Alan Wake 2 Is Bringing Back The Weirdest Parts Of Quantum Break

Remember Quantum Break? The forgotten Xbox One exclusive that combined a triple-A action adventure experience with live action television episodes? Ya girl does, and to this day it still holds a special place in my heart. It’s far from a great game, but it’s hard not to admire what Remedy Entertainment sought to achieve here with its hybrid approach for interactive mediums that it would come to embrace more and more in the years to come.

Just look at Control, a fantastic, mind-bending shooter which took the disparate parts of its predecessors to create an intelligent, thrilling, and only occasionally pretentious outing into the unknown that millions appeared smitten with. I was one of them, and now it seems Alan Wake 2 is set to take that formula one step further with an extra dose of Twin Peaks-inspired psychological horror. It looks amazing, with a new trailer at Gamescom Opening Night Live presenting a new slice of the upcoming game that only serves to make me more excited.

Our latest glimpse focuses largely on the titular character, who since the events of the first game and the Control expansion he featured in, has been trapped in an unknown dimension with no means of escape. He can be seen attending talk shows where he’s lauded for books he can’t even remember writing as he’s forced to relive the same events over and over again until it becomes clear that perhaps there is a way home after all.

Spooky instances of actual footage are interspersed with gameplay as Wake seems to shift between dimensions, one of which is pristine, while the other is haunting by macabre spectres and objects coming to life with little goal but to taunt our protagonist for the demons he’s yet to excise. It’s kinda hard to parse exactly what’s going on, but for me that’s always been a key part of Remedy’s charm.

The game will have two protagonists also, and according to recent previews, you will be able to switch between Alan Wake and FBI agent Saga Anderson at the press of a button. Stories will unfold at the same time, meaning there is a very large chance you could miss major bits of the narrative or have to soldier through two playthroughs before piecing things together. It is a bold, and potentially clumsy approach to design, but I can’t help applauding its ambition.

Alan Wake can be seen navigating abandoned subway stations and dank swamps, both of which appear to dangle on the precipice of two simultaneous realities. He’s either fighting for his own sanity, or has recently discovered a breach in the charade that could act as his way home. The central mystery is tantalising, and Remedy’s refusal to provide a blunt synopsis only draws me further and further into whatever it has planned.

Then you have the live action approach, which while not fully featured in Control, frequently showed up in random videos found across the game world or complimentary visual elements that only added to the aura of horror that permeated every waking moment. It’s quite special, and is being doubled down on here in a way that reminds me of Quantum Break, but without all of the flaws that held it back from greatness. If you never played it, or just don’t remember, here’s a quick refresher.

Quantum Break was originally intended to launch with its own television show. You’d play a few hours of the game, and then watch an episode to catch you up on side characters and other elements of the narrative that the game would otherwise gloss over. A cool idea from the design perspective, but once it was scaled back and the live action elements were then awkwardly bludgeoned into the game instead of on actual television, it only served to feel a bit clumsy.

After a level you’d be asked if you wanted to sit through an hour of television or risk skipping ahead without context. The fact you were given this option immediately was a death knell for the concept. It wasn’t bad either, with actors such as Lance Reddick, Shawn Ashmore, Aidan Gillen, and Dominic Monaghan holding up more than strong material. The delivery just wasn’t ideal and messed with the pacing, and so Quantum Break was a failure.

Alan Wake 2 is taking ideas introduced by Quantum Break and Control and doubling down on them all, and that includes a voyeuristic live action component which while a little up its own arse at times, is dripping with cinematic flair and an unsettling slice of horror that is just perfect for a game like this. Now I’m itching for a replay of the time-hopping adventure that didn’t receive nearly as much love as it deserves. Give it a look, since you might just dig it.