Alan Wake 2’s combat will be more “impactful, strategic, and desperate” than the first game

fighting in Alan Wake 2 Will be different than what players are used to from the first game.

That’s according to the game’s lead narrative designer, Molly Maloney, who told GamesRadar that the game’s combat supports a “horror aspect” that makes it more “impactful, strategic, and desperate.”

Alan Wake 2 is Remedy Entertainment’s first survival horror game, and the gameplay will have more variations than the first game.

In a demo shown during the Summer Game Fest 2023 showcase, FBI agent Saga Anderson carries both a flashlight and a gun, but unlike the first Alan Wake, the camera is closer to her shoulder.

You may have noticed in the demo video that the gameplay is a bit slow, this is a deliberate focus on more detail, telling a scary story and adding suspense so that the fights are more impactful when they actually happen.

“It’s a much more cohesive package,” adds co-director Kyle Rowley, “and that’s something we’ve been very clear from the first game; it’s the story, then a lot of fighting, and then some story. Here we’re trying to blend the story with the combat and the exploration. We’ve got the film, we’ve got the live action, and it’s all done in a more cohesive way.”

“As you figure out the story and piece together the clues, that’s now the actual gameplay,” studio head Sam Lake said. “So you’re actively playing the game while experiencing the story.”

“Alan Wake 2” will land on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on October 17. Remedy will offer free content and two paid expansion packs after the game launches: Night Springs and Lake House.

Thirteen years after Alan Wake’s disappearance, the FBI sends Special Agent Saga Anderson to Bright Falls to investigate a series of ritual murders. There, she finds herself entangled in a supernatural horror story written by Wake in the hope that he will escape captivity.

In the game, you can play as Alan or Saga in two separate single-player stories, in any order of play. Both can battle enemies with guns and flashlights while exploring different locations such as Bright Falls, the town of Watery, and an alternate dimension, Dark Place.