I’ve been a fan of Alan Wake since playing the original on Xbox 360 back in 2010. This sequel picks up thirteen years after the original story with FBI agent Saga Anderson investigating events in the town of Bright Falls with partner Alex Casey. There’s a strong Nordic noir feel to this side of the story, with various Finnish ex-pat characters in the town, references to Norse mythology (notably the in game heavy metal band Old Gods of Asgard) and the lead character wearing a sensible woolly jumper.
The plot alternates between Saga and Alan Wake himself, who is trapped in a nightmarish version of New York with dreamlike repeating loops, memories of gruesome murders and a hilarious musical sequence set in a TV studio. The visual effects really make use of the processing power of the PS5 with real time shadows and seamless integration of live action cut scene sequences, rain pounding scuzzy streets and midnight forests and full surround sound effects and music.
There are some good twists to the gameplay and puzzle solving with Saga pinning clues to a murder board in her Mind Place and Alan re-writing reality to unravel the scenes in the dark place. There are some very creepy environments and some jump scares that really caught me out.
Highly recommended.
This is a live performance of one of the in-game songs from the Game Awards
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