For 13 years, fans of the Alan Wake video game franchise waited alongside the titular character in perpetual limbo for a sequel, and finally, it was released to unexpected fanfare.
In a year chock-full of critically acclaimed games and a few undelivered promises, “Alan Wake 2″ stands out among the best. Although highly anticipated sequels like “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2″ and “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” received major acclaim, they were beaten out in awards by the unsuspecting story of a haunted writer.
The Game Awards has become something of a cultural phenomenon. Unlike the Oscars or Emmys, the biggest show for gaming streams on platforms like YouTube and Twitch rather than cable television. Since its start in 2014, the show has grown to an audience of more than 100 million and represents a time of the year when recent games are celebrated while upcoming titles are teased or announced.
While last year’s show seemed to be a heated competition between “God of War: Ragnarok” and “Elden Ring,” this year seems to have a more diverse selection of contenders. However, among all of them stand “Baldur’s Gate 3″ and “Alan Wake 2″ equally matched with eight nominations each, the most of any game this year.
The latter came as a bit of a surprise with its release just last month, especially in a year where survival horror is back in fashion with remakes of acclaimed games “Resident Evil 4″ and “Dead Space.”
So what makes it so special?
“Alan Wake,” the first game in the franchise, was released in 2010 by game developer studio Remedy Entertainment, headed by Sam Lake. The Finnish company is most known for its Max Payne series, but has come a long way since.
The story features a writer who takes a trip with his wife into the small Pacific Northwest town of Bright Falls before he becomes sucked into a supernatural battle between the physical forces of light and darkness. In a nutshell, the game ends with the protagonist Alan Wake trapped in a realm known as the Dark Place, and the sequel details his attempts to escape.
The game would be followed by a spin-off of sorts titled “Alan Wake’s American Nightmare” as well as the “Control,” a game largely detached from the “Alan Wake” series but set in the same universe.
“Alan Wake” takes cues primarily from Stephen King novels (with many not-so-subtle references to the famous author) in featuring a story that is suspenseful, but not necessarily in the vein of “horror.” In fact, most of the anxiety comes from dual-wielding a flashlight and a revolver as the player tries to fight off a horde of possessed townsfolk.
The sequel, meanwhile, decides to lean into the terrifying and absurd. If the first game is a Stephen King novel with the structure of serialized television, the second is a David Lynch show structured like a book.
In fact, aside from the large release gap and its setting, the game shares many elements with Lynch’s “Twin Peaks: The Return.” This includes a narrative centering on a supernatural doppelganger as well as musical “performances” at the end of each chapter.
The game is split between two protagonists: Alan Wake himself (voiced by Matthew Porretta and played by Ilkka Villi in live-action) and Saga Anderson (played by Melanie Liburd), an FBI agent investigating Wake’s disappearance from the first game.
Their stories run parallel to each other, yet are meant to clash in regard to their placement in time and space. The structure of the game is mind-bending and oftentimes confusing, and the player’s ability to decide for themselves the order to play the chapters allows each person to experience the narrative differently.
Stories of a murderous cult are intertwined with a musical chapter, while the game mixes live-action footage of actors with rendered gameplay. For much of the game, it is difficult to discern the line between fiction and reality (a lot like the characters themselves), but it ends up making some semblance of sense by its end.
“Alan Wake 2″ excels at its atmosphere. Here, there is a genuine sense of dread that comes at the most unexpected moments. Black and white jump scares of screaming characters penetrate a dark and moody environment while ghosts pass by, whispering “Wake” in a gravelly voice.
Compared to its predecessor, the game chooses to lean into elements of horror nearly on par with the iconic series Silent Hill. In fact, the most shocking moment of the game comes towards the end of Wake’s campaign. In complete silence, a few faded photos tell a gut-wrenching story far more affecting than any jump scare could be.
But beyond the fear, there is the element of “survival” as well. This comes down to the game’s mechanics. The first installment saw each episode as an isolated level where ammo and supplies would be reset and recharged at the start of every section.
The sequel takes classic elements of survival horror into play, with a far more open world alongside limited inventory space and resources. It also implements a multitude of puzzles, ranging from using simple logic to figure out the combination to a locked cabinet or having to juggle various map changes to find a way through a sometimes complex level.
Other survival horror games like “Resident Evil 4″ have such elements (though that game takes a more action-based approach to its gameplay), but “Alan Wake 2″ stands out not only with its unique gameplay elements but also its difficulty.
Both Wake and Anderson have their own “mind places,” where they collect information throughout the game and weave together a narrative fitting to their respective roles. As an FBI agent, Anderson plays the role of detective, stitching together pieces of evidence on a board. Meanwhile, Wake, an acclaimed author, has to connect plot points that often manifest in “reality” within his supernatural purgatory.
Remedy even decides to bring in elements of their previous game “Control.” While that game is more of the action genre with magic guns and force powers, its oppressive and bureaucratic level design and aesthetic are pulled into the world of “Alan Wake.” Objectives are sometimes unclear and the use of one’s surroundings often trumps the common use of a map.
This style of gameplay that avoids hand-holding adds to its sense of challenge, as like its predecessor, “Alan Wake 2″ remains one of the more difficult games in the survival horror genre (even at its lowest difficulty setting). Enemies can take you out with just a few hits and checkpoints can be rare.
Now with the limited ammo and flashlight batteries, conserving them against hordes of enemies becomes a necessity. It makes players aware that the people they play as are ordinary people faced with extraordinary circumstances, and shows that this sense of clumsiness is realistic.
It is with these components that “Alan Wake 2″ carves out its own identity within a highly saturated and acclaimed genre.
That said, the story is perhaps its greatest strength. The dual protagonists lend themselves to contrasting narratives. Saga Anderson’s runs far more linearly. She enters the town investigating missing persons with her partner Alex Casey (voiced by James McCaffrey but made to resemble Sam Lake), a fellow agent who has “coincidental” similarities with a character of the same name featured in Wake’s books. The pair are dragged into Wake’s case while also running into eccentric townspeople and cultists as the supernatural begins to seep into the real world.
Wake’s story, on the other hand, is best seen as a bit of a loop. He lives in a metaphysical version of New York, and between being chased by men possessed by shadows and appearing on bizarre talk shows, Wake finds himself in a cycle of trying to stop his evil doppelganger, Mr. Scratch.
But as the game hammers into players’ heads, “It’s not a loop, it’s a spiral.” While the line initially seems like another ambiguous message like the first game’s “It’s not a lake, it’s an ocean,” it somehow makes sense within its narrative.
A spiral, unlike a loop, is not infinite. It may seem like the story is going in circles, but there is an end at the center of the mystery. The collision of a linear narrative and a cyclical one leads to this phenomena, and while the player is left dizzy from spinning by its end, at least some of the truth is found.
But, in answering the few questions players had, it opens up a dozen more. Why does “Control’s” janitor Ahti casually appear unannounced in moments throughout the game? Who is this omnipotent being known as Mr. Door? What in the world happens next?
Ultimately, that is part of its beauty. Even with a set-up for a continuation, it might be better to leave audiences hanging, as the moment all the questions are answered is the moment the story truly comes to its end.
“Alan Wake 2″ is nominated for Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Performance, Best Audio Design, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music, and Best Action/Adventure at the Game Awards. The event is set to be held on December 7 at the Peacock Theater and live-streamed on various platforms.