After a brutal 11 years, there is finally an Alan Wake sequel, and it’s a survival horror game. I, for one, am beyond excited.
The original Alan Wake was a cult hit for the Xbox 360 that cemented itself as one of the best games of its generation. The game follows the insufferable writer and semi-fictional character Alan Wake as he attempts to save his wife in a Twin Peaks-esque mountain town filled with strange characters and shadow-clad figures. It was known for its unique, flashlight-based combat system, which saw players strip enemies of their shadowy armor before finishing them off with a handful of shots. It was more of an action-horror game than a true survival-horror experience, which makes Alan Wake II incredibly exciting.
The short teaser featured the titular Alan Wake alone in the quiet town of Bright Falls as fog fills the streets. Wake narrates the trailer as the camera slowly approaches him. When it finally arrives, Wake looks drastically different from the last time we saw him. His hair is longer, he has unkempt facial hair, and he is uncomfortably wet. In all honesty, he looks remarkably like Keanu Reeves.
The game appears to take place in the strange version of Bright Falls that Wake found himself trapped within at the end of the first game in a desperate attempt to keep the Dark Presence at bay. He also appears to be holding a reading lamp in the pouring rain, which suggests that light will continue to be a central mechanic in this sequel.
Alan Wake and the town of Bright Falls were also an essential part of Control’s second expansion, which set Federal Bureau of Control Director Jesse Faden on the trail of one of Alan Wake’s fictional characters who seemingly found his way into the real world. This, in addition to short FMV sequences added into Alan Wake’s recent remaster, laid the foundation for this sequel.
For those of you who are as excited as I am, we’re stuck waiting until the Summer of 2023 for more news.