Alan Wake 2: What to know if you haven’t played the original game

It’s been over 13 years since Alan Wake, Remedy Entertainment’s psychological action-thriller about a writer trapped in a horror story of his own creation, was first released for Xbox 360. Despite the game’s critical success and cult following, plans for an immediate sequel to Alan Wake were stymied by the original’s disappointing sales. After more than 10 years, Alan Wake 2It is almost here. For fans of the first game, this is a cause to celebrate, but anyone else may be wondering why all the excitement.

“We are not expecting everybody to do homework if they have not played the original game,” Remedy creative director Sam Lake said during Thursday’s Summer Game Fest presentation, emphasizing that Alan Wake 2This is both an enjoyable sequel and stand-alone game. We at Polygon have certainly done our homework.

If you’re looking for a quick and breezy rundown of what happened in Alan WakeWhat to Expect from Alan Wake 2, and how exactly this game exists as the centerpiece of the so-called “Remedy Extended Universe,” we’ve got you covered. Here’s the what you need to know before Alan Wake makes his long-awaited re-emergence from the depths of darkness.

What is the origin of Alan Wake?

The first game has players taking on the role of Alan Wake. He is a bestselling author of a crime fiction series centered around a hardboiled police detective called Alex Casey. (More on Alex Casey later). Alan is suffering from a two-year period of writer’s block and, in an attempt to get the ol’ creative juices flowing again and patch things up with his wife Alice, goes on a trip to the small town of Bright Falls, Washington for a short vacation.

Alan and Alice, after getting to know the locals, arrive at the cabin they have rented on an island located in a volcano crater known as Cauldron Lake. After settling in, Alan and Alice get into an argument over the latter’s attempt to arrange a meeting with Dr. Emil Hartman, a psychologist who specializes in working with patients with careers as artists. Alan storms off, only to hear Alice’s screams as the sky darkens and the cabin is descended upon by a violent flock of birds. Alan arrives in just enough time to witness Alice throw herself in Cauldron Lake and dive in after her. Here’s where things get weird.

Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games

Alan awakens behind the wheel in his wrecked car, on the edge of Cauldron Lake. He has no memory of how he arrived there and how long it’s been since. Alan is stalked as he tries to get help by people in the town that seem to be possessed by a strange and shadowy force. Alan stumbles upon manuscript pages that he has written, scattered throughout Bright Falls. These seem to foretell the future. Alan is on a quest to find answers in Bright Falls, while avoiding capture from a rogue FBI officer named Robert Nightingale. He learns, after trying to escape Robert Nightingale’s grasp, that he has been transported into an extradimensional dimension known as The Dark Place. Twin Peaks’ Black Lodge, but more incorporeal). Alan, who was there, became possessed by the Dark Presence – a supernatural being that forced him into writing a horror story titled Arrival in exchange for Alice’s safe return. It feeds on the creativity of artists and writers to manifest in the real world. Alan finally woke up from his fugue, escaped the lake and was imprisoned for one week. This is right before Alan awakens in his car.

The group includes his best friend and publicist Barry Wheeler as well as Bright Falls sheriff Sarah Breaker and the musician brothers Odin & Tor Anderson. Cynthia Weaver, a lamp-touting elderly lady (think Twin Peaks’ The Log Lady), Alan returns to the depths of Cauldron Lake and manages to defeat the Dark Presence, freeing Alice from its clutches. Unfortunately, Alan himself was left stranded in the Dark Place… where he has been ever since. Oh, and the Darkness spawns a murderous doppelganger of Alan named Mr. Scratch that just wanders the world wreaking havoc and tormenting Alan’s loved ones.

Alan Wake acknowledges time passing

Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games

Alan Wake 2This game is set 13 years after events that took place in the original game. Alan Wake. This new game acknowledges that a great deal has changed in the past few decades. Set in present day, Alan Wake 2 follows the story of not only Alan Wake as he once again attempts to escape the Dark Place, but also a new character in the from of Saga Anderson, a talented FBI agent who arrives at Bright Falls to investigate a series of murders — one of which includes former FBI agent Robert Nightingale at the hands of a mysterious cult with apparent ties to the Dark Presence.

Alan Wake 2 is a survival horror video game

The original Alan WakeThe game is described as a horror-themed action adventure shooter. Alan Wake 2This is an all-out horror game. The story will see players switching between Alan Wake’s and Saga Anderson’s perspectives at different points. Summer Game Fest’s gameplay emphasized horror, with Saga Anderson facing off against an imposing figure wearing a trenchcoat and deer mask, who was possessed by Dark Presence.

Saga uses her flashlight and pistol to remove the darkness that surrounds the body of the attacker, just like in the original game. We also get hints of new gameplay mechanics, as Saga finds a severed human heart hidden at the bottom a refrigerator and collects it for evidence.

Alan Wake 2 It is directly related to the events in Control

Remedy Entertainment/505 Games

Alan Wake 2 and Remedy’s ControlThe two games share a shared universe but their connection is much more than just that. In the second DLC extension for ControlThe add-on is called AWE, players control protagonist Jesse Faden as she explores the Investigations Sector of The Oldest House in search for answers regarding an “Altered World Event” (aka AWE) connected to Bright Falls, Washington — yep, the setting of Alan Wake. Within the expanded version, Jesse faces off with a monstrous Dr. Emil Hartman and uncovers pages of a manuscript that was supposedly written by Alan Wake, which suggests the events in ControlIn fact, the stories that Alan Wake wrote were a means of him reifying his reality back to normal after the events of The Dark Place. Alan Wake, in other words, created the world. ControlIn order to return to reality, he must first get to the source.

Control’s AWE expansion ends with a cutscene where Jesse is notified that a new Altered World Event has been detected in Bright Falls, this time dated “a couple of years in the future.” The events of ControlThis suggests that AWE detections at the end expansion are referring to the events in 2019. Alan Wake 2. Whatever happens, Alan Wake 2Alan is likely to play a significant role in Control’s future, not to mention the possible events that will take place in the next episode. Control 2.