Review
Scary good
I’m a horror gaming fan – and Alan Wake 2 is the perfect game to play this Halloween
It's not only one of the best games of the year, but also the scariest.
HALLOWEEN is almost here, and that means plenty of people are settling down to unsettle themselves.
It’s no coincidence that Alan Wake 2 has just released in time for Halloween weekend.
Alan Wake 2 plays on the psychological horror genre in the best ways. It’s very meta, blending reality with the game’s story, and what is just in Alan’s head.
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It plays on common phobias. Whether you’re scared of the dark, or spiders, there are plenty of common phobias exploited here.
The enemies in Alan Wake 2 are shadows. When you play as Alan, you try to crawl your way out of The Dark Place, and escape all the secrets hidden in its dank corners.
What adds to the fear here is that the shadows don’t always attack you. You can walk through groups of them without harm.
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But once they decide to attack, they do so ferociously, and you’ll need time to stun them with your flashlight, and some of the limited ammunition to shoot them down.
The environments of The Dark Place loop and morph, and you bring light to the darkness and write yourself out of the ever-engulfing hole.
However, you don’t only play as the titular Alan Wake, but also as FBI agent Saga Anderson.
Remedy has done a lot of work to make the two protagonists very distinct.
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Saga is left doing her research in the ‘real’ world, the surrounding areas of Bright Falls, Cauldron Lake, and Watery.
Instead of writing, Saga uses her intuition, and she can gather together clues, locations and evidence in order to get to the truth.
Both are frightening, and use similar gameplay mechanics, but Saga’s story being based in reality helps to ground and separate it.
Saga and Alan both visit their ‘Mind Palace’ in order to work their way forward. For Saga this is piecing together different parts of the case, for Alan this is writing his way out of plot holes.
However, both the real world and The Dark Place are connected, and the darker the story turns, the further The Dark Place twists.
You can swap between the two characters at will, allowing you to make the switch when you can’t find a way forward.
It’s closer to Resident Evil than it is to Remedy’s other games, but it’s not the worse for it.
The inventory problems and limited supplies only help but elevate the fear of the survival horror aspects.
However, it doesn’t just have these standard survival horror tricks up its sleeve, it mixes live-action footage with gameplay for more mind-bending magic.
Only playing Saga’s sections you would think you played a straight sequel to Alan Wake, but Alan’s portion combines this with absurd elements that elevate it.
This is Remedy at its very best, and a strong contender for game of the year.
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If you’re interested in recent releases, then check out our Spider-Man 2 review.
Written by Georgina Young on behalf of .
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