Alan Wake II

Not gonna lie, I had some technical issues that made the experience a little annoying but it was still really fucking good. The atmosphere, the music, the visuals and the writing, it all comes together incredibly well.
Remedy is doing crazy things and unlike other studios, they really try to push the medium to the next level. I can't wait to experience whatever they are doing next.

THE REMEDY'S MASTAPEECE

Alan wake ll is the wildest experience i ever had this year.
Fans been waiting 13 yrs including myself for Alan wake to come back and now he arrives in Keanu Reeves looks with so much personality.
Story is just so good,it's Twistedly bizzare, confusing and mindfuckingly insane that only Remedy does it and I couldn't even think of any other developer.
They have a knack of just sharing their games in every universe they create and this one has it all,from Max Payne to Control.
They really do love their Coffee huh,I guess.
The best graphics in a horror genre, absolutely mind-blowing narrative with spectacular environment design made in proprietary engine giving intense atmosphere is just enough to give you goosebumps and tremors.
There are so many moments that I couldn't think of,it hits different in a very good way.
Its a Semi open world design that doesn't even give you location on where to go and find out everything by yourself including a map in each area,how thoughtful huh,I loved every bit of it.
Puzzles are outstanding.
Its not for everyone,but once it clicks,its the game you would never experience in your whole life,even if you're granddaddy of Survival horror.
The Mindplace feature where you solve cases with Saga Anderson while Alan wake can change timeline with light giving two separate campaigns within a same storyline is just mastapeece work.
Combat felt realistic,this might be a negative aspect for many but I absolutely loved it.
Its like re4 but no parry and not alot of things to offer,but that's exactly what a survival should be.
Exploring these intense environments just to get enough supplies and batteries ,but you find different places that are meant for side quests and you begin to question yourself,dafaq is this,this is new.
Enemy fights were good,but the Boss fights,phew (Amazing).
The Ending will make Scratch your head and wonder what just happened.
If you understand the Concept they made and master it,its a masterpiece.
If you have no idea what to do,the protagonist will hint you up for it,that makes it much easier to learn.
Cutscenes that makes you wanna watch it again and again portrayed by real life actors in a horror game is new and this is how every new game should be released in this genre.
How do you make a Survival horror game with psychological flavour to it with Dual protagonists in different timeline with writing that is equivalent to a fictional movie.
Remedy created a new genre and it's a masterpiece.
The Game where Replayability is in Story and not in Gameplay is just Atomic bombshot to my brain cells.

2023 might be greatest year is the history of videogames.
So many great ones but also so many bad ones.

ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ

Alan Wake 2 is quite possibly the best game I‘ve played this year.

After 13 years of waiting Alan is finally back. The first question that may come to one’s mind is: Was it worth the wait?
I am happy to report that it very much was and even exceeded every expectation of what an Alan Wake sequel could look like.

We now have a new protagonist in the form of Saga Anderson, an FBI agent who is tasked with investigating the ritualistic murders taking place in the outskirts of a small town called Bright Falls. She is also accompanied by her partner, Alex Casey (Veteran Alan Wake and Max Payne players are in for a treat with this one). During the investigation she comes across pages of a manuscript titled „Return“, written by the missing writer, Alan Wake.
While that‘s all going on, Alan is still trapped in a spiral in the Dark Place, desperately trying to write his way out.

The story is divided into two campaigns (Saga and Alan). It is remarkable how well these two perspectives flow into each other to tell a complete cohesive story. Remedy has hereby achieved the perfect dual protagonist system in a video game.

The gameplay and combat is inspired by a whole array of survival-horror titles such as Resident Evil, The Evil Within, etc.
Even though the combat is a lot of fun with the wide variety of weapons and tools you have at your disposal, it is still the weakest part of the game. I only say that, because every other aspect of the game is just so mind bogglingly good that the combat just can‘t keep up, no matter how good it is.

We are also presented with some of the best puzzles in any horror game with Alan’s writers room, lamp and Sags mind place. (Not going to spoil more about that, I‘ll let you find out for yourself)

The atmosphere and sound design is one of the biggest highlights of the entire experience with all the little details in the environment.

We also get to hear some real bangers made by Poets of the Fall (or Old Gods of Asgard as they are referred to in this game).

Alan Wake 2 is a survival/psychological horror masterpiece that sets a new standard for this type of game. Remedy can be proud of the work they‘ve done with this one.

Alan Wake II is everything I wanted the first game to be. This is a masterpiece of a survival horror, and if you crave a really good story with great survival horror gameplay, Alan Wake II is a must try.

The first Alan Wake really disappointed me as I was expecting as I was expecting a survival horror game in the forests of Washingon. What I got instead was a boring corridor shooter that was popular during the xbox 360 era, and a bit of a pretentious story. Alan Wake II did everything to not be that this time.

In this game, you play through two parallel stories as two different characters, uncovering a mystery and finding what happened to Alan Wake. I won't spoil much, but the story is a thrilling spiral of twists and turns. The story can be a little pretentious here too, but it mostly makes up for it with the great writing.

The gameplay is something similar to that of Resident Evil 2 remake. It doesn't do anything new in terms of modern survival horror, however it keeps the tradition really well.

Where the gameplay really shines is in the exploration. Instead of the linear corridor fest of the first game, you're given a semi-open world. In Alan's gameplay, you can change sections on a map on the fly with the 'story path' mechanic. It's honestly so technically impressive. Saga's gameplay makes you really feel like a detective with her mind map ability. There are so many optional places to explore for additional items and upgrades, it makes exploring feel rewarding.

Also Alan Wake II contains some of the coolest Setpieces I've ever seen in a video game and I will leave it at that.

The only one thing I didn't really like was the pacing of some sections in the game. Sometimes it felt really long to get through a story section before you could even get back to basic gameplay.

Alan Wake II has turned me into a Redemy fan, and now I look forward to trying out their other games such as Control, Max Payne, Quantam break and future games. I highly recommend this.

Played on: Playstation 5
Version: Playstation 5
Edition: Digital

Listen, this game is good. It really is. It's just not great & it didn't grab me in the slightest. I didn't care for the first game, but I thought this one seemed far more gritty & grounded. It is (for the most part).

The gameplay is decent & feels like a mirrored version of the current Resident Evil remakes (not necessarily a bad thing). The story is intriguing but after a while it becomes a pain to trudge through & grows rather boring. The atmosphere is FANTASTIC & this really is a technical feat when it comes to its visuals.

All in all, I had an okay time but once I am done, I am done. I don't feel the need for another playthrough because this is a one & done game. No replay value at all & would be excruciating to play again.

Final verdict: Wait for a sale