Alan Wake 2: Night Springs Review

The wait for Alan Wake 2 was extremely long, but it was well worth it, as Remedy Entertainment put out something that wasn’t just a simple survival horror game but an intense experience that is very difficult to forget.  While another entry in the series won’t be seeing the light of day anytime soon, especially with Remedy working on multiple titles (including the second entry in the Control series and remakes of the first two entries in the Max Payne series) the base Alan Wake 2 game isn’t the last we will see of the tormented writer for a long time, thanks to the two planned expansions, Night Springs and Lake House. The former is already out and the subject of today’s review.

The Alan Wake 2: Night Springs DLC is a rather short expansion comprised of three episodes starring three characters of the Remedy Connected Universe: the waitress Rose Marigold, Control’s main character Jesse Faden, and Shawn Ashmore, the real-life actor who plays the sheriff in Alan Wake 2 as well as Jack Joyce from Quantum Break. While they are somewhat separated from the main story, the three additional episodes are masterfully woven into the Alan Wake world, as they are part of the Night Springs TV show, an in-universe TV show that was mentioned in multiple Remedy Entertainment titles. Better yet, the TV show premise allowed the developers to bring back the amazing Mr. Door, played by David Harewood, who provides an introduction for the three episodes and has a central role in one of them.

Having been conceived as episodes of a TV show, the three additional scenarios included in Alan Wake 2: Night Springs are not particularly long, lasting between 30 minutes and a little over an hour. And while they don’t really shake up the gameplay formula of the base game, they are extremely entertaining. Remedy went all out with the wackiness, presenting some scenarios that could have been, maybe, too much even for the main game.

The first episode of the Alan Wake 2: Night Springs expansion is Number One Fan. Controlling the waitress Rose Marigold, players will have to save Alan Wake, who is holed up inside his mansion, an army of haters summoned by his evil twin brother (who is actually Mr. Scratch). Right from the start, it’s clear how this scenario is, by far, the furthest in terms of atmosphere and gameplay from the base game. From receiving Alan Wake’s distress signal from a Big Mouth Billy Bass to the banners and graffiti around town highlighting how the waitress and the writer are meant for each other and the 50s rock soundtrack, it’s clear how the team wanted to go for a humorous, surreal tone. Needless to say, they succeed. The haters’ comments are particularly funny and quite a bit meta, shouting to the world that Alan Wake is just a Stephen King knock-off, which I’m pretty sure is something that must have come to more than a few players’ minds when experiencing the base game. Gameplay-wise, this episode does away with most of the survival-horror mechanics of the base game, including the flashlight mechanics, essentially offering the player infinite armor for two powerful weapons and, thus, the chance to go all out on enemies for a rather fun, and gory, romp.

The second episode of the Alan Wake 2: Night Springs expansion is North Star, starring Control’s Jesse Faden. On her journey to find her brother, the young woman ends up in Coffee World, not knowing she will come into contact with a government conspiracy set around… coffee. While less in-your-face humorous and more in line in terms of mechanics and atmosphere with the base game, North Star is still pretty hilarious in its own way. Much like the previous episode, the one starring Jesse Faden is rather straightforward despite the inclusion of some simple puzzles and the return of the flashlight mechanics, though I was a little disappointed how none of her powers made even a brief appearance during the 40 minutes or so of her episode.

The third, and definitely the most interesting episode of the three, is Time Breaker. This episode stars actor Shawn Ashmore, who has been hired to star in Sam Lake’s latest game, not knowing he will end up in the clutches of the mysterious Mr.Door, who will bring him on a psychedelic journey where realities collide and the surreal becomes very, very real. While the gameplay is pretty much in line with the North Star episode, this episode is considerably better than the other two and the one that feels the closest to the base experience. It is possibly even more daring than the base game in terms of visual presentation, masterfully blending together some very different styles, something that alone makes it worth the price of admission.

While it does not offer much in terms of gameplay, the Alan Wake 2: Night Springs expansion is a worthy DLC to experience for all fans of the base game and Remedy Entertainment’s titles. Free from the limitations imposed by the base game’s narrative, which was fairly loose to begin with, Sam Lake and his team have gone all out to provide some extremely entertaining scenarios that, unfortunately, are over way too soon and leave the player wanting more. Hopefully, the next expansion, Lake House, will offer something a bit meatier to complement the masterful storytelling that is as well showcased in Night Springs as it is in the base game.

PC version tested. Review code provided by the publisher.

Alan Wake 2: Night Springs

Alan Wake 2: Night Springs

With its three entertaining scenarios showcasing Remedy Entertainment’s narrative and visual design prowess, the Alan Wake 2: Night Springs expansion is a more than worthy DLC for all fans of the base game and the Finnish developer, provided they can keep their expectations in check. The expansion’s short length, a little over two and a half hours, and its stripped-down gameplay will inevitably disappoint those looking for something more substantial