I have been waiting for this game for 10 years and it is finally here.
If you know me, I am a a huge fan of Remedy, from the Max Payne games to Quantum Break, and Control. The writing is always great, the games are fun, and the characters are interesting. Alan Wake is genuinely one of my favorite games of all time, and for the sequel to finally come out 13 years after the original is just so exciting for me.
Now, I’ve been going pretty slow while playing this game. Really been taking my time with it, writing notes, forgetting about taking screenshots, and then taking screenshots. Just exploring everything I possibly can. So I think each of these blog posts I do is just going to focus on a chapter at a time. So this first one is chapter 1, Invitation.
Missing people who were once thought dead are starting to pop up. Except now they actually are dead. Killed by the mysterious group The Cult of the Tree. Now, I would really, really hope that before you played this game you went and played the first Alan Wake game. A lot of this stuff genuinely won’t make any sense, but I guess it could possibly stand on its own? I’m not sure, but seriously, just go play the first one. It still holds up and it’s amazing.
Anyways, we are introduced to a new protagonist, Saga Anderson. Saga seems to be a type of prodigy with the FBI. She solves cases so much faster than anyone else. Her intuition is incredible, borderline supernatural. I really like her so far, and she has presented one of the coolest mechanics I have seen in a game in a while. It’s called the Mind Place. Essentially her take on a Mind Palace where people go for meditation and remembering things. She goes to hers to solve crimes and piece things together.
Annoyingly enough, I didn’t take a screenshot of the Mind Place, but I will make sure I do it for Chapter 2. It looks like a cozy little lodge, with pictures and strings attached to the wall to connect the dots for the crimes and mysteries you encounter. This is also where you can profile characters and get into their heads. Understand them better. Again, this all comes across as supernatural, and with how Alan Wake (and Control) are very supernatural, I wouldn’t be surprised if Saga has a much bigger part to play in everything.
The game is all third-person, just like the first one. A lot of mechanics seem to make their way back, with the flashlight being a main weapon and light being your best friend. Manuscript pages are to be found once again, and this time it is all detailing Saga and her partner Casey’s story. Giving them clues on where to go and what to do. Of course, you have to assume this is Alan writing these pages. He somehow brought Saga here, drawing her in for maybe a way to release him? I’m not sure yet.
Chapter 1 ends with the son of the original sheriff, Sheriff Breaker, disappearing, a dead Robert Nightingale (from the first game) coming back to life on the autopsy table, killing some cops before disappearing himself, and a whole lot of questions that needed to be answered. And of course, a trip back to Cauldron Lake.
I am genuinely loving this game so far. The characters are great, the mechanics that make a return seem to be improved on, and the game starts off so wild that it’s hard to not want to keep playing it.
My favorite thing so far about Alan Wake II is going to the Oh Deer Diner. It’s exactly the same as the first game. It’s missing the cardboard cutout of Alan, and the jukebox isn’t playing a song about coconuts, but even going back to the dark hallway brought back fond memories of the first time Alan walked down there. Just feels like the perfect time for this game to come out for me. I’m so excited to keep playing!
Have you played Alan Wake or Alan Wake II yet? Are you a fan of Remedy games? Let me know! And stay tuned for a Chapter 2 post coming hopefully early next week!
The Tired Obsidian 
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