“There are no obstacles.”
This time, however, Remedy has decided to take the series in a new direction.
But how and why did Remedy make this jump between genres?
And, why now?
“Usually the story is a separate thing that you experience, and the core gameplay is very action.
So with this in mind, we were looking for solutions, and out of that suddenly came ‘Hey!
“Gamers were asking ‘what is this?!
‘, you know?
Some called it horror, but it didn’t feel like horror,” he recalled.
Lake highlighted new character Saga Anderson, and her investigations around the Pacific Northwest.
Similarly, Alan has his Writer’s Room.
“We are trying to lean on these two different power fantasies.
That is something I don’t think a lot of other games utilise or have.”
Rowley stated Alan Wake 2 will not be “pure horror” all the time.
There is, of course, also the psychological aspect of Alan Wake 2.
Can Alan, and the player, ever really trust their surroundings, especially in the Dark Place?
According to Lake, Remedy found the switch in genre for Alan Wake 2 liberating.
And now we’ll put everything in that we think is cool’.
Not for its own sake, but just like ‘this is where the story goes’.”
Maloney highlighted Alan Wake 2’s live-action sequences as one of the ways Remedy is pushing boundaries.
“We are running on many meta levels of storytelling,” Rowley continued.
It needs to be approachable," Lake told me.
Lake told me he never wants Remedy’s games to become “homework” for players.
“Each and every game… needs to stand on its own feet.
“Obviously the connected universe is really important, but we still want it to be accessible to people.
“Maybe,” Lake laughed, clearly amused.
“But it took [Marvel] quite a few films, and we are just getting started.
Where it goes, I don’t know.
How does it all play?
Read myAlan Wake 2 impressions in my hands-on preview.
