Alan Wake II (2023): The Review

Overview

Alan Wake 2 delivers a powerful and captivating sequel, pulling players deep into its haunting world of mystery and madness. With stunning visuals, immersive sound design, and a gripping atmosphere, it constantly keeps you on edge, piecing together what’s become of the troubled writer since his last descent into darkness. While the presentation can occasionally feel disorienting, the game still stands as a brilliantly crafted psychological thriller, one that cements Remedy’s knack for stylish, mind-bending storytelling.

Score: 9 out of 10

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The Positives ✅

Alan Wake 2 is absurdly good at the thing it cares about most: being a gripping, unsettling psychological horror story. From the opening murder investigation in Bright Falls, it hooks you with ritualistic killings, missing people from 2010 suddenly reappearing as corpses, creepy lunchboxes addressed to you, and nursery rhymes written by a government agency. It constantly dangles new mysteries just out of reach, breadcrumbing you into obsession.

The dual–protagonist structure works brilliantly. Saga Anderson’s Mind Place and Alan Wake’s more abstract Plot Board aren’t just UI gimmicks, they’re windows into how these two think. Saga’s organized case board, profiling sessions, and logical deductions make you feel like an FBI investigator actually piecing together a sprawling, interconnected web of evidence. Wake’s side, with its dream logic and shifting narrative, leans into his identity as a writer and into the surreal. The result is a narrative that feels like two minds spiraling toward the same nightmare from different angles.

Visually and aurally, Remedy is on another level. The Northlight Engine delivers some of the best lighting and art direction around: foggy forests, wet asphalt, pulsing red danger in the distance, safe pools of white light, and “opposite-of-sunspot” darkness that literally eats the world around you. It nails that liminal, Lynchian “is this real?” mood. The soundtrack floats between atmospheric, dreamlike, and uneasy, making even the “normal” bits feel like they’re happening inside a long waking dream. Voice acting is equally strong, especially Saga and Alex Casey, who sell both the grounded detective work and the creeping unreality.

As a package, it’s a very polished, premium-feeling game. At $60 digital-only, you’re getting a dense, layered story, tons of side cases, collectibles, references, and lore, especially if you’ve played Remedy’s other games. But even if you haven’t, Alan Wake 2 is kind enough to work as a standalone. The atmosphere and story alone justify the price: it’s eerie, stylish, and relentlessly gripping from the first crime scene to the final mind-bender.

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The Negatives ⚠️

For all the intentional disorientation baked into the story, the combat and overall readability can cross the line from “unsettling” to “frustrating.” Mechanically it’s still very much “flashlight to strip the darkness, then shoot,” but now with more emphasis on dodging and ammo management. The issue is: the game gives you almost no clear cues for when enemies are about to attack. No obvious tells, no generous indicators, just you, a manual camera, and enemies that can smack you from off-screen while you’re healing or reorienting.

When the action ramps up, especially in tight spaces, in the rain, or in visually noisy fights with loads of darkness effects and swirls, combat can feel clunky and unfair rather than tense. There’s a difference between feeling vulnerable because the game is scary, and feeling vulnerable because you literally can’t see or anticipate what’s going on. Some sections, like the looping forest encounter you mentioned, push that visual chaos so far that it can be downright dizzying. It fits the dreamlike theme, sure, but not everyone will enjoy fighting the camera as much as the enemies.

Pacing-wise, Alan’s late arrival as a playable character might rub some players the wrong way. Spending roughly three hours as Saga before you can control the guy whose name is on the title screen is a bold structural choice. It works narratively, Saga is a great lead, but if you came in specifically to be back in Alan’s shoes, the delay can feel a bit long.

And while the atmosphere and storytelling are fantastic, the moment-to-moment gameplay isn’t quite as strong as the presentation. The investigation systems are great, but the combat never fully reaches the same level of refinement. If you’re coming in wanting a more action-forward horror game, this one leans much harder toward story, mood, and puzzle-like deduction than slick gunplay.

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The Experience 🎮

Playing Alan Wake 2 feels like being trapped in a beautifully produced, deeply weird crime drama that slowly mutates into a metaphysical horror opera, and you’re not just watching it, you’re assembling it. The game constantly blurs the line between dream and reality, between crime fiction and cosmic horror. Bright Falls isn’t just a location; it feels like a recurring nightmare you keep waking back into.

As Saga, carefully pinning clues to your Case Board, profiling suspects, and seeing separate cases bleed into a larger, more horrifying pattern, you genuinely feel like you’re cracking something big and wrong. As Alan, with his more fluid, writerly way of reshaping events, you feel like you’re sinking into the Dark Place with him, trying to claw your way back to coherence. That duality, logic vs. dream. is the heartbeat of the experience.

Yes, the combat can be janky. Yes, some sequences are visually overwhelming. And yes, if you’re impatient to play as Wake, the opening might test you. But once it all clicks, Alan Wake 2 becomes one of those games that burrows into your brain and refuses to leave. The atmosphere is so consistent, the mysteries so layered, and the presentation so assured that you come out the other side feeling like you’ve been inside one long, bleak, gorgeous waking dream.

If you want tight, action-heavy horror, this might not be your perfect match. But if you’re craving a surreal, story-driven, psychological horror ride with top-tier atmosphere and genuinely clever narrative design, Alan Wake 2 absolutely delivers, and then some.