Alan Wake was a pretty scary game, at times. I guess it was, technically, a survival horror, but it wasn’t exactly terrifying. With the latest Alan Wake II trailer, Remedy is making no bones about what kind of game it is.
A really fucking scary one.
“In a horror story, there are only victims and monsters,” opines Alan “and the trick is not to end up as either. But trapped by the genre, we’re all ripped to pieces along the way.” Seemingly still stuck in the cabin at the bottom of Cauldron Lake, Wake is accosted by his alter-ego, Mr Scratch, and finds himself a guest on a talk show discussing his latest book; Initiation.
Switching back and forth between live-action and in-game visuals, we’re treated to a montage of horrific imagery, almost reminiscent of the videotape from The Ring, before Wake announces in terror that “he got out.”
Alan Wake II
What follows is gameplay footage from Wake’s perspective in a number of locations including New York City, a swamp/forest, a movie theatre and more. The gameplay appears to closely resemble the original game with Wake using light sources to keep enemies at bay, however, thanks to the 13-year gap between games, the lighting effects and visuals are better than ever.
The trailer briefly shows FBI Agent Saga Anderson and we even catch a glimpse of Sam Lake as Wake’s fictional detective Alex Casey.
According to Remedy and publisher Epic Games, “The trailer showcases the Dark Place and “The Dark Place,” an Alan Wake focused mission early in the game, new gameplay mechanics like Rewrite Reality, new characters, live action cutscenes and more.
“Trapped in a nightmare, Alan Wake has been trying to write his way out. But what happens when something else escapes? Play as the writer, Alan Wake, and the FBI agent, Saga Anderson. Explore two beautiful and terrifying realities in Remedy Entertainment’s first survival horror game, and rewrite Alan Wake’s reality to escape the surreal cityscape of the Dark Place. Here there’s only victims and monsters. And monsters wear many faces.”
The original Alan Wake was released in 2010 and a remaster was released in 2021. In our review of the remaster we said “Alan Wake might be over 10-years-old but it stands alongside the likes of Ocarina of Time, Skyrim, Halo and Half-Life 2 as one of the greatest pieces of art within the medium. Now that it’s been remastered, everyone has a chance to travel to Bright Falls and experience Remedy’s masterwork.”
Alan Wake II is launching on 27 October 2023 for PC (Epic Games Store), PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. To learn more about the game and its development, check out the behind-the-scenes videos below.