Summary
Alan Wake 2was a mind-blowing survival horror experience that surprised and thrilled many fans of its predecessor. With the sequel being 13 years apart from the first chapter, Remedy turned the intensity level up to 11 asAlan Wake 2presented players with a tone far darker than the first game. The game’s dramatic turn was a fun change of pace, butAlan Wake 2’s first DLC,Night Springs, might give fans a throwback to the franchise’s roots.
There has been a lot of speculation aboutwhat theNight SpringsDLC will hold, but a very likely scenario involves a change in the DLC’s tone compared toAlan Wake 2. As amazing asAlan Wake 2’s horror was, theNight SpringsDLC may feel more like the firstAlan Wake,as the DLC could embrace a more campy energy.
Night Springs Could Dive Deeper Into the Meta
For fans of the series, a major feature ofAlan Wake’s is theNight Springstelevision show. Inspired byThe Twilight Zone,Night Springshas a goofy, over-the-top tone that serves as a fun addition toAlan Wake’s already crazy lore. The world ofAlan Wakeleans heavily into meta references, and theNight SpringsDLC is likely to add an extra layer to that meta-narrative while embracing the campy and strange energy of the titular television show.
Alan Wake 2’s Greatest Moment May Influence the DLC’s Tone
Those who have finishedAlan Wake 2are fully aware of one of the game’s greatest moments, as Alan finds himself in a bizarre and hilarious song and dance numberperformed by The Old Gods of Asgard. The sequence seemingly comes out of nowhere, but it ends up being one of the high points of the story. It’s a favorite moment for many fans, and since theNight Springstelevision show shares a similar exaggerated tone, fans may have more campy moments to look forward to in the DLC.
Possible Clues In Alan Wake 2’s Soundtrack
A potential clue about what theNight SpringsDLC might be like can be found in the game’s soundtrack in the final song, aptly named “Night Springs”. The upbeat pop tune, performed by Keira, is a drastic change in tone fromthe story ofAlan Wake 2. WhereAlan Wake 2is dark and disturbing, Keira’s “Night Springs” is downright bubbly. Music clearly plays an important role in the main game, but the “Night Springs” song doesn’t actually appear in it and has indeed been confirmed to feature in theNight SpringsDLC instead. If this song happens to be a new opening theme song forNight Springs, it could be giving fans just a little taste of what the DLC’s tone will be like.
Although it’s confirmed by Remedy that theNight SpringsDLC should be released sometime this spring, there is still no clear answer to what the expansion will be about - though lines in the song about “space invaders” and “a human suit” suggest some wild plot points are possible. However, based on Remedy’s track record, both planned DLCs forAlan Wake 2will likely play an important role inexpanding the connected Remedy universe. The Final Draft ending added toAlan Wake 2weeks after its release suggests that a tonal change is possible for the series, and as Alan gets closer to finding answers to some questions left lingering after the story, his world is likely to get even weirder. Though that world may not be as dark, the strangenessAlan Wakeis known for is unlikely to fade away, and if anything theNight SpringsDLC could be a return to form that offers a weird, campy fever dream.
Alan Wake 2
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A string of ritualistic murders threatens Bright Falls, a small-town community surrounded by Pacific Northwest wilderness. Saga Anderson, an accomplished FBI agent with a reputation for solving impossible cases arrives to investigate the murders. Anderson’s case spirals into a nightmare when she discovers pages of a horror story that starts to come true around her.Alan Wake, a lost writer trapped in a nightmare beyond our world, writes a dark story in an attempt to shape the reality around him and escape his prison. With a dark horror hunting him, Wake is trying to retain his sanity and beat the devil at his own game.Anderson and Wake are two heroes on two desperate journeys in two separate realities, connected at heart in ways neither of them can understand: reflecting each other, echoing each other, and affecting the worlds around them.Fueled by the horror story, supernatural darkness invades Bright Falls, corrupting the locals and threatening the loved ones of both Anderson and Wake. Light is their weapon—and their safe haven — against the darkness they face. Trapped in a sinister horror story where there are only victims and monsters, can they break out to be the heroes they need to be?
