It's been 11 years since Remedy Entertainment launched the original Alan Wake, and so fans could be forgiven if they had given up hope on a sequel ever happening. However, one of the big surprises at The Game Awards 2021 was the confirmation that Alan Wake 2 is in active development for release in 2023 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X, and that this long-awaited sequel will be a full-blown horror game.
The original Alan Wake had horror elements, taking its cues from Stephen King novels, but it never fully embraced the genre. Alan Wake 2 will be much different in that regard, with director Sam Lake confirming that it will be Remedy's version of a survival-horror game. Speaking to IGN, Lake added, "The horror story is this psychological, layered, deep mystery to dive into. And yes, it's going to be scary."
Alan Wake 2 being a horror game means that it will be more intense than the original game, with the potential for players to encounter more disturbing content than they did before. This will be reflected by Alan Wake 2's ESRB rating. The official ESRB rating for Alan Wake 2 has not been announced and likely won't come until much closer to the game's release, but Remedy is going for an M for Mature rating this time around, as opposed to the T for Teen rating that the first game received. In the same interview with IGN, Lake called Alan Wake 2's M rating "liberating" and that it means Remedy won't have to censor its vision.
Needless to say, Alan Wake 2 has quickly become one to watch for fans of the horror genre, though it may be some time before they get another look at it. While presenting the game at The Game Awards, Lake informed fans that Remedy would be going dark for quite some time, and so they shouldn't expect any updates on Alan Wake 2 anytime soon. Since there's only a brief Alan Wake 2 teaser trailer available so far, hopefully the next time the game is shown off fans have something more substantial to see.
While Alan Wake fans wait for more news on Alan Wake 2, they may want to consider checking out Remedy's Control game in the meantime. Control is set in the same universe as Alan Wake, and there's even an Alan Wake-themed DLC for Control to check out as well. And if that's not enough to tide Alan Wake fans over, there's also the Alan Wake remaster to consider.
Alan Wake 2 launches in 2023 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
Source: IGN