If you were worried about juggling Alan Wake 2’s dual protagonists, don’t be, as Remedy says there’s no “right or wrong way to play.”
Alan Wake 2 was first revealed back in 2021, but it wasn’t until the game’s first gameplay trailer in May that we learned we’d actually be playing as two different characters. We will of course once again be playing as the titular Alan Wake, but also as FBI agent Saga Anderson. Dual protagonists are a hard thing to balance, and for players it might be even harder as you can switch between Alan and Saga’s stories almost whenever you want. But in a recent interview with GamesRadar, Remedy wanted to make sure you know that you don’t need to worry, as there isn’t a specific way you need to play.
“The writing team has a story that they really want to tell, and our challenge as a narrative design team is to make that story playable and interactive,” said principal narrative designer Molly Maloney. “The key thing here is that there’s not a right or a wrong way to play through the content. It’s literally that the content is different and enjoyable, no matter what order you play it in.”
While actually playing the game, you can’t actually switch between characters at will, but you can do so pretty easily in Break Rooms, separate areas where you can save and switch between Alan and Saga. These Break Rooms will also let you use a new feature, the Case Board, which is exactly what it sounds like – a board where you can sort out clues, make deductions, everything a detective might do.
“The case board actually acts as a nice re-onboarding for players if they have decided to play a different way,” shared game director Kyle Rowley. “It basically tracks everything you’ve been doing in the game from Saga’s perspective. In a way, it’s a bit like an interactive quest log from other games. It’s tracking what you’re doing, but you’re the one who’s mapping it out.”
It sounds like Alan Wake 2 will really be changing things up from the first game, which is more of an action game with some very light horror influences. Combat will also be different from the first game, helping it lean into the survival genre.
Alan Wake 2 is out October 17, and will be available on PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S.