“It’s not a loop, it’s a spiral,” in Remedy’s essential replay experience for the horror sequel.
After years of working, we released Alan Wake 2 a bit over a month ago. We wanted to create an ambitious, unique game, and with something like that there’s always nervousness about how it will be received. The reception has been beyond anything we could have hoped for, with Alan Wake 2 taking home The Game Awards trophies for Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, and Best Game Direction. We are deeply grateful for that.
Alan Wake 2 is Remedy’s first survival horror game, and our most ambitious story-focused experience. The game has two playable heroes, Alan Wake, a tortured writer trapped in the nightmare dimension of the Dark Place, and Saga Anderson, an FBI Agent investigating a string of ritualistic murders in the Pacific Northwest. As the story progresses, their journeys become more and more entangled as the profound, layered mystery waiting under the waters of Cauldon Lake emerges from darkness.
From the beginning, our plan was to create a New Game Plus mode for Alan Wake 2 as an essential part of the experience. When we started working on the game and the story, the idea was always there. It made sense on multiple levels. We were creating a dense experience. It felt that there was enough to support multiple playthroughs for all the aspects of the story to sink in, and for all the collectibles to be found and pieced together. With the New Game Plus, a clear motivation exists to do that.
You retain all your unlocked weapons, charms, and upgrades. You have earned that by playing through the game. There is a new Nightmare difficulty level if you want to face further challenge. But most importantly, there are some narrative elements to show that this replay has a meaning. It is a part of the lore. Things have shifted in subtle ways. There is progress. You are making progress. You will hear that in Alan Wake’s narration at the very beginning. A new awareness, even if it soon fades—a promise.
For a long time, Wake has been trapped in a nightmare loop, and with him, so have we all, no matter how many times we have played through the game. Finally, with the New Game Plus and Alice’s help, we are set free from the loop and ready to proceed deeper into the spiral.
This is The Final Draft of both Initiation and Return. And it will lead us to what awaits at the end of the spiral.
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