Felt so sad about Mr McCaffrey passing, but there is maybe the perfect send off line for him by him in AW2, (Slight spoiler): "... There would always be another case for Casey. A million stories in this dark city. The night opened up to welcome me. I walked into her arms. Roll credits." Absolutely my favorite game of 2023 and one of all time.
The first time playing I thought it was such a cool line. My second playthrough after James’ passing made me bawl. There was something so haunting about it, like he knew 😢
Even after all the other big games to come out in the last year not a single one has stuck with me like AW2 has, definitely in the running for favorite game.
@@slipstream7324 the story is mind bending but still easy to digest if you pay attention, the world building is stellar, and the actual setting of bright falls is remarkably close to how it really is in the Pacific Northwest (for reference I’ve lived in the PNW area my entire life) great game and I truly couldn’t recommend it more if you enjoy story games.
I'm currently on a binge of remedy games. Starting with the first Alan Wake, then I played the Max Payne trilogy, then quantum break, now control, and saving Alan Wake 2 for last. The only game I played prior to this binge was Max Payne and fuck had I been missing out! I heard you talkin bout remedy so much thruout the years Jake I had to give them a chance, and yup! This studio is great!
My recent sequence has been: Alan wake, Last of Us, then A Plague Tale: Innocence. The later two were so much better than Alan wake, I'm hesitant to even both with the second!
R.I.P. James McCaffrey. There are a couple of lines of his in Alan Wake 2 that really stuck out to me while I was playing The Final Draft, and it makes me wonder if he'd worked with Sam Lake and the writers on some of it (as he died of multiple myeloma, and my guess is that he'd been battling that for a long while). You can hear a lot of regret and pain in his delivery of this line in particular: "I was dead tired. I just wanted it to be over. It was all my fault. I'd had this dark place in my head for so long. Sometimes I'd forget the pain was there. Like it was the way you were supposed to feel. I was not in a dark place. I was the dark place, the source of it all, the vessel." And with this one later in the story, there's a very real sadness behind it, and even a hint of defeat or acceptance: "I'm a goner. Swell! A shadow crawling under my skin. In my head. Call my ex, tell her I'm sorry. Terminal Case Casey." I know it could have truly been a coincidence, but something about the way he played these lines just felt very real and personal. I can't help but wonder if James had already known for a while that he didn't have long, and had decided to bring some more of himself into his final role. Whatever the case, I'm glad he's at peace now.
One thing the game deserves more praise for is the increadible way the forest comes alive when the wind starts blowing. The way trees, branches and undergrowth move is way more realistic than I have seen in any game before.
I know exactly what you mean, try playing Alan wake 2 on shrooms and the foliage and trees literally become alive lmfaooo best way to play this game in my opionion
Wait till you realise what being in the darkness does to the visuals in this game. There's something of a vignette, and then auras of movement that will randomly appear, your view gets all muddy and it feels very, very paranoia-inducing. Expert visual design.
YES!!!! I've been waiting for your take on Alan wake 2 I loved it how they took some of the wacky Elements in Control and built on top of it making it confusing but interesting at the same time I can't wait to jump back in for the DLC
Remedy have high production value, everything is there for a cinematic experience which persinally I love in a game. The score, the story, atmosphere, backstories etc. The G.O.A shooting section the main highlight. Man I replayed that section for the solos and bodycount ❤ Show me the champion of light! ⚡️ Granblue relink is my next game to play. ❤
I didn’t play the 1st Alan Wake until the end of 23. After I was done I immediately played Control and loved it. Remedy is now one of my favorite studios and I can’t wait to see what they do next
AW2 was a fantastic game. "We Sing" blew me away. I will definitely buy a physical copy if they ever release one coz I really want to display it on my shelf too.
Wasn’t going to bother with this one but I got it cheap and it gave me a reason to actually play Control too. Really enjoyed both, was great for something to play over Christmas
Also, if you liked the music from Old Gods of Asgard pleeeeaaaaaaseeeee do yourself a favor and check Poets of the Fall music, they are the IRL band that plays OGOA and their music is sooooo goood I'm a metal head but Poets is one of my favorite bands and they are Pop lol (although I think they are more alternative) it is a very underrated band that deserves a lot of love If you have played other Remedy games you will probably recognize some of their songs
I am so with you with the love for this game. It really is up there. I must say that I personally got hit more by Saga than you seemed to. I for one just loved the setpieces of the woods so much, but also the way they unraveled her worked for me. A key moment being the initial interaction with Rose. The way she is animated is so eerie in the best way. The acting and MoCap...it plants the seed of something being not right that grows beyond knowing that "the story is just playing a trick on her". Perfectly culminated in the "The Mindplace" scene. Beautiful and powerful. Also the elements that Alice brings are not talked about enough. In a game with a lot of goofy stuff her part of delivering that real, creeping darkness... In the end the balance between those wtf moments, the goofyness, jumpscares, atmosphere, and human darkness.....man.
it’s the only game I was willing to buy a collectors edition for and it didn’t even get a physical copy :( Hopefully we get one after they release the DLCs.
@@BelligerenntI saw somewhere that THQ has offered to help with a physical release, and I do hope it works out. It's a shame that even a small percentage of gamers are missing out on such a great game by digging in their heels to fight the inevitable.
still waiting to play and if everyone had a brain and refused to buy digital then their would be a physical copy but the people buying it ruined it for us disc lovers
I'm obsessed with this game. There were a couple places where it was tedious, but overall it's as close to perfect (for me) as it can get. Sam Lake and Remedy man, it's like they caught lighting in a bottle but never let it go. I rarely replay games and never do things like buying merch or soundtracks, but this one did it for me.
Love this game, looking forward to the DLC and what it adds to the story. Heavy Control cross over I'm expecting. I actually found the difficulty a bit off, even at higher difficulties my inventory was bursting, thats one of my only gripes with the game. James Mccaffrey's voice will stick with me forever, from the first time playing max payne on my mates PS2 when I was 12! What a voice and I cant wait for the max payne re-makes, as long as the keep the original voice over of course. RIP x
@@slipstream7324 u heard wrong there's plenty of combat, resident evil 7 is about the same pace as alan Wake 2 for example and no one complained there they loved it smh, the opening 2 hours has very little action however
@@slipstream7324it is a walking sim. I finished the game. In the first 3 hours you kill like 5 enemies. The conclusion to the game is putting photos on a board for 30 mins. I was insanely disappointed after playing Control.
@slipstream7324 First off, no it isn't, also you should probably avoid game advice from that individual going forward. Second, even if it had way less combat and it was a walking Sim, it's the best damn one I've played over the last 20 years.
I think Melanie Liburd is good as Saga Anderson and manages to bring the right emotion to the character. I think the reason she comes across as stilted is because she’s meant to be the flawless hero for Alan’s story who always does the right thing. My issue with her performance is her accent. Melanie is English, and I can tell she struggled trying to find a specific dialect for the character. Sometimes she sounds southern with her pronunciation of words and sometimes she sounds more like she’s from the east coast.
I liked her character overall but her accent was jarring for me, too. I found it an interesting concept to have Wake write her into the story, working both ends to escape the Dark Place.
Got this game day 1, still have yet to finish it. Been playing games my entire life and sunk tens of thousands of hours into games of all eras and genres and never in my life has a game so constantly set me up in a new area completely blind and forced me to find how to progress the story like a person in a giant dark room looking for the door out. It happened over and over again until i just couldn’t take it anymore and that’s WHILE using other peoples full gameplays as help. I still want to finish it because i appreciate the setting, characters, story, and even certain gameplay and mechanics like the detective stuff, and also want to get my moneys worth from the game still but man oh man have i never faced a game so thoroughly trying to get me lost and confused over and over ever in my life! Idk how more people weren’t driven crazy by it. Maybe I’m just dumb… who knows….
Love this game so much! Remedy has become my favorite dev in a short amount of time. RIP James. He was the standout performance in Control and Alan Wake 2 so I plan to play the max paynes for the first time. Control was my introduction into this universe and everyone involved is knocking it out of the park.
Alan Wake 2 was the first game where it came into perspective how much goes into video game character design. I found out recently that the face model is not the voice, and I’ve been thinking about it for weeks! Same with Ashley in RE4 Remake, three different people brought that character to life from the face model, body model and the voice
Game of the year for me, and one the top 10 of all time. Checks all my boxes, the combination of LA Noire problem solving adventure game, horror, survival horror combat, story, atmosphere. It's pure art.
This, FF16, Lies Of P and Robocop were my favs for 2023. Haven't gotten to playing BG3 that's universally acclaimed due to being in the last semester and i have my focus on finishing uni
I loved the game. My main complaint about it is that it feels like it ended super abruptly. I even went back and reloaded my save to check if I had missed anything. It would have been nice if the last section with Saga in the dark place had been fleshed out a little more. Other than that, had a really great time with it.
All the Ahti parts with control and everything else is really pretty mind blowing once you dig deep into the lore. The fact that Ahti is the janitor of the cosmos that helps keep everything in order. And how he is the caretaker and the person that keeps all the universes from spiraling into chaos. when I first saw him in Alan Wake 2 he was like a warm blanket and then I started watching videos about him and it kind of blew my mind. I didn’t know video games could get so damn deep. From the laws of thermodynamics and chaos theory. It’s just nuts. Check out gaming university on the break down. The rabbit hole goes deep.
Honestly playing Alan wake 2 it reminded me of going up to my late aunt in weaverville ca the lighting and everything felt like a reminder of Happier times
For all of Alan Wake 1 i never realized Ilkka was doing mocap and Matthew was his voice..so dumb into AW 2 i finally got it. But Ilkka performance is great, from a physical side and acting. Get to see Ilkka real voice and performance as Thomas Zane..when he shaves the ol beard off and its also great. %Spoliers if you didn't play% And Ilkka dances and performs the whole musical part. I burst out laughing multiple times, going through that whole sound stage..i spent like over 30mins walking around. Ilkka had parts where he.. looks super Mad and Mean mugs you, threatening you with his fists...i fuckin lost it so funny😂
Its been a few months since finishing NG+ and I think its time for a 4th playthrough! I grew up falling love with the first 2 Max Payne games and loved how James brought Noir into the game. Gone too soon and will be missed tremendously.
@@xman777bim curious whats generally the reason people want physical copies, is it just incase u dont have internet? Cause drm has been an issue but for the most part it affects multiplayer games that are shut down, or singleplayer games that got remastered and for whatever reason the publisher decided to delist the original. (Which i doubt remedy would do) but i cant think of any other reason, other than as just something of an aesthetic
I see your a pc person?? ( which is cool I’m not trying to insult you ) or someone who’s young enough to have missed the days of 100% physical media. …. My friend when you own physical media you can share it with friends family bring it anywhere resell it, etc you don’t need it taking up space on your console and can reinstall it via disc anytime.. like a decade or two from now you’ll have zero trouble playing it and this is almost never the case with digital,… ive lost digital games dlc etc from losing access to psn accounts by switching emails n ( i booted up my old PlayStation vita and realized i changed my Gmail account years ago and auto sign in was off because of Sonys new device system for ps3/psvita) . also when the wii u store shut down or i lost my access to metal gear because they took it down when war footage license expired… if you absolutely love the game and see yourself playing it forever physical media is your choice
I love this game. As someone who doesn’t play horror games (only others was tlou 1&2) i loved this one. Was hard to get through since i get scared fast, but damn was it worth it. Amazing game. My favorite of last year.
Jake, you're playing on my heartstrings here. I want to play this game even more after hearing you gush about it but I'm one of those die hard physical media nuts and can't bring myself to grab it digitally.
As someone that prefers physical media as well, you’re absolutely missing out. Don’t let the lack of a plastic case and blu ray disc rob you from the experience!
Definitely huge on my radar. I'm hoping if I give it some more time. We'll get an announcement since I'm sure it will do much better than the first in sales. Maybe by the end of the year if they haven't I'll decide. For now I have such a huge back log of games to dive into
It was hard for me to put into words why I liked AW2 so much but all the weird and goofy shit they did really endeared me to it. The title card alone made me go back and play AW before finishing 2. Been going through the remedy catalogue ( just finished Max Payne 1-3). I’ll definitely be along for the ride for whatever trip Sam Lake has in store for the future.
For Saga I think it's understandable, If I had to guess I'd say it's the actresses first time doing a video game. Alan's actor has experience with the material and the world. Also, because their role is split, one actor focusing on the physical acting and the other on VA, they can zone in on that one thing whereas she has to do both. For me her inexperience didn't take away from it because the character is supposed to feel out of place, being thrown into this nightmare. I liked the detective angle and the mystery of Mr Door so looking forward to more of that story.
It was Melanie Liburd's first time acting in a game. I thought she did great personally. She's just a stoic character, and I think it fits the mold of an experienced FBI profiler. Her British accent came through at times (as did Alice's) but not to the point of being distracting IMHO. I'd imagine it's difficult to nail all those details when neither the actor nor director are American, and who knows if they had the money to bring in a dialect coach. It's easy to forget how small the Remedy team is from a funding stand point.
@@Phillipmurr so you wanted them to race swap Mr Door? Then it would have been fine? Because he wasn't her father before, but he is now. Spend less time on nonsensical race drivel and learn how game development and story work.
@@gemelwalters2942 There’s literally photos of the original actor with Sam Lake. Her name was malla malmivaara. Maybe you should be in less denial and learn how casting works.
this game changed my perspective on the horror genre. after finishing this game, i enjoy horror much more and don't really get scared at anything. top 10 game of all time for me
i just beat it for the first time last week after picking it up on sale, and i still cant believe how underrated it was and is. I love survival horror games, ive played every single resident evil and dead space, Alien isolation used to be my favorite until Alan Wake 2. They nailed everything except the gunplay in my mind. i dont DISLIKE the gunplay persay, but compared to resident evil 4, its... lacking IMO. Im also from the pacific northwest so this game is literally like home for me, i love how they depicted washington in this game, very few games can capture the natural beauty of the northwest like alan wake 2.
This was GOTY for me in 2023 too. And I really liked BG3 but I liked AW2 more. I recognize that BG3 is a better game in many ways but AW2 was just something I had fun and enjoyed more.
i loved Alan wake 2 me and my gf had so much fun with that game, i would play and she would brainstorm theories what we thought was going on we’d be texting at work about it lol such a great game, made me play control after too which i had skipped originally but i just put my friend onto it and she’s been playing it nonstop
I loved Alan Wake 2. I finished Sagas story and continued with Alans story. Then an update introduced bugs that made it unplayable for me. I know there has been new updates so my issues may have been fixed. But now I'm in the mood for binging the God Of War series. I'm still looking forward to finishing Alan Wake 2 later this year though.
After playing this and especially the New York sections I think Remedy absolutely needs to make another Noir gangster game or even like a Finnish noir in the 1930s-40s noir that would be hella awesome!
I LOVED this game. I was so excited when it got announced because I loved Alan Wake so much. The series just has such a great story concept to it. I would've totally approved this game winning Game of the Year, even though I would have loved Tears of the Kingdom of Spider-Man 2 to win, but I knew that Baldurs Gate 3 was gonna get it. I finally got to playing AW2 in January after playing Control, the original AW (Remastered because I got out free with AW2 on the Epic store) and American Nightmare. If it hadn't been for Persona 3 Reload, I would've jumped right into the new game+ in this game.
Quantum Break and Control are in my top 5 of all time favorite games. My other three are Red Dead Redemption 2, Nier Automita, and my all time favorite is It Takes Two.
Ive never really played any game by Remedy, but recently I learned the founders where part of the demogroup Future Crew, which might explain some of their design choices.
I really want to play this game but damn, my back catalogue is just building and building. I don't know if it's because as I get older I get slower and games take longer to finish, or if I was just never that good at video games and it's now just becoming more obvious. I'll get round to it eventually but right now, gonna try and finish this backlog. Seriously can't wait to get to this though because it looks freaking awesome.
Cannot wait to play this. I played Alan Wake and American Nightmare both in release week when I was younger before they got fame. Really thought that I had found a gem. They were so different. Loved them.
one of my favorite moments is when **spoiler warning** Alan scratches names out of the manuscript and writes Saga into the story, and the next cinematic is the last meeting with Warlin Door, and he’s furious with Alan for pulling her into the story. Though it’s never explicitly stated, you can put the clues (Tor and Odin 1988) together to deduct that Warlin Door is Saga’s father.
Well put Jake. Things for sharing. As a huge Remedy fan, I share a lot of the same opinions. The only additional thing I loved that you didn't really mention, I loved how much AW2 connects with Control and even a possible Quantum Break connection in the future. I had replayed AW and Control before AW2 and so many weird or maybe original thoughts of a meaningless line in AW and Control make sense and connect so well now because of AW2.
Loved the game and thank you for bringing up Saga's stiff voice acting! I thought Mathew had more freedom to shine in 2 than 1. He seemed like he was bored out of his mind in the first game, but it was the point and found it funny and laughed with the game. But here in 2, even though having a lot of funny moments, never forget Mocha, I felt it was more serious than the first yet now the actor for Saga felt like a remnance of that old "It's bad on propose" vibe I got from Mathew in the first. I don't know if that was the angle but I found it jaring between everyone else giving banger preformances.
Such a fantastic experience. Allan Wake 2 was so refreshing because of all the wild game design they through in the game. One of the craziest things was the crazy Dance number the game launches into a third of the way through!
That’s weird some people won’t allow themselves to experience it yet because it’s not a physical copy .. whereas I personally don’t like physical copies and think digital is more convenient.. if it wasn’t for the fact that digital can be “removed” or ultimately taken off or alerted is then I’d say digital all the way 👍
Definitely my pick for GOTY and also one of my all time favorite game stories. I am personally not a fan of the survival horror, but this just hits different!!!
AW2 really nailed the atmosphere I was completely immersed this entire game it was amazing, truly felt like a detective going crazy, truly felt like I was lost in some upside down world it was amazing
Great video Jake! Love Alan Wake 2-can’t wait to see where they take the story next! Can you drop a link for the FPS podcast where you chat to the directors? Cheers!
I know now it's been meme'd into oblivion, but when LA Noire first came out, the facial animations were ground breaking and really immersed you into the characters. Alan Wake 2 feels like the new LA Noire of realistic facial and body animations. The cuts between live action and the game were brilliant and really made it feel like you were part of a horror movie and questioning what was real or not. This sounds cheesy, but I can only play the game for small segments at a time. The atmosphere of the Darkness truly makes you feel isolated and just tense the whole time playing. A phenomenal game - can't wait to finish it!
Alan Wake 2 is a treasure, and I'm happy to have experienced it with you all and be a part of this conversation and community. Can't wait to see what Remedy has in store for us next.
@JakeBaldino Huge Remedy fan here. Love to hear you praise and rave about this game. I still find myself thinking about it one way or another every day! Cannot wait for the DLC. Thanks for making the video. My question for you is where did you find that beautiful work desk you have? I must find one like it!
*overrated. Jump scare the game. Was hugely disappointed. Remedy games are not for me going forward. The way it was hyped, I thought it'd be the next re4. Instead, it's just five nights at freddy's and sticking paper on the one slot it will stick.
Absolutely loved AW 2. One of those games I'll never forget playing. Remedy is up there with Rockstar and Naughty Dog as some of the best studios in gaming.
One of the best, I've played in a long time. Not resident evil or silent hill, for once. I was enthralled every second, horror has to be a certain way. Coffee world one the scariest places I've seen since silent amusement park. Absolutely a gem and shouldn't be overlooked.
Felt so sad about Mr McCaffrey passing, but there is maybe the perfect send off line for him by him in AW2, (Slight spoiler): "... There would always be another case for Casey. A million stories in this dark city. The night opened up to welcome me. I walked into her arms. Roll credits."
Absolutely my favorite game of 2023 and one of all time.
This one jumped out to me, too.
The first time playing I thought it was such a cool line. My second playthrough after James’ passing made me bawl. There was something so haunting about it, like he knew 😢
@@NoVACorpsGaminghe did know. He was battling cancer for the last decade.
Alan wake 2 is rubbish.
It's been 6 months already?🤯
Even after all the other big games to come out in the last year not a single one has stuck with me like AW2 has, definitely in the running for favorite game.
i heard it was a walking sim
*shrugs
@@slipstream7324 whoever you heard that from probably has terrible taste in story games then
@@Chipemastr *respectful tone
What stands out about it?
@@slipstream7324 the story is mind bending but still easy to digest if you pay attention, the world building is stellar, and the actual setting of bright falls is remarkably close to how it really is in the Pacific Northwest (for reference I’ve lived in the PNW area my entire life) great game and I truly couldn’t recommend it more if you enjoy story games.
@@Chipemastr cool, i currently work on bainbridge island
"You know what happens to cops who say this is their last case."
"Real Funny, Anderson."
🥲
I'm currently on a binge of remedy games. Starting with the first Alan Wake, then I played the Max Payne trilogy, then quantum break, now control, and saving Alan Wake 2 for last. The only game I played prior to this binge was Max Payne and fuck had I been missing out! I heard you talkin bout remedy so much thruout the years Jake I had to give them a chance, and yup! This studio is great!
My recent sequence has been: Alan wake, Last of Us, then A Plague Tale: Innocence. The later two were so much better than Alan wake, I'm hesitant to even both with the second!
Love binging remedy games😊
Control was a fantastic game.
@@float32a plague tale innocence is sooooo good!! Glad to see other people enjoying it too!
@@float32if you don't, you'll be missing out fr
I will always remember McCaffrey's line during the ending of the theatre level. In retrospect, it's now a perfect sendoff for such a legend
R.I.P. James McCaffrey.
There are a couple of lines of his in Alan Wake 2 that really stuck out to me while I was playing The Final Draft, and it makes me wonder if he'd worked with Sam Lake and the writers on some of it (as he died of multiple myeloma, and my guess is that he'd been battling that for a long while). You can hear a lot of regret and pain in his delivery of this line in particular:
"I was dead tired. I just wanted it to be over. It was all my fault. I'd had this dark place in my head for so long. Sometimes I'd forget the pain was there. Like it was the way you were supposed to feel. I was not in a dark place. I was the dark place, the source of it all, the vessel."
And with this one later in the story, there's a very real sadness behind it, and even a hint of defeat or acceptance:
"I'm a goner. Swell! A shadow crawling under my skin. In my head. Call my ex, tell her I'm sorry. Terminal Case Casey."
I know it could have truly been a coincidence, but something about the way he played these lines just felt very real and personal. I can't help but wonder if James had already known for a while that he didn't have long, and had decided to bring some more of himself into his final role. Whatever the case, I'm glad he's at peace now.
Oh yea fist one is in the dark place when Alan shoots him and the second is in Saga’s profiling room. It also struck me when I heard them.
I was amazed to go back to Alan Wake 1 and find that the town was fundamentally the same in both games.
It has a tremendous sense of place.
True but it feels smaller in the sequel
its filled with urban graffiti in the sequel, which makes sense considering 1/3 of the poblation of bright falls is black now
lmao
One thing the game deserves more praise for is the increadible way the forest comes alive when the wind starts blowing. The way trees, branches and undergrowth move is way more realistic than I have seen in any game before.
I felt they nailed that aspect better in the first game
I know exactly what you mean, try playing Alan wake 2 on shrooms and the foliage and trees literally become alive lmfaooo best way to play this game in my opionion
@@abdeladbar1125That sounds terrifying 😂 I'm a little bit of a bitch and kind of need my happy thoughts, but damn, you're tough lmao
Right it always looks dope when the get the camera from the sky when they're driving in the woods lol
Wait till you realise what being in the darkness does to the visuals in this game. There's something of a vignette, and then auras of movement that will randomly appear, your view gets all muddy and it feels very, very paranoia-inducing.
Expert visual design.
Let’s also not forget how they made us do MATH IN A VIDEO GAME lol
This was a better true detective than the new season of true detective.
YES!!!! I've been waiting for your take on Alan wake 2 I loved it how they took some of the wacky Elements in Control and built on top of it making it confusing but interesting at the same time I can't wait to jump back in for the DLC
Jake Looking PROPER TOKED UP today boys.
Hittin that Cauldron Lake Kush
Yeah, our dude definitely feeling himself 💯😌
Best way to play games, horror games for that extra thrill!
Remedy have high production value, everything is there for a cinematic experience which persinally I love in a game. The score, the story, atmosphere, backstories etc. The G.O.A shooting section the main highlight. Man I replayed that section for the solos and bodycount ❤
Show me the champion of light! ⚡️
Granblue relink is my next game to play. ❤
I didn’t play the 1st Alan Wake until the end of 23. After I was done I immediately played Control and loved it. Remedy is now one of my favorite studios and I can’t wait to see what they do next
You played Quantum Break yet?
@@Schubedube I haven’t but I’ll add it to my list
AW2 was a fantastic game. "We Sing" blew me away. I will definitely buy a physical copy if they ever release one coz I really want to display it on my shelf too.
Wasn’t going to bother with this one but I got it cheap and it gave me a reason to actually play Control too. Really enjoyed both, was great for something to play over Christmas
Can we appreciate the blue and white thermos in the background cabinet!!
The musical Scene with all the stage lights and shootouts is probably my favorite scene out of any video game ever. That part was so well done.
Also, if you liked the music from Old Gods of Asgard pleeeeaaaaaaseeeee do yourself a favor and check Poets of the Fall music, they are the IRL band that plays OGOA and their music is sooooo goood
I'm a metal head but Poets is one of my favorite bands and they are Pop lol (although I think they are more alternative) it is a very underrated band that deserves a lot of love
If you have played other Remedy games you will probably recognize some of their songs
Definitely my 2023 GOTY. Loved the whole thing.
Same here aside from spin offs like, like a dragon Gaiden: the man who erased his name. Perfect conclusion / peak ending for kiryu.
thats a joke right? alan woke lol
@HackerBusting how is it woke?
@@HackerBustingyour profile name sums up everything I need to know.
Despite it flaws, AW1 was my favourite also due to the story and AW2 more than made up for the 13 year wait.
It's not an ocean, it's a Lake. Sam Lake.
I am so with you with the love for this game. It really is up there. I must say that I personally got hit more by Saga than you seemed to. I for one just loved the setpieces of the woods so much, but also the way they unraveled her worked for me. A key moment being the initial interaction with Rose. The way she is animated is so eerie in the best way. The acting and MoCap...it plants the seed of something being not right that grows beyond knowing that "the story is just playing a trick on her". Perfectly culminated in the "The Mindplace" scene. Beautiful and powerful.
Also the elements that Alice brings are not talked about enough. In a game with a lot of goofy stuff her part of delivering that real, creeping darkness...
In the end the balance between those wtf moments, the goofyness, jumpscares, atmosphere, and human darkness.....man.
Thank you for highlighting the lack of a physical copy. It really bums me out as someone who wants to proudly display the game in my living room
If that's what they had to do to maximize their ability to release this masterpiece, I can't hold it against them.
it’s the only game I was willing to buy a collectors edition for and it didn’t even get a physical copy :( Hopefully we get one after they release the DLCs.
@@BelligerenntI saw somewhere that THQ has offered to help with a physical release, and I do hope it works out. It's a shame that even a small percentage of gamers are missing out on such a great game by digging in their heels to fight the inevitable.
That just gives you the opportunity to make your own perfect dream case. 😊
still waiting to play and if everyone had a brain and refused to buy digital then their would be a physical copy but the people buying it ruined it for us disc lovers
6 months?!
This notification made me go through an existential crisis lmfao
No...
Alan wake 2 and Spider-Man 2 came out 6 months ago time flies so fast man
How is this possible.
Its been 4 1/2 months
I'm obsessed with this game. There were a couple places where it was tedious, but overall it's as close to perfect (for me) as it can get. Sam Lake and Remedy man, it's like they caught lighting in a bottle but never let it go. I rarely replay games and never do things like buying merch or soundtracks, but this one did it for me.
Love this game, looking forward to the DLC and what it adds to the story. Heavy Control cross over I'm expecting. I actually found the difficulty a bit off, even at higher difficulties my inventory was bursting, thats one of my only gripes with the game.
James Mccaffrey's voice will stick with me forever, from the first time playing max payne on my mates PS2 when I was 12! What a voice and I cant wait for the max payne re-makes, as long as the keep the original voice over of course. RIP x
Imo, this is the best game I've played in this gen so far. One of the only games that look next gen and did a lot of unique stuff.
My eyes were that red when I did my playthroughs of the game. AW2 is amazing to experience high as hell. It just hits COMPLETELY different.
i heard it was a walking sim
@@slipstream7324 u heard wrong there's plenty of combat, resident evil 7 is about the same pace as alan Wake 2 for example and no one complained there they loved it smh, the opening 2 hours has very little action however
Bro I was baked and those jump scares made me a new man
@@slipstream7324it is a walking sim. I finished the game. In the first 3 hours you kill like 5 enemies. The conclusion to the game is putting photos on a board for 30 mins. I was insanely disappointed after playing Control.
@slipstream7324 First off, no it isn't, also you should probably avoid game advice from that individual going forward. Second, even if it had way less combat and it was a walking Sim, it's the best damn one I've played over the last 20 years.
I think Melanie Liburd is good as Saga Anderson and manages to bring the right emotion to the character. I think the reason she comes across as stilted is because she’s meant to be the flawless hero for Alan’s story who always does the right thing.
My issue with her performance is her accent. Melanie is English, and I can tell she struggled trying to find a specific dialect for the character. Sometimes she sounds southern with her pronunciation of words and sometimes she sounds more like she’s from the east coast.
I liked her character overall but her accent was jarring for me, too.
I found it an interesting concept to have Wake write her into the story, working both ends to escape the Dark Place.
AW2 is my fav game from last year, I can't wait for the DLCs
I absolutely adored AW2! It was everything I wanted the first game to be
Got this game day 1, still have yet to finish it. Been playing games my entire life and sunk tens of thousands of hours into games of all eras and genres and never in my life has a game so constantly set me up in a new area completely blind and forced me to find how to progress the story like a person in a giant dark room looking for the door out. It happened over and over again until i just couldn’t take it anymore and that’s WHILE using other peoples full gameplays as help. I still want to finish it because i appreciate the setting, characters, story, and even certain gameplay and mechanics like the detective stuff, and also want to get my moneys worth from the game still but man oh man have i never faced a game so thoroughly trying to get me lost and confused over and over ever in my life! Idk how more people weren’t driven crazy by it. Maybe I’m just dumb… who knows….
I completely felt the same way. Killed the pacing and pissed me off
Love this game so much! Remedy has become my favorite dev in a short amount of time.
RIP James. He was the standout performance in Control and Alan Wake 2 so I plan to play the max paynes for the first time. Control was my introduction into this universe and everyone involved is knocking it out of the park.
Alan Wake 2 was the first game where it came into perspective how much goes into video game character design. I found out recently that the face model is not the voice, and I’ve been thinking about it for weeks!
Same with Ashley in RE4 Remake, three different people brought that character to life from the face model, body model and the voice
Absolutely my game of the year for 2023. A true work of art.
Game of the year for me, and one the top 10 of all time. Checks all my boxes, the combination of LA Noire problem solving adventure game, horror, survival horror combat, story, atmosphere.
It's pure art.
This, FF16, Lies Of P and Robocop were my favs for 2023. Haven't gotten to playing BG3 that's universally acclaimed due to being in the last semester and i have my focus on finishing uni
Only Alan Wake 2 and Baulders Gate 3 stuck with me. Such amazing games
Picked up my physical copy today and the best part is all the DLC is included on the disc!!
Alan wake 2 and TLOU2 are the most recent games that have me thinking about it daily even weeks after beating it. So so so good
It's called love lol 😆 😂 🤣
That’s my dream monitor… oled hands down one of best upgrades you can do
I loved the game. My main complaint about it is that it feels like it ended super abruptly. I even went back and reloaded my save to check if I had missed anything. It would have been nice if the last section with Saga in the dark place had been fleshed out a little more. Other than that, had a really great time with it.
All the Ahti parts with control and everything else is really pretty mind blowing once you dig deep into the lore. The fact that Ahti is the janitor of the cosmos that helps keep everything in order. And how he is the caretaker and the person that keeps all the universes from spiraling into chaos. when I first saw him in Alan Wake 2 he was like a warm blanket and then I started watching videos about him and it kind of blew my mind. I didn’t know video games could get so damn deep. From the laws of thermodynamics and chaos theory. It’s just nuts. Check out gaming university on the break down. The rabbit hole goes deep.
I don’t know about Alan Wake 2 but Herald of Darkness has 100% been stuck in my brain for the past 6 months lmao.
SHOW ME THE CHAMPION OF LIIIIIGHT
The soundtrack is a banger. My fiance didnt even play it and she added Wide Awake to her Spotify
It is really one of the best soundtracks ever in a game. No cap. There is not one song on there that I don't love.
Tell her to add dynamite from control to her spotify as well
Alan Wake 2 is the first game I finished on my LG OLED. Stunning looking game, stunning game all around.
Honestly playing Alan wake 2 it reminded me of going up to my late aunt in weaverville ca the lighting and everything felt like a reminder of Happier times
For all of Alan Wake 1 i never realized Ilkka was doing mocap and Matthew was his voice..so dumb into AW 2 i finally got it.
But Ilkka performance is great, from a physical side and acting. Get to see Ilkka real voice and performance as Thomas Zane..when he shaves the ol beard off and its also great.
%Spoliers if you didn't play% And Ilkka dances and performs the whole musical part. I burst out laughing multiple times, going through that whole sound stage..i spent like over 30mins walking around. Ilkka had parts where he.. looks super Mad and Mean mugs you, threatening you with his fists...i fuckin lost it so funny😂
Its been a few months since finishing NG+ and I think its time for a 4th playthrough!
I grew up falling love with the first 2 Max Payne games and loved how James brought Noir into the game. Gone too soon and will be missed tremendously.
Criminally underrated game AW2 is. Should have sold bazillions
thanks to me it didn't. No physical = no buy
@@xman777bim curious whats generally the reason people want physical copies, is it just incase u dont have internet? Cause drm has been an issue but for the most part it affects multiplayer games that are shut down, or singleplayer games that got remastered and for whatever reason the publisher decided to delist the original. (Which i doubt remedy would do) but i cant think of any other reason, other than as just something of an aesthetic
I see your a pc person?? ( which is cool I’m not trying to insult you ) or someone who’s young enough to have missed the days of 100% physical media. …. My friend when you own physical media you can share it with friends family bring it anywhere resell it, etc
you don’t need it taking up space on your console and can reinstall it via disc anytime.. like a decade or two from now you’ll have zero trouble playing it and this is almost never the case with digital,… ive lost digital games dlc etc from losing access to psn accounts by switching emails n ( i booted up my old PlayStation vita and realized i changed my Gmail account years ago and auto sign in was off because of Sonys new device system for ps3/psvita) . also when the wii u store shut down or i lost my access to metal gear because they took it down when war footage license expired… if you absolutely love the game and see yourself playing it forever physical media is your choice
I love this game. As someone who doesn’t play horror games (only others was tlou 1&2) i loved this one.
Was hard to get through since i get scared fast, but damn was it worth it. Amazing game. My favorite of last year.
hasn't even been five months, jake. don't do that to me lol
This
Jake, you're playing on my heartstrings here. I want to play this game even more after hearing you gush about it but I'm one of those die hard physical media nuts and can't bring myself to grab it digitally.
As someone that prefers physical media as well, you’re absolutely missing out. Don’t let the lack of a plastic case and blu ray disc rob you from the experience!
Definitely huge on my radar. I'm hoping if I give it some more time. We'll get an announcement since I'm sure it will do much better than the first in sales. Maybe by the end of the year if they haven't I'll decide. For now I have such a huge back log of games to dive into
It was hard for me to put into words why I liked AW2 so much but all the weird and goofy shit they did really endeared me to it. The title card alone made me go back and play AW before finishing 2. Been going through the remedy catalogue ( just finished Max Payne 1-3). I’ll definitely be along for the ride for whatever trip Sam Lake has in store for the future.
For Saga I think it's understandable, If I had to guess I'd say it's the actresses first time doing a video game. Alan's actor has experience with the material and the world. Also, because their role is split, one actor focusing on the physical acting and the other on VA, they can zone in on that one thing whereas she has to do both. For me her inexperience didn't take away from it because the character is supposed to feel out of place, being thrown into this nightmare. I liked the detective angle and the mystery of Mr Door so looking forward to more of that story.
It was Melanie Liburd's first time acting in a game. I thought she did great personally. She's just a stoic character, and I think it fits the mold of an experienced FBI profiler. Her British accent came through at times (as did Alice's) but not to the point of being distracting IMHO. I'd imagine it's difficult to nail all those details when neither the actor nor director are American, and who knows if they had the money to bring in a dialect coach. It's easy to forget how small the Remedy team is from a funding stand point.
I wonder how her character would’ve been played by the original actor before being race swapped.
@@Phillipmurr so you wanted them to race swap Mr Door? Then it would have been fine? Because he wasn't her father before, but he is now. Spend less time on nonsensical race drivel and learn how game development and story work.
@@gemelwalters2942 There’s literally photos of the original actor with Sam Lake. Her name was malla malmivaara. Maybe you should be in less denial and learn how casting works.
this game changed my perspective on the horror genre. after finishing this game, i enjoy horror much more and don't really get scared at anything. top 10 game of all time for me
It's been a few months since I completed AW2 and I still have Herald of Darkness stuck in my head
i just beat it for the first time last week after picking it up on sale, and i still cant believe how underrated it was and is. I love survival horror games, ive played every single resident evil and dead space, Alien isolation used to be my favorite until Alan Wake 2. They nailed everything except the gunplay in my mind. i dont DISLIKE the gunplay persay, but compared to resident evil 4, its... lacking IMO. Im also from the pacific northwest so this game is literally like home for me, i love how they depicted washington in this game, very few games can capture the natural beauty of the northwest like alan wake 2.
It really freaks me out how quick time seems to pass. Literally felt like the game released a couple months ago and I binged it for a couple days.
This was GOTY for me in 2023 too. And I really liked BG3 but I liked AW2 more. I recognize that BG3 is a better game in many ways but AW2 was just something I had fun and enjoyed more.
i loved Alan wake 2 me and my gf had so much fun with that game, i would play and she would brainstorm theories what we thought was going on we’d be texting at work about it lol such a great game, made me play control after too which i had skipped originally but i just put my friend onto it and she’s been playing it nonstop
I loved Alan Wake 2. I finished Sagas story and continued with Alans story. Then an update introduced bugs that made it unplayable for me. I know there has been new updates so my issues may have been fixed. But now I'm in the mood for binging the God Of War series. I'm still looking forward to finishing Alan Wake 2 later this year though.
Has it really been 6 months?! Wow time flies!
After playing this and especially the New York sections I think Remedy absolutely needs to make another Noir gangster game or even like a Finnish noir in the 1930s-40s noir that would be hella awesome!
I LOVED this game. I was so excited when it got announced because I loved Alan Wake so much. The series just has such a great story concept to it. I would've totally approved this game winning Game of the Year, even though I would have loved Tears of the Kingdom of Spider-Man 2 to win, but I knew that Baldurs Gate 3 was gonna get it.
I finally got to playing AW2 in January after playing Control, the original AW (Remastered because I got out free with AW2 on the Epic store) and American Nightmare. If it hadn't been for Persona 3 Reload, I would've jumped right into the new game+ in this game.
REMEDY is THE studio today - guys are one of a kind diamonds
Alan Wake 2 is really good as an art piece first and foremost. It is also a very solid survival horror.
Quantum Break and Control are in my top 5 of all time favorite games.
My other three are Red Dead Redemption 2, Nier Automita, and my all time favorite is It Takes Two.
Just know It Takes Two is getting a movie soon which is exciting!
this was such an incredible game, the silent hill/max payne inspiration is perfect to me, i just WISH there was a physical version, im still hoping.
Remedy entertainment should make a Doctor Strange game they'd be perfect for that character
They should make a true detective game.
Ive never really played any game by Remedy, but recently I learned the founders where part of the demogroup Future Crew, which might explain some of their design choices.
I really want to play this game but damn, my back catalogue is just building and building. I don't know if it's because as I get older I get slower and games take longer to finish, or if I was just never that good at video games and it's now just becoming more obvious. I'll get round to it eventually but right now, gonna try and finish this backlog.
Seriously can't wait to get to this though because it looks freaking awesome.
God I love this game, this is the only game where I have read and explored everything I found. I put 100hrs into bg3 but I still like aw2 way more
S-SI-SIX! MONTHS?? OH GOD THE VOICES ARE BACK IN MY HEAD I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE
Cannot wait to play this. I played Alan Wake and American Nightmare both in release week when I was younger before they got fame. Really thought that I had found a gem. They were so different. Loved them.
one of my favorite moments is when **spoiler warning**
Alan scratches names out of the manuscript and writes Saga into the story, and the next cinematic is the last meeting with Warlin Door, and he’s furious with Alan for pulling her into the story. Though it’s never explicitly stated, you can put the clues (Tor and Odin 1988) together to deduct that Warlin Door is Saga’s father.
Well put Jake. Things for sharing. As a huge Remedy fan, I share a lot of the same opinions. The only additional thing I loved that you didn't really mention, I loved how much AW2 connects with Control and even a possible Quantum Break connection in the future. I had replayed AW and Control before AW2 and so many weird or maybe original thoughts of a meaningless line in AW and Control make sense and connect so well now because of AW2.
Why can they not release this physically...would of been day one purchase if it had been now i just have to wait
Loved the game and thank you for bringing up Saga's stiff voice acting! I thought Mathew had more freedom to shine in 2 than 1. He seemed like he was bored out of his mind in the first game, but it was the point and found it funny and laughed with the game. But here in 2, even though having a lot of funny moments, never forget Mocha, I felt it was more serious than the first yet now the actor for Saga felt like a remnance of that old "It's bad on propose" vibe I got from Mathew in the first. I don't know if that was the angle but I found it jaring between everyone else giving banger preformances.
Such a fantastic experience. Allan Wake 2 was so refreshing because of all the wild game design they through in the game. One of the craziest things was the crazy Dance number the game launches into a third of the way through!
That’s weird some people won’t allow themselves to experience it yet because it’s not a physical copy .. whereas I personally don’t like physical copies and think digital is more convenient.. if it wasn’t for the fact that digital can be “removed” or ultimately taken off or alerted is then I’d say digital all the way 👍
I loved this game so much. I thought the sound design and atmosphere were perfect. I can't wait for the dlc
This game, without embellishing, pushes the medium of video games. I know that sounds pretentious but it really does a lot of cool narrative stuff.
Is it sad that I’m still waiting for a physical release 🤡
Definitely my pick for GOTY and also one of my all time favorite game stories. I am personally not a fan of the survival horror, but this just hits different!!!
AW2 really nailed the atmosphere I was completely immersed this entire game it was amazing, truly felt like a detective going crazy, truly felt like I was lost in some upside down world it was amazing
Great video Jake! Love Alan Wake 2-can’t wait to see where they take the story next! Can you drop a link for the FPS podcast where you chat to the directors? Cheers!
I can't believe it's been 6 months since AW2. I've been thinking about that game pretty much every day since I completed it 😅
Same here. 😅 I’m honestly comforted that I’m not the only one. The story of AW1 and especially 2 really stick with me.
I know now it's been meme'd into oblivion, but when LA Noire first came out, the facial animations were ground breaking and really immersed you into the characters. Alan Wake 2 feels like the new LA Noire of realistic facial and body animations. The cuts between live action and the game were brilliant and really made it feel like you were part of a horror movie and questioning what was real or not.
This sounds cheesy, but I can only play the game for small segments at a time. The atmosphere of the Darkness truly makes you feel isolated and just tense the whole time playing. A phenomenal game - can't wait to finish it!
Alan Wake 2 is a treasure, and I'm happy to have experienced it with you all and be a part of this conversation and community. Can't wait to see what Remedy has in store for us next.
Cringe
@JakeBaldino Huge Remedy fan here. Love to hear you praise and rave about this game. I still find myself thinking about it one way or another every day! Cannot wait for the DLC. Thanks for making the video. My question for you is where did you find that beautiful work desk you have? I must find one like it!
I'm still forcing myself to push through Control but I am so excited to finally give this a go whenever that time might come
AW2 is an amazing must play game. Loved it. Weird but super cool
Most underrated game of the decade
*overrated. Jump scare the game. Was hugely disappointed. Remedy games are not for me going forward. The way it was hyped, I thought it'd be the next re4. Instead, it's just five nights at freddy's and sticking paper on the one slot it will stick.
Even on the stream I thought the song and dance at the Game Awards was the best moment in Game Awards history.
Spectacular game!!!!
3 months after finishing it, I can’t stop thinking about the story and the mood.
Absolutely loved AW 2. One of those games I'll never forget playing. Remedy is up there with Rockstar and Naughty Dog as some of the best studios in gaming.
I didn't think you were actually going to get back to this one. Nice!
One of the best, I've played in a long time. Not resident evil or silent hill, for once. I was enthralled every second, horror has to be a certain way. Coffee world one the scariest places I've seen since silent amusement park. Absolutely a gem and shouldn't be overlooked.
Watching 6 months after the 6 months later video. Just finished alan wake 1 and control. Excited to finally jump into alan wake 2