Alan Wake 2 Devs On Character-Switching Mechanic & Spider-Man 2's Close Release Date

During the recent Summer Game Fest, Remedy Entertainment unveiled the first gameplay trailer for its highly-anticipated Alan Wake 2, showcasing a new character, Saga Anderson, and Alan himself in action. 

Shortly after the trailer's debut, Remedy spoke with VGC and shared additional information about the game, shedding light on the distinctions between Alan Wake 2 and its predecessor. They also provided insights into the game's character-switching mechanic and expressed their thoughts on the recent announcement of Spider-Man 2's release date, which comes just three days after the launch of Alan Wake 2.

Regarding the differences between the original game and its sequel, principal narrative designer Molly Maloney elaborated that the first game leaned more towards an action-oriented experience. While it contained horror elements, it wasn't purely a horror game. 

In contrast, Alan Wake 2 has been created as a survival horror game, precisely capturing the story the team aimed to convey. However, as Maloney mentioned, the sequel retains "the quirkiness of the original" and incorporates lighthearted moments as well.

During the gameplay reveal, Remedy's creative director Sam Lake mentioned that players will have the ability to switch between Alan and Saga at certain points. In an interview with VGC, the game's co-director Kyle Rowley and Molly Maloney delved deeper into how this mechanic functions.

According to Maloney, the game follows a structure where players begin by controlling Saga who arrives in Bright Falls to investigate ritualistic killings. At a specific point, players unlock Alan as a playable character and following this, players can switch between the paths of both characters, exploring their individual stories.

"They are unique stories to both characters, they highlight different mechanics, they have different tones. Alan represents approximately 50% of the experience," Maloney explained. "And then but a lot of the reasoning behind this is a couple of things. One, Alan has been involved in this for 13 years, he has his own perspective. Saga, as a newcomer, provides a very different perspective. Both sides of that story have their own tone, and that kind of provides a refresh."

"So one of the parts of that was to allow the player to decide 'Okay, Alan’s stuff is a bit overwhelming, maybe I’ll go play in a daytime sequence as Saga'. So it’s giving the player a bit of choice about how they experience those two stories," Rowley added.

Speaking of Alan Wake 2's release date that coincides with some other major games, the developers noted that they had been aware that titles like Assassin's Creed Mirage and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 were going to launch around the same period. However, they said that they are proud of their game and stressed that their main goal was just to finally present it to the audience.

"We feel that we’re proud of the game that we built, and I think the people who resonate with that kind of game… whether they buy Alan Wake 2 or Spider-Man 2 isn’t really what we’re thinking about. We just want to put forward our game and present it to the players," Rowley said.

"You know, no matter when you release a game, there could always be something else that’s coming out, right? You just can’t worry about it too much."

You can learn more by reading the full interview here. Also, don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.