Remedy promises that in Alan Wake 2 there will be “more diversity” in the plot and battles than in the predecessor
Alan Wake 2 is the first game in the Survival Horror genre from Remedy Entertainment. This is a creative waste that had a serious impact on all aspects of the long -awaited sequel: battles, pace, plot, structure and tone. Creative Director Sam Lake says that the change of genre was ultimately caused by a simple desire: "We wanted greater variability".
Alan Wake is a product of its time, which was especially emphasized in a recent remaster: each plot tact is interspersed with a battle, the mechanic of which practically does not change throughout the game. Now Remedy is aware of this.
We felt that the Alan Wake gameplay could have great depth, that it was repeated, ”says Lake, adding,“ we also wanted to be more ambitious with the plot. In order for Alan Wake 2 to be used by a more expressive set of combat systems and realize the more ambitious framework of the narrative – two main characters, separated by the influence of a dark place – something had to be changed. We were looking for ways to achieve both goals.
Like a genre, Survival Horror contains less fighting. It has less action and more an alarming atmosphere, which means that when the battle still occurs, this is a more significant event. We also wanted the game to have more depths. Resource Management and the strategic side of the battle also come from the horror genre to survive, so this is combined with a slowed pace. You do not just rush forward with large explosions, so this allowed us to some extent to coordinate [battle] with the plot.
The chief designer of the story Molly Maloni hastened to emphasize that "It is not necessary that in Alan Wake 2 there will be fewer battles", quicker "The feeling that the fights are others. The fight is designed to support the aspect of horror. She is more impressive, strategic and desperate. Sometimes it can be really dangerous".
This can be judged by the demonstration of the Alan Wake 2 gameplay shown at Summer Game Fest. Special Agent Saga Anderson owns a flashlight and firearms, like Alan many years ago in Bright Falls, but the camera is moved closer to her shoulder. The enemies became more significant and do not so willingly drop the protective veil of the darkness in the light of the flashlight. The decision to make more impressive combat systems also allowed Remedy to rethink a way of presenting narrative moments.
As the Coil Rowley explains:
Slow down the gameplay, since this is more horror, allows us to focus on the details at the level of building the world. It also helps us that we are trying to tell the history of horror, and the gameplay in this case does not fight this. For example, I will not constantly fight enemies, and then I will get a little story.
This is a more holistic pack. It was what we understood very well in the first game: there was a plot, then a lot of battle, and then a little story. Here we are trying to combine the plot with battle and research. We have cinema, there is a living action, and all this is a slightly more holistic form.
As you solve the plot and collect tips, all this becomes a real gameplay. So you are actively playing the game, at the same time experiencing the plot.