Back in 2010 came “Alan Wake,” the well-regard mystery thriller action game from Remedy Entertainment (“Control,” “Quantum Break”) that played out like a big tribute to the works of Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft and “Twin Peaks” as a horror author investigates mysterious goings on in the Pacific Northwest town of Bright Falls.
Later this year comes the long-awaited sequel, which is going for more of a survival horror vibe. Recently VGC sat down with co-director Kyle Rowley and principal narrative designer Molly Maloney to talk about how the sequel differs from its predecessor.
One big change is the shift to the new character, newcomer FBI agent Saga who arrives in Bright Falls to investigate a series of ritualistic killings. Things spiral from there, and at a certain point Alan is ‘unlocked’ – after that, you can switch between the two characters with each having their own unique stories boasting different tones and mechanics.
Talking about some specific film or literary influences for this game, Maloney says: “True Detective comes up a lot.” Rowley adds: “The slow burn nature and the kind of buddy cop scenario that True Detective season one had is there, and those kinds of ritualistic serial killings were definitely on our mind.”
Rowley adds that from an art direction perspective, their work was heavily influenced by particular 1990s works, with the Coen brothers’ “Fargo” and David Fincher’s “Se7en” explicitly cited.
According to the developers, playing as Alan represents approximately 50% of the experience – presumably, Saga is the other 50%. Rowley says thanks to their work on their other titles in the years since that: “the concept we’ve ended up with now is definitely the best version of what Alan Wake 2 could be.”
The game is also going to be a digital-only release, the creators saying that helps keep the price of the game down to $59.99 for the console and $49.99 for the PC version.
Rooney adds: “Basically, from our side as developers, the more time we get to work on polishing and fixing bugs or whatever, the better for us when creating a very good experience.”
“Alan Wake II” will hit digital stores on October 17th.
Source: VGC
