Alan Wake 2 draws inspiration from True Detective, as well as several other iconic works of film and TV, senior officials at Remedy Entertainment have revealed. Their detailed insights into the survival horror's development arrived shortly after Alan Wake 2 went up for pre-orders in late May.
While the 2010 original already leaned quite heavily into psychological horror, its much-anticipated sequel will be a full-fledged survival horror experience focused on narrative-driven exploration with sparse combat encounters. At the center of this genre shift is Alan Wake 2's new playable character, Saga Anderson, an FBI agent investigating a string of peculiar murders in the fictional Pacific Northwest town of Bright Falls.
The murder mystery premise was partially influenced by True Detective, according to the game's principal narrative designer, Molly Maloney. In a recent interview with VGC, Maloney and Alan Wake 2 co-director Kyle Rowley revealed that the "slow-burn nature" of the upcoming game was informed by the first season of Nic Pizzolatto's critically acclaimed drama, which is currently in the joint 24th place on IMDB's list of the best-rated TV shows of all time. Apart from ritualistic murders, Alan Wake 2 also attempts to draw from the "buddy cop" elements of True Detective season one in an effort to strike a compelling balance between the two, much like the show did, according to Rowley.
So, while Alan Wake 2 undoubtedly wears its survival horror inspirations on its sleeve, it would appear that the game might also end up being an interactive homage to one of the most critically acclaimed TV shows ever created. On the visual side of things, the developers used renowned '90s thrillers like the Coen brothers' Fargo and David Fincher's Se7en as the chief references for informing the game's art style. In terms of gameplay and general atmosphere, Rowley said that Alan Wake 2 will also draw from Resident Evil and Silent Hill, much like its predecessor did.
Out of all the inspirations mentioned in this latest developer interview, True Detective is the one that already seems to seep through what little footage has been shared from the game. And although Remedy's next title won't be as grounded in reality as HBO's award-winning crime drama, the two share some clear thematic similarities. Finally, there's also the fact that Alan Wake 2's author protagonist seems to write himself as an unreliable narrator, thus being evocative of Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson's True Detective characters.
Alan Wake 2 launches October 17 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: VGC
