By KEVIN HOOVER
Debuting as an Xbox 360 exclusive back in 2010, Alan Wake was the materialization of a huge undertaking by the team at Remedy Entertainment. Threading the tale of a tortured writer whose wife goes missing during a retreat in the misty Pacific Northwest through an episodic structure met with much critical acclaim. Yet, despite receiving positive reviews, commercial success was lacking. Although there were two DLC follow-ups, and 2012’s run-and-gun Alan Wake’s American Nightmare released for Xbox Live Arcade, hopes for a proper sequel were seemingly dashed.
But Remedy refused to let the property die. In 2018, wrangling the copyright back from Microsoft cleared the way for Wake to make his appearance on Sony and Nintendo consoles through Alan Wake Remastered, a slicked-over version of the original game complete with “The Signal” and “The Writer” DLCs. And with 2019’s Control, Remedy would leverage Wake’s lore to build out an interconnected universe that all but suggested that ALAN WAKE 2 was a matter of when not if.
It turns out the when will be on October 17th, 2023, more than 13 years after the original game’s release. Although officially announced during The Game Awards 2021, concrete evidence wasn’t presented until the recent PlayStation Showcase event, with a gameplay trailer and official release date.
While the original game was an action-forward title with a rich David Lynch-influenced narrative, the game’s creative director and lead writer, Sam Lake, has stated that ALAN WAKE 2 will be a true survival horror experience, seemingly suggesting conventions of resource management and fight-vs-flight conflict. In a post to the game’s website, Lake says, “ALAN WAKE 2 is our first survival horror game. Coming back to Alan Wake, we felt it would be the best genre to tie together the story, the atmosphere, the pacing, and the gameplay more closely than ever before in a Remedy game. We wanted to make this game brutal and harrowing, but not only that; This is an Alan Wake experience, so there are different sides to it. Darkness equals horror, but there are daytime scenes, quirky characters, plenty of humor and a deep mystery to explore. With this, we feel, when it gets scary, it will stay fresh throughout the whole game, and you won’t get a chance to get used to it or become numb to it.”
This time around, Wake will be accompanied by co-protagonist Saga Anderson, an FBI agent investigating a series of murders before becoming entrenched in the supernatural phenomena draped over Bright Falls, Washington.
In a sign of the times, ALAN WAKE 2 is currently scheduled as a digital-only release and will come with the benefit of reduced pricing at $49.99 on PC and $59.99 on consoles. A deluxe edition is also available for $69.99 on PC and $79.99 on consoles and includes additional weapon and character skins, as well as access to the already-planned post-launch DLC “Night Springs” and “Lake House” expansions.
ALAN WAKE 2 will release on October 17 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, and is currently available for pre-order.
