The fans had been asking for years, but it seemed at one point that a sequel to the excellent Alan Wake would never manifest. Well, unless you’ve been living under a rock, one of the biggest games of the year is out today. And it just so happens to be the once fabled sequel: Alan Wake 2 is out today on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PC.
But first, the trailers
Before we jump into what fans can expect, let’s have a look a the launch trailer. Not that we haven’t been watching it on repeat anyways:
Alan Wake 2 follows on from the original. Alan finds himself trapped in the Dark Place, and the only thing he can do to keep his sanity is write. Write a story that not only keeps him alive, but can hopefully alter his current situation.
Meanwhile, FBI agent Saga Anderson is investigating some brutal murders in the town of Bright Falls. She then discovers some pages of a horror story, that then starts to come true around her.
These two are connected, and as their worlds and stories intertwine, the mystery of Alan Wake 2 will begin to unfold.
Now a survival horror
Alan Wake 2 switches the pacing to an out and out survival horror game for the second outing. It does still manage to retain the core gameplay elements still. Light is still your best friend, and your only tool against the supernatural darkness. Use this to then help you explore the beautifully crafted worlds of Bright Falls and The Dark Place for the answers you seek
Key features include
- Solve a Deadly Mystery – What begins as a small-town murder investigation rapidly spirals into a nightmare journey. Uncover the source of the supernatural darkness in this psychological horror story filled with intense suspense and unexpected twists.
- Play As Two Characters – Experience both Alan Wake’s and Saga Anderson’s stories and see events unfold from different perspectives. Switch between Anderson’s life-or-death race to solve the case and Wake’s desperate attempts to rewrite his reality to escape the depths of the Dark Place.
- Explore Two Worlds – Experience two beautiful yet terrifying worlds, each with its own rich cast of characters and deadly threats. Discover majestic landscapes of Cauldron Lake in the Pacific Northwest and the idyllic towns of Bright Falls and Watery. Contrasting sharply, attempt to escape the nightmarish cityscape of the Dark Place.
- Survive With Light – With limited resources, take on powerful supernatural enemies in desperate close-combat situations. It takes more than just a gun to survive: light is the ultimate weapon in the fight against the darkness and will be your refuge when enemies threaten to overwhelm you.
Multiple versions
Alan Wake 2 is out now on the Xbox Store priced at £49.99. This is for the standard edition; if you want something a bit extra, then the Deluxe Edition is priced at £64.99. This comes with the following goodies:
- Digital base game
- Expansion Pass
- Night Springs Expansion (additional story content) – available post-launch
- Lake House Expansion (additional story content) – available post-launch
- Nordic Shotgun Skin for Saga
- Crimson Windbreaker for Saga
- Celebrity Suit for Alan
- Parliament Shotgun Skin for Alan
- Lantern Charm for Saga
The Deluxe Edition Upgrade can also be purchased separately for £15.
In time for Halloween
It should be no surprise that Alan Wake 2 is launching just in time for Halloween, as all the pre-release trailers have given us chills down the spine.
Our review of the full game will be coming soon, once we manage to bring ourselves from out behind the sofa. For now, let us know in the comments if you will be picking this latest GOTY contender up.
Just remember, Alan Wake 2 is a current-gen only game. You can’t play this one on Xbox One.
Alan Wake 2 on Xbox Game Description
A string of ritualistic murders threatens Bright Falls, a small-town community surrounded by Pacific Northwest wilderness. Saga Anderson, an accomplished FBI agent with a reputation for solving impossible cases arrives to investigate the murders. Anderson’s case spirals into a nightmare when she discovers pages of a horror story that starts to come true around her.
Alan Wake, a lost writer trapped in a nightmare beyond our world, writes a dark story in an attempt to shape the reality around him and escape his prison. With a dark horror hunting him, Wake is trying to retain his sanity and beat the devil at his own game.
Anderson and Wake are two heroes on two desperate journeys in two separate realities, connected at heart in ways neither of them can understand: reflecting each other, echoing each other, and affecting the worlds around them.
Fueled by the horror story, supernatural darkness invades Bright Falls, corrupting the locals and threatening the loved ones of both Anderson and Wake. Light is their weapon—and their safe haven — against the darkness they face. Trapped in a sinister horror story where there are only victims and monsters, can they break out to be the heroes they need to be?
