Alan Wake 2

Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows (if your machine can handle it) (Steam Deck LOL)
Current goal: Write my way out of the Dark Place

I have barely scratched the surface of Alan Wake 2, and I don’t even want to say much about what little I have experienced, because I think that if you can go in cold, you should.

But while avoiding any narrative details, I can tell you that I think it has maybe the most confident opening stretch of any mainstream game I’ve played in a long time. Rather than feeling the need to reassure you about what it’s doing or to make you feel grounded in familiar gameplay elements, Alan Wake 2 puts the needs of the story it’s trying to tell and the mood it’s trying to cultivate first. Doing that takes time, and the game gives it all the time it needs. I love that.

This weekend, I intend to plunge deeper into its mysterious horror tale, and to bask in the environmental atmosphere it so expertly cultivates. If you’d like to read a bit more about what this game is doing and why I’m so excited about it, check out my recent interview with Remedy Entertainment creative director Sam Lake. — Carolyn Petit

And that wraps our round-up of Halloween-worthy games. What are you playing this weekend? And, will you be screaming?