I’m only a few chapters into the game now and already the story and meta narrative is getting really wild and layered.
Seems you’ll have to progress to a much further point in the story than you’d expect before you can properly swap at will between the two protags – I looked it up, because I was surprised that where I’m at, I haven’t seen it yet…
I am currently in Alan’s section of the game.
And it’s getting really weird and interesting.
Finally, we get some thick dream logic and weird live-action sequences shown.
Alan’s stuck in a loop, but keeps trying to break out.
You also meet Ahti! Alan Wake talking face to face with Ahti the Janitor! Wow!
A strange occurence earlier in the story pays off in a secret side-room here, and it only raises more questions:
Tim Breaker, played by Shawn Ashmore the protag of Quantum Break, has somehow been teleported to the Dark Place. And this is a regular thing for him apparently, but doesn’t remember it? It’s also connected to Mr. Door somehow who is clearly some echo/reference to Martin Hatch from the same game.
And also, he has some crazed writing about what he’s seen so far, including a “Red-Haired-Woman” he’s confused about… so, Courtney Hope from QB and also Control??
Oh, and “Sam Lake” the “actor who plays Alex Casey” also appears on the talk show, but is different from the Alex Casey you meet out in the alley after the show… Umm… Wait…?
One of the first things you find in Alan’s section is a book on the many worlds theory, by Casper Darling, the face of Matthew Poretta slapped on the cover…
My god, there’s so much Remedy crossover and self-references here it’s insane! What Is Going On But I Love It?!
So yeah, Alan has already hooked me, I’m really wondering who I’ll choose to follow next once I finally find that swap point.
They really never specificed exactly how large this “opening mandatory section” is, and that’s quite surprising! I’m enjoying the ride though no doubt.
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All I know is I’m ready to jump back in cause i just got out of work.
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Okay, I gotta talk about Remedy’s choice of where to give you the freedom to swap between characters, since it’s quite a while in… And I’m pretty sure, it was changed from what was mentioned even a few months ago earlier this year.
As far as I’ve known, the dual campaign aspect started as a “change nearly anywhere, any time” to “change only at specific Safe Rooms” with the additional caveat that the very beginning and very ending of the game are set in stone and must be completed where they are before/after both campaigns.
But in the game’s release as it is right now, the “very beginning” of the game is multiple chapters long.
You have to play through 2 lengthy Saga chapters and 3 slightly shorter Alan chapters before being given the ability to swap campaigns in specific Safe Rooms. And that’s like, numerous hours of content. Like 3-5 I’d say, before you’re done with those!
And even then – and I have no idea if they loosen up with repeat playthroughs after finishing the game – you might have to forcibly play that same sequence of chapters every time you replay the game, and won’t have all that much freedom to go Full-throttle through one protag’s campaign before swapping to the other one…
I dunno, it feels like I’m definitely a quarter through the game now, maybe even a third? But it struck me as really odd that they restrict this highly-touted feature for so long.
I can see why they might have done that, as Remedy probably wanted to hit you with the setup and hook of “Alan escapes the Dark Place?! (Saga Chp2. End)” → “Alan Recounts events leading to Scratch/Him returning somehow to the Real World (Alan Pts.1-3)” since those events flow into each other in a very particular, hand-crafted way…
But I just had to mention, that this heavily-marketed feature in interviews this past year, feels like it might be “holding on to the steering wheel” a little too long at the start than some people might want…
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Feck this never-ending stream of full-screen, controller shaking, .jpg screaming jumpscares!! 
Does it keep scaring me? Yeah!! It’s unexpected, no build-up. But it feels so cheap for a AAA game like this, for one as long as this too!
It was fun the first few times as an indicator of “uh oh the spooky stuff is happening”
But I’m many hours in and many chapters in, and they keep using these hard-cut jumpscares! You can do better at horror, Remedy!
They just used it when I ran into Cynthia Weaver in the nursing home. Was it a cool reveal that she’s now become one of the Taken? Sure! But they could have had many other creepier ways to show that than another heart-attack jumpscare!!
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Reached the most ridiculous moment in the game so far and I genuinely started laughing to the point of tears.
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Nearly done the game, will probably finish it tomorrow.
The musical sequence may have been cool, but nothing tops this late, late game sequence…
They filmed a whole surreal live-action Finnish short film that you can just watch in the theatre? In which certain characters portray other characters?
Gosh, the plot can be kind of confusing, but man, there’s so many layers to this cake, so much to dig into regarding its themes and meanings, especially what happens in The Dark Place.
So, so cool IMO… 
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I was waiting the whole game for that sequence and it didn’t fail to deliver. (I hadn’t played Alan’s story all the way through so I got double the dose of Old Gods)
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The entire NG+ Ending got leaked alongside a lot of the live action segments of the DLC’s.
Haven’t watched them but they’re in the wild.
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Wow, apparently datamined from the files. (Videos are there, but no audio allegedly)
If there’s already NG+/Nightmare content in the game, then I’m sure the mode isn’t too far off. End of November or beginning of December I’d hope…
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It’s not. The NG+ Mode alongside Nightmare is slated to release soon. This update will be with the Photo Mode also.
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Ah I was kind of wondering why the amount of manuscript fragments outweighs the total upgrade costs, I thought it was just to make you consider where and when to upgrade but if there is NG+/Nightmare mode on the way then it makes sense.
It is bloody criminal that the game didn’t ship with one.
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Not worried about spoilers here, but is there any crossover with Control?
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Yes, AW2 does follow up stuff set up from the AWE DLC in Control.
Casper Darling appears in TV’s in the Dark Place alongside his book, it’s very blink and you’ll miss it though.
FBC Worker is seen doing maintenance on the Cauldron Lake monitoring station.
Agent Estevez who was first referenced about in Control plays a role in the main story of AW2 but it’s near the ladder half of the story.
Warlin Door previously mention by Dylan Faden in control plays a role in the story.
Jesse Faden is referenced by Tim Breaker.
A specific collectible involves the FBC heavily.
I haven’t watched or seen the leaked material but the DLC’s will weigh into some more Control stuff.
It’s very unclear how much the Night Springs expansion will progress the narrative but that’s cause Remedy confirmed you play as numerous characters in that DLC in their own Night Springs esque story.
I know for the Lake House expansion Remedy confirmed that will focus more on Saga and Alan progressing their stories and will most likely set up the sequel for Control.
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Final Draft is out,
No new achievements especially for Nightmare (Boo)
First thing you see when you start takes place after the final scene of the game. (Yay).
Saga and Alan’s music is now combined so you don’t have to switch characters (yay).
Patch notes.
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Just in time for me to get my game room back.
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New Update for Alan Wake 2 adds Chapter Select (so you can replay We Sing whenever you want, or look for collectibles)
Plus you can now turn down the intensity of all the full-screen flash jumpscares in the game.
Personally for me and AW2, I haven’t made much progress in Final Draft mode.
Maybe its because I only recently finished the game once it released and was still obsessing over all the details in the game that I didn’t need to relive it again.
Or, maybe because Saga’s opening chapters are very slow, expository, and linear. Plus very little changes (I expect most to be in Alan’s Time-Warping Dark Place).
Saga’s opening chapters were cool the first time to get re-immersed into the game and world, but it can feel pretty tedious on a replay.
Anyway, I’m sure I’ll get to it someday soon when I’m itching for it. I could watch a video on all the NG+ Additions, but I wanna see them myself.
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THE MAN THE MYTH THE LEGEND SAM LAKE!!
DANCES onto the game fest stage… what a goofball he’s so sweet.
https://fixupx.com/sanamustdie/status/1799268625389617417
Also DAMN announcing the AW2 DLC comes out in less than 24 hours, shows off footage of their wacky concept, announces a Physical edition for this fall including all DLC content, and just… WOW WOOHOO WE EATING GOOD
Link to Alan Wake 2 official blog post but it’s not up yet for some reason
https://www.alanwake.com/story/lets-get-physical-with-alan-wake-2-this-fall/
Right, yeah, so!
- Night Springs DLC coming tomorrow June 8th!
- Will feature 3 “episodes” centering on Tim Breaker - “The Actor”; Rose Marigold- “The Number One Fan”; and Jesse Faden?!! - The North Star
- (This is a little different to post-release datamining, that apparently had potential code for 5 chapters, that included Agent Estevez, one of the Tor Brothers, and Alex Casey – it is unclear if McCafferey’s untimely death led to this being changed/cut)
- Photo Mode expected to be bundled with the update as well!
- Physical Versions teased for this fall, pre-orders open tomorrow!
- There will be a standard “Deluxe Edition” published by Epic Games and available at all your usual retailers and spots. 80$ USD, contains all DLC and Deluxe Outfits, Reversible Art Cover, and a download code for Alan Wake 1 Remastered.
- There will also be a premium Collector’s Edition sold by LRG, which will be open until July 21st!
It will come in a big box with the above, plus Alan’s Angel Lamp/trophy with working lightbulb, Oceanview Hotel keychain, Coffee World pins, and an Art Book of 160 pages for AW2. It will cost 200$ USD!!
- The good news is that this should mean the Lake House DLC isn’t too far off, if we’re getting the “complete” physical version this coming fall. I’d say… September at the very latest?
Here is a glimpse at the collector’s edition and the Night Springs DLC!
SIDENOTE: I really gotta finish my NG+ playtrhough lmao. I was just so floored with the first time through, I wanted to let it simmer in my head for a while!
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I’ve finished the DLC along with the 12 trophies. We knew that this DLC was short, but I still had fun in the end.
Since Alan Wake 2 came out, I’ve always thought about how cool it would be to have a game about Tim Breaker and Warlin Door. I mean, the whole multiverse thing (which I’m usually not a huge fan of, but oddly enough, I really dig it here) mixed with the lore of this new AW/Control universe could be another potential masterpiece, knowing Remedy. Obviously, the gameplay should be totally different from AW2, i imagine like a sort of adventure game maybe… with puzzles and some enemies to shoot but not too much.
I need to quell peoples excitement just a bit.
The Waitress isn’t Rose, but a stand in of Rose titled “The Waitress”
The Actor isn’t Jack Joyce but a parody version of Shawn Ashmore.
Lastly, and this one is honestly the most important one. The Sibling isn’t Jesse Faden.
The best way to put it is simply these three episodes are three of the failed attempts Alan did to escape the Dark Place. That being said these characters like the real life Alex Casey that works for the FBI have fictions versions of themselves written by Alan.
Alan knew Rose from the AW1 obviously.
Shawn Ashmore is the anomaly here, but given Warlens Doors intent with Sheriff Tim Breaker it’s most likely something he conjured in.
Jesse and Alan met during the AWE Expansions. So it’s best assumed that sometime during said expansion or after is when Alan wrote The Sibling’s Night Springs episode as another attempt to escape the dark place.
Those madlads did it, they made Death Rally a part of the Remedyverse!
The Night Springs update was a lovely though perhaps all too short diversion.
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