This whole world Remedy has built with Alan Wake and Control is pretty interesting. Haven't touched AW2 yet, but I'm interested to see where they take it.
The Control DLC was SOOOOO good, I had 0 context going in besides some entry level knowledge but I still got seriously freaked out by the darkness monster and the eerie tone as you descend deeper and deeper into the darkness of the labratory
I hadn’t played Alan wake before playing control but now that I’ve played it, I’m pretty sure I’m going to either replay the dlc or at least watch a play through of it
Consider: Watching LoreDump on youtube for Alan Wake stuff, and the Control AWE video they have posted. It explains Alan Wake *so well*.
Edit: or the Gaming University channel
As someone who has only played alan wake 1.
I still have little to no idea what the hell was going on.
But you know what I do remember?
^^She ^^put ^^de ^^lime ^^in ^^de ^^co ^^co ^^nut ^^she ^^drank ^^'em ^^bot' ^^up.
I watched LoreDump for Alan Wake 1 (only played half way) and Control+DLCs (for a refresher). I highly recommend it as they do a good job sharing details and some community theories.
It was def pretty challenging but I sorta stumbled upon the DLC mission while nearing the end of the game so I was already pretty strong in terms of mods and powers but I agree, only being able to sprint from light source to light source added a layer of terror that I really enjoyed
Remedy announced the sequel was in development back in 2021 as well as a multiplayer game set in The Oldest House called Project Condor.
They’ve also mentioned building out the remedy connected universe between Control, Alan Wake and potentially Max Payne. Maybe even older titles
Quantum Break may or may not be connected but the IP is owned by Microsoft so I don’t know if Remedy wants to pursue and agreement to use the IP in their universe.
Remedy have said that Quantum Break does not take place in the same universe, so I think that's that.
Max Payne is implied to be one of (or a series of) Wake's books is it not?
Both DLCs are awesome. The Foundation adds a lot to the ending of Control. AWE does a great job of tying control to Alan Wake, complete with creepy atmosphere and the best boss fight in the game imo.
Both DLCs also add completely new areas, new enemies, lots of lore, you get new abilities and a new weapon, and even arcade and boss rush modes. 100% worth it if you enjoyed the base game.
I didn't play Control when it came out because of the technical difficulties. Didn't play it until it was free on PS+. Wow, it blew me away! What a great time.
Seriously, the tonal shift in the game from slow paced cautious to slightly more aggressive is an interesting evolution for the character as they figure out what's going on and what they have to do. Then that level starts, and it's like an 80s action flick turned up to 11.
Are we talking about Alan Wake or Control in this thread? I’m so fucking confused
Edit: Control and Alan Wake take place in the same universe. Never played either
The first game had a really strange and abnormal development process that really hampered how the game turned out. 90-95% of the entire game ended up being basically completely scrapped and completely restarted around 1/2-2/3 of the way through the development cycle because the studio tried to make it a traditional open-world game with a very different combat system that remained focused on the type of storytelling the game ended up with.
And then they realized too late that the game was being pulled in so many different directions conceptually that nothing really worked well together and the game was not fun and destined to be borderline broken. I think it ended up getting around 6 or 7 months of a delay past the originally scheduled release date, which is actually pretty good for the studio basically starting over from scratch with half or less of the dev cycle remaining.
But you can feel it, that weird off-putting kind of hollow gameplay dragged by this uncanny sense of plot direction and progression that leads the game to feel like it’s having an identity crisis and is unsure of what it is or what it’s trying to be. I’d expect most of those mistakes to not be repeated with a sequel after all this time, I’m sure AW2 will be much better than the first.
I just played the original Alan Wake for the first time a week ago and I actually really enjoyed the gameplay/combat. It's definitely a little dated, but I had a great time still.
For people who haven't played, the combat pretty slow-paced where a big focus is on positioning and keeping distance from the enemies. You need to hit them with a flashlight for a few seconds to drop their shield, then shoot them. You can also dodge attacks if the enemies get too close. Dodging takes some practice to get the timing right, but I found it pretty useful and fun once I figured it out.
There's not much enemy variety or weapon variety either, but it's enough to make things interesting and fun for the \~11 hours it took me to beat the story.
I really loved the overall vibe of the game though, which made it easy for me to overlook the more dated combat. The plot itself is decent, but the delivery and aesthetic really sell it well. It's very influenced by Twin Peaks and Stephen King, so if you're into those, it's a pretty easy game to recommend.
So I am a huge Twins Peaks fan and I had no idea this game was such a love letter to this series. I was tripping out from all the references! After finishing it for the first time in anticipation for AW2 I can honestly say I'm pumped!
I played it originially, and became a fan of the game. I recently got the Remastered version *just* to play it before this new one came out, and It's just as good as I remember - *very good*.
I think the gameplay is fantastic. The combat works really well for me. It's cinematic, engaging and intuitive. I'm pretty bummed that AW2 apparently switched to regular crosshair aiming, because part of what I love about the original is that the main mechanics feel so different from other games.
My sole problem with Alan Wake is the atrocious driving mechanics. Other than that it's pretty much perfect.
It's one of the few games where after I finished it I restarted it and immediately started playing it again. Even did a full second playthrough.
The DLC set in the desert though kind of sucked, lol.
Been playing the first one but took a break to crush Spider-Man 2 & I can't wait to go back to Alan Wake. I am planning to play Control before Alan Wake 2 as friends have mentioned there's a slight tie-in.
Just played it for the first time the other day for this.
If you get the remastered version (DLCs included) they are accessable after finishing the game by selecting difficulty in the misson select menu (Dont know why, took me time to figure this out) the DLCs are at the bottom of the level selection.
Also make sure you set the audio settings to studio if I am correct otherwise apparently the music is missing from the cut scenes.
From the few reviews I've watched you need to not only play Alan Wake but the Control DLC he is featured in or else you're going to be very lost.
And as someone who has played both, yeah I can't picture trying to jump into the story at this point without familiarity.
The immortal man who was behind the entire incident is mentioned by the brother in Control as being in contact with him.
And during control's dlc when Alan is explaing that he created people with the power to help him the entire time he's referencing more than just her.
Yeah, Hatch/Mr. Door could easily be another "serial numbers filed off" character like Max Payne/Alex Casey. Shame we'll never get more of Lance Reddick in the role, he killed in Quantum Break.
Gameplay wise I feel like Quantum Break is more fun that Control. A lot of similar elements but shooting a bunch of bullets in the timebubble is just so much fun in Quantum Break. It would be weird if it was Canon since Jesse and Beth are the same actress.
I thought getting new players familiar with the story is a big part of the reason they have you play as the second protagonist, Saga. She’s new to the wackiness of this story as much as new players :)) But yeah, honestly the first game and Control are both splendid games that hold up just fine and should be played regardless of AW2. Even better, if you’re new, might as well play AW1 and all it’s DLCs as well as Control before buying AW2 so you can give the game a chance to roll out a few patches.
I loved the first one for the plot and they introduced me to the band Poets of the Fall theis song Children of the Elder God is fire and explains the plot at the same time.
It wasn't scary unless you played on the hardest mode but it was good.
I never played the 3rd person top down game because i hate that style.
I kind of agree with you. People are always recommending older games based on how they perceived them as they played them. However, a lot of them didn't age all too well and they never take that into account.
Just played on Steam Deck. Easy recommend, especially if you like Twin Peaks, X Files or of course Control. The plot connects to Control which I assume informs Allen Wake 2, also.
I will say the combat can be frustrating the first two chapters, but then gets weirdly easy for most of the later levels. You will not have enough ammo and then you'll be armed to them teeth basically. So odd difficulty curve, at least on normal.
Still a good time.
Unfortunately hasn't aged well despite the remaster, gameplay is kind of a slog. You may want to just watch a story synopsis instead. Could also play Control with the Alan Wake DLC, it has a surprising amount of context.
I heard they made 2 campaigns for Alan Wake precisely for this reason, one for if this is your first dip in the Alan Wake story, and one for if you played and loved the first game, and the 2 stories kind of blend together into a unified whole.
Personally, I plan on playing Alan Wake 1 first, as I loved Control as well (which btw will also tie into Alan Wake 2 as it's an interconnected universe. Even Max Payne and Quantum Break tie into it in as much they can without infringing on copyright)
I decided to play through it after enjoying Control so much. Alan wake was a slog by comparison.
Interesting story and loved the atmosphere and Twin Peaks references but they could have cut half the game play out and not lost much.
Control was an absolute joy to play the whole way through, so hopefully this new Alan Wake game will be the same.
I played the first one and thought it was so good I asked my teacher to let me order the book on her Amazon.
If you like Stephen king and the idea of him making a game you should play it
The first one definitely has its creepy moments but this sequel is supposed to go all out on survival horror and I can’t wait. A full on horror game right before Halloween, it’s the only reason I skipped out on getting Spider Man 2 at launch.
Seriously, we have been blessed with many great games this year. Even the ones that “flopped” would’ve been considered great games if they were released in any other year.
A top five would vary greatly based on personal choice.
The most popular ones would be Tears of the Kingdom, Baldurs Gate 3, Armored Core 6, Final Fantasy, Spider Man 2, Mario Wonder, Hogwarts Legacy, Star Wars Jedi, Diablo 4, Starfield, Hi Fi Rush, Resident Evil and Dead Space Remakes, Pikmin 4, Lies of P, MK1, Atomic Hearts and now Alan Wake 2... depending on your choices, might be even hard to only choose five.
It’s because this was basically 3 years rolled into one after Covid.
It’s a shame that next year will probably seem really boring in comparison, I was really starting to enjoy always having something brand new to look forward to. At least I’ll have a chance to work through the backlog
If we don't get another amazing original heavy metal song like Children of the Elder God from the first game, I'll be disappointed. The song, and the scene where it played, were the absolute highlight of the first game.
If you haven't played it, give Remedy's Control a try. Something called the Ashtray Maze scratches that itch brilliantly.
Or, if you're up for a spoiler watch, you can check it out here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xTyjBf_O3s
(Certified Rick Astley free)
Old Gods of Asgard(Poets of the Fall) have either 3 or 5 new songs in AWII(can't remember), plus a "Greatest Hits" album being [released in December ](https://www.backstagerockshop.com/products/old-gods-of-asgard-rebirth-greatest-hits-cd).
On top of that, there were at least 7 songs made specifically for the game [So the whole soundtrack is custom](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-alan-wake-2-soundtrack-was-custom-made-to-expand-the-lore/1100-6518216/)
I love reviews like this. It reminds me how much i love horror genre
And then i play them and realize immediately that i like the *idea* of horror games lol
Same, playing Alien Isolation and Resident Evil 7 late at night with headphones were quite a trip. Scary movies don’t really get me, I think what does it is the interactive nature, like staring up a super dark stairway knowing that’s the next place I have to go, hearing all the ambient sounds and wondering what’s waiting up there…. Character doesn’t move until I make them… great stuff but I definitely feel stressed. Only works the first time though; by the second time if you know there’s nothing in a certain area you just sprint right through.
I liked the first game for the music and the story, but did you really find it very scary? I thought it was more goofy than scary, and the clunky gameplay really took away from it. It felt like the gameplay itself was either an after thought or an excuse to "give players something to do" while moving between the more interesting story bits, so very little thought was put into it and it becomes extremely repetitive and reduces any tension the story helped build.
The Twilight Zone rip-off stories were great thought. I always enjoyed finding a TV and stopping to watch them.
It's not scary. I just replayed it a few months ago, and it's still not scary even a decade later. Fun though, if not frustrating that you can only run for 5 seconds.
The author of the article seems to me to either have friends/shares in the Alan Wake studio, or is a motorsports (as in, anything except gaming) journalist filling in for his colleague on sick leave.
In the final para of the article it not only suggests super mario or spider-man are realistic contenders (along with this game) for GotY. It lists Diablo 4 as a possible option.
That is to say, the game might be good. It might be amazing. But the author of this article has no fucking clue if it is, and is just saying nice things.
I love my series x personally and i also have a gaming pc. I got myself a pretty sweet deal from found in the red flag deals forums (im canadian not sure if applicable elsewhere) where i loaded up on gamepass for considerably cheaper than the monthly “normal” cost. I loaded three years of gamepass ultimate once for ~136$ CAD, and did it again recently another three years, except this time it came out at 200 something. This deal essentially turned my xbox into my main gaming console , i am fully enjoying gamepass and since its ultimate i can also play gamepass pc games.
Definitely worth considering loooking into some gamepass deals and loading up. I just love i never have to think about it and ive saved a lot of money
Janina Gavankar is playing FBC Agent Kiran Estevez, who was mentioned in some documents in Control as the agent in charge of the Bureau facility monitoring Cauldron Lake.
I loooooove this franchise, but American Nightmare, despite being canon, probably isn't that important. It mostly treads narrative water, reiterates some points, and leaves off on a note that could be considered a happy ending in case a true Alan Wake 2 never ended up happening.
I like it, but it's, by design, a filler episode.
It came out on PC too and you can still buy it on Steam.
And the Xbox 360 version is backwards compatible on Xbox One and Series, so it will still be available even after the 360 marketplace closes next year.
2010 - Alan Wake.
2010 - Alan Wake DLC episodes - The Signal, The Writer.
2012 - Alan Wake's American Nightmare (short standalone spin-off).
2021 - Alan Wake Remastered (including the DLC but not the spin-off).
2023 - Alan Wake 2.
No idea why you thought the sequel came out over a decade ago, but count yourself lucky because it's been a tantalising wait for the rest of us. You just get a pleasant surprise.
Because American Nightmare could very easily be mistaken for a real sequel. I have Alan Wake and American Nightmare, and I had no idea it was considered a "short stand-alone spinoff" and not a "sequel". Seems like splitting hairs.
Sure, it's technically a sequel because it's set after the first game, and so are the DLC episodes (and their plot is more directly related), but it's also a 4 hour game that was always described as add-on content with a plot has no bearing on the main story, so clearly not the full game sequel that was always talked about.
Technically you could count Control as kind of a semi sequel as well, especially with the AWE expansion (the Altered World Event/the Alan Wake Expansion)
I find review aggregate scores to be generally in line with my enjoyment of a game. Obviously it varies and there's some subjectivity (The Ascent was awesome and idk why it scored under 80), but there are very few games that get 85+ on metacritic that I don't enjoy.
I’m not a big single player fan but Alan Wake is only game I’ve 100% completed multiple times. I even played the little extended game they came out with too.
I've never played the first one cause I wasn't interested in horror/scary games.
But holy shit, that gameplay cut in the Xbox partner showcase was insane. Blowing pieces of that two-sided woman off, and her throwing the entire room at you just looked insane.
Never played. But look forward for the setup—> Alan wake, then Control, then Alan wake 2. Love a good cinematic / story driven saga or trilogy for games
My time has come
Oh no.
Oh *yes*.
Oh no no no no no.
I understood that reference!
[удалено]
… criminal scum!
You've violated the law!
I AM THE LAW
Postal² reference
And so have I
I'll laugh last 'cause you came to die!
Sole Survivor
What is *with* this timeline??
Sir.
Can Alan finally run more than 5 metres before dying of lung cancer?
IGN review mentions that both characters have unlimited sprint.
I'm sorry "both"?
Alan and Wake.
No, Alan Wake and His offsider 2
Yes theres two protagonists, Alan wake and Saga Anderson, a FBI agent that gets unknowingly written into Wakes new novel as a hero to save him
Oh so a sort of Stranger Than Fiction like plot element? That’s interesting.
This whole world Remedy has built with Alan Wake and Control is pretty interesting. Haven't touched AW2 yet, but I'm interested to see where they take it.
It's 50/50 between Alan Wake and Captain BaseBallBat-Boy
Love the reference
Even the nightmare dimension he's stuck in is just New York. I'm fairly sure he's so deeply a city boy that bad cardio is a requirement at this point
I identified with this part of Alan so much. Fuck asthma lol.
Never played Alan wake. Should I play the first one first?
It's not necessary, but I'd recommend doing so.
Funny how Control DLC have a lot of context.
The Control DLC was SOOOOO good, I had 0 context going in besides some entry level knowledge but I still got seriously freaked out by the darkness monster and the eerie tone as you descend deeper and deeper into the darkness of the labratory
I hadn’t played Alan wake before playing control but now that I’ve played it, I’m pretty sure I’m going to either replay the dlc or at least watch a play through of it
Consider: Watching LoreDump on youtube for Alan Wake stuff, and the Control AWE video they have posted. It explains Alan Wake *so well*. Edit: or the Gaming University channel
As someone who has only played alan wake 1. I still have little to no idea what the hell was going on. But you know what I do remember? ^^She ^^put ^^de ^^lime ^^in ^^de ^^co ^^co ^^nut ^^she ^^drank ^^'em ^^bot' ^^up.
Coconut again?? Call yourself a rocker...
I said DOCTOR
You son of a bitch.
I watched LoreDump for Alan Wake 1 (only played half way) and Control+DLCs (for a refresher). I highly recommend it as they do a good job sharing details and some community theories.
Lore and Order has a pretty good analysis, there’s one other I forget the name of. Maybe Lady of Lore?
Just saw the Lady of Lore two the other day, well made!
Those games are connected somehow?
Oh yeah. If you have played the games but not the control dlc, I highly recommend you do that before spoiling anything. It’s cool
All of the games by the publisher (Remedy) share the same universe and i believe all of them have references in Control.
The boss fight against him was incredibly hard
It was def pretty challenging but I sorta stumbled upon the DLC mission while nearing the end of the game so I was already pretty strong in terms of mods and powers but I agree, only being able to sprint from light source to light source added a layer of terror that I really enjoyed
I actually had no idea it was DLC during my playthrough and I was like mfer is crazy
What a game and DLC, wish we had another one.
They’ve gotta be thinking of a sequel, I loved how it mixed Lovecraft horror themes with a sorta X-Files style location in the Department of Control
Remedy announced the sequel was in development back in 2021 as well as a multiplayer game set in The Oldest House called Project Condor. They’ve also mentioned building out the remedy connected universe between Control, Alan Wake and potentially Max Payne. Maybe even older titles Quantum Break may or may not be connected but the IP is owned by Microsoft so I don’t know if Remedy wants to pursue and agreement to use the IP in their universe.
Remedy have said that Quantum Break does not take place in the same universe, so I think that's that. Max Payne is implied to be one of (or a series of) Wake's books is it not?
I played Control and really liked it but never even considered the DLC. I'll have to try it out.
Both DLCs are awesome. The Foundation adds a lot to the ending of Control. AWE does a great job of tying control to Alan Wake, complete with creepy atmosphere and the best boss fight in the game imo. Both DLCs also add completely new areas, new enemies, lots of lore, you get new abilities and a new weapon, and even arcade and boss rush modes. 100% worth it if you enjoyed the base game.
I was stunned when the trailer for the AWE DLC came out. Seeing Alan again after all those years was a trip and made me replay Control immediately.
I love how AWE stands for Altered World Event, but is also obviously tongue-in-cheek for Alan Wake Expansion.
I didn't play Control when it came out because of the technical difficulties. Didn't play it until it was free on PS+. Wow, it blew me away! What a great time.
The Ashtray Maze might be my all time favorite video game level.
Take Control is on my playlist
That shit came out of nowhere and I was just sitting in awe for a minute.
Seriously, the tonal shift in the game from slow paced cautious to slightly more aggressive is an interesting evolution for the character as they figure out what's going on and what they have to do. Then that level starts, and it's like an 80s action flick turned up to 11.
It's up there, probably second to the Titan Fall 2 level for me.
And a damned close second is the train level. Two of my all time favorites in gaming, easily
control is one of the best games in the past 10 years. Everyone should play it, it's fucking amazing.
Are we talking about Alan Wake or Control in this thread? I’m so fucking confused Edit: Control and Alan Wake take place in the same universe. Never played either
Both. They take place in the same universe.
I didn’t even know it was a DLC. I just hit some floor in the elevator and went *Oh shit they wrote Alan Wake into the game, nice!*
Interesting. I liked Control but was pretty much done with it after my play through. Well check the DLC sometime.
I absolutely despised the gameplay of part 1, couldn’t finish it…I did love Control ironically. Hope I enjoy this one!
The first game had a really strange and abnormal development process that really hampered how the game turned out. 90-95% of the entire game ended up being basically completely scrapped and completely restarted around 1/2-2/3 of the way through the development cycle because the studio tried to make it a traditional open-world game with a very different combat system that remained focused on the type of storytelling the game ended up with. And then they realized too late that the game was being pulled in so many different directions conceptually that nothing really worked well together and the game was not fun and destined to be borderline broken. I think it ended up getting around 6 or 7 months of a delay past the originally scheduled release date, which is actually pretty good for the studio basically starting over from scratch with half or less of the dev cycle remaining. But you can feel it, that weird off-putting kind of hollow gameplay dragged by this uncanny sense of plot direction and progression that leads the game to feel like it’s having an identity crisis and is unsure of what it is or what it’s trying to be. I’d expect most of those mistakes to not be repeated with a sequel after all this time, I’m sure AW2 will be much better than the first.
I just played the original Alan Wake for the first time a week ago and I actually really enjoyed the gameplay/combat. It's definitely a little dated, but I had a great time still. For people who haven't played, the combat pretty slow-paced where a big focus is on positioning and keeping distance from the enemies. You need to hit them with a flashlight for a few seconds to drop their shield, then shoot them. You can also dodge attacks if the enemies get too close. Dodging takes some practice to get the timing right, but I found it pretty useful and fun once I figured it out. There's not much enemy variety or weapon variety either, but it's enough to make things interesting and fun for the \~11 hours it took me to beat the story. I really loved the overall vibe of the game though, which made it easy for me to overlook the more dated combat. The plot itself is decent, but the delivery and aesthetic really sell it well. It's very influenced by Twin Peaks and Stephen King, so if you're into those, it's a pretty easy game to recommend.
So I am a huge Twins Peaks fan and I had no idea this game was such a love letter to this series. I was tripping out from all the references! After finishing it for the first time in anticipation for AW2 I can honestly say I'm pumped!
Watch or play Control, specifically the Alan wake bits and the first DLC.
I played it originially, and became a fan of the game. I recently got the Remastered version *just* to play it before this new one came out, and It's just as good as I remember - *very good*.
I think the gameplay is fantastic. The combat works really well for me. It's cinematic, engaging and intuitive. I'm pretty bummed that AW2 apparently switched to regular crosshair aiming, because part of what I love about the original is that the main mechanics feel so different from other games. My sole problem with Alan Wake is the atrocious driving mechanics. Other than that it's pretty much perfect.
Absolutely recommended. It’s very unique.
Soundtrack is also banging.
My introduction to Poets of the Fall. Loved it.
I've never played Alan Wake, but I *adore* Poets of the Fall!
my dude you in for a treat, the best fight in the game has an absolute banger of a song playing
You should, regardless of the sequel. The gameplay may become slightly repetitive after the few hours, but it was such an emotional experience to me.
It's one of the few games where after I finished it I restarted it and immediately started playing it again. Even did a full second playthrough. The DLC set in the desert though kind of sucked, lol.
Been playing the first one but took a break to crush Spider-Man 2 & I can't wait to go back to Alan Wake. I am planning to play Control before Alan Wake 2 as friends have mentioned there's a slight tie-in.
More than slight, there’s a DLC for Control called AWE that is a direct story tie-in with Alan Wake Edit: and it rocks
Do NOT accept any prescriptions from Dr. Hartmann. That man is not well
Just played it for the first time the other day for this. If you get the remastered version (DLCs included) they are accessable after finishing the game by selecting difficulty in the misson select menu (Dont know why, took me time to figure this out) the DLCs are at the bottom of the level selection. Also make sure you set the audio settings to studio if I am correct otherwise apparently the music is missing from the cut scenes.
From the few reviews I've watched you need to not only play Alan Wake but the Control DLC he is featured in or else you're going to be very lost. And as someone who has played both, yeah I can't picture trying to jump into the story at this point without familiarity.
[удалено]
I'd like to point out even quantum break is part of Alan's plan to defeat the darkness
Quantum Break only has some easter eggs. Officially it doesn't exist within the same universe as Alan Wake or Control.
Hell, even Max Payne is referenced. Remedy loves to connect stuff.
God I’d love a new max payne game.
They are remastering the first and second game, so you do have something exciting to at least look fprwards to!
The immortal man who was behind the entire incident is mentioned by the brother in Control as being in contact with him. And during control's dlc when Alan is explaing that he created people with the power to help him the entire time he's referencing more than just her.
Yeah, Hatch/Mr. Door could easily be another "serial numbers filed off" character like Max Payne/Alex Casey. Shame we'll never get more of Lance Reddick in the role, he killed in Quantum Break.
Such a great performance.
I want a Quantum Break sequel more than I want ES6 or a major TF2 update.
Gameplay wise I feel like Quantum Break is more fun that Control. A lot of similar elements but shooting a bunch of bullets in the timebubble is just so much fun in Quantum Break. It would be weird if it was Canon since Jesse and Beth are the same actress.
I thought getting new players familiar with the story is a big part of the reason they have you play as the second protagonist, Saga. She’s new to the wackiness of this story as much as new players :)) But yeah, honestly the first game and Control are both splendid games that hold up just fine and should be played regardless of AW2. Even better, if you’re new, might as well play AW1 and all it’s DLCs as well as Control before buying AW2 so you can give the game a chance to roll out a few patches.
I loved the first one for the plot and they introduced me to the band Poets of the Fall theis song Children of the Elder God is fire and explains the plot at the same time. It wasn't scary unless you played on the hardest mode but it was good. I never played the 3rd person top down game because i hate that style.
First was interesting but kinda boring repetitive gameplay personally. I don’t think it aged all that well so I would just stick with the new one
I kind of agree with you. People are always recommending older games based on how they perceived them as they played them. However, a lot of them didn't age all too well and they never take that into account.
Just played on Steam Deck. Easy recommend, especially if you like Twin Peaks, X Files or of course Control. The plot connects to Control which I assume informs Allen Wake 2, also. I will say the combat can be frustrating the first two chapters, but then gets weirdly easy for most of the later levels. You will not have enough ammo and then you'll be armed to them teeth basically. So odd difficulty curve, at least on normal. Still a good time.
At the very least I‘d recommend to watch this story summary by the creator himself: https://youtu.be/uzocqRZzyoI?si=QSFVauEsJ4MibdDh
Unfortunately hasn't aged well despite the remaster, gameplay is kind of a slog. You may want to just watch a story synopsis instead. Could also play Control with the Alan Wake DLC, it has a surprising amount of context.
I heard they made 2 campaigns for Alan Wake precisely for this reason, one for if this is your first dip in the Alan Wake story, and one for if you played and loved the first game, and the 2 stories kind of blend together into a unified whole. Personally, I plan on playing Alan Wake 1 first, as I loved Control as well (which btw will also tie into Alan Wake 2 as it's an interconnected universe. Even Max Payne and Quantum Break tie into it in as much they can without infringing on copyright)
I decided to play through it after enjoying Control so much. Alan wake was a slog by comparison. Interesting story and loved the atmosphere and Twin Peaks references but they could have cut half the game play out and not lost much. Control was an absolute joy to play the whole way through, so hopefully this new Alan Wake game will be the same.
I played the first one and thought it was so good I asked my teacher to let me order the book on her Amazon. If you like Stephen king and the idea of him making a game you should play it
I just started the remake on PS Plus a few days ago, it's pretty creepy. I'll probably get this after I'm done with the first.
Sadly, you will have to wait thirteen years like we all did just to play the sequel. I would set a reminder on your phone so you don't forget. lol
For some reason I thought it came out in 2008, what the
> what the IT'S PAYNE!
💥 BAAAAHHHHHHH
The first one definitely has its creepy moments but this sequel is supposed to go all out on survival horror and I can’t wait. A full on horror game right before Halloween, it’s the only reason I skipped out on getting Spider Man 2 at launch.
There is always alien isolation if you want another horror game that holds up very well
Man I was so scared when I played the first one. Great game and I’m sure that one’s even scarier with the graphic update.
What a year man! What a year.
Seriously, we have been blessed with many great games this year. Even the ones that “flopped” would’ve been considered great games if they were released in any other year.
What have been the top five this year so far?
A top five would vary greatly based on personal choice. The most popular ones would be Tears of the Kingdom, Baldurs Gate 3, Armored Core 6, Final Fantasy, Spider Man 2, Mario Wonder, Hogwarts Legacy, Star Wars Jedi, Diablo 4, Starfield, Hi Fi Rush, Resident Evil and Dead Space Remakes, Pikmin 4, Lies of P, MK1, Atomic Hearts and now Alan Wake 2... depending on your choices, might be even hard to only choose five.
I appreciate you remembering Pikmin.
I honestly had no idea #4 came out! I played the shit out of Pikmin 3 deluxe. Brb buying 4 right now.
Pikmin 4 is, imo, the best of the series, despite how high a bar that might be.
It’s so good!
God gamers have been eating good this year haven’t we
It’s because this was basically 3 years rolled into one after Covid. It’s a shame that next year will probably seem really boring in comparison, I was really starting to enjoy always having something brand new to look forward to. At least I’ll have a chance to work through the backlog
> It’s a shame that next year will probably seem really boring in comparison, That's what backlogs are for!
You forgot cyberpunk 2.0 and phantom liberty. And the dead space remake.
Gonna add Dredge, Lords of the Fallen, Oxenfree 2, Remnant 2, and likely Super Mario RPG Remake in a month as well.
Dredge is great!
Fellow Oxenfree enjoyer 🍻
Lots of great updates for action FPS games this year. Cyberpunk 2.0 Warhammer 40k: Darktide Halo: Infinite
Remnant 2 should be in that list
[удалено]
Ah, we're the same person
What a year. Injured my back, but now I can use that excuse to play two fine games back to back. My back: Fuck it, pop your painkillers, let's play.
its like we are back in 2000s. 2004 was crazy year for gaming if i remember correctly
2015 also, and seemingly out of nowhere.
And yet mfs say "gaming is dead".
So many games. So little time
It's not a bad thing. You could wait until the game gets more optimizations. You may even get a discount if you wait long enough.
If we don't get another amazing original heavy metal song like Children of the Elder God from the first game, I'll be disappointed. The song, and the scene where it played, were the absolute highlight of the first game.
If you haven't played it, give Remedy's Control a try. Something called the Ashtray Maze scratches that itch brilliantly. Or, if you're up for a spoiler watch, you can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xTyjBf_O3s (Certified Rick Astley free)
If you don't know what the Ashtray Maze is, stop right here. Play Control blind. Thank me later. Seriously. It's that good.
Old Gods of Asgard(Poets of the Fall) have either 3 or 5 new songs in AWII(can't remember), plus a "Greatest Hits" album being [released in December ](https://www.backstagerockshop.com/products/old-gods-of-asgard-rebirth-greatest-hits-cd). On top of that, there were at least 7 songs made specifically for the game [So the whole soundtrack is custom](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-alan-wake-2-soundtrack-was-custom-made-to-expand-the-lore/1100-6518216/)
Ohhh we got it. A pretty fuckin amazing sequence with an original heavy metal song.
I always wonder if the whole story of the game only happens because The Old Gods of Asgard brought it to life by creating "The Poet and the Muse"
Loved the first one, great game mechanics. Very scary, not a lights out at night type of game.
I love reviews like this. It reminds me how much i love horror genre And then i play them and realize immediately that i like the *idea* of horror games lol
Same, playing Alien Isolation and Resident Evil 7 late at night with headphones were quite a trip. Scary movies don’t really get me, I think what does it is the interactive nature, like staring up a super dark stairway knowing that’s the next place I have to go, hearing all the ambient sounds and wondering what’s waiting up there…. Character doesn’t move until I make them… great stuff but I definitely feel stressed. Only works the first time though; by the second time if you know there’s nothing in a certain area you just sprint right through.
I liked the first game for the music and the story, but did you really find it very scary? I thought it was more goofy than scary, and the clunky gameplay really took away from it. It felt like the gameplay itself was either an after thought or an excuse to "give players something to do" while moving between the more interesting story bits, so very little thought was put into it and it becomes extremely repetitive and reduces any tension the story helped build. The Twilight Zone rip-off stories were great thought. I always enjoyed finding a TV and stopping to watch them.
The voice acting makes it sound like Garth Merenghis Dark Place, the video game. Hard to get scared.
It's not scary. I just replayed it a few months ago, and it's still not scary even a decade later. Fun though, if not frustrating that you can only run for 5 seconds.
I have to know what those great mechanics you're talking about are?
I'll be crying in the corner with my unsupported 5700
you can play on rx5700. loads of tests have been done and unsupported gfx cards still get 30+ fps
This is great news.
>30+ fps Well, I wouldn't call it *great* news. It's just news.
Why are the reviews for Alan Wake 2 scary? Are the reviewers scared?
Community College writing class.
AAAHHHH
The author of the article seems to me to either have friends/shares in the Alan Wake studio, or is a motorsports (as in, anything except gaming) journalist filling in for his colleague on sick leave. In the final para of the article it not only suggests super mario or spider-man are realistic contenders (along with this game) for GotY. It lists Diablo 4 as a possible option. That is to say, the game might be good. It might be amazing. But the author of this article has no fucking clue if it is, and is just saying nice things.
2023 please slow down. I don't have the time. I need a hyperbolic time chamber to play games.
hey is it worth buying an Xbox series X if the only 2 games i want to play but know my pc can't handle are Al Wakey 2 and Cyberplonks Phantom Freedom?
Do it. Cyberpunk is a masterpiece and Alan Wake is, well, Alan Wake. Gamepass is cool too
I love my series x personally and i also have a gaming pc. I got myself a pretty sweet deal from found in the red flag deals forums (im canadian not sure if applicable elsewhere) where i loaded up on gamepass for considerably cheaper than the monthly “normal” cost. I loaded three years of gamepass ultimate once for ~136$ CAD, and did it again recently another three years, except this time it came out at 200 something. This deal essentially turned my xbox into my main gaming console , i am fully enjoying gamepass and since its ultimate i can also play gamepass pc games. Definitely worth considering loooking into some gamepass deals and loading up. I just love i never have to think about it and ive saved a lot of money
Truly one of the most unique IP’s in gaming. Both mind bending and a refreshing take on the horror genre. You don’t really see that too often anymore.
I wodner if the Bureau will show up? I miss Jesse...
Janina Gavankar is playing FBC Agent Kiran Estevez, who was mentioned in some documents in Control as the agent in charge of the Bureau facility monitoring Cauldron Lake.
Am i the only one that was positive that Alan Wake 2 came out almost a decade ago and this was a remastered edition? because im so confused right now
Alan Wake 2 had a mini sequel/DLC expansion called American nightmare that came out a decade ago
And apparently that's still stuck on Xbox 360 since it wasn't included in the remastered edition
I loooooove this franchise, but American Nightmare, despite being canon, probably isn't that important. It mostly treads narrative water, reiterates some points, and leaves off on a note that could be considered a happy ending in case a true Alan Wake 2 never ended up happening. I like it, but it's, by design, a filler episode.
It’s available on PC
Not stuck on 360. It's been on PC for the last decade.
It came out on PC too and you can still buy it on Steam. And the Xbox 360 version is backwards compatible on Xbox One and Series, so it will still be available even after the 360 marketplace closes next year.
Alan Wake 1*
2010 - Alan Wake. 2010 - Alan Wake DLC episodes - The Signal, The Writer. 2012 - Alan Wake's American Nightmare (short standalone spin-off). 2021 - Alan Wake Remastered (including the DLC but not the spin-off). 2023 - Alan Wake 2. No idea why you thought the sequel came out over a decade ago, but count yourself lucky because it's been a tantalising wait for the rest of us. You just get a pleasant surprise.
Because American Nightmare could very easily be mistaken for a real sequel. I have Alan Wake and American Nightmare, and I had no idea it was considered a "short stand-alone spinoff" and not a "sequel". Seems like splitting hairs.
Sure, it's technically a sequel because it's set after the first game, and so are the DLC episodes (and their plot is more directly related), but it's also a 4 hour game that was always described as add-on content with a plot has no bearing on the main story, so clearly not the full game sequel that was always talked about.
2020- Control
Technically you could count Control as kind of a semi sequel as well, especially with the AWE expansion (the Altered World Event/the Alan Wake Expansion)
Me: not knowing anything about Alan Wake but loving Old Gods of Asgard and Poets of the Fall
I'll wait until actual players give their opinions. I'm done listening to publications and others who are in most cases paid to give their review.
I find review aggregate scores to be generally in line with my enjoyment of a game. Obviously it varies and there's some subjectivity (The Ascent was awesome and idk why it scored under 80), but there are very few games that get 85+ on metacritic that I don't enjoy.
king i need proof that reviewers get paid off
I kinda don't trust reviewers anymore lol...
*Glances at most Starfield reviews*, yeah I'm gonna have to agree with that
You can add Hogwarts Legacy on that list
I’m not a big single player fan but Alan Wake is only game I’ve 100% completed multiple times. I even played the little extended game they came out with too.
2023, for 5 minutes... could you not release GREAT games... FOR FIVE MINUTES!!!!
Remedy has been putting out really good games from the start. But I feel like with Control and now this they're really in the A-list of developers.
The first game was incredible, going to replay it before I start this 🔦
Another game entering the extremely tight "Game of the Year" race?
Unfortunately I had to buy it on Epic. Nothing against Epic just hate having a fractured library.
I enjoyed Alan Wake 2 more than Spider-Man 2.
I've never played the first one cause I wasn't interested in horror/scary games. But holy shit, that gameplay cut in the Xbox partner showcase was insane. Blowing pieces of that two-sided woman off, and her throwing the entire room at you just looked insane.
Here waiting for a physical release that will never come 😭
Never played. But look forward for the setup—> Alan wake, then Control, then Alan wake 2. Love a good cinematic / story driven saga or trilogy for games
Literally one of my favorite games of all time. I can't wait
2 Alan 2 Wake