Alan Wake 2 Isn't A Horror Game, It's A Twin Peaks Game

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wears its influences on its sleeve, and might be the one it's proudest of., which began airing in 1990, is part gentle soap opera satire, and part surreal murder mystery. But where the first was based on the first two seasons of, has more in common with the third season,. As a result, it has a somewhat different tone and narrative focus, but one thing that hasn't changed is just how much it ties back to the seminal series.

Strangely enough, and even followed a similar release strategy. was abruptly canceled after its explosive second season finale in 1991, at which point it went on a 26-year hiatus, only to return in 2017. Similarly, flew under the radar after its initial 2010 release, with only the 2012 spin-off and some heavy references in 's DLC. Now, 13 years later, there's a true sequel to the original in — and both the game and the show have taken advantage of their long periods of silence to craft strange, terrifying stories.

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Both and are set in small Washington towns, where everyone knows everyone and news travels fast. That makes it all the more devastating when terrible, inexplicable events plague these peaceful hamlets — Laura Palmer's death in, and Alan's disappearance in. Everyone finds out immediately, and the tragedy touches everyone's life in one way or another. Also, in both season one of and, FBI agents arrive in these small towns, causing the rumor mill to churn as daily small-town life is disrupted by big-government watchfulness.

's Bright Falls even shares some geographical and infrastructural features with the titular town of . Each is set against a backdrop of mountain ranges and evergreen forests, and each has a robust logging and fishing industry