Alan Wake 2 Developers Strived To Deliver Longer Video Games

Coming nearly a decade and a half after the release of the first game, Alan Wake 2 is obviously going to get a lot of players who’ve never had any experience with the franchise. That, combined with the fact that it’s also connected to Control through the Remedy Connected Universe, means there’s a lot to catch up on, even if Remedy has stressed that it’s tried to make the game as newcomer-friendly as possible.

13 (real-world and in-game) years have passed since we left Alan Wake in the Dark Place. The 2010 action game/psychological thriller gained a cult following thanks to a compelling narrative that blends Stephen King-esque psychological mystery with the quirky charm and evocative surrealism of Twin Peaks. In the decade-plus since, Remedy has grown to become one of the industry’s premier development studios, and now it’s writing an all-new chapter with its first survival-horror game, Alan Wake 2.

By Ash Parrish, a reporter who has covered the business, culture, and communities of video games for seven years. Previously, she worked at Kotaku.

Alan Wake 2 is nearly here. I can’t believe I’m actually typing that. For over a decade now, we’ve been waiting for a proper sequel to land for this game franchise, and now we can prepare for its release. However, since this game franchise initially launched so many years ago at this point, you might need a refresher on what happened to Alan Wake before we embark on this new journey. Well, fortunately, who better to offer a discussion on what happened to Alan Wake over the years than Sam Lake, the creative director at Remedy Entertainment? 

Plenty of Alan Wake 2 gameplay has been showcased of late, with Remedy Entertainment ratcheting up the hype surrounding the game in the lead-up to its launch, which is now less than a month away. Now, the developer has released another short gameplay clip that focuses on something pretty specific.

Remedy Entertainment has confirmed that Alan Wake 2 will have a performance mode despite being built for a 30 FPS experience.

Seeing Remedy Entertainment's cult favorite horror game Alan Wake make a comeback is a strange feeling. Arriving 13 years after the original, Alan Wake 2 sees the return of the titular protagonist who can rewrite reality, all while evading the creeping dark forces that's always one step behind him.

With 2019’s Control, Remedy Entertainment established the Remedy Connected Universe, which, like its name suggests, pulls two of Remedy’s owned properties – Alan Wake and Control – into a shared universe.

13 years after the launch of its predecessor, Alan Wake 2 finally continues the story of gaming’s favourite haunted novelist. But the sequel is expanding more than just Alan’s tale. This game is the third entry in the Remedy Connected Universe, an idea that will see the Finnish studio’s works overlap, connect, and influence each other.

Alan Wake 2 is looking to shake things up from its more than a decade old predecessor in a number of ways, and though a complete shift in genres to survival horror is obviously one of the biggest changes it’s making, there’s plenty more as well. A key one, in fact, is the fact that the game has two playable protagonists, and in a new video published by IGN, developer Remedy Entertainment has shed more light how the game approaches its unique dual protagonist structure.

His name may quite literally be the title of the game, but Alan Wake is not the only main character in Remedy Entertainment’s upcoming survival horror. The ‘2’ in Alan Wake 2 doesn’t just point to its sequel nature, but also to the duality that runs through the entire game. Two protagonists. Two perspectives. Two worlds. And two approaches to gameplay.

Remedy Entertainment has released a few behind-the-scenes videos in the lead-up to Alan Wake 2’s launch, highlighting different aspects of the game and its development process. In a new behind-the-scenes video, the developer has turned its attention to the music and audio design of the highly anticipated survival horror sequel.