Remedy Entertainment finally let the cat out of the bag during last Thursday night’s ‘The Game Awards’, showcasing their upcoming title. ‘Alan Wake 2’, seeks to bring protagonist, Alan Wake, back into the light, while making the jump to a new genre. With a release window of nearly thirteen years after the original, Remedy finally has the tools and technology to tell a truly terrifying story.
The original title, ‘Alan Wake’, launched exclusively to the Xbox 360 back in May of 2010. Met with critical acclaim, the title saw players take control of the title character as he navigated a mysterious town in the Pacific Northwest. Wake, a bestselling author suffering from a long stretch of writers block, travels to Bright Falls with his wife, Alice. However, the short getaway takes a dark and twisted turn as Alice is kidnapped shortly after arriving in the town.
Split into six episodes, complete with a “previously on” section at the beginning of each act, it allows players to feel as if they are playing through a season of a television show. Wake himself narrates the events as you play through the nearly eleven hour runtime. Navigating through the dark forest surrounding the small town can be an anxiety ridden trek as you fight off the mysterious shadow monsters that inhabit the darkness.
The title never received the full fledged sequel it deserves, a mistake that the studio is about to correct. The brief teaser, showcased during the awards show, opens on what appears to be a crime scene in a heavily wooded area. Fan’s of the series instantly recognized the voice of Alan Wake as we got a brief glimpse at some of the new locations. Director Sam Lake has stated that the new title will make a shift to the survival horror genre, a first for the studio.
While many of Remedy’s titles contain horror elements, the move to a more classic survival horror set up is the perfect shift for the series. With Wake featured in a DLC episode for the studios 2019, ‘Control’, as well as the newly released remaster of the original game, it was clear the studio was hinting at a return for the author. ‘Alan Wake 2’ is set to launch in 2023 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Microsoft Windows.
