I beat the main game and posted my review of it on the original version's page, thinking I was going to play the DLC chapters and talk about them separately, but I just can't force myself to do it. This first one is basically just reused assets and combat challenges with a couple new ideas.

Also, what exactly is remastered about this, besides it being in 4K? Still drops frames in the cutscenes for some reason.

Okay, time to be super duper done with this.

Alan Wake II is an absolute masterpiece, defying expectations and transcending the normal bounds of the medium to explore storytelling in a completely unprecedented format. It is brought to life through masterfully crafted art direction, graphical prowess, chilling sound design, enchanting performances and powerful music. It is an emboldened, metatheatrical, multi-media driven, survival horror game setting place in a lovingly crafted connected universe. Sam Lake has proven once again that he is a virtuoso of modern storytelling. His team shares a vision of salient ambition.

Back in September of this year the website "The Gamer" published an opinion piece titled, "2023 Has been a Horrible Year for Gaming." It was, of course, meant to be provocative and invite readers into an ongoing conversation around problematic trends in the industry: incessant lay-offs as companies haphazardly excise perceived sources of "bloat" without accounting for their heads' taking ownership over their gluttonous habits and actions during the pandemic. Indeed, this commentary should of course be considered alongside problematic cultures manifesting within the AAA development space and the completely unsustainable means by which many of these blockbuster games are being made. 2023 has also been a monumental year for video games. It is without a doubt one of the greatest, ever. The machinery of the game industry has caused much suffering to its artists, but we should also acknowledge the onslaught of phenomenal video games that have managed to release in this post-pandemic development era.

Enter, Remedy Entertainment, who have chosen to return as a true champion of light. They have, outstandingly, delivered on sustainable budgets and time structures. They developed the 2019 hit "Control" with uncompromised graphical and technical prowess at a mere fraction of what we might see with other AAA hits. This rings true with Alan Wake II as well, which has already at the time of my writing recouped its development costs. They continue to keep their staff from project to project, and once again with Alan Wake II (shortened to AW2 throughout this review) they bring forward many of the lovely faces they've been working with for years… in reprised, reimagined, and new roles.

For 13 years, as he has outlined for us, creative director Same Lake has wanted to make a proper sequel to 2010's "Alan Wake." He has stood on this promise and dream with stoic determination, or perhaps more appropriately, "sisu." Finally, we have it, his initiative brought forward in Alan's highly anticipated return. I believe Sam Lake when he says he is grateful it took so many years to logistically make this project viable, because there is now a cauldron full of bubbling ideas seasoned and adjusted to perfection after the learnings of many other projects since 2010. Frankly, Alan's overwhelming journey is reflective of Remedy's own learnings and attempts to manifest this game from writing to reality.

Making a sequel to a cult classic is truly no easy task, especially when you have chosen to completely reinvent the genre it will abide by. "Alan Wake" (2010) certainly had unnerving elements, but ultimately it was a campy jaunt through what the protagonist told us was a horror story. You often fought hordes of Taken, plowed them down with cars, and had plentiful access to ammunition and batteries for your trusty flashlight. AW2 grounds the experience. The resource economy is well tuned, where every bullet, bandage and battery pack counts. A push-and-pull of exploration exists, which promises more invaluable resources but at the possible cost of spending more to survive. There are periods of suspenseful silence and uneasy tranquility, inviting players to let their guards down before suddenly being attacked by 1-3 Taken. Frankly, there is one thing hasn't changed since 2010: there are few gameplay moments more satisfying than shattering a Taken's shadow shield with a burst from your flashlight, followed immediately by a blast from your trusty revolver or shotgun. In AW2 the guns feel punchy and impactful, but anything that might feel overpowered naturally suffers from resource scarcity. Combat isn't necessarily a focal point of this experience, but what is here feels good and responsive. The crowds of enemies are, as previously alluded to, notably toned down compared to the original game. However, the campiness is still present. AW2, for as much as it revels in jump scares, pitch-black environments, or horrifying scenes… loves throwing in a little bit of zaniness at every other corner. "Wonderfully weird" is my recurring phrase for Remedy video games… it continues to be apt here.

Alan Wake II explores new-form storytelling. What is accomplished here is not paralleled by any other game, and Remedy will make you believe that this is the only medium by which they could accomplish this. It is uncompromising and tenacious in its efforts to lead a completely unique experience. Interwoven into the plot are jaw-dropping set pieces, seamless integration of expertly acted live action footage, and a captivating soundtrack. In this nightmare, everything around you is riddled with as much art as there is darkness. Thematically, as you will find with many facets of Alan Wake II, this works perfectly. The Dark Place and Cauldron Lake feed off creativity. The very lore that tells us fiction might manifest reality in this place invites the submission of art to wield this power. Whether it be to bend it to one's will in a play for power, the ramblings of a mad creative, or a desperate act to survive, you will find art everywhere in Alan Wake 2. The absurdly proficient art direction, graphical fidelity, and sound design all serve this well. This is certainly a game meant to be played with headphones, complete with haunting ambient tones and often terrifying directional audio. Even the technical prowess on display is a means by which to capitalize on AW2's multi-faceted approach to storytelling, allowing for instantaneous transitions in and out of live action pieces from controlled gameplay. Alan Wake II plays plenty homage to its inspirations, from "Twin Peaks" to Remedy's own work in "Max Payne," you will find nods and references to real-life art everywhere. AW2 is certainly not afraid to broach metatheatre throughout its own narrative, embodying the campy nature of its predecessor by doing so. The Poets of the Fall (and their alter ego, The Old Gods of Asgard) make a dazzling return as well. The music choices throughout are excellent. I made sure to jam out with end of chapter song every single time, each of which remarkably coincided with the themes of the concluding chapter. Much can be said about how Remedy chose to characterize this world, but that does not even scratch the surface of other narrative techniques employed here: inspired use of dual protagonists and the ongoing construction of the Remedy Connected Universe should also be discussed.

Agent Saga Anderson and Alan Wake are notably different protagonists, with equitable contributions to the story, in spite of the game's title. Saga represents a newcomer to Bright Falls and is fairly naïve to the altered world event occurring there in 2010. In her segments Remedy heralds in a "True Detective" style to building the narrative, demonstrating Saga slowly put together the sensible through-lines within a maddening ocean of information. Her segments often are slower paced, plotting, and inspire horror through tension or unnerving encounters in the "real world." Saga witnesses firsthand the human consequences of the horror story in a way Alan is not privy to while trapped in The Dark Place. Alan's segments, on the other hand, are notably more weird. The Dark Place's rules are loose and poorly understood, by him and us. The vastness of the Dark Place is on full display here. Alan, stuck here 13 years, remarked for us long ago that its influence was not nearly as confided as observers expected. "It's not a lake, it's an ocean." Its depths also represent the unconscious mind, although burdened with darkness and a seemingly endless loop of directionality, thus allowing its vastness to directly contribute in driving Alan past the brink of insanity. AW2 continues the franchise's ongoing themes of reality, creativity, and the power of storytelling. It pulls these threads in new directions, challenging the rules it establishes and inviting a greater depth of exploration. Deeper and deeper it seems to go, truthfully making it hard to stop thinking about AW2 even after credits roll. Alan's wrestle with identity throughout it all is brought to life with a captivating, page-turning performance. He reckons himself everything from husband to writer to monster. As Alan, more questions will arise than answers, but not in a cheap or dissatisfying way. He too plays the role of "detective" and utilizes various light puzzles to explore the nature of murders occurring in the real world that might just be directly inspired by his writings. He must navigate what feels like "loops," first introduced in Alan Wake: American Nightmare, where he must suffer through repeated events with slight variations. He is constantly left to question if he is in the last one? If they will end at all? If the content of these loops can be in any way influenced or changed through his actions, or are instead up to predetermined fate? The enemies in these segments also are questionable in their sheer threat. Distorted shadows approach you in masses… many of which will dissipate yet still others will take more solid form and attack with little warning. This adds a level of tension to every encounter unique from the quietness we experience with Saga, where your ammo conservation demands reservation in the face of constant stimulation. Alan and Saga's tales connect in a natural, understandable manner and in many ways help make two stories form one cohesive narrative. That goal takes both metaphoric and literal form, because of course it does.

Lastly, I want to speak a bit to what is building here with the "Remedy Connected Universe." With just 4 games now, including American Nightmare, it already feels like it has the makings of something special. Familiar faces from Control are seen in AW2 in ways I will not divulge here, but in charming capacity that respects recurring players and invites intrigue from new ones. Callbacks are tactful, ranging from cute and small acknowledgements to huge payouts. Old faces return from prior games, with no stories to be told. Others are yet alluded to. Small things like the "Drink 'Em Both Up" achievement or stacked solo cups of the original Alan Wake are explicitly referenced here. More critically, the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) plays such a meaningful role in this story. There are small payouts here too, including an explanation of the "raccoon situation" you could read about in a lore piece from Control's AWE DLC. Grander implications for the FBC's monitoring of Cauldron Lake, Alan Wake, and so on are of course revealed as the player presses on. All throughout, and most importantly, I felt thoroughly rewarded for my knowledge of these prior games.

There is so much love put into this title. You can tell Sam Lake has inspired a tremendous crew to adopt an outlandish shared vision that only they are truly equipped to deliver on. I welcome the upcoming DLCs "Night Springs" and "The Lake House," desperate to spend more time exploring Alan Wake II's narrative riches. I also look forward to Control 2, and whatever else might follow. This really is a special team, doing special work. There is not one game out there that is "like" Alan Wake II. It is truly, emphatically, "one of a kind."

May the Remedy Connected Universe continue to spiral, bringing us ever closer to new answers and infinitely more questions.

Bravo.

The game in the current state feels like a prototype. Even putting aside the performance issues, it feels like they created a system but struggled to create a compelling structure around it.

There is some good though, as with other Forza games driving feels really good, and the Rivals (time trial) mode is a great step up from the Horizon games at least.

The car experience and car point system is not inherently bad in my opinion, but the Builders Cup mode, what is basically the campaign, just doesn't really work with the system. If you start on a fresh car it feels like you don't earn enough levels or points to really build your car, and if you start with a leveled up car, the practice rounds are basically useless. I think they need a big revamp of the system to actually make you feel like you are building the car, and to make practice feel interesting. I would prefer more of a qualifier than the practice and I also dislike the "challenge the grid" system.

I don't care about online multiplayer, but I generally enjoy spending time in Rivals, the Builders Cup is not a great career mode and the game needs some big fixes on PC. I think the game can be OK in a few months, but it will take a lot of effort to make it great.

Once more the Ocean is a Lake

[REVIEW SEM SPOILERS]

Alan Wake II é um jogo sem igual. A Remedy sempre foi uma desenvolvedora única, mas que sempre teve seus projetos e suas ideias barradas por questões tecnológicas, contratuais ou qualquer outra, mas pela primeira vez eles se soltaram de verdade e tiveram todo o espaço para fazer a sua obra prima experimental com confiança, e foi simplesmente magnifico.

A criatividade e a falta de compromisso com a seriedade por vezes aliada ao poderio técnico que a Remedy sempre demonstra em absolutamente tudo que produz conseguiu mesmo depois de 13 anos, entregar uma experiência que transita entre gêneros com maestria e fluidez, um esforço criativo que possui o seu DNA, mas é extremamente maduro, demonstra todos os aprendizados que teve ao mesmo tempo que resgata a sua essência de obras tal qual Twin Peaks, True Detective e X-Files enquanto recompensa jogadores que ja se aventuraram pelo seu histórico de jogos e influências com uma experiência ainda mais profunda a partir reconhecer os detalhes nas suas camadas

Tecnologicamente Alan Wake II é primoroso. Mesmo exigindo Hardwares potentes, o projeto entra de cabeça em tecnologias e recursos sem medo a fim de garantir a melhor imersão possível e meu Deus se eles conseguiram, a ambientação desse jogo em destaques para as partes do Alan foram os momentos mais impressionantes e atmosféricos de todo o jogo, constantemente me pegando de surpresa e por multiplas vezes me fazendo parar para apreciar as vistas absolutamente estonteantes tanto do Dark Place quanto de Bright Falls

Aliado aos fantásticos visuais, a obra conta com uma gameplay simples, mas extremamente divertida, que sustenta muito bem a história, que mesmo com um sistema de esquiva por vezes inconsistente, ainda vai ser lembrado pelos seus melhores momentos, permitindo você fazer em uma investida contra múltiplos inimigos de maneira metódica, mas com um cadenceamento maravilhoso que sabe quando te deixar explorar, assim como sabe os momentos que deve te pressionar

Além de todos os elogios, preciso citar o quao marcantes foram as setpieces do jogo, que junto com uma história coesa enquanto abraça a sua forma única e incomum de transmiti-la, e valoriza ambos os lados da história, da o devido tempo para os dois e sabe como comunicar de maneira vívida, feroz e irrestrita os sentimentos e experiência que quer passar de maneira genial enquanto deixa espaço para interpretação em diversos momentos te mantendo constantemente não só interessado na história mas ativamente participando da mesma

Pessoalmente, Alan Wake II foi exatamente o que era necessário a muito tempo para os jogos AAA, uma obra que inova, uma obra que experimenta e brinca com a midia que explora, um jogo que não tem medo de expor sua criatividade, sua forma de contar historias assim como não teme expor as suas loucuras, uma obra sem medo de criticas, uma obra com substância propria e que homenageia perfeitamente aquilo que os inspirou durante todo esse tempo e toda essa evolução, tanto como homenagem quando remodelagem e adaptação, um verdadeiro trabalho de mestre, um trabalho que só um estudio sem medo de dar as caras na hora de inovar, um jogo que com certeza será lembrado por muito tempo por sua audácia, coragem e poder criativo

Eu te amo Sam Lake

After nearly 6 years since my first outing with the series, I've finally 'caught up' for the moment. I still have Lost Judgment on the docket, and maybe I'll chew through that in the next few weeks or months- but I was hoping to at least get this done before the release of Gaiden later next month.

What's given here is an interesting conundrum however, as Yakuza 6 represents several entities in its' placement in the Yakuza series. Yakuza 6 acts as a follow up to the climatic, overindulgent Yakuza 5, released after two breakout introductory points for the western audience (one a full-on prequel and the other a remake of the first title), introduces the new Dragon engine, precedes both a spiritual sidequest in Judgment and a game with RPG literal sidequests in Yakuza LAD, and on top of all this feels most like a callback to Yakuza 3, above all else. Yakuza is a weird franchise; you can't even call it Yakuza anymore!

Yakuza 6 is a really good game, but one that I would be lying to say didn't feel like I was only half-invested in. I don't know if this kind of game would have worked better in a vacuum without knowing events in LAD or that Gaiden/LAD2 were on the horizon, but it felt very weird that this was the next step after Yakuza 5's brutally maximalist finale. Overall I was fine with the smaller scale, quite glad if anything. Onomichi is great, one of my favorite areas thus far in a Yakuza game. This and Okinawa absolutely feel like wonderful departures from the cramped, cluttered streets of Kamurocho, Sotenbori and Ijincho. I like that many of the ‘minigames’ exclusive to it are moreso little trinkets like the temple offerings and the blessing pulls, although I didn’t realize there were some that I just completely missed. Still, it’s an incredibly pretty locale and one with a lot of personality in its side paths, cluttered neighborhoods, ono michio… and scenic riverside.
While I do like how this game feels a lot slimmer than 5, there’s some side features I did miss from prior games- didn’t realize how many of these were gone until I wanted to try them out in 6, like the UFO catcher or trainers like Komaki.

While I do think there's a lot going for Yakuza 6 I'd be lying if I didn't say this was absolutely one of the easiest titles yet for me to just start glancing over to my phone- I hate doing this. Its storyline regarding the Iwami family and most of the last third’s beats are easily one of the more boring in the series- which is a shame because it involves a cast that I think works quite well. Again, strong strokes of Yakuza 3 resonate in the community of Onomichi. 3's departure from the main formula dealt the series a new hand in its more rural, bright skied, summer trip. However this contrasted quite well with its frantic invasions from Kiryu’s legacy- I thought the flip flopping between Kamurocho and Okinawa worked pretty well.
Meanwhile, in Yakuza 6 the town of Onomichi presents similarly the escapism of both Kiryu AND Haruka at vastly differing times of their lives, at separate points in physical time. This aspect of Onomichi I felt very strongly toward, however as the game ventured further and further toward the ‘secret of onomichi’ plot, the less interesting things got. This all expands into a finale chapter I think is one of the weakest in the series- with sprinkles of great stuff in there but constant naggings from this conspiracy that I’d honestly just ignored after the reveal. I kinda knew Someya’s schtick before going in but I didn’t know some of the finer details of what he’d be doing throughout the game so getting to those segments in the game was quite fun, I think Someya was a great part of 6.The biggest shame is that he ultimately gets overshadowed by this conspiracy/Iwami family dredge that just never tapped my neurons as much as Someya’s character. It was kinda funny getting to the finale and seeing our gang square up against a bunch of the villains from the game, glancing across all 3 of the major actors and thinking “man none of yall are cooking”. The most enjoyable part of this final fight is just Kiryu looking at the final boss and calling him “little baby”, at least.
Also I know this isn’t really supposed to be the game to start throwing in every cameo from the past titles -instead it feels like its trying to start distancing itself from that- but it did feel incredibly weird getting to that finale and finally getting to see Majima, Saejima and Daigo in the detournement. This wouldn’t feel too weird but like we see goddamn Pocket Fighter (although I do like his sidestory), the fighter maker dude from 4, Akiyama’s trainer from 4 and post-stardust Yuya? Yakuza constantly references back to each and every other game in the franchise but it did feel weird how even in this seemingly new chapter Kiryu just runs into these guys I had hoped we’d left to their own devices. At the very least it does leave behind a lot of the tropes and characters that had been starting to get stale.

Overall I did enjoy my time with Yakuza 6 and I think it’s a great follow up to 5’s gargantuan nature, but I had hoped it’d stuck the landing better in the latter half. Onomichi and the Hirose gang are really fun, and I think the entire Haruka chunk of the story was done incredibly well. It’s jump to a proper eighth gen title also brought a lot of nice improvements like auto saving, faster loads, more fun photo mode shenanigans, and just smoother, moment to moment gameplay. It mostly just feels like a transitional piece in the franchise- but it feels all the weirder considering the RGG-verse begins to branch and explode in a lot of other paths after this, into Judgment, Yakuza LAD, and even back to the past with games like Kiwami 2. Still, I’m glad I was able to chew through this one relatively quickly, at just under 30 hours.