Alan Wake II – the long-awaited sequel from the cult Remedy – is out. What do you need to know about it?

After 13 years, the sequel to Alan Wake is finally coming out. Remedy studio has long been working towards the release of the sequel, which will not only continue the personal story of the writer Alan Wake, but also significantly expand the rich lore of the Remedy Universe. In case you didn’t know something about the game or were shy to ask, we collected answers to the main questions in one material.

Is there a security system in place?

Remedy has not officially announced anywhere whether Alan Wake II will have DRM protection. Journalists who received press copies of the game did not find Denuvo or any other system in it.

Usually Remedy doesn’t install protection in its titles, it wasn’t in Control and Alan Wake Remastered, for example.

What’s different about the sequel?

• The game now has two full-fledged protagonists – writer Alan Wake and FBI agent Saga Anderson. Each of them has their own story episodes. The order of their passage is not regulated in any way, the player can choose himself, whose version of events he wants to know first.
• The sequel changed the genre – now it is a survival-horror, while the original was closer to action. Flashlight and shooting remained in place, but the balance of fights has shifted a lot – now there are fewer enemies, but they have become more dangerous.
• The player will have to conduct a real detective investigation. Saga can move to his “mind attics” to place clues on the board and draw conclusions. The same mechanics are present in Alan’s chapters, but Wake moves into the writer’s room.
• Saga is investigating in the real world, while Alan is trying to escape the Dark Abode.
• It will take at least 20 hours to get through the game.

What if you haven’t played the original?

Remedy has taken care of those players who missed the original game. They will be introduced to all the key characters at the beginning of the story. In addition, the developers are going to explain a few basic concepts of the local world, so the game could even be a great entry point into Remedy’s Unified Universe, which in addition to the original game also includes Control.

There are also several materials released on SG, which will help to refresh your memory of the main events of the original game.

What’s the universe?

All of the studio’s recent releases are tied together by a single lore. The events, characters and phenomena of both Alan Wake games are intertwined with the shooter Control. Some characters from the latter will also appear in the sequel and play key roles.

So that you can flaunt your local lore knowledge, Juby has prepared a detailed guide to Remedy’s Unified Universe.

Is it worth waiting for add-ons?

Alan Wake II won’t have a New Game+ mode on release, but it will be added later and for free. This walkthrough option will throw in new cut-scenes, footage, notes, and even difficulty levels. The game will also have other massive free updates.

Paid DLC has been announced as well. So far only the names are known – Night Springs and Lake House. The first is expected by the end of spring 2024, and the second – later next year.

Can my computer handle it?

Alan Wake II developers shocked fans with high system requirements of the game. In the minimum configuration, for example, you need to have a video card no worse than RTX 2060.

One of the main reasons for such requirements is the use of new generation shaders. Of course, you can run the game on older graphics cards, but the performance will be around 20 frames per second.

Did they bring in the optimization?

Digital Foundry has already tested the game on PlayStation 5. The game is graphically inferior to the PC version, but allows you to comfortably enjoy the local history and gameplay. In the “Quality” mode the game keeps 30 fps, although in complex scenes in the open nature and there are sags.

The analysis of PC-version from specialists is still being prepared, but the preliminary opinion is positive. Alan Wake II has a lot of flexible settings and RTX 3070 video card on PS5 level parameters gives 50% better performance than Sony console. Consequently, the game makes good use of your computer’s resources.

How good is the game?

The long-awaited game from Remedy has already received rave reviews from the press. There are enough innovations in the project and Alan Wake II can’t be called a “safe sequel”.

However, there is a spoonful of tar – bugs. Bugs in the game are common, including those that reset part of the progress. But despite this, journalists call the game a masterpiece.