Sam Lake, writer and creative director at Remedy Entertainment, has shared more details about upcoming survival horror Alan Wake 2 ahead of the development team ‘going dark’ to continue working on the game. So far, not much is known about the long-awaited sequel, with an early glimpse at The Game Awards providing only brief clues about the game’s direction.
In a post-trailer interview, Lake described it as a ‘survival horror’ that would differ in genre and scope from the original game. Now, we also know it’ll maintain the original game’s third person view, and that Alan Wake’s actors, Ilkka Villi and Matthew Porretta, will return.
The clarification is small, but necessary in the wake of the game’s cinematic trailer, which debuted a new, more ragged look for Wake. Villi, who acts as the model and motion capture for Wake, drew wild comparisons to Jake Gyllenhaal, Keanu Reeves and other actors on social media, with some believing Villi had actually been replaced for the sequel.
As Lake confirmed, that’s not the case — Alan Wake will continue to be modelled and motion captured by Villi, while original voice actor Matthew Porretta will also return to provide his voice.
In addition to this news, Remedy Entertainment also released a new video diary detailing Alan Wake 2‘s long road to development, and how the Game Awards announcement came about.
The video is a fun behind-the-scenes look at the excitement of the Remedy team and tracks the path the game took over the last decade as ideas gestated and finally came to light, a process Sam Lake describes as an ’emotional rollercoaster’.
Despite the game’s winding path to The Game Awards, and the wild decade in between game releases, there’s still plenty of reasons to get excited about Alan Wake 2.
For now, we will have to wait to see what Remedy has in store — Lake promised the team would return in mid-2022 to share more about the game — but regardless, the sequel remains incredibly promising.
