Alan Wake 2: Bizarre, but Earnest Horror

[@donovancatuncan2617]

A game experience like Alan Wake II doesn't come around often so I hope it gets the recognition it deserves. My love for Remedy started in the beginning of the millennium (yes I'm an old millennial, borderline Gen X lmao) when Max Payne came out and it's satisfying to have been on this journey with them since. Their studio's growth and progression is born from tenacity and I admire that about them. They know who they are and AW2 is the culmination of Remedy believing in itself.

[@jackellis924]

I finished playing alan wake 2 a couple of days ago, ive always been a fan of the remedyverse. I started playing their games with Quantum Break which at the time came with a digital copy of all the original alan wake stuff. Then i played control and the dlc, and at the end of it all i couldnt contain my hype. When i finally got around to playing alan wake 2 I was having the best time ive had in gaming in a hot minute. Every single aspect of it was perfect to my taste and yet it still so refreshing that even through all the scares i was grinning and having the absolute best time. I just hope more people experience this game. I love it to death. The wait was absolutely worth it.

[@alphamineron]

Yea similar experience… it was just the most exceptional feeling ever in a game. I was almost addicted to completing the game, first 6-8hrs of Alan wake I took 2 weeks or so, to play each night… but gosh the moment the story started picking up and I watched some lore videos form the Bright Falls show and AW1… I finished the game in a single weekend. Never seen storytelling so creative and brilliant like AW2… there aren’t words, to explain what it does… you have to “dive in” into deeper and then it’ll click. It’s NOTHING LIKE OTHER GAMES. Other games, just throw dialogues and cutscenes and stuff at you but this was something different… this was beautiful… the live action inclusion? The meta narrative itself? Oh god. I can’t believe there are braindead worms who simply ignore all this beauty and call the game “death of gaming”, “walking simulator” and “movie game”… disgusting

[@wizcatcheslightning]

This video, much like Alan Wake 2, deserves more attention.

[@garchomowner]

It's crazy how layered the story is. Like you can everything at face value, but you can't just do that because every part of the game is both explaining alan's psyche too and you can go on and on and on about the meta narrative and narrative hidden behind narrative. It's a spiral indeed.

[@Roy_A13]

AW2 is my Game of the Year. But even I can say that BG3 deserves this years GOTY award

[@superdude10000]

Yeaaah I'm in that same boat. I WANT this to win, but I'm not holding my breath.

[@matthewobrien178]

BG3 is game of the year, any other year it aw2. I hate survival horror. AW2 was my game of the year because I never finished bg3

[@brianmurray7821]

It's so frustrating because AW2 is so much better, story, tech, graphics, soundtrack, etc but nah BG3 will win. It's not a bad game but I'm feeling underwhelmed playing BG3. The soundtrack is standard fantasy, the art design is standard fantasy and the story so far isn't that amazing. ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠⊙⁠_⁠ʖ⁠⊙⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

[@slavakolba7er]

​@@brianmurray7821bullshit, it's lost in any categories, and this is not a horror game, wake up ppl

[@Turtzu]

Great video. The Poet and the Muse playing in the background towards the end was perfection alongside your commentary

[@bttmgmr2011]

Alan Wake 2 is also my GOTY, and although I liked BG3, playing Alan Wake 2 is a scary game that had me reacting to sounds all around me whether I was playing as Saga or Alan. The level of sound design, atmosphere, and horror elements had me squirming like a lost, lonely child in a haunted, thrilling landscape I couldn’t escape and I LOVED IT!! I didn’t get that level of fright from playing BG3 which is why I agree that Alan Wake 2 should be chosen as GOTY.

[@speedymonkey1]

Superb video, needs so much more views.

[@jkubed95]

goddammit fine I will play Remedy games. this sounds bonkers. great video.

[@nothingisawesome]

Great video..BG3 is clear goty imo but i would not be disappointed if AW2 won. Its incredible and felt very refreshing even in a year of great games

[@PleasantLeech]

It's hard to imagine BG3 wont win just due to the overwhelming amount of content. I won't even be mad if it does. Nothing else deserves to beat Alan Wake in my opinion though. It's just an unforgettable experience unlike anything else.

[@meat.popsicle]

Alan Wake 2 is my GOTY. After seeing all the great reviews, I played Alan Wake remastered and absolutely loved it. Alan Wake 2 just blew me away. I have never played a game like this before. Might be my second favourite game of all time after Witcher 3. Also, Ilmo and Jakko are played by the same actor! Fucking blew my mind when I saw the credits!

[@SidPhoenix2211]

As an artist who is oft burnt out and stuck in a metaphorical dark place which triea to hinder my mental health and my creative efforts... I connected to Alan Wake II BIG TIME. Alan Wake is literally me lol

[@timberm4n379]

well i think you already know it but Alan is kind of an allegory to all artists and writers who have same problem as Alan in the first game. As a writer Sam lake projected his own problems with writing in the fisrt game, so thats why it resonates with all writers/artists

[@fatidicusaeternus6498]

Horror very rarely "works" on me, but some parts of the Dark Place had an unease and claustrophobia that really got to me.

[@Gnomesmusher]

Weirdly enough I myself was in a dark place mentally when I decided to pick up the game. And I was hooked. I somehow ended up playing over 60 hours on the only playthrough. Not because I was stuck or dying a lot. But because I was taking my time exploring everything in the game. Looting everything I could find. It was weirdly comforting. The dark atmosphere of the game and the crazy narrative just sucked me in like very few games have. I'm still in the middle of my Baldur's Gate 3 playthrough but I stopped playing it to play Alan Wake 3 and finished AW2 in a couple of weeks. I loved BG3 but I personally love AW2 more. It's my GOTY for sure. EDIT: I didn't stealth through my gameplay but I did run past a lot of enemies though haha. Saved me a lot of bullets to the point of filling up my shoeboxes and had to leave loot sitting in containers and finding tons of empty containers (they end up empty because you already have too much loot)

[@mikezenox]

If your fiancé has a thing for detective games, you have an obligation to show her the outer wilds if she hasnt already played it.

[@prototypelq8574]

Return of the Obra Dinn is also a must for detective-game enjoyers

[@SidPhoenix2211]

Forever thankful to and for Max Payne 3 and CONTROL. Absolutely LOVE those games. They made me aware of Remedy and their other works (i know MP3 isnt remedy, but it finally got me to check out MP2 which was a good time). Alan Wake II just blew my socks off. Havent been able to think about much else other than that game since i played it (wrt art, entertainment etc) And AW2 gave me the final push i needed to check out Twin Peaks. Currently on S03.

[@theepicbro99archive48]

great video! i fully agree, this is probably the most unique AAA game i’ve ever played. what a masterpiece for real. it swings for the fences and while it doesnt land every single swing, the home runs are so incredible that it’s my GotY too.

[@zilmorzilmor4777]

Amazing video!!

[@danmcmurphy2823]

GOD DAMNIT WHY AM I WATCHING ANOTHER ALAN WAKE 2 REVIEW INSTEAD OF MAKING MY OWN

[@dvblues]

YOU CAN STEALTH AS ALAN!? Dude I got all the achievements and missed this. 40 HOURS AND I DIDNT KNOW

[@benmcreynolds8581]

How do you stealth as Alan? I beat the game on ps5 and didn't know that was a option you could do..

[@dvblues]

@@benmcreynolds8581 he was just talking about how in Alan’s story you could turn off your flashlight and sneak past the shadow people. I just fought them or ran past them

[@benmcreynolds8581]

@@dvblues oh okay. Yeah i learned that if you turned off your flashlight 🔦 it can help u sneak around. I just saw the comments saying something about stealth & didn't consider it was the flashlight approach

[@joaolima790]

YOU CAN STEALTH ALAN'S PART???? I PLAYED TWO TIMES WITHOUT KNOWING THIS

[@garyking1986]

I agree that TLOU2 and Uncharted 4 suffer from ludonarrative dissonance, but I'd argue that the first Last of Us doesn't. That game doesn't treat killing as some awful thing you should be ashamed of doing. Killing is shown as something necessary to survive, and you're playing as a character that has no qualms about killing.

[@villecor8765]

I genuinely didn't know you could stealth the shadows in Alans section just shining the normal light on them makes them disappear after a sec and i only used that

[@kylewilliams1246]

YOU CAN SNEAK PAST THE SHADOWS IN THE DARK PLACE?!?!?

[@trentrissubsidiary4619]

Phenomenal video. Thank you

[@richythemen9569]

Story line Gameplay action/cases Ultra realistic grafics A masterpice.

[@Marcomkb]

I loved AW2 but a CRPG winning the TGA? what a dream

[@colbyboucher6391]

I haven't finished AW2 yet, I'm busy as hell. It's _my_ game of the year and it was from the moment it was announced practically, because it's Alan Wake. ...But I don't know if it deserves to be _the_ game of the year for a few reasons: - I really do think there needs to be separate awards for video game-ass video games, and "interactive experiences" which are often aiming for very different things. - From an "is this a fun video game" perspective, I enjoy AW2's gameplay but it's just... tense, at best. It's Alan Wake with REMake controls and more forgiving enemies. American Nightmare was more entertaining. (I'm halfway hoping the Night Springs DLC cranks up the combat the way American Nightmare did- since they're both Night Springs episodes. RE4 rather than RE2.) - Bonus related mini-complaint, whether the shadows Alan faces are hostile or not should be randomized, the fact that they're totally fixed spawns ruins the illusion very quickly. - Remedy talks about how they couldn't make Alan Wake work as an open world, and yet Control and AW2 are little open worlds that exhibit what I assume are the exact problems they had with the first game. Remedy's solution is to just make the game as if it were linear, despite having a miniature open world lying around. This has lead to moments where wandering the wrong way leads to bizarre progression bugs (Nightingale's heart isn't in the fridge until the Mind Place tells you it's in the fridge, the first Dark Presence escape sequence can be totally broken if you run back outside rather than into the correct break room, etc.). It's also responsible for what some people would consider a terminal amount of slowly jogging around, discovering that nothing has changed at all, and slowly jogging back.

[@Vorrester]

Finished the game on PC, 29 hours, and I didn't know there was a sneak button. I did wonder about one Word of Power granting greater undetectability, but I thought that applied to some of the shadows just not attacking when you are running.

[@DaveBirowski]

Aw2 deserves it. Give it to ol Sam guys.

[@workoutandread]

Nope, not on steam

[@DaveBirowski]

@workoutandread regardless of the platform, it is the most ambitious game of this year. Maybe the most ambitious AAA game made in decades. If not ever.

[@workoutandread]

@@DaveBirowski AHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA, it's a sequel to an alright game. There is nothing revolutionary about it.

[@superdude10000]

Sounds to me like you haven't tried it, so how could you know?

[@DaveBirowski]

@workoutandread yeah, it's pretty apparent that you haven't played it. I was already a remedy fan boy, and it blew me away. But to each their own.

[@cyrusr2209]

The fact that Remant 2 and Lies of P arent on this list is a CRIME

[@mememachine-386]

7:20 how could you miss the obvious "deep as a lake, deep as an ocean" here?

[@ThatSkiFreak]

whats the song at 10:10 ?

[@superdude10000]

I dunno the song's name, but it's from the original Pheonix Wright game. When the trial begins.

[@kayoo4532]

can i please have the intro background music name oh my god its so good

[@superdude10000]

This Road by Poe. It's in Alan Wake 2, though not on the soundtrack for... unfortunate contractual reasons. You can look it up on KZbin

[@kayoo4532]

thanku my friend ur channel is a gold mine ive been binging ur videos all day

[@revenger210]

not really about alan wake, but it pleases me so greatly to have so much of signalis's ost and even gameplay footage show up! Would you ever consider making a video on Signalis? :D

[@superdude10000]

I loved Signalis when I played it, it rules, but it's such a dense game that I find it hard to wrap my head around it. Its story is dense, multilayered, and is very open to interpretation due to the unreality of what is experienced in it (not unlike Alan Wake 2). I wonder what I could say that hasn't been said by others about Signalis. If you watch other critiques or video essays involving it, they almost always get really pensive, because I don't think you can TALK about Signalis without really engaging it on those terms. Do I have something as equally thoughtful or important to say that others haven't said? So far, the answer is no. But maybe in the future. I do love that game, and would love an excuse to talk about it. Maybe after that Silent Hill remake comes out, so I can connect the two. Who's to say?

[@qasderfful]

"You should play it" Yeah no, not with these system reqs.

[@Ghee_Buttersnaps]

10:23 music plz

[@superdude10000]

Ace Attorney 1's Trail Start theme. Not sure what it's name is exactly, because it's in Japanese text on Spotify, but that's what it is

[@Ghee_Buttersnaps]

@@superdude10000 You have saved my hair line; i was going crazy You are an Angel ✨

[@ViewtifulJae]

This game is great

[@CecilyRenns]

Really glad you made this video!!! Alan Wake 2 absolutely blew me away, one of my favourite gaming and media experiences I've had in years. I was honestly lukewarm on AW1 and Control, but AW2 hooked me from the start and "We Sing" solidified it as GOTY for me. Hopefully more people check it out, even if it doesn't with GOTY I hope the nominations compel people to play it since it really deserves all the attention

[@mcbill7352]

I havent played any new games this year lmao but bg3 deserves to win. I will never play it because i cant stand crpgs but I believe that its positive reception will do good things for the industry.

[@fokka6010]

I'm the polar opposite, being the crpg enjoyer and having time for new games, but I'd lie if I say I liked BG3. It has two things going for it - production value and (relative) core gameplay simplicity, and while everyone can appreciate good graphics and actors, dnd 5e mechanics are way too dumbed down for me to get the proper fun out of combat, not to mention the more universal issues. I'll give it another run when they give it enhanced edition treatment, but not before that.

[@Robert048]

I loved everything except for the weird stutter when panning the camera with a mouse

[@lightningmonky7674]

I'm a little confused on your dig at the last of us, are you saying they should have added live action segments to the game? That could work in it's favor honestly but I just want to know what the critique is

[@superdude10000]

I'm essentially saying that Naughty Dog's games are separated into two spheres: the game you're playing, and the story the cutscenes are telling, and rarely do the two intersect. It leads to some moments where the gameplay and story are telling different stories, like Nathan's kill count making death frivolous, unlike Uncharted 4's beginning, where each death is really impactful to the narrative, or the Last of Us 2's focus on the cycle of violence and how it's bad... but makes violence super f'ckin cool to do. When we talk about Naughty Dog's games, we often think about how amazing their narratives are, but the gameplay just... fades into the background, if isn't actively harmful to our understanding of the story altogether. My critique is that The Last of Us 2's gameplay doesn't compliment its story, or vice versa. Same with Uncharted 4.

[@lightningmonky7674]

@@superdude10000 I can't really argue with that, and with uncharted 4 and last of us 1 I agree I could take or leave, however 2 is one of the most fun games I've ever played, it's legit so badass

[@stevenanderson3205]

Just downloaded Blair Witch tonight big fan of the movies.

[@Rodinov_Claw]

GOTY!

[@DrRESHES]

I put this video on a backlog. I finished Alan Wake 1 yesterday. played Max Payne 1 2 3 the they came out and always replayed them, a lot. Now i need to make a nightmare run in AW1 and dlc. Dunno but i heard i should play Control also and its DLC's. so i'm set.

[@wondertim0]

It's not a requirement to play anything before AW2. But if you do, you will understand the lore and different connections in RCU better. Control & especially one of its expansions has references to AW1 and kind of sets up AW2 a bit, like MCU movies do. AW2 has naturally references both to AW1 and Control (and we'll see if the AW2 DLC will set up forthcoming Control 2). Even without any RCU connections Control + expansions are worth checking out on its own, since the game is awesome and got recognized with 11 nominations at BAFTA 2020 game awards. Now after amazing Alan Wake 2 can't be more excited about Control 2 (release perhaps already by the end of the decade). Oh, and one of the best parts of Control is [blank] who is entity [blank] in [blank] [blank] [blank] * * redacted by Federal Bureau of Control

[@DrRESHES]

@@wondertim0 I believe that. i bought Control on PC and PS5 just to give them the money and because i believe it's an actual genuine amazing game, and wanted to test the DualSense. Dualsense all the way. also got the book of Control on whim back then, "The Art and Making of Control". although i haven't got to read it, because i haven't finished the game yet, but flipped it a bit, it's a really good book. By now, I'm a bit burned on AW1 Nightmare mode, i got to Ep 3, day. then finished AW1 DLC's. Booted up control, I'm in chapter 3, research facility, read the material i already have, to refresh my mind. Tomorrow i'll be ready to finish Nightmare mode, then go to American Nightmare, then continue Control.

[@DrRESHES]

@@wondertim0 hey so, i finished all of it. AW1 & DLC's, American Nightmare - all manuscripts for all. Finished Control and DLC's, most of the collectibles have been read. got plat on Control. now I'm playing Alan Wake 2 chapter 1, finished the first forest investigation, and now in Bright Falls. took me an 1 and half to get all the lunch boxes that i could, and investigate everything, especially the Bureau.

[@kremesauce]

Is dr darling rendered in, in control? I thought he was just live action the whole game. Also bro, you need to watch twin peaks

[@swamp345]

I think Alan Wake 2 may surprise alot of people and do a surprise upset this year. I mean BG3 has literally been done before, its not innovative or new in anyway. AW2 is so innovative and different and people are sadly sleeping on it because its not as mainstream as Spiderman or Baldurs Gate. Its a shame.

[@cherubin7th]

I don't like this two different games in one thing. Deal breaker for me.

[@WolfHeathen]

I love the first Alan Wake but the sequel was disappointing. The first game, despite the gameplay being on rails, felt much more open. AW2 felt more like a drudging over-the-shoulder hallway shooter a la post-2005 Resident Evil. The whole mind place/investigation part of the gameplay was boring and served little to no purpose. It ground the gameplay to a halt, was needlessly convoluted and only provided simple information that could've easily been provided through exposition in cinematics. It was one of those cool ideas that should've really been scrapped during development. The missed opportunity of expanding the world is also blatantly obvious. Instead of taking a journey from point A to point B (which makes it feel like you're actually making progress), the protagonists are locked into a few relatively small areas that loops back on themselves that you have to visit multiple times. It makes it feel as if you're stuck in the same place and that the developer seriously lacked imagination. No driving, no journey of discovery, nothing. It feels lazy. The storytelling is pretentious in a very "artsy" kind of way and it feels straight up like a self-insert fantasy. Remedy took the worst parts of AW1 and American Nightmare and bet everything they had on that for the sequel. AW2 is a mediocre game at best.

[@acetrigger1337]

"Baldur's Gate 3" is too big for it's own good... i have not finished it and i probably never will. but "Alan Wake 2" is also a game i would never play, because i am very squimish when it comes to Horror. but being able to witness them being created in my Lifetime was the real achievement of all.

[@superdude10000]

Watch a let's play of it! I used MKIceandFire's footage for a lot of this video, so I gotta plug them for this. The perfect way to remove the scares from your hands. Unless it's horror in general in which case...

[@serpentfrog7211]

My GOTY is Book of Hours.

[@VChong1991]

Im torn between baldurs gate and alan wake. I love both of those developers... The rest can go suck a big fat L tho KEKW

[@workoutandread]

Alan wake and it's "not on steam" cancer can go suck a big fat L lmao frnocap

[@benmcreynolds8581]

I cannot explain how much i love Alan Wake 2! I can't wait for the DLC's to come out! I've already bought them. People need to support these devs so they can make as many projects as they want because no one has done what they have, to the level & quality & rawness that they were willing to do here. They pulled no punches, they went all out, not afraid to show the gruesome and real sides of true crime. The nature and environments feel real you get lost into them. I live in the PNW and i legit feel like I'm hiking in areas I've been to. It's unbelievable how amazing it is! It's more than i could have ever dreamed of when i tried to consider a Alan Wake 2. These devs are SO TALENTED! *I wish they would make an extra game mode that would let you mess with & throw around objects like u can in control. I really hope they keep adding things to give this a ton of replayability. It has so much potential to build upon. I would be happy if they kept coming out with additional stuff for this amazing game. Imagine if im a DLC, they leaned more into finding crime scenes, forensic evidence exploration & true crime Noire vibes. They really can do so much with the foundation of this well made game

[@thesmilyguyguy9799]

(:{ kr

[@akiradkcn]

bg3 is trash

[@Nastyfun]

Very raw made game, boring, too much useless words, it doesn’t deserve the goty

[@lunabeige]

tlou is the perfect game and nobody can say otherwise

[@workoutandread]

jak and daxter was a better series

[@workoutandread]

Not available on steam thus a pain in the ass to run on linux along with giving a linux hostile platform money? Nah hard pass, the entire meta writting thing is cringe too, play the first one and when I finished it I never wanted to play another meta game again.

[@Scoopsdepoop]

Saying "cringe" unironically is cringe. It's okay to admit that you don't understand why people enjoy the game, because you're clearly in the minority here.

[@workoutandread]

@@Scoopsdepoop You have poop in your name, you have no ground to stand on commenting on the usage of cringe mr poop.