At Summer Game Fest 2023 Play Days, Remedy showcased a thirty-minutes hands-off demo for Alan Wake 2. While Play Days was an invite-only event for media and influencers, the AW2 demo had an additional layer of behind-closed-doorness with attendance noted in advanced. Clips from the demo were also made available for media to feature in content talking about the game, providing an extra three minutes of gameplay footage. You may have seen some of the clips used already if you checked out our previews and interview.
For this post we are using the collection of footage from Dan Allen Gaming which combines all of the clips together. Check them out below:
Visual Description & Transcripts
SCENE ONE: Walking with Casey
(00:00 - 00:39)
(00:00 - 00:39)
Visual Description: In the first scene, Saga Anderson is following Alex Casey through a trail in the woods. They pass through a fenced-off area, with notices along the side warning against entry. It is near sunset.
(Internal) Saga Anderson: Things are happening here. A world operating on different rules. I need to understand this strange logic. To see the clues. To solve the case.
Visual Description: They walk down a set of stairs, a huge fallen tree trunk above them. The area is filled with birds and sounds of nature. A few metres down the road, a small drop in the walkway forces them to drop down.
Saga Anderson: I've been thinking about The Cult of the Tree. What's sort of cult refers to themselves as a "cult".
Alex Casey: In my experience, they don't.
Saga Anderson: We're not seeing the full picture yet.
SCENE TWO: Witch's Hut
(00:40 - 01:21)
(00:40 - 01:21)
Visual Description: Saga edges her way to an abandoned cabin. Vines grow along the outside, and broken branches (possibly also driftwood) have been repurposed into frames and handrails. It's raining heavily around her, and the darkness has already fallen. She illuminates the way forward with her torch.
Saga Anderson: This is the witch's hut.
Visual Description: The indicator in the top left corner shows that there are two active goals; 1) Track Nightingale to Cauldron Lake. 2) Locate the Witch's hut (now crossed out), and 3) Get the lights working in the hut. Saga moves up the stairs and opens the door. Inside is a small set of tables and mismatched chairs, a skull hanging on the wall. Two small painting hangs beneath the skull.
Saga Anderson: The page described the hut being lit. It mentioned a fuse.
Visual Description: She looks around the inside of the cabin briefly with the torch before leaving. Circling around the hut, she sees a fusebox almost recovered by nature. Window shutters creak and rock in the storm.
Saga Anderson: The fusebox is missing a fuse. I need to find one to turn on the lights.
Visual Description: We change to a new angle, seeing directly into the fusebox. The goal indicator has appeared. We also see a list of items that she has on her person; Manuscript Fragments, Saga's Bracelet, and a Flashlight. Above the ammo indicator is the total "Manuscript Fragments 29 999" followed by "Torn fragments from a manuscript. Can be used in the Mind Place to upgrade Saga's weapons.
SCENE THREE: Fighting the Taken
(01:22 - 1:36)
Visual Description: Saga is wading through a body of water, as a Taken approaches her. As she lifts up her torch, there's a screeching sound as the Dark Presence is violently scorched away. When completely vaporised, there's a loud bang, and the humanoid shape stumbles back. Saga reaches for her Service Pistol and fires several shots. Blood spurts out of the Taken, but he keeps up his pursuit. Across the water, he mutters something, his voice distorted, making it hard to hear. Saga switches to the Sawn-off Shotgun and fires another two shots. The Taken finally drops with a distorted moan.
SCENE FOUR: The Overlap
(01:37 - 2:09)
(01:37 - 2:09)
Visual Description: We see a drawing of Barbara Jagger on a nearby sign. In the background, there's almost a distorted thunder sound. As the camera closes in on her face, the light switches to ghoulish red and flickers. The camera turns to Saga, illuminated by the same red light, staring at the picture. She moves away, wind howls around her as he stares at her surroundings. There's an almost animalistic sound coming from a large nearby tree, whose trunk has formed a doorway. The light switches off, back to red, to normal, to red, to normal, and back off. As Saga approaches the tree, she whispers something, but it is lost in the howling wind. White patterns flash over the screen. as she edges closer.
SCENE FIVE: Saga's Mind Place
(2:10 - 2:36)
Visual Description: Saga is inside her Mind Place, a large studio room with wooden panelling. It is minimally lit, with light only illuminating certain evidence boards and tables. To the right is a collection of manuscript pages on a desk with a lit lamp beside them. In front of her is a large table with photographs. She ignores it, instead choosing to move to the back wall, to her "Case Board". The photographs and Post-it notes are lit by two mirroring lights. Written A4 sheets of paper mark the topics, with threads joining crime scene photographs, portraits, and postit notes.
Visual Description: The topics include "Consistent with Prev. Murders", "The Victim? Victim ID'd Robert Nightingale. Former FBI Agent. Mental state questionable at time of disappearance", "The Killer(S)? Multiple assailants present. Messy scene. Crime of passion? Premeditated?", " Ritual Writing? Tattoos on body and heart. How did killers have time? Doesn't make sense...", "Anything to learn from the body? Cause of bloating unknown. Strange Tattoos on skin and heart. A page was placed inside chest cavity." "Cause of Death? Chest trauma is clear cause of death. Something was inserted." "Spontaneous or Pre-Meditated? Killers waited for the victim. Brought equipment. Murder was premeditated, but what was Nightingale doing out here?" and "Victim Came From...? Too many questions. Doesn't make sense. Asking wrong questions."
Visual Description: She narrows down to the bottom right of the wall. A posit note reading "What is the ritual" is linked using thread to other notes; "words on the heart?", "where is the heart?" and "Witch in Witch's Ladle?" A notepad page with a photograph of Nightingale's face appears. On the page reads the text, "The heart is somewhere in the general store.". She connects it to the "Where is the heart?" thread. A textbox appears stating that "There was an abandoned general store near the murder site."
SCENE SIX: Nightingale
(02:37 - 03:30)
Visual Description: Potentially set before the previous scene. Saga moves to the profiling table. On the desk are two photographs. She selects the portrait of Agent Nightingale. A gurgling sound rises in the background. More post-it notes appear around the image; "Missing Person", "The Page", "The Heart", "Ritual Murder" and "The Overlap". She selects "The Heart". The perspective changes. We see Saga sitting at the desk, the room around her darkening.
Saga Anderson: I need Nightingale's heart to get to the Overlap. Where is it?
Visual Description: Footage of Nightingale speaking emerges in front of her. He speaks, his voice distorted.
Robert Nightingale: The cultist leaned close. He was there, but he was risen. Nightingale was there. The opposite of some spots. Who said that?
Visual Description: Nightingale disappears and the focus returns to Saga as she lifts her head.
Saga Anderson: That's not it. I don't have what I need to find Nightingale's heart.
The final clip is from the stage demo of Alan Wake 2 in which Saga investigates the Cauldron Lake General Store, fights a member of The Cult of the Tree, and recovers a frozen, tattooed heart. You can read our full write up, HERE.
