Alan Wake 2’s first DLC is as strange as it is brilliant

Alan Wake 2 is undoubtedly one of the games of the year 2023. Without the tidal wave Baldur’s Gate 3, he would certainly have been richly rewarded. A gem of storytelling, with its science of the strange and its management of high points in the action, the Remedy Entertainment title is far from having said its last word. During the Summer Game Fest 2024 conference, the studio announced the immediate availability of Night Springsthe first extension ofAlan Wake 2. Let’s just say it: she’s great.

Night Springs is a name that will be familiar to fans of the universe Alan Wake : it’s a fictional TV series, homage to The Twilight Zone (The Fourth Dimension), and of which the author participated in the writing. For the purposes ofAlan Wake 2, it turns into three independent stories, centered on as many characters. In the DLC, we do not play as Alan himself, but as the Waitress (inspired by Rose Marigold), the Actor (played by Shawn Ashmore) and the Sister (who resembles Jesse, the heroine of the brilliant Control). They are actually parallel versions of already existing protagonists, rewritten by Alan.

Remedy has fun and has fun with it Alan Wake 2: Night Springs

Each scenario, quite short (less than an hour each time), is independent and narrated by Warlin Door. So, the Waitress is a huge fan of Alan Wake and will go to his rescue when he learns that he is in danger from the mouth of a singing and dancing fish hanging on the wall (he was kidnapped by his evil twin); the Sister will go looking for her brother, in the Coffee World amusement park (which we already visit in Alan Wake 2) ; while the Actor, alter-ego of Tim Breaker, will venture into the multiverse.

Alan Wake 2: Night Springs is then akin to a rather brilliant catch-all, which carries us from one dimension to another, while focusing on taking care of the fan-service and enriching the lore. It’s often nonsense, but nonsense mastered enough to be convinced. Especially since Remedy Entertainment intelligently juggles between self-citation (the unloved Quantum Break is not forgotten) and the well-felt references (how not to think of Twin Peaks when we play the Waitress?).

Important point to note: the DLC focuses on storytelling. We take as proof the almost unlimited number of ammunition we benefit from. A big difference from the base game, which focuses on resource management to accentuate oppression. Here, the action is much more relaxed, and there’s no need to worry about bullets (unless you have really bad aim). The Waitress has access to an automatic shotgun in her arsenal.

The segment based around the character who resembles Jesse from Control is undoubtedly the one closest toAlan Wake 2. It compiles action, reflection and infiltration in a cocktail that could disappoint those who expected to find the heroine’s faculties in her own game (her weapon in mind). For Remedy Entertainment, it is above all a way of reminding us that its games share the same universe, with ramifications that are both complex and obvious. The third episode, which honors actor Shawn Ashmore, is much more disjointed in the experience it offers. On the other hand, it offers a slightly more meta dimension to everything that revolves around Alan Wake. It’s perched, but incredible to follow.

We then understand that Remedy Entertainment is having a lot of fun and taking great pleasure in stretching its mythology. Some will undoubtedly remain unmoved by the proposition, but it is difficult not to see in it a form of genius which commands respect, coupled with a tasty mise en abyme. Bonus, Alan Wake 2: Night Springs has surprising ideas – in its staging – to immerse us in the den of madness. The result is a trip that is even more bizarre than the basic adventure. And we can’t wait to discover the next DLC, entitled “ The lake house “.

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