Alan Wake 2: Night Springs – Review of the first DLC

It came out first DLC Of Alan Wake 2announced surprisingly during Summer Game Fest and released the next day, theJune 8thfor all platforms, at a price of approximately €20 (or in the form of an update for those who had previously purchased the Deluxe Edition). The DLC is divided into three episodesas in the anthology series of the same name Night Springs already appeared in several of the games RemedyEntertainmentand makes the right contribution to the game in manner at all unexpected and compellingin an experience brief but intense.

A TV series on the edge of reality

Night Springs it’s a anthology TV series already mentioned in the game of Alan Wake, but also in other productions of the Finnish videogame development house, and which deals with incredible but true facts, on the edge of reality. It’s precisely for this reason TV series that Alan Wake began writing the screenplays. In fact, appearing within the game, there is no shortage of references to the much-loved horror television production that gave him work when he was not yet a successful writer. These are present both in the documents and in actual clips that can be enjoyed through televisions cathode ray tubes scattered here and there.

The episodes presented in DLC I am Number Onewith Rose Marigold as protagonist, North Star in which we will take on the role of Jesse Fadenthe well-known protagonist of Controland in the third episode, Time Breakerswith the actor Shawn Ashmore he will play himself, who in turn plays a character stuck in the dense plot of intrigue and mystery already well known to us in the Remedy universe.

Fan number 1

The first episodeas already mentioned above, has as hero undisputed there waitress from the coffee bar Oh Deer of Brightfalls, already known in the first chapter of the saga and met again in the second: there we noticed that the girl seems to have lost some wheels, probably due to theinfluence from the Dark Presence who had used her as bait to lure Alan (see the ending of the first Alan Wake).

During this episode, lasting about an hourwe will be catapulted into a rosy universe tailor-made for Rosein a Brightfalls parallelwhere everyone adores and admires her, and his writer favorite sends her encrypted messages to help him defeat Mister Scratchits evil twin with sharp humor.

The episode is sliding And funperhaps a little delirious at times, and will tear you away more than once laugh.

The North Star and the two brothers

In the second episode we will impersonate Jesse Fadenthe new director of the Federal Bureau of Controlin search of his beloved brother Dylan.

Here too the scenario is familiar, seen in the second chapter of Alan Wake: the park entertainment themed coffee from Brightfalls, the Coffee Worldwhere a strange government sect apparently he controls people thanks to the drink.

Interesting cute cameo of the sheriff Tim Breakercousin of Sarah Breaker, who helps us in finding our Brother inside the park, solving puzzles and clashing with the usual ones Thugs from the Dark Presence.

This too of the lasting about an hourThe puzzles they were particularly interesting results thanks to the help of Polariswhose intervention is almost fundamental to their resolution.

The double quantum rift

In the third episode, Time Breakerswe will take on the role of Shawn Ashmore in person, who plays himself (and not only) struggling with the evil Mister Door.

There are plenty of interesting quotes here. It ranges from the breaking of the fourth wall thanks to the participation of Sam Lake explaining his theory on the camera to the camera multiverse and the dimensions alternatives that we have seen so farthanks to a nice gimmickbut also the title same of the episode leaves no room for different interpretations. Indeed Time Breakers remember the name of the sheriff Of Brightfalls mysteriously disappeared, Tim Breakers precisely, but also the fracture quantum occurred in Quantum Breaka game also by Remedy Entertainment released in 2016closely linked to the history of writer American e of the universe created around it.

Amazing them experiments stylistic used in this episode: it goes from amazing graphics in Unreal Engine already admired in Alan Wake 2, up to pixel artand finally a comic boards (someone said Max Payne? ed.). Here too the episode lasts an hour and a little morebut it’s a Pleasure for the eyes (and ears) from the first to the last moment.

A pleasant surprise

In conclusion the DLC Of Alan Wake 2, Night Springsit’s a pleasant, delirious and irreverent extract from the universe of Remedyfull of sarcasm And humor light-heartedbut it is also important to better understand the history of the three protagonists. Graphically it doesn’t disappoint, just like the base game, but perhaps there is a cure for the detail of the effects of light and shadow less maniacal than what we were now used to.

Special mention for the column sound used, engaging And surprising at the same time, memorable! THE personages chosen Not I am a caselike everything presented by Remedy. Reading between the lines and carefully observing each detail you can see many facets fundamentals to better understand the Alan Wake saga.

It is now clear that the protagonists of the Remedy saga are three: Alan, Jesse And Jackwith theirs dimensional counterparts, and each element is not inserted randomly. Only what remains to be discovered Sam Lake and its team they reserve for us in the future… and this DLC he was just a nice guy taste of what awaits us.