Full disclosure: I haven’t played yet, even though it is completely up my alley. A game about a writer with severe writer’s block (relatable) who goes to the Pacific Northwest on a short vacation, which is heavily influenced by the works of Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and David Lynch is basically catnip to me, and yet I’m hesitant to play it. I’ve written about how horror games sc🌱are the life out 🔯of me and mꦡake my fight or flight kick into overdrive, leading me to either sen🍌d my controller flying or rage quit and never look back. Alan Wake isn’t the scariest game out there, but even atmospheric horror gets under my skin. I desperately want to play it, but I’m scared.
This wouldn’t be a pressing issue if release wasn’t fast approaching. I’m the kind of person who prefers to play all the games in a series and get familiar with the lore before I play the newest instalment, so I can enjoy it as much as possible and understand references to the previous games. Even if I decide to brave Alan Wake, there are so many great games coming out this year that I’m not sure I’ll hav𝕴e the time. Playing this game will mean buying and giving at lea꧂st 11 hours of my time to a game I’m not sure I’ll be brave enough to see through to the end. That also means 11 hours that I could be using to play or , and I’m reluctant to make that sacrifice just to scare the living crap out of myself.
It might be worth it, though. Not just because Alan Wake is widely considered to be an excellent game, but because Alan Wake 2 is going to be even scarier. The sequel is going to be more of a survival horror game, going over the edge of what I’m comfortable with by a mile, and as much as I’m keen on playing it, I’ll need to prepare myself. I could use🐷 Alan Wake to desensitise myself early, get used to the feeling of dread that permeaꦜtes the game, and move on to the sequel feeling appropriately equipped.
The more appropriate game to use to prepare myself, though, might be Control. reminded me so much of Remedy Entertainment’s newest IP that it took me aback. Snappy, glitchy editing, disorienting and ever-changing locations, and vibrant red l🌺ighting all come together as a reinterpretation of the award-winning art direction of Control, but this time, for Alan Wake’s sequel.
Control was scary, but not enough that I didn’t finish it. There were times when the sound effects got so unnerving that I took my headphones off, but I felt overpowered enough that the enemies didn’t scare me as much as the environment. There were times in which I felt deeply unsettled, enough that I had to take a walk outside in the sun and stand in some grass to feel normal and calm again, but I always managed to go back to it and delve back into its eerie, skin-crawling setting. It looks like Control might be far more visually and atmospherically similar to Alan Wake 2 than Alan Wake itself, but I have a feeling Alan Wake 2 is going to be far scarier and more confronting than both of those g𓃲ames. Considering I gave up on the Resident Evil 4 Remake just 20 minutes into the demo because I got scared, there’s a good chance I’ll never get to see the ending, and it’ll be all because I’m a scaredy cat.