Alan Wake 2 Isn't Cutting Corners In Being A Weird Detective Survival Horror Game

gamespot.com:

Alan Wake 2 is not cutting corners on its commitment to being a detective survival horror. It's a game that has a clarity of vision that looks to be executed by a Remedy that is firing on all cylinders. Alan Wake's return, even at this stage, is shaping up to be one of the most distinct and original games of 2023. This is a dream project that Remedy have been iterating on since the release of the first game, and after seeing 30 minutes of its brooding investigative gameplay, and tense combat, it's clear Remedy is pulling out all the stops. And for fans, the prospect of an Alan Wake sequel potentially being the studio's best game is like an idea written in a dream that's now infiltrating our reality.

During my hands-off preview, I got to see an early segment in the story of the game's all new protagonist, FBI agent Saga Anderson: a serious, calculated, and introspective agent that serves as a comical contrast to her partner Alex Casey, who is more a caricature of a gruff hard-boiled agent that walked straight from the pages of a crime novel (wink wink). Together, they investigate the gory aftermath of a murder scene in the murky and rain-covered woods of Bright Falls, a fictional town in the Pacific Northwest. The pacing of the demo reinforced the idea of building tension, starting by giving Saga the chance to examine clues and gather evidence, all of which can be placed and re-arranged on a case board that is accessed in Saga's Mind Place. As the name implies, this space is a mental construct in Saga's own mind (think Sherlock's Mind Palace). With a single press of a button, Saga instantly teleports into a room within her mind that you can physically explore. This is where you'll organize evidence, view manuscripts,