It was May 18, 2010 when Alan Wake made his first appearance and quickly picked up a well-deserved hype as its phenomenal storyline and revolutionary gameplay wowed gamers worldwide. The game was given an oil change and a shiny new coat of paint back in 2021, before developers, Remedy Entertainment, announced Alan Wake 2 was in production and set to be released in October of this year (2023).
Alan Wake 2 – Announcement Trailer
At just 58 seconds, the trailer above gives very little away. The narration, however, promised us a dark, gritty story that’s “Not the story you want” and will ‘Eat you alive’. We’re not too sure what to make of this, but everything about the trailer oozes with the sinister and the macabre — perfect!
We’re also shown scenes outside of Bright Falls, with scenes of New York and a fictional subway station going by the name of Caldera Street. That’s not to say we’re going to be leaving the original setting behind altogether, however, as we also see a crime scene in the middle of an unknown forest.
It’s all well and good that the game is broadening its horizons, but we can’t help but feel that the spooky national park is what gave the original title a lot of its edge.
Alan Wake 2 Storyline
With Remedy Entertainment holding their cards very close to their chests, we can’t offer much more than speculation at this point. We do, however, know that the boys and girls at Remedy saw the original title as more of an action game with a little horror thrown in for good measure and plan to come back with a “dark, layered mystery” that lays a lot more focus on horror.
Original Alan Wake Spoiler Incoming
The last game left us with a bizarre ending that saw the title character giving himself to the Dark Place to save his wife from its nefarious grip. Later released DLC saw Alan learning how the Dark Place worked and confronting a mirror image of himself, the comedically named ‘Irrational Alan’ to free himself and escape back into the realms of normality.
After making his escape, Alan pens a book called ‘Return’, detailing his experiences. We can’t help but think that this book will somehow become the focus of Alan Wake 2. As we say, though, this is all speculation; so please don’t light your flaming torches and grab your pitchforks if we’re wrong on this.
Alan Wake 2 Will Only be Available as a Digital Download
Sadly, for those that love adding to their physical games collection, Alan Wake 2 will only be available as a digital download. Speaking out, Remedy Entertainment explained their three reasons for this decision in their FAQ:
- There are many reasons for this. For one, a large number of have shifted to digital only. You can buy a Sony PlayStation 5 without a disc drive and Microsoft’s Xbox Series S is a digital only console. It is not uncommon to release modern games as digital-only.
- Secondly, not releasing a disc helps keep the price of the game at $59.99 / €59.99 and the PC version at $49.99 / €49.99.
- Finally, we did not want to ship a disc product and have it require a download for the game — we do not think this would make for a great experience either.
Alan Wake 2 Summary
Alan Wake 2 and the details behind the game are currently shrouded in a thick, hazy smog of mystery. With the very few details we have managed to confirm, however, it’s shaping up to be lightyears ahead of its predecessor in more ways than one.
The sinister words from Remedy Entertainment surrounding the storyline have us waiting with bated breath and once again step into the strange and twisted world of Alan Wake.