Alan Wake 2 Is The Ultimate Remedy Experience

Remedy Entertainment games have always been with me throughout my life. Max Payne in my childhood, Alan Wake, Quantum Break, and Control in my teenage years, and now Alan Wake 2 in my young adult years. So, one way or the other, I have always kept up with Remedy releases and have enjoyed its games. For me, Remedy has always been one of those studios that raise the bar to new standards.

A development team that always thinks out of the box and delivers experiences unlike any other. And Alan Wake 2 feels like a culmination of everything they have learned until now, resulting in an instant cult classic and one of the best survival horror games to exist.

Note: The article may contain minor spoilers for Alan Wake 2.

Unorthodox Approach To Game Design

As the cost of AAA video game development rises, more and more releases start to feel homogenous. It’s safer to release a game based on a formula that works rather than diving into unknown territories, and I understand that. Remedy could’ve created a modernized version of Alan Wake with some QOL changes, new areas, new storyline, and slapped 2 on it, and it would’ve been alright, yet they didn’t.

Choosing to steer away from an already established formula and taking a risk on the AAA level is something very rare nowadays because if that product fails, it could very well result in a studio shutdown. The fact that Remedy takes these risks with every release is an applaudworthy feat on its own. The result was one of the boldest sequels I have ever seen in a video game. 

Alan Wake 2 is a survival horror, detective mystery, and psychological thriller mixed with Nordic themes, musicals, and live-action cutscenes that take place in the horrific, misty Pacific Northwest and shapeshifting-neon-lit New York. It takes the original and amps it to a hundred with a press of clicker. Remedy takes the best of what they’ve learned with its previous games and dives headfirst into a territory completely unknown to them. This results in a survival horror game unlike any other.

Alan Wake 2 Is Remedy’s Weirdest Game Yet

In one of the earliest live-action cutscenes, we see Alan being interviewed by a man named Mr. Door alongside the actor of Alex Casey, Sam Lake, who is the main character of one of Alan’s novels. Not to be confused with the real Alex Casey, who is also working alongside Saga, and the fictional Alex Casey, who appears in The Dark Place, both of which are voiced by James McCaffery and modeled after Sam Lake. 

And that doesn’t even scratch the surface of what Alan Wake 2 has to offer. In how many survival horror games do you see old men singing rock metal dedicated to a writer in order to summon him from the depths of the ocean while you shoot down hordes of shadow zombies? Alan Wake 2 is a survival horror, but it isn’t afraid of being weird, either. 

And what’s bizarre about this is that all of it works within the nature of the game. Nothing about Alan Wake 2 feels out of place or sticks out like a sore thumb. Remedy could’ve inserted the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen and still would’ve made it work without breaking the game, and that, for me, is Alan Wake 2’s greatest strength, “being bizarre and weird”.

Staggering Attention To Atmosphere & Detail

Just walking around in Alan Wake 2 is a breathtaking experience. It’s not even just about how impressive it looks or how strong its art direction is. The ambient sounds of moving trees, never-ending rain, and the constant blinking of street lights while walking around abandoned picnic spots and graffiti-filled streets instantly set the tone of Alan Wake 2.

Each graffiti has has hidden message in it, representing the struggle of Alan inside The Dark Place. Every Nursery Ryhme doll that Saga finds is a representation of her own family. The torn newspapers lying all around Brightfalls clue the player in about the current happenings in the area. The songs that play at the end of each chapter mirror the thoughts of Alan and Saga.

From badly directed commercials of the Kolsekla brothers to Pat Main’s daily radio about Wendy Davis Beef Jerky, nothing in Alan Wake 2 exists without reason. The tone, atmosphere, and setting of Alan Wake are built on the foundations laid down by these small, intricate details.

Nothing about this game feels automated or computerized. Every object, every sound, and every encounter is designed with reason. It’s a handcrafted experience filled with vision and ambition from one of the greatest minds in the industry.

The Bold And Risky Narrative That Doesn’t Collapse On Itself

I’d describe Alan Wake 2’s narrative as a tangle of webs. So fragile in nature yet paints a stunning picture. Alan Wake cleverly uses story-telling tropes combined with meta-commentary and 4th wall breaks. Remedy experimented with this in Quantum Break and Control, but I think it really found its footing in Alan Wake 2.

Every plot thread or knot of the web is handled with care because when writing a narrative like this, there is a high chance the writer could get lost in the maze of his own creation, resulting in an underwhelming story that is as wide as an ocean and deep as a puddle. Alan Wake 2 features one of the smartest, most sinuous narratives I have ever seen in a video game.

For me, one of the biggest crimes a writer could do is unleash a barrage of twists and turns with no clear setup or foreshadowing. Twists that exist solely for the sake of shock value ruin the experience for me. Alan Wake 2’s story is filled with twists and turns, and yet, not even for a second, I thought a twist was executed without a prior setup.

Alan Wake 2 carefully lays down the foundation of those twists right from the beginning. Stuff that seems minor to the player at first ends up being a setup of late-game plot twist. Yes, like other Remedy games, Alan Wake 2 doesn’t give the closure players desire and robs them of it right at the end. But that is the charm of Remedy games. It gives you enough hints to make your own interpretations but will never outright answer any mysteries.

The first game opens with a Stephen King quote: “Nightmares exist outside of logic, and there’s little fun to be had in explanations; they’re antithetical to the poetry of fear.” The sequel also wears this quote like a badge of honor because that’s how Sam Lake writes his games. If Alan Wake 2 hadn’t left me with any mysteries, I wouldn’t be thinking about it at 3 AM in the night, and neither would I’ve written the most paragraphs on the story of Alan Wake 2.

However, Remedy has confirmed that the NG+ mode will offer new cutscenes and story alterations, which may also possibly answer some of the lingering mysteries.

Conclusion

With so much happening at every instance, it’s a miracle that it doesn’t collapse. Alan Wake 2 may not feature the high-octane action of Max Payne and Control, but it, for me, is the most Remedy-like game that Remedy has ever made. Its beautiful combination of different gameplay elements that the developers have learned throughout the years, combined with their most ambitious story to date make Alan Wake 2 the ultimate Remedy experience and the studio’s magnum opus.

If you’re on your way out, I’d recommend going through our recent interview with the creative director of Remedy, Sam Lake where he discusses Alan’s 13-year struggle in The Dark Place and how Saga plays her role in the overarching plot for extra insights into the game.