At Summer Games Fest, we got to see a behind closed door demo of Alan Wake II. Taking place 13 years after the first game, Alan Wake II is set to be Remedy’s first survival horror game. The demo we saw really showed that it’ll be a tense experience all the way throughout.
The demo showed us Chapter 2 of the game which is played from the perspective of one of the dual protagonists Saga Anderson, voiced by Melanie Liburd, while there will be other missions from the titular Alan Wake, voiced again by Matthew Porretta, perspective. The demo shows Saga and her partner Alex Casey, voiced by James McCaffrey, explore the Pacific Northwest town of Bright Falls in search of the returned to life Robert Nightingale. Though things don’t go exactly as you would expect in their search. The area that was shown was one of three main hub areas players are able to explore, and exploration can be down in and out of missions.
The demo was tense showing Saga being assaulted by “Taken” cult members and being beseeched by some pretty terrifying looking visions as she tries to solve the case she’s working on. She has some pretty unique talents to help her along the way as well. At any time Saga can enter her Mind Place and think about the case and figure out clues, but the game doesn’t stop when you enter here so it was warned to do it in a safe spot outside of combat. The biggest two examples we saw use of the Mind Place were for Profiling where Saga delves into the mind of a character to see how they thought and felt as well as the case board, cue the Charlie Day meme, which visualizes the case and players can add clues they find to unlock new objectives.
Combat looks to be more intense this time around even though Saga has her handy flashlight and trusty sidearm. Plus, whatever other weapons she can find along the way. There are also safe havens which are areas of light that protects her from enemies. Players can also find break room which house the thermos which is used to save this time around as well as be used to switch between the two main characters.
Eager fans don’t have to wait long, as Alan Wake II is set to release later this year on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X, and PC on October 17, 2023.