When Alan Wake 2 was first unveiled at The Game Awards 2021, I found myself in a conundrum: I loved the first game, and I loved Control and its AWE DLC, so I should be over the moon for this new game. However, I don't do horror well. I don't mind the type of slow burn, psychological unease side of horror, but jump scares and high-adrenaline sequences aren't my style. After seeing a hands-off demo of Alan Wake 2 at Summer Game Fest, it's becoming clear that I'm going to have to bite the bullet because this game looks too good to miss. 

The demo focused on the story's newest character, Saga Anderson, and her partner Alex Casey – whose very existence should be a red flag to the lore-hungry fans, but I digress – as they investigate a killing in the Pacific Northwest. The slow burn spookiness I mentioned earlier immediately sets in as Saga walks through the woods searching for clues, but so far nothing is out to kill her. She reaches a general store, where she startles a deer (jump scare number one) into retreating, only to then be attacked by a massive cultist wearing a deer skull (jump scare number two). 

Combat is very similar to the original Alan Wake, where you'll aim a flashlight at an enemy to remove its darkness, and then damage it with your weapon of choice. However, fighting this battle seemed a lot less chaotic than the previous game, as it felt more like taking on a Ganado from Resident Evil 4…which says it all really. Alan Wake 2 is taking a lot of its cues from Capcom's survival horror series, and while some may scoff at the idea, it's a fitting direction for Remedy to take. As much as I personally don't do horror, Alan Wake is a game about the darker elements of the supernatural – Alan is stuck in "The Dark Place" after all – so to lean in to the more terrifying elements of the lore was inevitable, and at the moment it's working. 

The deer man is defeated and Saga finally finds a clue via a tattooed human heart, which leads us to one of Alan Wake 2's biggest new features: The Mind Place. This is the physical representation of Saga going inside of her mind, where she organizes all of the clues and evidence found so far into clear, concise timelines of events. Here is where the logical heavy lifting will take place throughout Alan Wake 2, as it's a space where Saga – and by proxy, the player – can think clearly and safely without fear of attack. In the real world, we also happen to be standing in a Safe Room, which contains a save point in the form of a thermos – which should also set off some alarms for the lore-conscious. 

Thanks to the tattooed heart, Saga learns about The Overlap, a place where the real world and The Dark Place connect. Once Saga activates the gate and enters The Overlap, we get to Nightengale, the climactic boss fight of the demo, and he is no joke. Not only can he warp right next to Saga and attack, but every once in a while a random figure will flash onto the screen in black-and-white, acting as a jump scare that can completely disorient whoever is holding the controller. There have been jumpy moments in boss fights before – I've faced more than a few enemies that have bursted through walls to try and get me, for example – but did Alan Wake 2 really need random Five Nights At Freddy's style jumps when I'm trying to take this big bad down? 

(Obviously it works and makes the fights more intense, but as mentioned in the beginning of this piece, I am a sissy when it comes to horror). 

Once the boss is dead, Saga finds a frantic Alan Wake on the side of the lake, and the demo ends. We're told that Saga and Alan will both be playable protagonists in the game and that we can complete each side of the story at our own pace – I can complete all of Saga's missions, and then switch to Alan before heading to the end. There was no confirmation on special dialogue or happenings that depend on certain missions being completed, but we wouldn't be surprised if Remedy was cooking up something in that vein. 

As the end of the demo cheekily reminds, this is the first time in 13 years we've seen Alan Wake at the center of his own game. Alan Wake 2 is ramping up the horror factor by morphing this into a true survival horror experience, which makes for a noticeable departure from Remedy's other titles. While I personally may not make it through the game (thanks jump scares), Alan Wake 2 is shaping up to be the follow-up we've wanted for years.