Remedy Entertainment’s Creative Director Sam Wake took to the stage at the Summer Game Fest to discuss and show off the upcoming Alan Wake II. We all knew that the game would feature both original protagonist Alan Wake and a new character FBI agent Saga Anderson, but Sam Wake disclosed that not only will be able to play as both characters during the game, but we’ll be able to switch between the players at will. “Lots of connection points” allow players to swap whenever they want, be it as much or as little as they like, even letting fans know they can choose one character for the entire story and it’ll still be a complete and fun time for all!
Related: Alan Wake 2 ‘Supposed to Come Out in October’ According to Leading Voice Actor
Whilst Alan Wake II will feature certain story strands from the previous title, Sam Wake said that it is intended to also feature as a stand-alone project, meaning players won’t ‘have to do homework’ to understand and enjoy the experience.
Sam Wake also showed off an extended gameplay trailer of Alan Wake II, opening with Saga Anderson walking through a gloomy, intense and intimidating forest, with nothing but a flashlight and a gun for protection against what ends up being a significant supernatural monster for company. Fans of the original will be glad to see the same gameplay mechanics at play, with possessed individuals requiring light to weaken them, as well as having that familiar black smoke surrounding them.
Featuring more investigative gameplay similar to the first, it looks like players will be having to piece together what is going on in Bright Falls again, both with rescuing the stranded Alan Wake and finding the the culprit of the latest murders in the town.
Alan Wake II – An Experience
Many fans of the Alan Wake II franchise have been wondering exactly how Remedy were going continue the story after the ending of the first game and the surprise inclusion of the character and universe in Control, but after releasing the story synopsis, it looks like any fears fans may have had are unfounded and unnecessary.
“Saga Anderson, an FBI profiler with a reputation for solving unsolvable cases, arrives in Bright Falls to investigate a string of ritualistic murders. The case slides into a nightmare when Anderson discovers pages of a horror story, a horror story that starts to come true…
Alan Wake, a lost writer trapped in a nightmare prison beyond our world, writes a dark story to shape reality in a desperate bid to escape. Hunted by an insatiable horror, Wake struggles to retain his sanity and beat the devil at his own game.
Anderson and Wake, two heroes on two desperate journeys. Two separate realities connected in ways neither of them can understand. Echoes become reflections. Reflections that can reach out to each other.Trapped in a horror story where there are only victims and monsters, can they break out to be the heroes they need to be?”
Fans, myself included, have clamoured for a follow-up to the first game to find out Wake’s fate, after he’s left in what is described by Remedy as a ‘nightmare prison’. Whether this one ends with him escaping or the new character Saga Anderson joining him there is unknown at the moment, but Remedy have shown time and again with Alan Wake, Control and more that it isn’t afraid to leave the characters in precarious and depressing predicaments.
Are you excited to get your hands on Alan Wake II? Were you disappointed by the gameplay reveal? Let us know in the comments!
Alan Wake II is due to release on October 17th on PC, Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X.
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