Alan Wake 2 is a 2023 survival horror video game created by Remedy Entertainment and published by Epic Games Publishing. It is the follow-up to Alan Wake (2010), and the story centers on Alan Wake, a famous novelist who has been stuck in an alternate dimension for 13 years. He tries to escape by writing a horror story that includes an FBI Special Agent named Saga Anderson.
Alan Wake 2 was released on October 27, 2023, for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. The game’s development and marketing cost about €70 million, making it one of the most expensive games ever made and one of the most costly cultural products from Finland. Critics gave the game mostly positive reviews, and it was nominated for several Game of the Year awards. By December 2024, the game had sold more than 2 million copies, becoming Remedy Entertainment’s fastest-selling game. Two downloadable content (DLC) expansions were released: Night Springs on June 8, 2024, and The Lake House on October 22, 2024.
Gameplay
Alan Wake 2 is a survival horror game, unlike the original Alan Wake, which is an action-adventure game with horror themes. Both games are played from a third-person perspective. Players can choose to play as either Alan Wake or Saga Anderson in two separate single-player stories. These stories can be played in any order, though the beginning and ending of the game are fixed.
In the game, Alan Wake and Saga Anderson move through environments and fight enemies using guns and a flashlight. The flashlight can be "focused" to make enemies weak to gun attacks. However, focusing the flashlight uses up its battery power. Players must carefully manage limited batteries and bullets to survive. When enemies are close, Alan or Saga can dodge to avoid harm.
Alan Wake 2 includes detective-style features. When playing as Saga Anderson, players can enter a special area called the "Mind Place," described by the game's creators as a "3D menu." This space visually represents Saga's thoughts. In the Mind Place, players use a pin board to connect clues and solve the main mystery, as well as study character profiles to gather information. When playing as Alan Wake, players access the "Writer's Room," where they can see the outline of a novel he is writing. By changing details in the outline, players can alter the environment around Alan. Neither the Mind Place nor the Writer's Room stop the game's action from continuing.
A feature returning from the original Alan Wake is the ability to find manuscript pages that hint at future events in the story.
Synopsis
FBI agent Saga Anderson and her partner, Alex Casey, come to Bright Falls to investigate murders connected to the Cult of the Tree. Their latest victim is Robert Nightingale, an FBI agent who disappeared during a big event in Bright Falls in 2010. The government kept this event secret. During the autopsy, Nightingale's body comes back to life and runs away. Saga follows strange typewritten pages that predict what will happen next. She chases Nightingale through the woods and kills him. She then finds novelist Alan Wake on the shore, warning of his evil double, Mr. Scratch.
Alan tells Saga about his 13 years in the Dark Place, a place connected to Cauldron Lake and ruled by the Dark Presence, which appears as Mr. Scratch. Alan tried to escape by writing stories that change reality, but his attempts always bring him back to a vision of his New York apartment with his wife, Alice. Videos from Alice's apartment show she is also haunted by Scratch.
Alan writes a story called "Return" about Saga's investigation, but Scratch changes it. He warns Saga that Scratch is looking for the Clicker, a magical item that can free or destroy the Dark Presence. As "Return" unfolds, Saga finds out her past has been changed so that her daughter, Logan, drowned. She retrieves the Clicker but is stopped by the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC), led by Agent Kiran Estevez, who captures Alan and the cult leaders, Ilmo and Ja
Development
Remedy Entertainment released the game Alan Wake in 2010. Inspired by their earlier game Max Payne, they designed Alan Wake in a way that allowed more stories to be added later through sequels. After Alan Wake was released, the team began planning a sequel that would continue the story of Alan Wake but also explore the backgrounds of supporting characters, such as Barry Wheeler and Sheriff Sarah Breaker. A prototype of Alan Wake 2 was created to show gameplay to potential publishers. This version would have been a direct sequel to Alan Wake, featuring new enemies and gameplay features like the ability to rewrite reality. However, Microsoft, the publisher of Alan Wake, was not interested in a sequel at the time. Instead, they asked Remedy to create a new game, which became Quantum Break, released in 2016. Quantum Break included a short live-action film titled Alan Wake: Return, which introduced two FBI agents, Alex Casey and Saga Anderson. Saga Anderson was first played by Malla Malmivaara and later by Melanie Liburd. Many ideas for Alan Wake 2 were later used in American Nightmare, a downloadable game released after Alan Wake. Remedy’s CEO, Tero Virtala, stated that any future sequels to Alan Wake would require approval from Microsoft, as they own the publishing rights, though Remedy retains other intellectual property rights.
When Quantum Break was announced, Sam Lake, a Remedy executive, said that work on a Alan Wake sequel had been delayed due to the original game’s financial performance. In 2019, Remedy’s communications director, Thomas Puha, noted that the company briefly returned to Alan Wake ideas about two years earlier but could not proceed due to time, money, and resources. At that time, Remedy was focused on developing Control, supporting another game called CrossfireX, and working on a new project. Despite these challenges, Sam Lake continued to help brainstorm ideas for Alan Wake 2, which was internally called “Project Big Fish.” A downloadable content pack for Control later included a reference to Alan Wake, and Remedy stated that Control and Alan Wake are part of a shared universe called the “Remedy Connected Universe.”
In July 2019, Remedy acquired full rights to Alan Wake from Microsoft, including a one-time payment of about €2.5 million for past sales. This helped pave the way for a sequel. In 2021, Remedy signed with Epic Games Publishing to release two games. The first was Alan Wake Remastered, released in October 2021, and the second was Alan Wake 2, announced at The Game Awards 2021. Thomas Puha said that Epic Games allowed Remedy to create the game they wanted with limited interference, while offering feedback to improve the game.
Production of Alan Wake 2 began in August 2019. Sam Lake said the game would use Remedy’s Northlight Engine, the same engine used for Quantum Break and Control. He described Alan Wake 2 as a survival horror game, different from the original Alan Wake, which he called “an action game with horror elements.” Players do not need to play previous games to understand Alan Wake 2. The game was inspired by the works of David Lynch, particularly the third season of Twin Peaks, as well as detective stories like SE7EN and True Detective. Literary influences included books such as House of Leaves and The Dark Tower series. Lake said the game’s design was also influenced by the success of the movie Everything Everywhere All At Once.
The game would continue using a third-person perspective, with returning actors Ilkka Villi and Matthew Porretta providing Alan Wake’s appearance and voice. Other cast members included Melanie Liburd as Saga Anderson and David Harewood as Mr. Door. The game also features cameos from characters in Control, such as Jesse Faden and Dr. Darling.
One mission, “Initiation 4: We Sing,” includes a musical sequence where Alan Wake and other characters perform a song called “Herald of Darkness,” summarizing the story so far. The song was inspired by scenes from Alan Wake and Control, and was performed live at The Game Awards 2023 by the cast and the band Poets of the Fall.
The development of Alan Wake 2 took 13 years, according to Sam Lake, due to the game’s complex characters, locations, and supernatural story. The game’s budget was reported to be €70 million, with €50 million spent on development and €20 million on marketing. This makes Alan Wake 2 one of the most expensive cultural products in Finland’s history.
In October 2024, Remedy released a free anniversary update for Alan Wake 2, adding accessibility features such as infinite ammo, one-shot kills, and improved haptic feedback for PlayStation 5 players.
Before Alan Wake 2 was released, Remedy was known for pushing the limits of visual technology with games like Control and Max Payne 2. Alan Wake 2 was developed for next-generation consoles, using mesh shaders supported by PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and high-end PC graphics cards. It was the first game to natively support mesh shaders.
Music
The original score for Alan Wake 2, created by Finnish composer Petri Alanko, was released on May 14, 2024, by Epic Games and Laced Records. This date marks the 14th anniversary of the first Alan Wake game's release. Alanko returned to compose for Alan Wake 2, comparing the experience to reuniting with an old friend and discovering both familiar and new musical ideas to use.
Alanko began recording the Alan Wake 2 score in 2011. Over the years, the project changed significantly. The biggest change was the addition of Saga Anderson, the game's second main character. During the time he worked on Alan Wake 2, Alanko also composed the score for Remedy Entertainment's 2019 game, Control. To create some of the sounds for Alan Wake 2, Alanko used unusual methods, such as dropping pianos using forklifts.
Release
In May 2023, Remedy announced that Alan Wake 2 would only be available for purchase digitally. They explained that many players now buy games digitally, so they wanted to keep the game’s price low and avoid requiring a separate download even if a physical version was made. The game was originally planned to release on October 17, 2023, for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. However, it was delayed by ten days to October 27 to avoid competition from other major games. The PC version will be exclusive to the Epic Games Store for a long time. Free downloadable content packs and two paid expansions, titled Night Springs and The Lake House, were announced. Later, Remedy said physical editions of the game would be released in October 2024, including a limited collector’s edition made with Limited Run Games.
A special outfit from Alan Wake was added to Fortnite as part of the "Fortnitemares 2023" event. A story from the first Alan Wake game was also available in Fortnite Creative before the sequel’s release to help new players learn about the game’s events.
From October 10 to November 13, 2023, a free copy of Alan Wake 2 was included with the purchase of certain Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 series GPUs. Eligible GPUs were the RTX 4070, RTX 4070 Ti, RTX 4080, and RTX 4090.
In January 2024, Alan Wake was added to the video game Dead by Daylight. Additional outfits and items were included with his release, such as skins that change the character into Saga Anderson, Rose Marigold, or Mr. Scratch.
The first downloadable content (DLC) expansion, Night Springs, was released on June 8, 2024. It includes three episodes that feature characters from the Remedy shared universe in "what if" scenarios set in Bright Falls. These include "Number One Fan," where players control a waitress based on Rose; "North Star," which features a character based on Jesse Faden from Control; and "Time Breaker," which includes real-life actor Shawn Ashmore as himself and Sheriff Tim Breaker, whom he also voices.
The second DLC expansion, The Lake House, was released on October 22, 2024. This expansion is a crossover with Remedy’s Control series. In The Lake House, players control FBC agent Kiran Estevez. The events of the expansion occur early in the main game’s story, but players can access it anytime from the main menu or during the mission "Return 6: Scratch," similar to how Night Springs was accessed through television sets in the Dark Place. The game also included new music from Petri Alanko and Poe, as well as a new in-game outfit for Alan, called the "classic outfit."
Reception
Alan Wake 2 received "generally favorable" reviews from critics for the PC and PS5 versions, while the Xbox Series X/S version received "universal acclaim," according to Metacritic. OpenCritic reported that 93% of critics recommended the game.
Andrew Farrell of PCGamesN gave the game a 9 out of 10 in his review, stating, "Alan Wake 2 is a marvel, offering intense gameplay, a twisty, dark story, and many secrets and surprises. Remedy has created a truly remarkable experience."
Alan Wake 2 was ranked first on Time's list of the top 10 best video games of 2023.
The Night Springs expansion received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to Metacritic. OpenCritic reported that 79% of critics recommended the expansion.
The Lake House expansion received "mixed or average" reviews for its Windows version and "generally favorable" reviews for its PlayStation 5 version, according to Metacritic. OpenCritic reported that 66% of critics recommended the expansion.
By the end of December 2023, Alan Wake 2 had sold over 1 million units. By February 2024, sales reached over 1.3 million units, making it Remedy's fastest-selling game. It sold more units and over three times more digital units in its first month than Control did in its first four months. As of late April 2024, the game had not yet paid back its development and marketing costs. In its January–June 2024 financial report, Remedy confirmed the game still had not turned a profit. In the quarterly earnings report on November 1, 2024, the company announced that while the game had not yet started generating royalties, it was close to fully paying back most of the development and marketing costs with ongoing sales. On November 19, Remedy announced the game had sold over 1.8 million units. By the end of 2024, it had sold over 2 million units and began generating royalties for Remedy after recouping its development and marketing costs.