Positives:
- An insanely ambitious game in its concepts and writing.
- The dual campaigns work well in connecting the game's story together.
- The meta nature of the story makes it even more unique.
- Acting is incredible, especially from Ilkka Villi and Sam Lake (man, Sam Lake has quite a mind).
- The way the game blends the gaming world with live-action visuals is stellar.
- Visual design is superb and extremely striking.
- Implements the survival horror elements pretty well.
- Detective-based elements in the gameplay make for a good sense of discovery.
Negatives:
- The gameplay is quite a slow burn, and the emphasis on detective work will no doubt be a turn-off for some.
- While they're integrated interestingly, the jump-scares can be a little bit annoying.
Consensus: Not that I haven't had this before (many times even), but it feels weird to me to say that I simultaneously considered "Alan Wake II" to be "great" and "disappointing" at the same time. Let me make it clear that I did enjoy the game, but for some reason, I feel like I was hoping to like it a bit more. The first "Alan Wake" is one of my favorite games, and when I heard the sequel would move toward survival horror, I was pumped. As it is, this felt...off in a few ways. I think it's that, while I respect the creativity in the writing and visual design, the gameplay felt a bit bare compared to the first game. Something about it didn't feel as gripping as the first one, perhaps because it felt like it took a slight backseat to the story. I saw someone say that "Alan Wake II" is like an A24 movie in the form of a film, and that's the perfect summation to me because A24 movies are excellent works of art, but they can be a bit of a slow burn to watch. And "Alan Wake II," to me, succeeds more as a "work of art" than it does as a "game." I still enjoyed it quite a bit, and I definitely recommend trying it yourself, but I think I'll still prefer the first game over this. Nevertheless, I respect that Sam Lake stuck to his vision come hell or high water, and I think that might be enough for more than a few gamers.
Final rating: 8 out of 10 "Great"