In recent years, Remedy Entertainment has grown to become one of my favorite video game studios. I knew that Control (2019) was bound to leave a lasting impact on me ever since seeing some of the early trailers. And sure enough, through its magical blend of sci-fi horror and atmospheric worldbuilding, Control quickly became one of my favorite video game experiences. Since playing Control, I have been tangentially aware of the RCU (Remedy Connected Universe): the interconnected worlds of the various remedy games. However, I wasn’t encouraged enough to explore the other game until I saw a teaser trailer for Alan Wake II (2023). The trailer featured this clip which immediately made me want to dive into the world of Alan Wake. I had already previously acquired a copy of Alan Wake Remastered (2021) and the next day after seeing the trailer, I embarked on my journey to Bright Falls. While being a relatively short game, I beat Alan Wake Remastered in two days, not doing much else but playing the game during this time. And sure enough when Alan Wake II released, much like Alan himself, I found myself stuck back in the loop of again journeying to Bright Falls.

The beauty of Alan Wake II lies ultimately in how it communicates with the player. As a horror mystery story at its core, Alan Wake II relies heavily on exploration and deduction to convey its narrative to the player. Much unlike the first game, it is not just Alan’s story. We begin the story as an unknown man, freshly surfaced from the depths of Cauldron Lake. As this man, we as the player begin to gain our bearings, exploring a seemingly familiar landscape with this unfamiliar body. While our time is cut short this character specifically, this motif continues on throughout our journey as both Saga Anderson and Alan Wake.

Through the eyes of Saga, we explore the town of Bright Falls, a small place in the pacific northwest; this being the setting of the original Alan Wake (2010). 13 years after the events of the original game, we as the player finally return to this familiar place, but of course, it is not quite as we remember. Throughout town there are some familiar faces, sights, and sounds, yet equally as many new ones. While this point may seem belabored, I find this distinction significant, as the storied chapters of Saga’s journey are quite literally entitled “Return”. Much like the original Alan Wake, we are left to explore Bright Falls and the surrounding areas, collecting manuscript pages, making nice with the locals, and discovering the secrets of Cauldron Lake. Yet again, things are different. We see throughout the environment where outside forces are aware of the events of Alan Wake; be that through the monitoring stations of the "FBC" (Federal Bureau of Control) or through repercussions spawned from the actions of The Cult of the Tree. Ultimately, through Saga, we are able to experience this strange narrative in an environment that is familiar to us as the player. And, it is through this familiar unfamiliarity that rookie and veteran players alike are offered a way into the world of Alan Wake.

Mirrored to Saga’s journey, is that of the titular Alan Wake. Bound to the depths of Cauldron Lake, we as the player travel alongside Alan to explore the inner workings of the Dark Place in ultimate search of our escape. The Dark Place operates under the laws of dream logic, or that is to say, under few at all. Within the Dark Place, we, as Alan, act out the story that he is writing while trapped in the "Writer’s Room". Yet to Alan, the events of this story are entirely unfamiliar, and as a result, Alan is unaware of the true implications of the events of the story he is writing. In contrast to Saga’s story arc where we play the role of the detective stumbling upon plot threads, now as Alan we craft these plot threads and witness Alex Casey as he investigates the chilling narratives we have spun. Due to this, there is a sense of unfamiliar familiarity in the exploration of the Dark Place; we are the writer of this story, yet we are also experiencing it for the first time as it plays out.

Throughout the "RCU" (Remedy Connected Universe) and at Remedy Entertainment, there is a clear reverence for art and culture at large. While this may seem like an obvious statement, i.e. “How could a video game studio not respect art?”, Alan Wake II showcases this affection in a truly unique way. As Gita Jackson states in her article “The Exuberant Kitsch of Alan Wake II”, “Some games approach the question of 'are games art?' as a challenge to show how mature they are.… It’s in its embrace of pulp and kitsch that Alan Wake II feels most like a video game. That means, at times, that it is pretty silly. It’s kind of like a guitar solo in that way—it’s self indulgent, but not punishing or mean. It’s fun, but also technical, a demonstration of hard earned knowledge and skill.” In this article, Jackson refers heavily to “Initiation: Chapter 4 - We Sing”, a rock opera musical about “The Story of the Journey of Alan Wake”. It's clear to see through this chapter alone the respect of the art form from the team at Remedy, yet this example is just one throughout the dense ocean that is Alan Wake II. From just what I can list off the top of my head, during Alan Wake II we see examples of and odes to the following: low budget local TV commercials, talk shows, folktales / folklore, plays, musicals, acting, music, architecture, photography, poetry, nursery rhymes, graffiti, film, and writing. For another specific example, see Yötön Yö, a 15 minute Lynchian short film embedded within the walls of the game. Speaking of Lynchian, each chapter of “Return” concludes with a unique song performed by a different band each time, very much in the style of Twin Peaks: The Return. Hell, the entirety of the Alan Wake series is effectively a love letter to Twin Peaks.

Ed. Note: Past this point there are major spoilers for the events of Alan Wake II.

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“It’s not a loop… It’s a spiral.”

Ever since completing the game for the first time, these words have echoed through my head. Hearing Alan speak these words aloud immediately sent a shockwave through my brain. Throughout the game, we hear talk of loops constantly. These loops are assumed to be the effect of the Dark Place on Alan's writing, holding him hostage as he tries to write his escape. Yet, this idea is something we only ever hear perpetrated by Alan himself. As we are playing the game from the perspective of Alan and his writing; we essentially have to take him as his word that we are actually stuck in this loop. With the phrase “It’s not a loop… It’s a spiral,” spoken to Alan by Alice, our preconceived notion of entire events of the game are thrown on their head. Yet, this answer was hinted to us throughout the game and the RCU as a whole.

As mentioned previously, each chapter in the game ends with a unique song. However, unlike with Saga’s Chapters, Alan’s Chapters end with variations on a theme, which collectively form the song “This Road” by artist Poe. Each chapter ends with a similar, yet slightly different segment of the song. Additionally, the song itself is composed of lots of droning, spacy, and looped textures. These two aspects combine to further reiterate and suggest the idea that Alan is indeed stuck in a loop. Yet as we progress through the chapters and hear the different variations of these “loops”, we are ultimately met with the final loop in Chapter 9 of “Initiation”, or rather the truth: it's not a loop, it's a spiral. As the full version of the song progresses, the song slowly spirals and descends until it can hardly hold on to any version of structure or rigidness, eventually coalescing into one last breath of sonic decay. Throughout this conclusion, it is interrupted with sporadic chants of “It’s a spiral”. Upon the first echo of this phrase, the song begins to decompose, breaking down its own structure in (hopefully) parallel with Alan and his soon to be escape.

In addition to echoing the journey of Alan in the structure of the song, the lyrics also perfectly represent the voices of both Alan and Alice and their collective journey to escape the clutches of the Dark Place.

[Verse 1]

Alice:

I can see you there
But you don't see me anywhere
I'm right in front of you
I'm right here
On this winding road
What are you looking at?
Is it your face on a pane of glass?
'Cause somehow this window bеcomes a trap
On this winding road

Alan:

Will it ever lеt me go?
Forever I am
Fading to black
Forever I am
Circling back
Just to fall into this trap
This
Winding road

[Verse 2]

Alice:

Wake up, wake up
It's only a dream
On a winding road
Now that you're in my bed
In the dark chamber of my head
i flip you over until you bend
This winding road

Alan:

Don't you ever let me go
Forever I am (Forever never)
Playing pretend
Forever I'm never (Forever never)
Wanting it to end
this message that you send
To this
Winding road

[Verse 3]

Alice:

Now you're falling
Apart
The light is a poisonous
Poisonous dart
Forever seeking out
The darkest part
Forever, forever (forever)
Forever your
Heart

[Outro]

Alan:

And some say
That it loops forever
This road that I
Find you on (this road, forever)
Forever
And ever (loops forever)
(Forever)

Forever
This road that I
Find you on Every time I
Forever
And ever
(I find you)

It's a spiral

And some say (and some say)
I find you
I find you
Forever (forever) (road, road, road)

It's a spiral

Forever
And ever
(Loops forever, loops forever, loops forever)

It's a spiral

I find you

It's a spiral

(Road, road, road)
I find you (road, road, road)
(Loops forever, loops forever, loops forever)
Road, road, road)

Ultimately, this all begs the question: why couldn’t Alan recognize this spiral, when others could? Being trapped in the Dark Place for 13 years, Alan was subjected to the insecurities and nightmares brought about by the forces of darkness. As we have seen through Mr. Scratch in Alan Wake's American Nightmare as well as through the time Saga spent in the Dark Place, the sole purpose of the Dark Presence is to torment. Alan is a writer, and as we know from Alan Wake, he was experiencing a spell of writer’s block. It is fair to say then, that part of the reason Alan is still stuck in the dark place, is that he is still stuck in his bout with writer’s block, ie. he cannot figure out how to write the ending where he escapes. On top of this, Alan has been trying to escape on his own accord. Yet, we know from Alan Wake that the reason Alice was able to escape was due to Alan’s outside intervention. As we see throughout Alan Wake II, Alan is hesitant to accept outside help, subsequently digging himself deeper and deeper. Mr. Door puts it best when he says: “I don’t even think you know who is under your mask, but you know how to make things difficult for yourself. All these rules… Endless, convoluted loops you insist on going through… There are so many people helping you, armies of people.” While Alan indeed has these people on his side, trying to help him get out of the Dark Place, he is blinded by his desire to escape, he can’t see his allies trying to aid in his escape. Yet to see this truth, “the ending has to be dark,” it’s a horror story after all. The final scene in the game shows us Alan waking up to the realization that “It’s not a loop, It’s a spiral,” but unfortunately only after coming to believe that beloved wife Alice is dead and becoming willing to take a bullet to the head.

With the conclusion of Alan Wake II, the fate of Alan is still unknown. Will he ascend or descend on this spiral?

To reach the surface, you must first dive deeper.