I experienced Alan Wake 1 for the first time in God's year 2022, only a handful of years before the release of 2, but it was enough time for the wait for its sequel to be painful as I am not a patient person. As such, I am grateful I was not a fan since the original release.
That being said, my (mercifully short, considering) wait was well worth it. Admittedly, I’ve not had that much experience with the whole assortment of Remedy’s games. In fact, I’ve only really had exposure to Alan Wake and Control before AW2(and that’s currently being… remedied as I’m playing Max Payne 1), but what I experienced was something truly special, so I was very excited to see what this new title would bring to the table. I was not ready for the 10 course meal Sam Lake was about to serve me, but by God I was starving.
When my friend and I began this adventure, it kind of had some failure to launch functionally between sound issues and some truly awful lag. We ended up waiting a few extra months after its release to be ready to stream it off GeForce Now, so I was really chomping at the bit by then. What awaited us was a story that somehow took everything good about every Remedy game(my friend filled me in on bits and pieces I’d forgotten or whatever I needed to know that I hadn’t yet experienced) and made it even more exciting.
The sound design was incredible after we finally got it to work. The atmospheric sounds made me feel tense, unnerved. The musical stings were effective and evoked a feeling of dread. I’ll admit I yelped more than a handful of times, as I am a bit of a wimp. The enemies’ voice lines were grating and made me feel antsy. And the soundtrack! The soundtrack is one of the best parts of the game. In the interest of making this review as spoiler free as possible, I will simply say that it is one of the best game soundtracks with the most impactful lyrics that I’ve ever witnessed, and I’m a NieR fan.
Graphically this game was really impressive as well, and the FMVs are where this game really shined. Remedy tends to lean heavily on its FMV usage, and they’re always so much fun to experience.
Ilkka Villi, the man who plays the face of Alan Wake, really puts his all into his role. His expressions shone and were incredible, and I personally believe the man is a talented actor, his subtle mannerisms and movements bringing the fictional character to life. On the other side of the coin, Alan Wake’s voice actor Matthew Poretta also goes crazy in his role. The monologues Alan tends to go on are intense, and the film noir-esque style really hits right. The two actors really do a wonderful job and make Alan a memorable and endearing character.
Melanie Liburd plays both the face and voice of Saga Anderson, the game’s deuteragonist. I’m unfamiliar with her outside of her work as Saga, but I must say I quite enjoyed her in this role. Saga herself is an interesting character, and one I quite enjoyed. She had similar monologues to Alan’s, perhaps not as gritty or as (lovably) pretentious, but they were still just as compelling. The way this character ties into the plot, as well as her character development and backstory, were incredibly interesting and I found myself really taken with her.
All in all, I found Alan Wake 2 to be an absolute masterpiece. It is an artful culmination of all the best story and game elements that Remedy games have to offer. I am very biased, but I have seen the joys this game has to offer, and I’m terribly excited for the next chapter of its story to unfold. I heavily recommend anyone with even a passing interest in meta gags or even an interest in modernized film noir elements pick this up, as well as recommend Alan Wake 1, its kind-of miniature sequel game American Nightmare, and Control to get the maximum enjoyment out of the wonder that is Alan Wake 2.
PS: I’m sure Baldur’s Gate 3 rules but Sam Lake got robbed. Give my man every award known to man. Make up new awards for him, too. Thank you.
That being said, my (mercifully short, considering) wait was well worth it. Admittedly, I’ve not had that much experience with the whole assortment of Remedy’s games. In fact, I’ve only really had exposure to Alan Wake and Control before AW2(and that’s currently being… remedied as I’m playing Max Payne 1), but what I experienced was something truly special, so I was very excited to see what this new title would bring to the table. I was not ready for the 10 course meal Sam Lake was about to serve me, but by God I was starving.
When my friend and I began this adventure, it kind of had some failure to launch functionally between sound issues and some truly awful lag. We ended up waiting a few extra months after its release to be ready to stream it off GeForce Now, so I was really chomping at the bit by then. What awaited us was a story that somehow took everything good about every Remedy game(my friend filled me in on bits and pieces I’d forgotten or whatever I needed to know that I hadn’t yet experienced) and made it even more exciting.
The sound design was incredible after we finally got it to work. The atmospheric sounds made me feel tense, unnerved. The musical stings were effective and evoked a feeling of dread. I’ll admit I yelped more than a handful of times, as I am a bit of a wimp. The enemies’ voice lines were grating and made me feel antsy. And the soundtrack! The soundtrack is one of the best parts of the game. In the interest of making this review as spoiler free as possible, I will simply say that it is one of the best game soundtracks with the most impactful lyrics that I’ve ever witnessed, and I’m a NieR fan.
Graphically this game was really impressive as well, and the FMVs are where this game really shined. Remedy tends to lean heavily on its FMV usage, and they’re always so much fun to experience.
Ilkka Villi, the man who plays the face of Alan Wake, really puts his all into his role. His expressions shone and were incredible, and I personally believe the man is a talented actor, his subtle mannerisms and movements bringing the fictional character to life. On the other side of the coin, Alan Wake’s voice actor Matthew Poretta also goes crazy in his role. The monologues Alan tends to go on are intense, and the film noir-esque style really hits right. The two actors really do a wonderful job and make Alan a memorable and endearing character.
Melanie Liburd plays both the face and voice of Saga Anderson, the game’s deuteragonist. I’m unfamiliar with her outside of her work as Saga, but I must say I quite enjoyed her in this role. Saga herself is an interesting character, and one I quite enjoyed. She had similar monologues to Alan’s, perhaps not as gritty or as (lovably) pretentious, but they were still just as compelling. The way this character ties into the plot, as well as her character development and backstory, were incredibly interesting and I found myself really taken with her.
All in all, I found Alan Wake 2 to be an absolute masterpiece. It is an artful culmination of all the best story and game elements that Remedy games have to offer. I am very biased, but I have seen the joys this game has to offer, and I’m terribly excited for the next chapter of its story to unfold. I heavily recommend anyone with even a passing interest in meta gags or even an interest in modernized film noir elements pick this up, as well as recommend Alan Wake 1, its kind-of miniature sequel game American Nightmare, and Control to get the maximum enjoyment out of the wonder that is Alan Wake 2.
PS: I’m sure Baldur’s Gate 3 rules but Sam Lake got robbed. Give my man every award known to man. Make up new awards for him, too. Thank you.