When we started playing Alan Wake II we were extremely disappointed in what was a highly anticipated sequel to our GOTY of 2010. But by the time the credits rolled we had completely turned around on it. An absolute work of art.
The game has some flaws that should probably hurt it more than it does. The case board gameplay is rarely engaging and far too prone to bugs and tedious busywork, the combat often feels sluggish and lacks the simplicity of the original game and the opening hours are incredibly slow.
But once it gets going, it never stops impressing. The writing is stellar, the characters are all memorable and engaging, the horror is superb and the ongoing meta-narrative from the first game and Remedy's Control hits better than ever.
It's very rare to feel that waiting 13 years for something was worth it. But Alan Wake II is... but maybe play it on "Story" difficulty to avoid the combat becoming too tedious.
The game has some flaws that should probably hurt it more than it does. The case board gameplay is rarely engaging and far too prone to bugs and tedious busywork, the combat often feels sluggish and lacks the simplicity of the original game and the opening hours are incredibly slow.
But once it gets going, it never stops impressing. The writing is stellar, the characters are all memorable and engaging, the horror is superb and the ongoing meta-narrative from the first game and Remedy's Control hits better than ever.
It's very rare to feel that waiting 13 years for something was worth it. But Alan Wake II is... but maybe play it on "Story" difficulty to avoid the combat becoming too tedious.