Please don’t forget to play Alan Wake 2

Alan Wake 2 is one of 2023's best games, so why haven't you played it?

I’m going to be entirely frank for a moment: I don’t get the hype over games from Remedy Entertainment. Yes, Sam Lake is a larger-than-life character and all that, but I didn’t have a PS2 back in the day for Max Payne, and after playing through Alan Wake Remastered and Control, I can’t say I fully understand the hype. Alan Wake is jank – really jank – with the remnants of the open world it was originally intended to be holding it back at every corner. Control’s a fair bit sharper, but the game ends up feeling like the same thing on repeat once you get the ability to fling tables and rocks at enemies.

Alan Wake 2 is different. Yes, the list of Remedy Entertainment games I’ve played is pretty limited, but for my money, this is the best Remedy game ever made – Max Payne be damned – as I explain in my full Alan Wake 2 review. Even if you’ve never played a Remedy title before, it’s worth playing this one – even if it’s your first, even if you have little to no interest in it.

Alan Wake 2 is two games in one, while also being a sequel to something like four other Remedy games. Yes, it’s a sequel to Alan Wake, of course, but with Alex Casey present (a legally distinct Max Payne), the FBC (Control’s federal bureau), and new protagonist Saga Anderson (first introduced in a Quantum Break FMV), it really feels like Alan Wake 2 is bringing together the entire Remedy universe for some kind of incredible climax. It’s The Avengers for guys called Josh.

Alan Wake II is more confident and scarier than the original

Saga's Mind Place adds a detective element to the game / Remedy Entertainment

And somehow, none of that matters. I mean, it’s fun in a metatextual kind of way, but it doesn’t actually matter. Even when removed from the original Alan Wake and every other Remedy world, Alan Wake 2 stands up by itself as easily being one of the top ten games of an incredibly stacked 2023, and perhaps even overall game of the year for a few excited fans. That’s at least partially because Alan Wake 2 is two brilliant approaches to modern horror stapled together.

Saga’s journey through Bright Springs to uncover supernatural nonsense is heavily reminiscent of the modern Resident Evil games, from the third-person perspective to the D-pad hotbar filled with grenades and bullets. The way Saga references her map and slowly picks apart the world with a variety of keys represents all the best parts of modern Resident Evil, with a nice detective layer to justify all the documents and clues you’ll be picking up along the way.

Bright Falls is more atmospheric than ever / Remedy Entertainment

But you don’t just play as Saga. You also play as Alan himself, trapped in The Dark Place, searching for a way out. You can swap between the two at will to tackle their missions out of order, if you’d like, only for it all to come together neatly for the finale. Alan’s sections have him wield less firepower – a short-range shotgun with limited ammo capacity is the best you’ll get here – but also go up against fewer foes. Instead, most enemies can be taken out with slow, smart use of a flashlight. Most of Alan’s assailants are literal shadows, easily dispersed with a bit of light, but a few are a bit hardier and will demand firepower to take down. The pacing, atmosphere, and sparse action leans a bit closer to Silent Hill in these moments.

If you were to separate either protagonist’s story into its own game, it would be fine. An admirable attempt at a modern horror game. Combine them and neatly blend the stories, however, and you have one of the best games of 2023. It’s infinitely satisfying to comb through areas as Saga, taking out all enemies and uncovering all of the secrets held within, and exploring as Alan remains tense thanks to the multidimensional foes and environments.

It's not a loop, it's a spiral / Remedy Entertainment

Which is why my heart breaks when I hear that hardly anyone played Alan Wake 2. In its launch month, it was outside of the top 100 most played games on both PlayStation and Xbox, and while we can’t see PC sales thanks to Epic Games Store exclusivity, it doesn’t seem to be great news there either.

EGS has seemingly hamstrung PC sales – we know Steam is the preferred choice for most PC gamers – and no physical version could be a contributor to the poor sales on console. But it doesn’t matter what the reason is or why it’s happening: it’s a shame. Alan Wake 2 is a genuinely brilliant game that I enjoyed far more than I expected, and it deserves your attention. If you’re looking for something fresh to play through over the Christmas break, don’t ignore Alan Wake 2.

Review: Alan Wake 2 brings my childhood fears to life