAQs
Does Alan Wake 2 ever make sense?
Yes, I think so. This game is lore heavy and since the first game was based on a writer whose reality is being bent by some supernatural force coming out of his writing, plot twists are bound to be present. Now, how well will it match the previous game? We can only guess, but the first few hours of this game is setting expectations high for me.
How long is Alan Wake 2? How long does it take to beat Alan Wake 2?
I’m not entirely sure, but it might take 20 to 30 hours to complete, depending on how fast you play or how much you explore.
Is Alan Wake 2 scarier than the first one?
I never played the first one, but I think it is.
Is Alan Wake 3 coming?
I have no clue, maybe. It’s been a year since it was released and they have two expansions for this one so they may take some time before the sequel comes.
Is Alan Wake 2 first person?
No, it is a third-person perspective game.
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