Remedy Entertainment has made a name for itself by crafting cerebral, narrative-driven action games with memorable main characters. These range from the original Max Payne adventures to the brain-bending thriller Control, but the studio's most unique title is arguably Alan Wake, an action-adventure game about a writer dealing with his own dark manifestations coming to life. Alan Wake 2 was then announced in 2021 as a survival-horror game, and was given a story-driven trailer during the May 24 PlayStation showcase.
With a launch date of October 17, fans won't have to wait too much longer to see what's in store for the mysterious writer and the darkness that surrounds him. While there is no denying that the game already looks appropriately creepy, Alan Wake 2 has a lot of competition from other survival-horror games this year. Luckily, there is a gameplay feature from another survival-horror title that it can borrow from while providing a fresh new spin to its design.
Resident Evil's Patrolling Enemies Means There's Nowhere to Hide
The Resident Evil franchise made a massive pivot back to horror in Resident Evil 7. Ditching the larger emphasis on action to instead focus on tension and the actual fear of enemies and surroundings, it was a big hit and refurbished the series into what it is today. A large credit to this success was giving the enemy AI more freedom, making them feel like believable antagonists with minds of their own. Several sequences feature members of Resident Evil 7's Baker family walking around of their own volition, actively searching rooms, and keeping players on their toes.
This new concept of enemies freely exploring environments was kicked up a notch with the remake of Resident Evil 2, where the hulking brute known as Mr. X would persistently stalk players through the Raccoon City Police Department with no warning of where he may show up next. The building was massive in comparison to the more tight corridors found in Resident Evil 7, giving even more opportunities for Mr. X to suddenly show up, and leaving the experience even more breathless for gamers with even fewer chances to lower their guard.
Taking Advantage of the Darkness in Alan Wake 2
While Alan Wake 2 seemingly shares more in common with a franchise like Silent Hill, being that the threat is more psychological than physical, this idea of enemies chasing the player can still be interwoven into gameplay. In the original Alan Wake game, the concept of using light to fight back darkness was present throughout the entire experience.
Alan would need to trudge through stretches of darkness with only a flashlight to defend himself against the talkative entities that lurk in the shadows. While certainly scary on paper, these enemy encounters were mostly predetermined, with ghastly figures leaping out during scripted moments that made them predictable on subsequent playthroughs.
In Alan Wake 2, the idea of enemies being unpredictable in the dark should be capitalized on more fully. To do this, Remedy could create an antagonist similar to Mr. X from Resident Evil 2 who actively searches the environment. This would make any dark area a tense place to navigate, especially while visibility is limited and more reliance is placed on the player's light sources.
Secondly, having these enemies be able to use shadows more actively to hide and traverse the environment would help elevate immersion and make the world of Alan Wake 2 feel more alive and dangerous. With the sequel set to launch later this year, fans hopefully won't have much longer to wait to see what nightmarish scenarios Remedy has planned.
Alan Wake 2 launches on October 17 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.