Story Highlights
- Alan Wake 2, a multiple award-winning title, was released on October 27, 2023.
- The survival horror took countless gamers by storm, even considered as runner-up for the GOTY award.
- We spoke with Sam Lake regarding Alan Wake 2’s success, among other things, over an email interview.
Among the many great titles that came out in 2023, Alan Wake 2 stood out for its great direction and story. It has set the tone for Remedy Entertainment‘s Connected Universe, but it doesn’t stop here; the game will receive at least two DLCs that will further connect it to Remedy’s upcoming titles. Safe to say that the anticipation for these add-ons is higher than ever.
Although we still do not know much about the future content, Remedy Entertainment’s work on the game is enough to signify that greatness awaits ahead. As such, there were many questions that had to be answered, so we spoke with Sam Lake, Director of Alan Wake 2, over an email interview. This would be our second time talking to Sam as he also responded to some of our queries prior to the game’s launch.
Read ahead for the full interview.
Alan Wake 2 had a 10-day delay to avoid competition with other big titles. Would you say that you also underestimated the success it was destined for?
Sam: We trusted that we had made something unique and special, but it also comes down to visibility and marketing budgets and things outside what the actual game is, being able to cut through the noise to even tell our audience that the game is now out and available. That said, the reception has been overwhelmingly positive. After working on the game for years and wanting to create something bold and original, it has felt wonderful. There is always a risk involved with new ideas, even if you yourself believe in them passionately. Seeing that people understand what we were going for and, better yet, fall in love with the game is wonderful.
Old Gods of Asgard have done a stunning job with the music. But will we see more of them combined with the perfect choreography in the future?
Sam: In some ways, what we did with Old Gods of Asgard in Alan Wake 2, and the real band behind the fictional band, Poets of the Fall, felt like a major milestone on a long and exciting journey of collaboration between friends. This really goes back all the way to the end credits song of Max Payne 2 in 2003 and then the introduction of Old Gods in the first Alan Wake game. And now we have the Old Gods album out, and we have our musical in the game. It’s way too early to say anything concrete about the future plans, but I do think that everyone involved would love to continue our collaboration in some form.
It has been confirmed that Quantum Break is not connected to Alan Wake or Control. However, there is this easter egg called Alan Wake Return in Quantum Break, and we see Alex Casey with an unnamed female partner investigating a series of murders. It is exactly the concept of Alan Wake 2, and I would really love to know whether you had planned this 7 or 8 years ago when it was placed in Quantum Break.
Sam: The Alan Wake easter eggs in Quantum Break were a rough snapshot of the ideas I was thinking about for the sequel back then, toward the end of Quantum Break project. I have been thinking about the sequel a lot through the years, and individual ideas come and go, finding different forms along the way. The idea of the FBI investigating the disappearance of a famous writer was there for quite a few years, and the idea of Alex Casey, an echo of Alan Wake’s famous fictional detective, being one of the agents was one key idea to build around. There are many ideas that have existed years before in the universe we have been planning, but only when we are working on a specific game they are properly detailed and find their final form.
So far, we only know the names of the two expansions of Alan Wake 2, which are “Night Springs” and “Lake House.” Similar to Control’s expansions tying the two games, will these serve as a prelude to Control 2?
Sam: The expansions give us an opportunity to glimpse aspects of our universe that were not able to explore in Alan Wake 2 otherwise. We are excited about this. We were happy with what we achieved with Control’s AWE expansion regarding setting up Alan Wake 2. That said, we are not looking to repeat that exactly. The Lake House will have a big focus on the Federal Bureau of Control and its research facility at Cauldron Lake. Beyond that, no matter how much, there will be hints about things to come in the Control sequel, you’ll have to wait and see.
Some people have speculated that, in the DLC, the players will be controlling characters other than Saga and Alan. Would you say that this is within the realm of possibility?
Sam: We have a growing number of interesting characters populating our universe. And we are excited to look for opportunities to give them more focus and interesting stories to tell. More details on the DLCs are coming for sure in the coming months.
Similar to how Alan Wake 2 introduced us to a new protagonist, can we expect to see more such major additions in the Remedy Connected Universe?
Sam: We have cool plans for our next steps into the universe, but it’s too early to go into specifics.
You have mentioned before how you want to create a big-budget dark gothic fantasy game, but I would like to know if there is a particular type of character you would like to create.
Sam: Haha. I mentioned that I’m a fan of fantasy and that when I was studying screenwriting, I wrote a screenplay for a dark gothic fantasy film. Could something like that ever be a Remedy game? I don’t know. Nothing like that in the plans now. In fantasy stories, I’m often excited about a complex, layered trickster figure.
Seeing as how the idea of Alan Wake 2 already existed at the time of the first game’s launch, does Alan Wake 3 or a potential project beyond Control 2 exist as a concept in your mind?
Sam: There are several game concepts and character and story ideas for our universe in my mind. Time will tell which ones will end up as actual game projects.
Some time ago, you said that you would love to take some time off and play Baldur's Gate 3. Have you started the game, and can you tell us a bit about your experience there?
Sam: I just started playing a half-elf wizard. I’m loving the beginning, but already feeling anxious about finding enough time to play.
Ilkka Villi mentioned a few weeks ago how you felt reluctant to act out the scenes you had written for yourself. I am really curious to know which scenes Ilkka was talking about.
Sam: It was a wonderful learning experience to act with talented professional actors. I feel I learned a lot about directing and writing in the process. I learned a lot about acting as well. Ilkka gave me great insights along the way, and Anssi Määttä is a wonderful director with whom I love collaborating.
The story is a lot about echoes, and for the short film, to mirror the opening of the game, I had written a scene where the victim, Aleksi Kesä, ends up in the forest naked and gets murdered. In the shoot, we agreed that I would not need to be nude in the scene. Although everyone did point out that that’s the way I had written the scene originally. Live and learn.
Alan Wake 2 is a survival horror game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Epic Games Publishing. The critically acclaimed title was released for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on October 27, 2023.
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