Following the announcement of Alan Wake II, Creative Director Sam Lake confirmed players who dive into the sequel won't need to be familiar with past Remedy titles, despite the existence of a connected universe. Remedy unveiled Alan Wake 2 during The Game Awards on December 9, a surprise reveal that instantly set the internet alight with excitement. Lake joined show host Geoff Keighley on stage in the moments following the trailer's appearance, teasing a survival horror experience unlike anything else in the storied studio's catalogue.
Alan Wake first hit store shelves for Xbox 360 in May 2010, its close proximity to the release of Red Dead Redemption weighing heavily on its sales performance. Still, Alan Wake found a niche, one whose passion fueled fan sites and never gave up on the game's potential resurgence from the darkness. The action-adventure starred an unconventional game protagonist, a thriller novelist whose manuscript pages inadvertently inspired reality. Fortunately, Alan Wake resurfaced in a remaster this past fall, sparking hope that rumors of a sequel would soon bear fruit.
Further elaborating on the announcement in a PlayStation Blog post, Sam Lake divulged that prior knowledge of past Remedy games won't be necessary for those wanting to dive head first into Alan Wake 2. Players who are familiar with past titles will get a bit more out of the backstory, however. Lake said in part: "I also want to make it clear that playing our previous games is not required in any way to fully enjoy Alan Wake 2, but to those interested it will add to the backstory of it."
This may come as a surprise to some, given the existence of a Remedy Connected Universe that ties together titles such as Alan Wake and 2019's Control. The latter, specifically, featured in-game references to the events of Alan Wake, which were later paid off in the AWE narrative expansion. Alan Wake's remastered release further connected the dots with Control-related Easter eggs strewn throughout the Bright Falls locale. With the above in mind, it's possible Alan Wake 2 will function much like God of War (2018) - while the new entry continued Kratos' story, prior knowledge about previous installments wasn't necessary.
Though Alan Wake laid dormant for well over a decade, the Stephen King-esque adventure received multiple post-launch content releases. The Signal and The Writer DLCs went live not too long after the original release, offering insight into Wake's world following the events of the main story. Both of these experiences feature in the remastered version, but, as far as consoles are concerned, the standalone American Nightmare expansion remains stranded on Xbox 360.
Alan Wake II hits PC via the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on an unspecified date in 2023.
Source: PlayStation Blog