Alan Wake 2: The Fear of Playing
I’m afraid. I’m afraid of Alan Wake 2. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of Horror games – Resident Evil, Dead Space, Silent Hill, and most recently Dying Light – but the thought of playing the next installment to one of the best games inspired by Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and David Lynch fills me with dread. I’ve already been put off playing it by the trailers; I’m worried that, like Chris Redfield in Resident Evil 5, Alan Wake will lose his edge in the sequel.
When a game is part of a series, I always try and play all the games in order. That way, I understand the lore, and I can enjoy the newest game to its fullest extent. That’s why I’ve been playing the Resident Evil 4 Remake from the beginning, and why I’m currently playing through Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil Zero. There’s only so much time in the day, however, and with so many great games coming out this year, I’m worried I won’t have time to play Alan Wake.
I already gave up on the Resident Evil 4 Remake after just 20 minutes, thanks to an iconic scene featuring the Regenerators I knew so well, and I fear something similar might happen with Alan Wake 2. I’m sure it’s going to be great, and I will try to play it at some point, but I fear that, like Barry Wheeler, I will be so overwhelmed by fear that I will never see the ending.
The latest Alan Wake 2 trailer reminds me a lot of Remedy Entertainment’s latest game, Control, with its snappy editing, disorienting locations (which I would describe as ‘unsettling’ rather than ‘scary’), and pulsating red lighting. When I played Control, I found it quite scary – not enough to keep me up at night, but enough to make me feel slightly uncomfortable. I’ve heard that Alan Wake 2 will be much scarier and more confronting than both Alan Wake and Control, though, and I recall giving up on the Resident Evil 4 Remake after just 20 minutes due to fear, so I may never finish Alan Wake 2.
I don’t want to call myself a scaredy cat, but I might never see the ending of Alan Wake 2. I’ll probably play it, though, and it will probably be great – after all, it’s coming from the studio behind one of the best games of all time, Max Payne. Watch this space for our Alan Wake 2 review.
Editor’s note: The author of this article has chosen to remain anonymous.
