Review of "Alan Wake 2": don't miss this creepy horror thriller

 Spooky and noir, this adventure game is among the finest of the year.

A second well spent is one that is spent exploring Alan Wake 2's incredibly rich universe. Exploring the dark corners of this place is its own reward, not because the game will always present you with a well-hidden prize for your troubles every time you turn back on yourself to explore a previously unknown pathway, empty corridor, or abandoned theme park ride. Even the scary plot and sentient shadows in Alan Wake 2's achingly real environment aren't enough to stop you from going crazy since it's so full of secrets and detail.

We had a great experience watching Alan Wake 2. We are aware of this because, even when we weren't playing it, it took up a lot of our mental space as we relived its most memorable scenes, searching for gaps and scouting for hints. It isn't flawless. When considered separately, a few of its fundamental principles are actually a little pointless—dull, even, if you're in the mood for some extreme cruelty. However, when combined, they improve Alan Wake 2 to a much higher level. With the help of all the lessons they learned from its predecessor and neighboring titles like Quantum Break and Control, the Alan Wake 2 team at Remedy has created what may be their finest effort to date, making it one of the greatest games of 2023.

Is it arrogant? Unquestionably. Fundamentally, Alan Wake 2 is a detective game as opposed to a simple shooter, and you'll spend a lot more time solving its mysteries than taking on eerie foes. Its plot, which links missing author Wake with FBI agent Saga Anderson and sends you on a fantastical rollercoaster of cults, murder, deer masks, and men returning from the dead, is certainly outrageous and out-metasories all other metas in a way that usually makes you laugh hysterically and roll your eyes so hard you could spit them out. But we can assure you that Alan Wake 2 is fun even if you don't like David Lynch, Twin Peaks, or even if you haven't played the original game.Its presentation, which blurs the lines between genres, and its compelling mystery let it stand firmly on its own.

We can't pretend to understand how an FBI agent can make such amazing deductions by having conversations in her head, or why she accepts the supernatural with such ease (at least not initially; there is some explanation provided later), but that ignorance doesn't take away from the adventure in the slightest. You'll be so eager to figure out what the devil is going on that you'll keep playing whether you're afraid, bewildered, or trapped. And it's been a while since a game did this kind of creepy crawling all over us.

Because it interjects battle so infrequently, Alan Wake 2's exploring sections are as enjoyable because to its rich, deep, and varied settings. Unpopular view alert: we simply didn't like the fighting in Remedy's earlier films, Control or Quantum Break, and we missed Max Payne's satisfying, chunky gunplay. Although Alan Wake 2 doesn't innovate in the same manner as Max Payne, it is at least fair and forgiving, and it adds a novel twist on your encounters when you have to use the torch to burn off your enemies' dark sludge. The constant worry over running out of ammunition adds another level of anxiety that lasts the entire game.

It's also excruciatingly tight. Alan Wake 2 is one of the few games that perfectly builds suspense. Outside of the few safe havens strewn throughout the game, you'll rarely feel comfortable because to the game's surprisingly good sound design, which makes it impossible to unwind at all.