Today’s game is Alan Wake 2. I finished my playthrough of this once again. Every time I finish it I have this kind of empty feeling. Like I’m beating it for the first time.
Spoiler
Maybe it’s because I know each Playthrough is another movement along Alan’s inevitable “return” to the light. It gives each playthrough a kind of fresh feeling. But it also feels bittersweet. With the Final Draft he gets a better ending. But for now? He has to return to the start.
In a way that’s appropriate for the game. Not only is it synonymous with the writing cycle being loops and loops, but also with playing a game. Each playthrough I get closer and closer to reaching a sort of “ascension” (Letting go of the story).
I first played Alan Wake 1 back in 2016, it was on Game Pass and my dad had rented it from Game Fly when I was little. I loved it. It stuck in my mind. Then come 2023 and the sequel releases. It builds and complements the original in such a way I can’t even begin to describe.
And in a way I guess I feel like I too am trapped in a loop. I never really find myself able to let go of the game. Every once in a while I feel this longing to go back to Bright Falls, go back to Alan; too Return.
To avoid getting too deep and personal about the game though, I played with making a Postcard! I took this one and thought it was funny. Certainly it isn’t a post card I wouldn’t mind getting in the mail.
I also love that There’s also Saga’s Mind Place. I love this. The game takes it, sets it up as this safe space. Then at the very end it rips it away from you as a safe space. As if a metaphor for the way the Dark Place works its way into your head, it works its way into the players own safe space.
To avoid over explaining points I’ve probably already gone over though, I’ll cut today off a little early. I love this game. It’s as close to perfect I feel a game has ever come and it’s left me planning a playthrough of the original (and maybe the final draft again). With the recent news about Remedy being up in there, I at least can say I’m thankful to have gotten a chance to play this. It really is one of my favorite experiences in gaming.
