Yesterday, the New York Videogame Critics Circle (NYVGCC) announced the winners of the 13th annual New York Game Awards in a dedicated ceremony streamed live from the SVA Theatre, with Baldur's Gate 3 once again emerging as the big winner.
Alan Wake 2 Review
13.01.2024 - 01:49 / gameinformer.com / Kyle Hilliard
Remedy is known for being experimental. It mixes live-action footage into its video games, plays with player expectations, rewards those devoted to the developer’s history and gameography, and in the case of Alan Wake 2, eagerly performs big-budget lunacy for our entertainment and sometimes confusion. The highs of Alan Wake’s follow-up adventure are tall, but there are frequent lows that drag the whole experience into The Dark Place. I also encountered a number of bugs that forced frequent restarts and one full reinstallation. But even in the moments I was most frustrated, I still admire Remedy’s commitment to creating a unique experience and embracing its weirdness.
Alan Wake 2 takes place in the real amount of time since we played the original game. Alan has been stuck in limbo for 13 years, trying his hardest to write himself back to reality. From a zoomed-out perspective, both Alan Wake games are about a man trying to escape an evil entity. On closer inspection, however, the story is about the nature of art, what it means to create, the reliability of memory and reality, parenting, friendship, and of course, murder. Alan Wake 2’s story, sometimes clumsily, navigates all these topics with morose voiceover, beautiful visuals, impressive performances, and bizarre set pieces that will undoubtedly become the game’s primary talking point for the rest of its legacy. This is where Alan Wake 2 shines. The way it presents its story is different than just about everything out there, and even though I would have liked more interactivity during conversations and internal monologues, I remained consistently engaged.
The exception to this is new playable protagonist Saga’s investigative techniques. While I overall preferred playing as Saga to Alan, her special detective abilities led to frequent underwhelming reveals. Saga arrives at impossible-to-know case facts by simply sitting in a room and thinking to herself. I am happy to buy into the conceit that she has special powers, but from the player’s perspective, watching Saga just know things for no reason is deeply unsatisfying. Her interactive efforts to build evidence out on a wall also feel like painting by numbers, when you generally already know what image you are creating. Overall, however, Saga’s story and the mystery surrounding her family is the more interesting one, and I followed her threads when given the choice.
Alan lacks Saga’s investigative abilities, but playing his portions, which take place in the abstract Dark Place, have their own issues. Alan is supposed to be lost and confused in the Dark Place, and from a narrative perspective, it works. But when a location (and troublesome map) is already difficult to navigate and then filled with doors
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techradar.com
23.01.2024 / 11:39
Alan Wake 2's The Lake House DLC won't lead into Control 2, but will feature some hints about what's to come
Remedy Entertainment's creative director Sam Lake has teased what fans can expect from Alan Wake 2's upcoming (downloadable content) DLC in regards to its ties to Control 2.
thesixthaxis.com
19.01.2024 / 17:13
Dead by Daylight – Alan Wake Chapter, and why they’re a perfect match
Alan Wake is coming to Dead by Daylight at the end of this month, the tortured writer set to be the latest survivor in the long-running multiplayer horror game, but how did this come to be and what will Alan play like?
thegamer.com
18.01.2024 / 00:23
Dead By Daylight Dev Says Alan Wake's Scratch Was "Too Close" To The Entity
Earlier this month, Dead by Daylight developer Behaviour Interactive made the exciting announcement that Alan Wake is being added to the game as a playable Survivor on January 30. His addition immediately has us all asking if any playable Killers from the Alan Wake series could be added in the future too, but Scratch has been taken off the table as he's "too close" to The Entity.
radiotimes.com
17.01.2024 / 18:59
Alan Wake DBD: Release date and perks for new Dead By Daylight chapter
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gameinformer.com
17.01.2024 / 01:01
Wakerunners Is A High-Speed Competitive Romp From The Company Behind Dave The Diver
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destructoid.com
12.01.2024 / 21:19
Alan Wake 2 forges a full-circle moment with Poe on ‘This Road’
You could say that Alan Wake 2 was decades in the making. Last year’s blockbuster from Remedy saw the studio return to its roots and the horrors therein, dredging up the past to loop into something new, now. But it wasn’t just the main character or gameplay style we saw return, but the sounds and inspirations of the original Alan Wake too, bubbling up from Cauldron Lake through the music of Poe.
gameinformer.com
12.01.2024 / 09:18
Super Mario RPG Review
The original Super Mario RPG, released for Super Nintendo in 1996, felt like it was meant to be your first RPG. In an era when Final Fantasy tried its best to tell mature stories within the medium's limitations and Dragon Quest demanded hours and hours of your time, Mario’s adventure felt much brighter and more manageable. Familiar characters, a lighthearted story, a reasonable length, and timed button-pressing during combat made it stand out against the competition. Revisiting the game more than 25 years later in this new remade shape shows the original formula did not need much tweaking to deliver an engaging and enjoyable journey. Super Mario RPG is not entirely innocent of the sins of video games past, but old fans will relish the chance to see the game in a new light, and I’m confident newcomers will find something to love.
pcgamer.com
12.01.2024 / 08:47
Alan Wake 2 review
What is it? A surreal survival horror sequel that also ties into Control and Remedy's other past games.Release date 27 October 2023Expect to pay $50/£40Developer Remedy EntertainmentPublisher Epic Games PublishingReviewed on Nvidia Geforce RTX 3080, AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, 32GB RAMSteam Deck N/ALink Official site
wccftech.com
11.01.2024 / 10:15
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Leads DICE Awards Nominations Ahead of Alan Wake 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3
The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) has announced the nominations for the 27th annual DICE Awards, revealing that Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has garnered the most nominations (9) ahead of Alan Wake 2 (8) and Baldur's Gate 3 (7). Marvel's Spider-Man 2 was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Animation, Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction, Outstanding Achievement in Character (for Miles Morales), Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition, Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design, Outstanding Technical Achievement, Action Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction, and Game of the Year. Alan Wake 2 was listed in the Art, Character (for Saga Anderson), Music Composition, Audio Design, Story, Technical Achievement, Adventure, and Game of the Year categories. Baldur's Gate 3 is running in the Character (for Astarion and Karlach), Story, RPG, Game Design, Game Director, and Game of the Year awards.
videogameschronicle.com
11.01.2024 / 00:27
Alan Wake is coming to Dead By Daylight later this month
Alan Wake is coming to Dead By Daylight.
mmorpg.com
10.01.2024 / 21:47
Alan Wake is Coming to Dead by Daylight This Month
Asymmetric horror game Dead by Daylight has added Alan Wake, the protagonist of Remedy Entertainment’s series of the same name, to its roster.