Summary
In a year that has been filled with high-profile releases,Alan Wake 2has been one of the biggest surprises of 2023. A treasure trove of anticipated titles has been dropped this year,making 2023 one of the best years in gaming history. With such great games releasing this year, likeTears of the KingdomandSpider-Man 2,Alan Wake 2has been the wonderfully surprising black sheep of the group.
AlthoughAlan Wake 2still embraces the overall energy of the first game, it flips the first game on its head by not only focusing more on survival horror, but also by using a double-protagonist approach that makesAlan Wake 2even more compelling than its predecessor. The addition of Saga Anderson to Alan’s story gives the game more layers of mystery, and her calm and cool personality is a nice contrast to Alan’s frazzled state. However, as gripping as the game and characters are, there is still a missed opportunity regarding the game’s Safe Rooms that could add another layer to the stellar double protagonist gameplay.
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Alan Wake 2’s Safe Rooms Missed a Chance to Connect Alan and Saga Even More
One of the most important resources found inAlan Wake 2is the Safe Rooms. Throughout the game,Safe Rooms are where players can savetheir progress and also get a nice breather from the game’s eerie, and oftentimes intense, atmosphere. One of the main features found in these Safe Rooms are Shoeboxes, which players use to store excess items taking up space in their inventory. Although these Shoeboxes are good ways to manage one’s inventory, they are also a missed opportunity for bringing the double protagonist gameplay to new heights.
Once players progress enough through the story, the game gives the option to switch between Alan and Saga via the Janitor’s Bucket that is found in some Safe Rooms. This is one of the most fun waysAlan Wake 2embraces the weird, but a similar feature could be added to Shoeboxes, specifically for items. A fun way to make the game even weirder could be to allow Alan and Saga to pick up items that each character has left in the Shoebox.
Being able to share an inventory in this way would make for some interesting ways to strategize between the characters. Something Alan leaves in a Shoebox could be greatly useful to Saga, and vice versa. Utilizing the Shoebox in this way would also add a deeper layer to Saga and Alan’s connection.Alan Wake 2pulling off a dual narrativeis one of the most fascinating parts of playing the game, and Remedy could have gone even harder with an additional Shoebox mechanic. The game is already mind-bending enough as it is, but Remedy has really been treading deeper and deeper into cosmic weirdness, so it seems surprising that the studio didn’t showcase the Shoebox in a stranger way.
After an already incredible year of gaming,Alan Wake 2has helped end the year on a high note, and even though the game has the recipe to become one of the top horror games of all time, there are still small details Remedy can add in order to take the game to its apex.Alan Wake 2still has many unanswered questions, and that could either mean those questions will be answered in other Remedy titles or with a thirdAlan Wakegame. Whichever path Remedy chooses to take, giving a bigger meaning to Shoeboxes would be an interesting way to connect a future dual narrative.
Alan Wake 2
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A string of ritualistic murders threatens Bright Falls, a small-town community surrounded by Pacific Northwest wilderness. Saga Anderson, an accomplished FBI agent with a reputation for solving impossible cases arrives to investigate the murders. Anderson’s case spirals into a nightmare when she discovers pages of a horror story that starts to come true around her.Alan Wake, a lost writer trapped in a nightmare beyond our world, writes a dark story in an attempt to shape the reality around him and escape his prison. With a dark horror hunting him, Wake is trying to retain his sanity and beat the devil at his own game.Anderson and Wake are two heroes on two desperate journeys in two separate realities, connected at heart in ways neither of them can understand: reflecting each other, echoing each other, and affecting the worlds around them.Fueled by the horror story, supernatural darkness invades Bright Falls, corrupting the locals and threatening the loved ones of both Anderson and Wake. Light is their weapon—and their safe haven — against the darkness they face. Trapped in a sinister horror story where there are only victims and monsters, can they break out to be the heroes they need to be?
