Alan Wake II (2023)

Finally started The Final Draft (before tackling the DLCs). I really want to take advantage of the photo mode this time around, but so far it hasn't clicked for me; the colors in the woods just so muted...

Hopefully I can get more interesting shots when I reach the more exciting parts. Can't wait to capture a Nightingale set once I reach his boss fight.

I'm sure I'll have more to say about this when I actually finish the game, but I really appreciate this game's use of meta-narrative. Like. Meta is at the point where it's so overdone that it's no longer interesting on its own merit, but I think Remedy is doing a really great job of understanding how to write an effective meta-narrative by simply doing it really, really well. I was worried before playing this game that it was going to be a SuBvErSiOn of the tropes - which has somewhat hilariously become a trope itself - but I'm just really enjoying what they've done with the story here.

Quantum Break is winding up to be far more important in the narrative than I'd expected, and that just has me so thrilled. But the way they've effectively found ways to write all of their previous works into this universe is really great.

I'm kinda at a point where I wanna see if they can fit a Death Rally or CrossfireX reference in there somehow. XD

So I just did the Herald of Darkness scene - if you know, you know - but what's really got my attention so far is how they've not only brought Quantum Break into the fold - not my favourite Remedy game, but the one I think about the most - but done it in a really clever way that recontextualizes the entire universe a little bit.

Gonna spoiler text some theory crafting here.
By the looks of things, Jack from Quantum Break is something of a man trapped in a space between time, and Marvin Hatch is Mr. Door, who, much like his role in Quantum Break, is pulling the strings for an unclear purpose in very subtle ways. It's also entirely possible that Jesse Faden is actually the woman the same actress played in Quantum Break, but simply "another self". Which would really help explain why Control just kinda starts and what the hell happens to her at the end of Quantum Break. These two are not just random characters, they're people trapped in Hatch's realm, in a time loop, as different people.

The Lake House expansion is out. I played it through and... it was honestly pretty underwhelming.

I guess most my disappointment just boils down to gameplay. As was with the first DLC, Lake House offers a short story-focused experience that doesn't aim high gameplay-wise. If you don't to be spoiled what the DLC adds, I'll mark it as spoilers: the expansion has one new weapon, one new enemy type and one mediocre boss fight. There's not much progression, no upgrades, no unique mechanics like in Saga's and Alan's parts. Just story stuff and fighting enemies with pretty underpowered weapons.

Where the first DLC was piss-easy, Lake House is a lot more challenging – and frustrating. A lot of fights take place in tight spaces which often leads to disasters. Enemies tank a lot of bullets which then leads to ammo depleting. You can't really stock up on ammo since item boxes give you ammo more rarely if you already have some. This just felt cheap. Healing items are weirdly scarce as well. It's survival horror so resource management is typical, but I just didn't vibe with it in this. A few times I was thinking "was it this bad in the base game" (that I loved) but I don't think it threw as many enemies in this cramped spaces with this little resources. And the base game had the upgrades.

Oh yeah, there's also some bugs here and there and the game also crashed on me once.

Maybe I had forgotten too much about how to play (it took time for me to figure out again how to use the flashlight and how to dodge). Maybe I was critical having just played RE2 remake that had less frustrating combat. Either way, I wasn't feeling Lake House as much as I had hoped because of the gameplay.

Outside gameplay, it's not all that bad, though. Not at all. Unlike Night Springs expansion, Lake House at least has a completely new area to explore. Even though it's annoying to fight in, the Lake House environment is pretty cool. As the whole DLC is a Control tie-in and the Lake House is an FBC facility, it's super Control-esque. All the lore items and bits are also very reminiscent of Control. You'll see clips of Doctor Darling more than once, for example. The story also handles the world of Alan Wake in a really cool way that suits the FBC to a tee. Of course the FBC would research Cauldron Lake and its power in crazy ways. There's not much happening in the story (you are mostly piecing together what has already happened) but it's a nice extension to the lore.

I was initially glad to see FBC agent Estevez as the star of the Lake House since she felt pretty bland and useless in the main game. This DLC would give her another chance to shine. Sadly, she's pretty non-descript. She just isn't really that memorable and doesn't do or say anything really interesting.

All in all, Lake House is so short that it makes it easier to forgive the gameplay flaws. You put in three hours, endure some frustration and receive some cool FBC craziness. For the finale of Alan Wake 2 experience, I was expecting more but what can you do. The main game was hard to top anyway.

I'm thinking of playing/replaying the Remedy Connected Universe games before the physical edition of Alan Wake 2 drops in the Fall. I'm thinking that means the following:

• Alan Wake
• Quantum Break (I know this is not officially part of the universe, but since It was originally planned as a sequel to Alan Wake, is the first time Remedy uses the term AWE, and has renewed connections via Night Springs, I'm going to play it anyway)
• Control

Does anyone know, is it worth playing Alan Wake's American Nightmare? I know it's considered part of the connected universe, but I've heard mixed things about it and that it's not completely essential.

So, the first DLC for Alan Wake 2, Night Springs, is out. I played through it and, in my opinion, it's a pretty fun side attraction.

Basically, it is three easy, short and linear spin-off episodes each featuring a different playable character. First episode is a hilarious romantic power fantasy featuring Alan's fangril Rose. The episode's boss features one of the best twists in video game history: "And my motorcycle is also a werewolf!" Second episode features Jesse from Control looking for her brother within a mind-corrupting coffee cult. The third is an off-brand Quantum Break episode featuring Alan Wake 2's sheriff, Tim Breaker... kinda. It's pretty hard to summarise since it is quite bonkers but basically you are an actor who portrays Tim Breaker, a multiverse travelling hero, and you end up travelling the multiverse yourself trying to stop Mr Door from killing variants of you in different universes.

In all fairness, it's not a perfect package. The DLC doesn't have the same polish and spectacle as the main game, and the easy, straightforward nature is also a bit weird. Since the DLC doesn't have difficulty options, I think they just threw a shitton of healing items and ammo everywhere and gave you powerful weapons so that everyone can breeze through the episodes. Also, to cut costs, the DLC recycles a lot of environments but if that was necessary for making the DLC, it's fair game. In addition, I think Jesse's episode ended up a bit underwhelming even with the crazy premise.

Still, there's so much of Remedy kookiness and charm there that it's all worth it. As the episodes are very short and quite different from each other, the DLC makes for a nicely fresh, brief experience. Out of the episodes, the most interesting one is the Tim Breaker one. I would love to see this expanded to it's own game. Really cool stuff with potential for all kinds of craziness. And the funniest one is definitely Rose's. There's some cool new music as well.

Sadly, James McCaffrey, the voice actor of Max Payne (and Alex Casey) died recently. The whole DLC is dedicated to his memory and at the end of the third episode, they play an unused voice clip by James. Supposedly Remedy had plans for content featuring James but this had to be scrapped. I'd imagine the plan was to have a sort of Max Payne episode in the mix too.