(Video Games) Alan Wake II
Alan Wake II
This post is dedicated to the late James McCaffery. May your journey through the night continue.
The Usual Video Game Disclaimer
Long time followers of my blog know that I don't usually do Video Game
reviews. Part of this is because the WTM/STF format doesn't really apply
to video game story telling. Movies/Films top out at 3-3.5 hours.
Modern video games with a story even worth exploring start at
10-12 hours. There's usually just too much there there to keep up with.
The other major reason I don't review video games is that fun is such a
subjective and evolving concept.
In
1972, Pong was the greatest game ever. It was two sticks passing a
digital ball back and forth. In 1980, Pac-Man was the greatest game
ever. It was a big yellow circle eating small white circles and running
away from multi-colored ghosts; pretty much indefinitely. In 1991 Street
Fighter II was the greatest game ever. It was pick one of 8 people
(well, 7 people and whatever the hell Blanka is) and beat up the other 7
and then 4 more. In 1992 Mortal Kombat was the greatest game ever with
pretty much the same idea, just doing so with full motion video capture.
So, in 2024 what is the greatest game ever? It depends on who you ask.
That's my point, gaming is a subjective art form, and what I think is
the greatest game ever could be dull and uninspired/too hard.
TL;DR: Don't take any of this as gospel
A VERY brief history.
In 2010, Remedy Entertainment decided to make lemonade when life handed them lemons. They had been working on an ambitious, open world title with night & day transitions (ala Simon's Quest) and weather elements. When they couldn't quite make it work as they (and Microsoft, their distributor for what was originally an X-box 360 exclusive) decided to salvage what they could and the original Alan Wake was born.
Alan Wake told the story of a fictional, Stephen King level pulp writer dealing with supernatural phenomenon that seems very much like these random manuscript pages he keeps finding everywhere; pages that are part of a book written by Alan himself. It's a straight forward action horror game (we'll touch on this later) with one interesting combat twist. Enemies are covered in darkness, and are invulnerable to attack until that darkness is burned away, primarily by flashlight. As such, anytime I see a male character with a flashlight in one hand and a gun in the other, I internally scream ALAN WAKE.
There is a TON of Alan Wake lore out there for those who want to know but somehow don't (including a video from IGN done by Remedy Lead Designer Sam Lake. However, the best retelling of the events that occur in Alan Wake would be via musical number.
Two words of warning:
1) Herald of Darkness IS story relevant to the game; but doesn't necessarily spoil anything plot line wise. Be aware that it may affect your enjoyment of that portion of the game when it comes up.
2) Once you hear Herald of Darkness, you will listen to it a minimum of daily for the rest of your natural born life. Of any and all things Alan Wake related; HoD is by far the most entertaining and fun.
What I Like
The Music: I can honestly say without hyperbole that Alan Wake II has the single best original soundtrack (OST) of any video game ever (See above) The Old Gods of Asgard are actually a few members of Poets of the Fall, a Finnish metal band. They are a key element in universe; and in Alan Wake II they supply not one, not two, but THREE full scale bangers that are all significant to the plot. Add this fact to both the quirky and fun "Night Springs" from the DLC, and "Wide Awake" which has become the unofficial AWII theme (it was played every time AW II won an award at The Game Awards last year) and the argument is closed.
Warlin Door: Mr. Door is one of the few new characters introduced in AWII, and he is by far the most interesting. His agenda is as unclear as his alliances. His final appearance in the game makes it abundantly clear that the role was written for the late Lance Reddick (RIP). Still David Harewood brings Door to life in his own way. Door is incredibly likeable but also someone you can easily see being a manipulative bastard. He absolutely rules
Night Springs: This one is cheating a little bit, because as mentioned, Night Springs is actually downloadable content and not necessarily part of the main campaign, but oh my GOD is it fun. They worked the content into the main story nicely via update once released, and each story takes place during Alan chapters which tend to be more tense and anxious. Night Springs feels like what the original Alan Wake would play like if they used this engine for a full remake.
The Engine: Remedy has used the Northlight engine for almost a decade now, so they are obviously well versed in programming with it and that expertise is on display here. In Quantum Break they showed how much they can simply throw on screen and make look amazing at one time while implementing full motion video effectively. In Control they showed how interactive the environments can be. In Alan Wake II they show the versatility of the engine. Weather affects and environments are gorgeous in the Saga chapters while the Alan chapters are constantly creepy; especially when a mob of shadows just shows up out of nowhere. I was concerned about how the upcoming Max Payne 1&2 Remake were going to operate when I learned it would be using this engine, but those concerns are far from my mind as of now; speaking of which....
Alex Casey: This is a bit of an "If You Know, You Know" entry. I refuse to let this entry become a full Max Payne love fest (I'll save that for when the remakes come out). Let's just say that a character modeled by Sam Lake and voiced by James McCaffrey getting a TON of screen time and being very relevant to the story is enough to bring a tear to the eye of those who do know.
Rest in Peace James; no matter who does his voice next; you will always be the voice of Max Payne/Alex Casey. We miss you.
What I'm Not Sure About
The Final Draft Everything I've seen online says that The Final Draft (Alan Wake II's New Game Plus; unlocked after beating the game in full once) is awesome, and adds a lot of lore in it's own right. I'm sure it does; but after spending twenty-five hours in game and leaving a LOT of elements in the game untouched, there's no way I'm ready to go through the entire story again as soon as credits roll.
Supply Stashes: I get that AWII is survival horror, and one of the key elements of survival horror is resource and inventory management; but coming upon a locker, or a toolbox, or a cooler and opening up to find it empty is just cruel and unusual. Especially if you are down to your last couple batteries. This is also an answer to critics of the first game where supplies were usually always abundant (unless the game was discouraging combat and just wanted you to run to the next spot). This is especially frustrating when the main supplies needed (batteries and bullets) are usually the most scarce.
Scratch: Mr. Scratch is the most divisive character in the Alan Wake lore. To discuss him too in depth would be very much into spoiler territory for both AW titles; but his origin and his role in the lore are very unclear and confusing to me. I have my own speculation for who/what/why Scratch is what he is; but none of that explains why he's an arrogant sociopath in Alan Wake's American Nightmare and basically a feral beast in AWII
What I Don't Like
Voluntarily Reality Changes: I was on the fence about this one until I saw The Final Draft was a NG+ and not a continuation/addendum. One of the major discussions online is how to play the chapters splitting between Saga and Alan. I chose to simply shift at each chapter end (IE, I finish Saga's Chapter 3 then go play Alan's Chapter 3 until the game made me choose who to do when). However, now with knowledge of the story beats; the best narrative order is to play Saga for as long as possible, then play as Alan the rest of the way. I get that this is better player choice; and the two campaigns are so different, it's nice to take a break from them without taking a break from the game. Still, the story is so much better if you do it the way suggested above.
Collectables: So many side collectables. Alex Casey Lunchboxes, Cult Stashes, Words of Power, Weapons under lock and key. To do the game 100%, especially with The Final Draft, would be every bit of 65+ hours, and a lot of that either reading walkthroughs or exploring every inch of the map. This is especially frustrating in the cases of "Cult Stashes" for Saga and "Words of Power" for Alan. Words of Power are way too difficult to locate once it becomes better strategy to have your flashlight off, and Cult Stashes eventually end up too annoying to waste time on. One of them literally had me doing fucking college level algebra with notepad and paper to solve.
The Last Chapters: This is was also true of Alan Wake. The game overstays it's welcome as the pacing grinds to a halt in the last 2 hours or so of the game. Eventually the story just gets to a place where you are ready for the payoff but you have to jump through just a few more hoops to get there. The climax is worth it; but God for about 2 hours or so there I was the Knights in Monty Python screaming "Get on with it"
Get Good Noob: I feel like I would enjoy the game more if I was better at it. I legitimately restarted after about 8 hours of game time because I felt like I had missed too much and wasted too many resources. Turns out I'm just really bad at the game. But then again, survival horror isn't really my jam gaming wise.
The Bottom Line
The 2023 Game of the year nominations included 2 sequels, a Super Mario Brothers Game, a Legend of Zelda game, a remake and a Spider-Man game. Alan Wake II finished second only to Baldurs Gate III (a sequel even FURTHER removed from its previous entry). It's a great story to experience, even if the actual PLAYING of the game can be incredibly frustrating at times. But that's usually Remedy's MO. Tell you a story and make you solve aggravating puzzles that make you wonder how you can tie your own shows without drooling all over your lap.
This universe is one that sneaks up on you slowly. What started off as "Yeah, I'll play this because it's Remedy" has become me eagerly devouring every bit of lore I can get my hands on. This will be even more true when Control 2 comes out and/or Remedy buys back the Quantum Break and Max Payne IP's from Microsoft and Take 2 respectively.
Either way; our journey through the nightless night continues.
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