I have a bachelors in mathematics. So when I was playing through the game, rambling to my friend who was watching about how this game was designed FOR ME, I came across one of those linear algebra puzzles. Cracked up laughing, I never expected to utilize my math skillz like that, and my friend was like “wow, this really was made for you.”
Has anybody noticed that when you walk from the trailer park, cross the road and through that gully to the motorcycle club, two propane tanks will drop from the sky and bounce down the gully sides. You will hear them clang, or at least I did, every time I visited that path. I would look up in the sky trying to see where they spawn from, but I could never find it. But they would definitely fall, and you would hear them clanging. In my head canon, someone's trying to help Saga by throwing propane tanks to her. A bit dangerous though.
Regarding visuals: I don’t think anyone is appreciating how many times we see characters holding small objects and handing them to other characters. That really does not happen a lot in games. It’s a level of detail and care that I think is really praiseworthy.
Easiest explanation for the dark place for me is that it’s the unconscious plain of existence. Alan is creating ideas in the collective subconscious for saga to use in the conscious world.
I think it’s fascinating how later on, one particular section calls Alan the “eye of the Dark Place, your light”. I’m still 100% that this also implies the inverse to the Board and the Astral Plane, and that the Astral Plane is the place of the collective *conscious*, and the Board are a Dark spot, a sort of…point of unconscious thought? There are a LOT of layers to the Jungian model though, so it’s not exactly easy to assign various areas to places and things in the RCU
@VDiddy5000 there's a door in the oceanview motel on control that has a pair of circles stacked like a vertical venn diagram, the center of which looks like an eye, that reminded me of Jung.
3:34:16 I’m replaying Control right now and I have a theory that being Director IS the Janitors assistant position. Trench’s portrait is off to the side when you first enter the FBC, just like Darling’s is. Ahti is the one in the center and he seemingly doesn’t answer to anyone but himself. There’s even several instances of documentation in Control from Trench and Darling that everyone just leaves him alone and to never interrupt him. I think Ahti is actually the main power inside of the FBC as he’s a multidimensional being similar to Hatch/Door, and the Director is basically just a human who interprets the will of The Board and helps Ahti keep thresholds from overtaking the oldest house and reaching our reality.
Knowing that James (voice of Max Payne, Tom Zane in AW1, Director Trench and Alex Casey) would never be able to appear in any Remedy's future games make me feel sorrow
At this point, I'm not sure there even is a dark pressence/Scratch anymore, not sure if there ever was. To me it feels like another Alan on different loops in the spiral. Some earlier some later, spiraling deeper or spiraling out. Honestly this loop could spiral back to the 70s and alan literally *is* Zane. The dark and light pressesces almost feel like red herrings at this point. Alan could be (hero/villain/monster/paragon) all in one
I think you’re right. In the Final Draft, Alan explicitly says ‘When the Bullet of Light blew the darkness out of the crater of my skull, the Dark Presence was born from the remains, feeding on the horror around it to grow.’ He used the lack of an origin story for the Dark Presence as leverage, and recontexualized the ending to give it one. And by changing its past to make it part of him, he turned it into something he could beat.
I feel like Martin Hatch/Warlin Door would have been way more obvious if they were able to keep Reddick for AW2, but he passed away. I wonder if he is the same person using different names, since he can travel the multiverse. It would be cool for it all to come together in a game consisting of Alan, Jessie and Jack.
at 3:13, in No Chance: considering we see Alan/Scratch go all anime in the jail cells later in the game I was under the assumption that they are basically one in the same once they appear in Bright Falls; Alan gets the headaches because the dark presence is getting stronger and working to take over his body and in this moment it grabs control and slaughters everyone. Once it catches up with Casey, Casey only sees it as a dark cloud approaching because Alan is just cloaked in the darkness.
The thing I loved about the Tracker - Lookout - Cleaner safe puzzle was that I didn't even realize that there were coffee bean stickers. The number is like 1-4-6 or something, and it just so happens that the number of stickers on those three particular photos is the same as their position on the 3 x 3 grid, if you imagine the 9 photos as being a number pad. I solved it by using the positions, and didn't even notice the stickers at all. I think it must have been intentional, and I'm so glad they did that.
I was thinking today about Alice saying that Alan returned, that "He's always here now, and he's angry" might be paraphrasing, as well as what "It's not a lake it's an ocean" means, and I came to 2 conclusions. 1. A Lake is an enclosed space inside a place, but an ocean is an open space between other places (continents, countries etc) therefore Alan's realization is that The Dark Place is not another reality, but the space, the overlap itself betwwen realities, which would also explain Alice sees and interacts with Alan between 2010 and 2013, because when he's traveling in Noire York, he's actually overlaping with the real New York, appearing on the actual real world streets looking like a taken, where Alice photographed him. 2. American Nightmare happened in Arizona, outside the Dark Place, specifically in the overlap as the episode was shooting in the real world, hence why the scenes with "Scratch" are in Live Action, and look like behind the scenes footage on a film set, and now knowing Scratch was Wake, it means he did kill those cast members. And at the end he did get out and reunited with Alice, his first draft of Return worked, but being the perfectionist he is, deep down he didn't want to believe "Return" to be a Pulpy Hooror story with a Happy Ending is what got him out, it would feel like he regressed back to the Pulp Noire Fiction of the Alex Casey Novels, and thus wrote himself back into the dark place to finish Return as a "True Horror" Story And this is exactly what Door ment by Alan liking to make things hard for himself on purpose, and why he specifically mentioned Night Springs, the American Nightmare draft of Return. And it's especially clear as I'm rewatching Jordan's playthrough of American Nightmare that everytime the loop restarts, he's emerging from a dark cloud as if through an overlap into the real world.
On the topic of sound, y'all mentioned the sound of approaching Coffee World. When I played the first time, I swear it sounded just like a crowd of people screaming in joy like riding a rollercoaster, and slowly as you get closer it morphs until you're getting right up into it and you hear that it's clearly the creaking and squeaking of the ferris wheel. Blew my mind. You feel like you're approaching a place that's active, and you'll run into people who might be able to help you get your trailer key, but as you get there it becomes more apparent that the place is totally deserted, and what you're hearing is decay.
My idea for Alan's AN outfit: The outfit is a small detail carried over from one of Alan's many scrapped attempts at crafting a story capable of getting him out of the Dark Place. American Nightmare is one of these stories, cast aside and forgotten by Alan years ago, except for small elements that he kept for later use, like the flannel shirt and jeans.
@1:32:28 correct me if I'm wrong, but in the first talk show interview scene, the conversation goes to the topic of adaptation of source fiction into other mediums and derivative works. The premise of the interview is that the Alex Casey film series has gone far beyond the original source novels, and it now has a life of its own (literally). It's subtle, but basically Alan seems to accept that although he has no part in the creation of those derivative works, he as the originator of the character can acknowledge their creative validity. And my first thought then was Max Payne. So if I'm remembering that scene correctly, Remedy is making a very subtle reference to the Max Payne games and in particular Max Payne 3 (which truly was a derivative work of the original). It seems to be a clever inversion of the actual relationship (in our dimension!) between Alex Casey and Max Payne. It implies that the Alex Casey novels in Alan Wake 1 and 2 are the TRUE originators, and the Max Payne games are actually the DERIVATIVES. It's just that the Max Payne games came out first, at least in our dimension. But time is very malleable in the dark place!
@@HiddenMachineGaming here's my attempt to better articulate what I'm trying to say. At the heart of the discussion in that first talk show scene is the topic of adaptation of source fiction into other mediums and derivative works, and the role (and importance) of the original author in in those works. The direct premise of the interview is that the Alex Casey film series has gone *beyond* Alan's original source novels, and it now has a life of its own (kinda literally!). It's subtle, but Alan seems to accept that although he has no part in the creation of those continued derivative works, he as the originator of the character and setting can acknowledge their validity. And my first thought then was *Max Payne* (primarily *the games*, but also the movie). I wonder if in that scene, Remedy might have been implying a clever but subtle *inversion* of the real-world relationship between Alex Casey and Max Payne. In *our* world, Alex Casey is the derivative and Max Payne is the original. But this has been necessary due to legal circumstances rather than creative ones. Max Payne 1 and 2, Alan Wake and its sequel are products of the same author, and Alex Casey has always been an overt analogue for Max Payne. I wonder if that scene is subtly implying that in the reality of *Alan Wake,* Casey is the original and Payne is the derivative -- the one that began as adaptation (Max Payne 1 and 2) but ended up as a derivative (Max Payne 3) with a life of its own and outside of the author's control (the movie). With Remedy's propensity for "breaking the fourth wall" and getting all meta-textual and stuff, perhaps this scene was a subtle attempt at rewriting *our reality,* at least at the local level of Alan Wake and the RCU, such that *somewhere*, Alan's Alex Casey novels inspired a loose adaptation called "Max Payne" which eventually got further and further away from the source novels until it bore little resemblance at all to the origin point. But I suppose, in that way, in the universe of the RCU, Max Payne exists, in an implied way, as a obscure adaptation and derivation of Alan's work.
Ohhh boy, 5 hours of fun and great discussion... yup, graphics are on a whole other level... and I have never seen anything like it, SFX and sound design just wow, the score... Petri Alanko delivered the music in a way that made me immerse myself and remember the original game... while adding a new twist to it... the music and songs really subdued me. Gameplay... I always have a standard that there are basic things (jumping, running and crouching) in Alan Wake 2 jump and crouch not available permanently... they are only available when the game allows you to do so, frankly speaking, this game changed my understanding of these basics... the game is a survival horror with investigation and exploration elements... Puzzles are on another level... over all gameplay mechanics thoughtful and serves the strangely slow style of the game and I love it, Story wooow... for me... Alan Wake 2 is Masterpiece. I'm now with NG+, waiting for the next parts and your discussion about it... Thank you Matt and Jordan for this video.
@1:10:15 But is he drawing Hedron or the Countermeasure, or maybe both? Also, I would argue that Beth Wilder has auburn hair which is a dark reddish brown. I know that this colour doesn't always show clearly in the QB, but I think that's due to lighting and colour grading. When you see her in bright light and especially in her TV episode, the reddishness brown of her hair is very clear. So, I think Remedy were lucky that Beth had that reddishness in her hair too. because that "red-haired woman" note written by Tim can double-barrelled for future connectivity. Fingers crossed.
Love this content. You guys are making my work days much more interesting. 😂 In the lodge when the cultists attack Alan and Casey, my interpretation of that is at that moment Scratch takes hold of Wake. Hence the bloody mess everywhere is Scratch killing everybody then Alan regains control with no memory of it and you wonder why he’s been spared. This made the most sense to me as it seems too brutal for Casey to have done this on his own.
4:00:26 I wonder if there’s something to the idea of how Wake and Zane are connected as it pertains to Cynthia and Rose. They have a lot connecting them (even a face) and even the possibility that Zane created Alan or vice versa as they appear in each others art. Both of them have the archetypical Daniel character that they use to fulfill their stories and fight against the dark presence and I feel like there’s something there. Like no matter the story the protagonist needs certain types of characters in their story in order for it to work
Don’t know if this has been mentioned before but Saga means story/tale in swedish, which is a neat little thing I haven’t seen anyone online pick up on
I did the math the same way lol just guess and see how close I was and then narrow down from there. • I noticed with the inventory that you couldn’t move items over from the bottom row pass the rows of the shoebox. You have to move it up in line with the shoebox then move it over. • I would say hard is even alittle generous with ammo and resources: my biggest complaint is the flash bang feel almost worthless at times especially compared to them in the first game
I really liked the flash bangs. Using them required a little persision in where you throw them. I found they worked best on groups of fade outs in the subway.
As someone who marathoned Alan Wake 1 and American Nightmare leading up to Alan Wake 2’s release, I can only say that the combat feels more like an inconsistent between all 3 rather than being the same in any way. You pretty much have to adjust each time you change games to all the differences in how each game’s flashlight, weapons, and combat are designed/implemented.
It was Illmo because of the Tourist Tours he does. He says in the video you find at the lodge that he jokingly tells people to bring their bolt cutters because the FBC closed everything off.
Having autism its really great that they don't have trophies locked behind higher difficulties like in Alan Wake 1 anymore, sometimes the combat is too overwhelming especially with a horror game. Did my first playthrough on story mode and it was great, going through my 2nd playthrough now Also, I got all 3 Max Payne games for like 15 euros on steam a few days back, excited to play those
4:21:11 maybe the overlap that releases Nightingale(FBI agent) is Alex Casey(FBI agent) arrival at BrightFalls looking for a writter, repeating the story of AlanWake1 where Nightingale(FBI agent) goes looking for a writter. Casey knows about Wake but doesnt mention it until later. Nightingale was suspicious of Alan Wake writtings, Casey is suspicious of Alan Wake writtings. Nightingale gets attacked in the police station and goes missing by the dark presence, Casey is attacked on the police station and gets possessed by the dark presence.( he might have ended as nightingale if it wasnt by the hero of the story, Saga Anderson) The FBI Agent of Initiation goes looking for a writter and goes missing, Fiction Casey goes looking for a writter and get affected by Thomas Zane movie. maybe the ritual doesnt start with heart and the clicker but with the characters repeating similar acts to those which affected BrightFalls history and mythology.
You guys are awesome, by the way. Really dig the channel. I watch this early in the morning by myself while at work and it’s like talking with good friends who are also really passionate about Remedy Games. Feels good, man
I always was under the impression that pat mayne was more under the effect of the dark presence and the story then actually experiencing dementia. Can’t wait till we get the rest of the radio shows . I’m guessing the last few along with the clues to wrap up the story and fact or fiction case file will all be completed with the Lake house DLC next year 🤞🏻.
Ahti states Tom the Poet was his favorite film while Yotan yo i think thats the name of it was the most Famous, he says this during the part playing as wake in the cinema
If u have a few extra bucks to the guy with the struggling PC, just get a Series S maybe even used for a few bucks and it can run Alan Wake 2 really good. Might be even cheaper than a complete PC overhaul
After playing through the 2nd Time The Biggest Story "Revelation" I noticed is Warlin Door being Saga's Father. He dissapeared in '88. Tim Breaker says he was Struck by Lightning. In "Odin Loses an Eye" Manuscript it tells us when, where, how he was Struck. Picture of the Family in Odins Room is from '89 when Saga was too young to remember anything, no father in Picture. And in MASKS when Mr. Door has an actual Man to Man w/ Alan he is angry that Alan has Dragged somone very important to him (Saga) into this Story. I know nothing has been confirmed but there is just so many hints and connections, it just makes sense to me. Anyone else get it?
If you played Alan Wake 2 with some good headphones on i commend you. The sound design was so creepy, certain moments i had chills running through my spine cos i was just thinking " What is thie game gonna scare me with again" . I was on the edge through out
My opinion: Tom Zane definitely has a Finnish accent. For sure, 100%. I understand why Jordan may think there's no accent, because he does a really good job of English speaking. But it's absolutely there.
Yeah it is there. As further proof I guess is that he does say kippis to Wake in the Control AWE DLC scene that is basically the same scene where Alan meets Zane in this game.
Zane DID make the Oceanview Hotel, or maybe tricked Alan into helping him make it. It's just that it's in The Dark Place. My theory is that when he finally succeeded in making it it allowed the AWE DLC in Control to happen because iirc up until then there was no Spiral Door on the Oceanview Motel side. As to why the Hotel also has doors to other realms I'd assume that an Oceanview site once connected just manifests doors to any already connected realms. Taken are already Trans-dimensional entities and use the Dark Presence to re-enter Overlaps. We never see a Taken come out of one except for Scratch, which was summoned while inhabiting Wake. Even Nightingale wasn't a full Taken when we start the game and see him come out of Cauldren Lake. We only see regular people/parautilitarians perform rituals to enter the Overlaps. The only exceptions to this rule as you mentioned seem to be Ahti and Door so far. Though I suspect that the Old Gods aren't actually trapped in the Dark Place either. I think they just joined back up with their friend Baldur. Who the hell knows what happened with Loki at this point...
Currently on my final draft playthrough for the first time and thanks to this video I realized Booker is their last name and they weren’t just rental cabin BOOKERS smh… Also since everything in the remedy universe has a connection to 3 repetitions I wonder if you play through the games 3 times something else happens… idk but if you know please don’t spoil, I’m on my 2nd playthrough 😂
Also I’m sort of the same way about the chapter songs. I wasn’t super into them at first. Definitely challenged my music taste and comfort zone, but as I took a step back and really listened to them thru I started to appreciate them more and overall honestly it’s a pretty good OST. Wide Awake and the one that plays after Scratch were so good
I'm a lifelong metalhead, and I normally listen to death, black, doom metal and so on. But I view game and movie scores and soundtracks as separate to my usual musical tastes. So I loved all of those chapter songs, even though I wouldn't listen to anything like that normally if it wasn't associated with the game. But it's the same way that I wouldn't normally listen to classical music, but I will definitely listen to orchestral game and movie scores. The Alan Wake score is one of my favourites. So I have enjoyed revisiting those chapter songs, because of their association with the game, I suppose. :)
@@HiddenMachineGaming Oh cool. Well very topically, there's a band called "Light Field Reverie" who have a song that's literally about The Oldest House. The album is "Another World". They confirmed that they are big fans of Control. The lyrics literally describe events in the game. Hah :) They're also fans of Junji Ito, whom you guys mentioned in this video. So they have another band called "Remina", which they confirmed was inspired by the Junji Ito book of the same name. Both albums are in the "gothic doom" genre, I suppose. Other than that, I'm really digging the new albums from Blackbraid and Valdrin. Both of kind of black metal, I guess, but Blackbraid is more folky, and Valdrin is very spooky. It's also the climax of a trilogy of albums, telling an epic story. Pretty cool.
One guy wearing a cactus jack shirt the other one mentioning 3 days grace but you don't like Old Gods of Asgard, bloody shame They even got inspired by different rock legends, you can hear the Van Halen, Joe Satriani and Ozzy Osborne influence
On my setup (3060ti, 16gb ram, ryzen 9 5900x) game worked great on high settings. In dark place levels it worked smoothly even with RTX, but I played on 1080p monitor with 720p DLSS. In my experience when game is starting to glitch (weird geometry, falling through floor) it's better to restart the game, looks like there's memory leak or another reason for breaking after long hours
It’s so hard to resist commenting on basically everything you guys are talking about; I just really want to talk about this game and all my friends are too scared to play it! That being said! Regarding employees at the nursing home: the taken who spawn there are a mix of patients (probably the missing Gail) and staff. The upside-down one who attacks you near the jukebox is a young woman wearing scrubs, which makes me think that there WAS more staff at one point.
I believe Huotari is pronounced like Huatery, Watery like you guys said... Heard the Koskela brothers pronounce it the right way maybe once or twice in a profiling thing I believe
if you wait before going thru the fence the first time at a the start of the game casey will mention sagas power and how the cop will get you used to it.
1:06:50 What’s interesting is as someone who absolutely loved Alan Wake 2 I did not like True Detective Season 1 at all. I found it very poorly paced and drab yet with Alan Wake painting with all the same colors (and often same symbols) I enjoyed it a ton.
@@HiddenMachineGaming I skipped the rest since everyone said they weren’t as good, and since I didn’t love the first one I figured it was all downhill from from there lol
I think Ahti, similar to the Old Gods, is just getting old. We get a sense that Tor and Odin have lived multiple lives but repeated similar story beats. At this point in their story, they aren't as powerful as they once were. This is why Ahti trained Jesse and the Old Gods help Ssga realize the full extent of her power. Their time is over and someone needs to do their jobs while they're out of commission and the cycle is renewed. It's a spiral, the same story is told over and over with incremental changes each loop.
The biggest thing that's stopping me from playing NG+ is the lip syncing errors in several cinematic cutscenes in the Xbox Series X version. There's no lip syncing problems with the live action or the in game dialogue, but a few integral and very important cinematic 3D cutscenes have really awful lip syncing problems. I'm just not wanting to play the game until they're fixed. And every time Remedy says in their patch notes that they've fixed some lip syncing, other people say the problem is still there.
Yep. I’m doing my first playthrough on Series X and the lip sync issues are present in every cutscene. It really kills the immersion for me. I can’t believe it hasn’t been fixed yet. Although, Alan Wake Remastered on Xbox also has sound issues that still aren’t fixed.
"Rose is a smokeshow!" Listen. LISTEN. If you're autistic and were raised female, you'd 100% understand her. She's weird, everyone knows that. She was weird before even being touched by the Dark Presence. Tim knows she's harmless, and he makes sure to point that out to Saga. (Bear in mind, he doesn't know Saga and Casey. He doesn't know if they'd try anything while barking up the wrong tree, because he doesn't even consider her as a suspect. We later learn she's been taking down Taken in the woods, but that's more an act of self-defense than outright murder.) People love to clown on Rose and act like she's a stalker when honestly? She's just autistic and Alan Wake is her hyperfixation. She exuberant when she first meets him, but she's not a crazy obsessed fangirl by any means. There's a manuscript page in the first game where it's stated that she thinks Alice is pretty and would like to be friends with her. In reality, it's more like she has a crush on Alan with a heavy dollop of hero worship. Personally, I ship her with Alex Casey. I think they'd balance each other out really well, and I just love imagining how Rose would react to realizing her favorite author's fictional detective is actually a real human being. I think she'd be able to give him some happiness and he'd bring her back down to earth when she got too carried away. (Alternatively, I could see her with Ilmo. I just think that would be a fun, cute pairing. Imagine his surprise when he finds out the quirky waitress at the Oh Deer Diner has secretly been a badass this entire time.) Also, I should note that her section in the Night Springs DLC plays like maladaptive daydreaming. This is kind of what I think goes through her head while she's at work, just little scenarios she knows would Never Actually Happen, but they help make work go by to think about. (These daydreams get written down as fanfics that she's posting to Ao3.)
Interesting detail which you didn't talk about: the sauna in watery overlap looks identical to the one in Ahti's postcard in Control (and the painting in Ahti's room). Any theories about that or the body next to it? Also, the building in Ilmo's scene in Yötön yö has similiar colors, but there isn't much of it on the screen.
The sauna in the overlap appears to be the same as the one in reality in Watery. It was originally planned to be a location we’d visit in Control, but it didn’t wind up making it into the game. Not sure about the body, I have noticed it but can’t make much sense of it. I think it might be the only body like that we encounter while in an overlap.
What I wish they did with the flashlight was to (with the controller) map the shine button to clicking the right stick, then RB or R1 would still be open for flares, flashbangs, propane tanks & rocket flares to be equipped at the same time as projectile weapons, similar to as they were with Max Payne 1/2 & Alan Wake 1. I feel like using the d-pad to pull those throwable items out made them far less useful in the midst of a battle. Also the shine wouldn't work half the time, & it felt like the majority of the time when I didn't break a darkness shield, it was the fault of the game. Still didn't ruin my experience though. My personal GOTY.
I liked the dpad inventory and the subsequent animations because of the physicality of the character having to move things in and out of their hand. Also imo the shine not working is on you for letting the enemies dodge out of the way or being too far away.
Are you guys sure Ahti acts confused once the lights go out during return 5. I’ve spoked to him every chance I’ve gotten and I never had him say he was confused or anything like that .
I’ve played through the game 2 times normal 1 final draft mode and you talk to him once in his room before lights out about Blum. And then he talks to you in the hallway after about going to the basement when the lights go out . I’ve followed him back to his room every time after that and I never get any conversation options . He just sits there in the dark. I would love to see a clip of this if it isn’t just a false memory! Keep up the content btw I loved the long content about the game !
@@waltzforvenus_9164 hi! We are certain, yes. The scene is very odd, I've triggered it twice. It will happen right after you pick up the record from Cynthia's room, but it doesn't happen every time. So far, no one can figure out what causes it to appear or not. You can see the footage on r/AlanWake, there is a post titled "I remember someone mentioning this, and people wanting to footage of it! Don't know if it was already posted here or not, but still eerie!"
@@HiddenMachineGaming interesting! Thanks for the quick reply and I’m going to go check it out ! Just found the podcast looking up Alan wake 2 stuff and I really enjoyed it ! Looking forward to your in depth analysis on the coming night springs and lake house dlc !
HI EVERYONE, CAN SOMENE SEE THIS ? I THINK I MANAGED TO GOT SOMETHING HERE, TELL ME WHAT YOU ALL THINK: Can someone explain me how everyone knows Darling is trapped inside the Dark Place, and how you're all so sure thar was Tom who created Alan? Remember that there is a poster in Ahti presentation in Watery that states that Tom's real name is actually Tom Seine, Alan maybe confused and changed his name to "Zane" while was in the Dark Place, since the time in the Dark Place is not the same as in our world, the writing of Alan Wake managed to reach Alan from another world and another timelane, just like happened to Saga and Casey since they were real in another world, with that said, The Dark Presence reached him through his dreams... Its confused but i think you guys will sort all of this! Trust me on this: Alan is Tom from another world, and Alice is Barbara from another world. Both of them are the same, dont trust on Tom The Cineast, since he was created, just like Tom The Diver and Tom Zane The Poet, the only one that true remains, is Tom Seine, even the Lady Of The Light, which previously was Cyntia Weaver, never call Tom as "Zane", but always as TOM ! We are Tom, Alan and maybe... Even Darling! Cause in the end, it begins with a dream!
@@HiddenMachineGaming Finally finished the discussion, can't wait for Alan's part! I highly recommend you check out OSW Review here on youtube. Fantastic and extremely entertaining coverage of retro wrestling arcs by a few really funny Irish dudes.
Counter argument for things becoming more and more "hack" as it goes on. Scratch is a BAD writer. He's everything folks say about allen wake that is negitive, including "BAD WRITER" so the more he wrote... and the bad ending, and the later part of the novel is more and more his... the worse it is. Alan maybe had more input at the start, but he is obliged by his rules to match the style of "bad writing" when he writes his changes "person had the item" into the story. I'm sure originally scratch had each of the people saved in the story die horribly in those places, until a hero was written in to save them and they just happen to have the needed item. Before the hero, before wake, scratch used that to make sure that the useful item was removed from play, by being taken when the character was taken out.
That dude with the bad computer needs to get a ps5 or xbox series x. Those consoles are perfect for people who can’t afford $1k+ nvidia graphics cards.
Thank you! It was from a company called Makia, they did a collab with Remedy for Alan Wake 2 merch. They should have some stuff on the Makia website still.
As a more recent Alan Wake fan (and as someone who LOATHED Alan Wake 1 and Control), I really appreciated this in-depth analysis and hilarious commentary from you two. Alan Wake 2 took me by surprise and it makes me want to go back and play the first one, Control and even Max Payne. Thank you for this video (it took me a week to finish lol) and I look forward to the next episode! 🥳
The new merciless mode in the game had me wanting to kill myself, i played both of my playthroughs on normal and then immediately jumped into merciless, it wasnt too hard where i was like 'fuck this i gotta switch my difficulty' but id die every few times, around the cynthia bossfight though that spiked HARD to the point to where id had to try 5 or 6 times in some fights. Also, the enemies youd find around were fucking DEVESTATING to fight. It truly made me feel like I desperately needed to run away- at the same time, though, my aim is terrible, so it might have been a skill issue 😅😅
Really appreciate all the work you guys and everyone else is putting into the rcu. Just want to say thank you for everything you guys are doing Matt and the whole hidden machine crew
sadly they dont seem to have this one anymore... man its so cool, super sad. anyways, thanks for answering and greetings from berlin xD@@HiddenMachineGaming
Just commenting that I'll be back after I play it. Been fomo'd out of my mind with all the aw2 content as my piddly 3050 mobile ain't up to the task. One day, I'll get a gpu, I'll play alan wake 2 then I'll come watch this. One day. Probably 👀
It will be worth the wait, for sure. The game has had a few frustrating bugs (nothing major, just annoying stuff) that have been being smoothed out with each update.
I love your channel and your videos but man… you guys are so wrong about Schitt’s Creek! That is honestly one of the funniest shows I’ve ever seen. Seriously, give it a chance.
17:57 im wondering why never anyone speaks about the awful tinfoil mirrors the game has? Or is this on console only? Im on Xbox Series X... I mean the game otherwise looks great, but i found that very weak..
@@HiddenMachineGaming i heard that also, but it seems only partially correct. because when i look at games like Hitman for example, it has perfect mirrors and reflections in general, and the last part came out in 2021. maybe it's a problem with the engine. i remember tinfoil mirrors in other games too, like Mafia 3, which came out 2016 i believe, and its still not fixed till today.. Northlight usually is pretty good, as we saw in Control, but seems to have its problems.. all in all i would say IOI does one of the best jobs with their Glacier engine, they prove it's possible. i rarely saw a franchise looking better than the Hitman trilogy.
The word aluminum has no 'i' and is pronounced "Ah-LOOM-in-um", but the British actually do spell it "Aluminium" (which coincides with other elements like, Chromium, Sodium, Titanium, etc. and is pronounced "Ah-loo-MIN-ee-um". Because the different spellings are less commonly known than the pronunciations, each of our sides sees the other side as wrong, and feels that the word is odd. "The word was first proposed by Davy in the form alumium, and changed by him to aluminum; but was finally made aluminium to conform to the analogy of sodium, potassium, etc. The form aluminum is in common use in mining, manufacturing, and the trade in the United States; the form aluminium is used with practical uniformity in Great Britain and generally by chemists in the United States." Source: Webster's Dictionary 1909
Finally, some short-form content
yeah we felt it was the right time
5 hours video (part 1 of 3)
Exactly what came to my mind when I read the title
It’s the only way to talk about everything (but even then it’s not enough time)
lol tbf yeah but the newgame+ ending made things clearer a bit@@HiddenMachineGaming
@@exampledomain totally, we'll cover that in part 3!
Good times, man 🌀
I have a bachelors in mathematics. So when I was playing through the game, rambling to my friend who was watching about how this game was designed FOR ME, I came across one of those linear algebra puzzles. Cracked up laughing, I never expected to utilize my math skillz like that, and my friend was like “wow, this really was made for you.”
hahaha that's great
Those puzzles were like sixth grade math tho lol
@@Christopher-md7tf glad you said it, def didn't need linear algebra lmao source: I am an electrical engineer
Has anybody noticed that when you walk from the trailer park, cross the road and through that gully to the motorcycle club, two propane tanks will drop from the sky and bounce down the gully sides. You will hear them clang, or at least I did, every time I visited that path. I would look up in the sky trying to see where they spawn from, but I could never find it. But they would definitely fall, and you would hear them clanging. In my head canon, someone's trying to help Saga by throwing propane tanks to her. A bit dangerous though.
noticed that too, I also thought that someone must've sent them to her. Maybe Warlin Door?
Weird, I never noticed that!
Regarding visuals: I don’t think anyone is appreciating how many times we see characters holding small objects and handing them to other characters. That really does not happen a lot in games. It’s a level of detail and care that I think is really praiseworthy.
That is a great observation!
Easiest explanation for the dark place for me is that it’s the unconscious plain of existence. Alan is creating ideas in the collective subconscious for saga to use in the conscious world.
I agree!
I think it’s fascinating how later on, one particular section calls Alan the “eye of the Dark Place, your light”. I’m still 100% that this also implies the inverse to the Board and the Astral Plane, and that the Astral Plane is the place of the collective *conscious*, and the Board are a Dark spot, a sort of…point of unconscious thought?
There are a LOT of layers to the Jungian model though, so it’s not exactly easy to assign various areas to places and things in the RCU
@VDiddy5000 there's a door in the oceanview motel on control that has a pair of circles stacked like a vertical venn diagram, the center of which looks like an eye, that reminded me of Jung.
3:34:16 I’m replaying Control right now and I have a theory that being Director IS the Janitors assistant position. Trench’s portrait is off to the side when you first enter the FBC, just like Darling’s is. Ahti is the one in the center and he seemingly doesn’t answer to anyone but himself. There’s even several instances of documentation in Control from Trench and Darling that everyone just leaves him alone and to never interrupt him. I think Ahti is actually the main power inside of the FBC as he’s a multidimensional being similar to Hatch/Door, and the Director is basically just a human who interprets the will of The Board and helps Ahti keep thresholds from overtaking the oldest house and reaching our reality.
Knowing that James (voice of Max Payne, Tom Zane in AW1, Director Trench and Alex Casey) would never be able to appear in any Remedy's future games make me feel sorrow
Same, it’s very upsetting news.
He was such a phenomenal voice actor. Rip legend
😢
At this point, I'm not sure there even is a dark pressence/Scratch anymore, not sure if there ever was. To me it feels like another Alan on different loops in the spiral. Some earlier some later, spiraling deeper or spiraling out. Honestly this loop could spiral back to the 70s and alan literally *is* Zane. The dark and light pressesces almost feel like red herrings at this point. Alan could be (hero/villain/monster/paragon) all in one
I think you’re right. In the Final Draft, Alan explicitly says ‘When the Bullet of Light blew the darkness out of the crater of my skull, the Dark Presence was born from the remains, feeding on the horror around it to grow.’
He used the lack of an origin story for the Dark Presence as leverage, and recontexualized the ending to give it one. And by changing its past to make it part of him, he turned it into something he could beat.
I think the night springs dlc very much bolsters this with its implication that Zane and scratch are alt-reality alans
As I wait for anyone at all in my life to play this game, I'm so glad you guys uploaded this. Felt like chatting with pals
Really happy to hear that!
I feel like Martin Hatch/Warlin Door would have been way more obvious if they were able to keep Reddick for AW2, but he passed away. I wonder if he is the same person using different names, since he can travel the multiverse. It would be cool for it all to come together in a game consisting of Alan, Jessie and Jack.
Its confirmed Reddick was supposed to play Warlin Door before he passed away, so yeah they are probably the same person just in different dimensions
at 3:13, in No Chance: considering we see Alan/Scratch go all anime in the jail cells later in the game I was under the assumption that they are basically one in the same once they appear in Bright Falls; Alan gets the headaches because the dark presence is getting stronger and working to take over his body and in this moment it grabs control and slaughters everyone. Once it catches up with Casey, Casey only sees it as a dark cloud approaching because Alan is just cloaked in the darkness.
Good points
Yeah. It's literally explained later by Saga.
The thing I loved about the Tracker - Lookout - Cleaner safe puzzle was that I didn't even realize that there were coffee bean stickers. The number is like 1-4-6 or something, and it just so happens that the number of stickers on those three particular photos is the same as their position on the 3 x 3 grid, if you imagine the 9 photos as being a number pad. I solved it by using the positions, and didn't even notice the stickers at all. I think it must have been intentional, and I'm so glad they did that.
Wow, we totally missed that!
I was thinking today about Alice saying that Alan returned, that "He's always here now, and he's angry" might be paraphrasing, as well as what "It's not a lake it's an ocean" means, and I came to 2 conclusions.
1. A Lake is an enclosed space inside a place, but an ocean is an open space between other places (continents, countries etc) therefore Alan's realization is that The Dark Place is not another reality, but the space, the overlap itself betwwen realities, which would also explain Alice sees and interacts with Alan between 2010 and 2013, because when he's traveling in Noire York, he's actually overlaping with the real New York, appearing on the actual real world streets looking like a taken, where Alice photographed him.
2. American Nightmare happened in Arizona, outside the Dark Place, specifically in the overlap as the episode was shooting in the real world, hence why the scenes with "Scratch" are in Live Action, and look like behind the scenes footage on a film set, and now knowing Scratch was Wake, it means he did kill those cast members.
And at the end he did get out and reunited with Alice, his first draft of Return worked, but being the perfectionist he is, deep down he didn't want to believe "Return" to be a Pulpy Hooror story with a Happy Ending is what got him out, it would feel like he regressed back to the Pulp Noire Fiction of the Alex Casey Novels, and thus wrote himself back into the dark place to finish Return as a "True Horror" Story
And this is exactly what Door ment by Alan liking to make things hard for himself on purpose, and why he specifically mentioned Night Springs, the American Nightmare draft of Return.
And it's especially clear as I'm rewatching Jordan's playthrough of American Nightmare that everytime the loop restarts, he's emerging from a dark cloud as if through an overlap into the real world.
On the topic of sound, y'all mentioned the sound of approaching Coffee World. When I played the first time, I swear it sounded just like a crowd of people screaming in joy like riding a rollercoaster, and slowly as you get closer it morphs until you're getting right up into it and you hear that it's clearly the creaking and squeaking of the ferris wheel. Blew my mind. You feel like you're approaching a place that's active, and you'll run into people who might be able to help you get your trailer key, but as you get there it becomes more apparent that the place is totally deserted, and what you're hearing is decay.
Yes! Such a cool element
the pun of the coffee pot was "have a BREWTIFUL DAY"
hahaha yes
My idea for Alan's AN outfit:
The outfit is a small detail carried over from one of Alan's many scrapped attempts at crafting a story capable of getting him out of the Dark Place.
American Nightmare is one of these stories, cast aside and forgotten by Alan years ago, except for small elements that he kept for later use, like the flannel shirt and jeans.
@1:32:28 correct me if I'm wrong, but in the first talk show interview scene, the conversation goes to the topic of adaptation of source fiction into other mediums and derivative works. The premise of the interview is that the Alex Casey film series has gone far beyond the original source novels, and it now has a life of its own (literally).
It's subtle, but basically Alan seems to accept that although he has no part in the creation of those derivative works, he as the originator of the character can acknowledge their creative validity. And my first thought then was Max Payne.
So if I'm remembering that scene correctly, Remedy is making a very subtle reference to the Max Payne games and in particular Max Payne 3 (which truly was a derivative work of the original).
It seems to be a clever inversion of the actual relationship (in our dimension!) between Alex Casey and Max Payne. It implies that the Alex Casey novels in Alan Wake 1 and 2 are the TRUE originators, and the Max Payne games are actually the DERIVATIVES.
It's just that the Max Payne games came out first, at least in our dimension. But time is very malleable in the dark place!
Damn, that's a great point
@@HiddenMachineGaming here's my attempt to better articulate what I'm trying to say.
At the heart of the discussion in that first talk show scene is the topic of adaptation of source fiction into other mediums and derivative works, and the role (and importance) of the original author in in those works.
The direct premise of the interview is that the Alex Casey film series has gone *beyond* Alan's original source novels, and it now has a life of its own (kinda literally!).
It's subtle, but Alan seems to accept that although he has no part in the creation of those continued derivative works, he as the originator of the character and setting can acknowledge their validity.
And my first thought then was *Max Payne* (primarily *the games*, but also the movie).
I wonder if in that scene, Remedy might have been implying a clever but subtle *inversion* of the real-world relationship between Alex Casey and Max Payne.
In *our* world, Alex Casey is the derivative and Max Payne is the original. But this has been necessary due to legal circumstances rather than creative ones. Max Payne 1 and 2, Alan Wake and its sequel are products of the same author, and Alex Casey has always been an overt analogue for Max Payne.
I wonder if that scene is subtly implying that in the reality of *Alan Wake,* Casey is the original and Payne is the derivative -- the one that began as adaptation (Max Payne 1 and 2) but ended up as a derivative (Max Payne 3) with a life of its own and outside of the author's control (the movie).
With Remedy's propensity for "breaking the fourth wall" and getting all meta-textual and stuff, perhaps this scene was a subtle attempt at rewriting *our reality,* at least at the local level of Alan Wake and the RCU, such that *somewhere*, Alan's Alex Casey novels inspired a loose adaptation called "Max Payne" which eventually got further and further away from the source novels until it bore little resemblance at all to the origin point.
But I suppose, in that way, in the universe of the RCU, Max Payne exists, in an implied way, as a obscure adaptation and derivation of Alan's work.
Ohhh boy, 5 hours of fun and great discussion... yup, graphics are on a whole other level... and I have never seen anything like it, SFX and sound design just wow, the score... Petri Alanko delivered the music in a way that made me immerse myself and remember the original game... while adding a new twist to it... the music and songs really subdued me. Gameplay... I always have a standard that there are basic things (jumping, running and crouching) in Alan Wake 2 jump and crouch not available permanently... they are only available when the game allows you to do so, frankly speaking, this game changed my understanding of these basics... the game is a survival horror with investigation and exploration elements... Puzzles are on another level... over all gameplay mechanics thoughtful and serves the strangely slow style of the game and I love it, Story wooow... for me... Alan Wake 2 is Masterpiece.
I'm now with NG+, waiting for the next parts and your discussion about it...
Thank you Matt and Jordan for this video.
Thank you for your continuing to support the channel! I'm glad you enjoyed the game.
I love how B&T 3 was a passing of the torch story that, though it made me feel old, made me feel okay with it too.
Totally
5 hours of deep dive goodness? Oh snap, it's finally here boys and girls!!! Tin foiled hat engaged!
Thank youuuuuuuuuuu
a deep dive... to the surface?
@1:10:15 But is he drawing Hedron or the Countermeasure, or maybe both? Also, I would argue that Beth Wilder has auburn hair which is a dark reddish brown. I know that this colour doesn't always show clearly in the QB, but I think that's due to lighting and colour grading. When you see her in bright light and especially in her TV episode, the reddishness brown of her hair is very clear. So, I think Remedy were lucky that Beth had that reddishness in her hair too. because that "red-haired woman" note written by Tim can double-barrelled for future connectivity. Fingers crossed.
Love this content. You guys are making my work days much more interesting. 😂
In the lodge when the cultists attack Alan and Casey, my interpretation of that is at that moment Scratch takes hold of Wake. Hence the bloody mess everywhere is Scratch killing everybody then Alan regains control with no memory of it and you wonder why he’s been spared. This made the most sense to me as it seems too brutal for Casey to have done this on his own.
4:00:26 I wonder if there’s something to the idea of how Wake and Zane are connected as it pertains to Cynthia and Rose. They have a lot connecting them (even a face) and even the possibility that Zane created Alan or vice versa as they appear in each others art. Both of them have the archetypical Daniel character that they use to fulfill their stories and fight against the dark presence and I feel like there’s something there. Like no matter the story the protagonist needs certain types of characters in their story in order for it to work
Don’t know if this has been mentioned before but Saga means story/tale in swedish, which is a neat little thing I haven’t seen anyone online pick up on
It's also the name of a norse godess as Tor and Odin inform her.
@@melissaharris3389 Yeah, but that’s explicitly stated
Yes! So many of the names have double meanings like that, I love it.
I did the math the same way lol just guess and see how close I was and then narrow down from there.
• I noticed with the inventory that you couldn’t move items over from the bottom row pass the rows of the shoebox. You have to move it up in line with the shoebox then move it over.
• I would say hard is even alittle generous with ammo and resources: my biggest complaint is the flash bang feel almost worthless at times especially compared to them in the first game
Yes, for sure, the flash bang was something I mostly discarded
I really liked the flash bangs. Using them required a little persision in where you throw them. I found they worked best on groups of fade outs in the subway.
As someone who marathoned Alan Wake 1 and American Nightmare leading up to Alan Wake 2’s release, I can only say that the combat feels more like an inconsistent between all 3 rather than being the same in any way. You pretty much have to adjust each time you change games to all the differences in how each game’s flashlight, weapons, and combat are designed/implemented.
Jordan just played American Nightmare for the first time and had a similar impression.
It was Illmo because of the Tourist Tours he does. He says in the video you find at the lodge that he jokingly tells people to bring their bolt cutters because the FBC closed everything off.
When Jordan starts falling through the floor.
Me: O,O
obviously haven't watched the whole thing yet...... but this is already amazing! Thanks for all the content!!
Thank you so much!
Having autism its really great that they don't have trophies locked behind higher difficulties like in Alan Wake 1 anymore, sometimes the combat is too overwhelming especially with a horror game. Did my first playthrough on story mode and it was great, going through my 2nd playthrough now
Also, I got all 3 Max Payne games for like 15 euros on steam a few days back, excited to play those
4:21:11 maybe the overlap that releases Nightingale(FBI agent) is Alex Casey(FBI agent) arrival at BrightFalls looking for a writter, repeating the story of AlanWake1 where Nightingale(FBI agent) goes looking for a writter. Casey knows about Wake but doesnt mention it until later.
Nightingale was suspicious of Alan Wake writtings, Casey is suspicious of Alan Wake writtings.
Nightingale gets attacked in the police station and goes missing by the dark presence, Casey is attacked on the police station and gets possessed by the dark presence.( he might have ended as nightingale if it wasnt by the hero of the story, Saga Anderson)
The FBI Agent of Initiation goes looking for a writter and goes missing, Fiction Casey goes looking for a writter and get affected by Thomas Zane movie.
maybe the ritual doesnt start with heart and the clicker but with the characters repeating similar acts to those which affected BrightFalls history and mythology.
Here we go…🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
super excited for this quick watch!
Next one will be longer
You guys are awesome, by the way. Really dig the channel. I watch this early in the morning by myself while at work and it’s like talking with good friends who are also really passionate about Remedy Games. Feels good, man
Very happy to hear that, thank you!
I always was under the impression that pat mayne was more under the effect of the dark presence and the story then actually experiencing dementia. Can’t wait till we get the rest of the radio shows . I’m guessing the last few along with the clues to wrap up the story and fact or fiction case file will all be completed with the Lake house DLC next year 🤞🏻.
If you look around his bedroom window at the nursery home he has a big ass ration antenna hanging off of the nursing home .
Same here, I think it’s the dark presence more than dementia
Ahti states Tom the Poet was his favorite film while Yotan yo i think thats the name of it was the most Famous, he says this during the part playing as wake in the cinema
If u have a few extra bucks to the guy with the struggling PC, just get a Series S maybe even used for a few bucks and it can run Alan Wake 2 really good. Might be even cheaper than a complete PC overhaul
I may do that, thank you!
After playing through the 2nd Time The Biggest Story "Revelation" I noticed is Warlin Door being Saga's Father. He dissapeared in '88. Tim Breaker says he was Struck by Lightning. In "Odin Loses an Eye" Manuscript it tells us when, where, how he was Struck. Picture of the Family in Odins Room is from '89 when Saga was too young to remember anything, no father in Picture. And in MASKS when Mr. Door has an actual Man to Man w/ Alan he is angry that Alan has Dragged somone very important to him (Saga) into this Story. I know nothing has been confirmed but there is just so many hints and connections, it just makes sense to me. Anyone else get it?
That’s definitely the consensus, but we are waiting on 100% confirmation
If you played Alan Wake 2 with some good headphones on i commend you. The sound design was so creepy, certain moments i had chills running through my spine cos i was just thinking " What is thie game gonna scare me with again" .
I was on the edge through out
Yes! One of the few games I’ve played with headphones
My opinion: Tom Zane definitely has a Finnish accent. For sure, 100%. I understand why Jordan may think there's no accent, because he does a really good job of English speaking. But it's absolutely there.
Yeah it is there. As further proof I guess is that he does say kippis to Wake in the Control AWE DLC scene that is basically the same scene where Alan meets Zane in this game.
I forgive Jordan for rubbing his eye. Pinkeye is no joke. Words to the wise, it will only make it worse.
It spread to both eyes
Zane DID make the Oceanview Hotel, or maybe tricked Alan into helping him make it. It's just that it's in The Dark Place. My theory is that when he finally succeeded in making it it allowed the AWE DLC in Control to happen because iirc up until then there was no Spiral Door on the Oceanview Motel side. As to why the Hotel also has doors to other realms I'd assume that an Oceanview site once connected just manifests doors to any already connected realms.
Taken are already Trans-dimensional entities and use the Dark Presence to re-enter Overlaps. We never see a Taken come out of one except for Scratch, which was summoned while inhabiting Wake. Even Nightingale wasn't a full Taken when we start the game and see him come out of Cauldren Lake. We only see regular people/parautilitarians perform rituals to enter the Overlaps. The only exceptions to this rule as you mentioned seem to be Ahti and Door so far. Though I suspect that the Old Gods aren't actually trapped in the Dark Place either. I think they just joined back up with their friend Baldur. Who the hell knows what happened with Loki at this point...
Currently on my final draft playthrough for the first time and thanks to this video I realized Booker is their last name and they weren’t just rental cabin BOOKERS smh…
Also since everything in the remedy universe has a connection to 3 repetitions I wonder if you play through the games 3 times something else happens… idk but if you know please don’t spoil, I’m on my 2nd playthrough 😂
Also I’m sort of the same way about the chapter songs. I wasn’t super into them at first. Definitely challenged my music taste and comfort zone, but as I took a step back and really listened to them thru I started to appreciate them more and overall honestly it’s a pretty good OST. Wide Awake and the one that plays after Scratch were so good
I'm a lifelong metalhead, and I normally listen to death, black, doom metal and so on. But I view game and movie scores and soundtracks as separate to my usual musical tastes. So I loved all of those chapter songs, even though I wouldn't listen to anything like that normally if it wasn't associated with the game. But it's the same way that I wouldn't normally listen to classical music, but I will definitely listen to orchestral game and movie scores. The Alan Wake score is one of my favourites. So I have enjoyed revisiting those chapter songs, because of their association with the game, I suppose. :)
Follow you Into the Dark has become my favorite dance track lately 😂
@@UberNoodle what are some of your favorite metal bands? I'm big into metal too, I always love finding new stuff
@@HiddenMachineGaming Oh cool. Well very topically, there's a band called "Light Field Reverie" who have a song that's literally about The Oldest House. The album is "Another World". They confirmed that they are big fans of Control. The lyrics literally describe events in the game. Hah :)
They're also fans of Junji Ito, whom you guys mentioned in this video. So they have another band called "Remina", which they confirmed was inspired by the Junji Ito book of the same name. Both albums are in the "gothic doom" genre, I suppose.
Other than that, I'm really digging the new albums from Blackbraid and Valdrin. Both of kind of black metal, I guess, but Blackbraid is more folky, and Valdrin is very spooky. It's also the climax of a trilogy of albums, telling an epic story. Pretty cool.
Low key, I love the casual and unmentioned weed smoking in this video. Big fan of normalization of cannabis, even though I don't use it anymore.
Thank you!
"I found you myth now busted" is pretty good. 😂
Thanks! Be sure to buy into the GOLD TIER on our Patreon to hear the full version!
One guy wearing a cactus jack shirt the other one mentioning 3 days grace but you don't like Old Gods of Asgard, bloody shame
They even got inspired by different rock legends, you can hear the Van Halen, Joe Satriani and Ozzy Osborne influence
On my setup (3060ti, 16gb ram, ryzen 9 5900x) game worked great on high settings. In dark place levels it worked smoothly even with RTX, but I played on 1080p monitor with 720p DLSS. In my experience when game is starting to glitch (weird geometry, falling through floor) it's better to restart the game, looks like there's memory leak or another reason for breaking after long hours
Thanks for the tip!
It’s so hard to resist commenting on basically everything you guys are talking about; I just really want to talk about this game and all my friends are too scared to play it!
That being said! Regarding employees at the nursing home: the taken who spawn there are a mix of patients (probably the missing Gail) and staff. The upside-down one who attacks you near the jukebox is a young woman wearing scrubs, which makes me think that there WAS more staff at one point.
Great point, thanks for mentioning that!
I believe Huotari is pronounced like Huatery, Watery like you guys said... Heard the Koskela brothers pronounce it the right way maybe once or twice in a profiling thing I believe
Welp, i know what im listening to through the rest of my work day 😂
Dropping a like I’m still finishing final draft
lol so are we, that’ll be part 3 of the series. Enjoy the game!
I’m back
When’s part 2 dropping?
@@christophervelez1561 ASAP, wrapping up the edit this weekend
@@HiddenMachineGaming can’t wait!
if you wait before going thru the fence the first time at a the start of the game casey will mention sagas power and how the cop will get you used to it.
Very interesting! I'll have to check that out
2:48:20 and don’t forget the legendary Clay’s Clamhouse
1:06:50 What’s interesting is as someone who absolutely loved Alan Wake 2 I did not like True Detective Season 1 at all. I found it very poorly paced and drab yet with Alan Wake painting with all the same colors (and often same symbols) I enjoyed it a ton.
That’s surprising! Did you check out any of the other seasons?
@@HiddenMachineGaming I skipped the rest since everyone said they weren’t as good, and since I didn’t love the first one I figured it was all downhill from from there lol
I think Ahti, similar to the Old Gods, is just getting old. We get a sense that Tor and Odin have lived multiple lives but repeated similar story beats. At this point in their story, they aren't as powerful as they once were. This is why Ahti trained Jesse and the Old Gods help Ssga realize the full extent of her power. Their time is over and someone needs to do their jobs while they're out of commission and the cycle is renewed. It's a spiral, the same story is told over and over with incremental changes each loop.
The biggest thing that's stopping me from playing NG+ is the lip syncing errors in several cinematic cutscenes in the Xbox Series X version. There's no lip syncing problems with the live action or the in game dialogue, but a few integral and very important cinematic 3D cutscenes have really awful lip syncing problems. I'm just not wanting to play the game until they're fixed. And every time Remedy says in their patch notes that they've fixed some lip syncing, other people say the problem is still there.
Yep. I’m doing my first playthrough on Series X and the lip sync issues are present in every cutscene. It really kills the immersion for me. I can’t believe it hasn’t been fixed yet. Although, Alan Wake Remastered on Xbox also has sound issues that still aren’t fixed.
Damn, we've had a few instances of that on PC, but it's rare.
I wish there were more monsters in certain areas, to keep you on your feet, that could be my only complain on the game
02:26:15… Jordan, an eye for an eye my man. Cut it out!
"Rose is a smokeshow!" Listen. LISTEN. If you're autistic and were raised female, you'd 100% understand her. She's weird, everyone knows that. She was weird before even being touched by the Dark Presence. Tim knows she's harmless, and he makes sure to point that out to Saga. (Bear in mind, he doesn't know Saga and Casey. He doesn't know if they'd try anything while barking up the wrong tree, because he doesn't even consider her as a suspect. We later learn she's been taking down Taken in the woods, but that's more an act of self-defense than outright murder.)
People love to clown on Rose and act like she's a stalker when honestly? She's just autistic and Alan Wake is her hyperfixation. She exuberant when she first meets him, but she's not a crazy obsessed fangirl by any means. There's a manuscript page in the first game where it's stated that she thinks Alice is pretty and would like to be friends with her. In reality, it's more like she has a crush on Alan with a heavy dollop of hero worship. Personally, I ship her with Alex Casey. I think they'd balance each other out really well, and I just love imagining how Rose would react to realizing her favorite author's fictional detective is actually a real human being. I think she'd be able to give him some happiness and he'd bring her back down to earth when she got too carried away. (Alternatively, I could see her with Ilmo. I just think that would be a fun, cute pairing. Imagine his surprise when he finds out the quirky waitress at the Oh Deer Diner has secretly been a badass this entire time.)
Also, I should note that her section in the Night Springs DLC plays like maladaptive daydreaming. This is kind of what I think goes through her head while she's at work, just little scenarios she knows would Never Actually Happen, but they help make work go by to think about. (These daydreams get written down as fanfics that she's posting to Ao3.)
Sorry, I just have A Lot Of Feelings about Rose Marigold, apparently.
She’s worth it!
Interesting detail which you didn't talk about: the sauna in watery overlap looks identical to the one in Ahti's postcard in Control (and the painting in Ahti's room). Any theories about that or the body next to it? Also, the building in Ilmo's scene in Yötön yö has similiar colors, but there isn't much of it on the screen.
The sauna in the overlap appears to be the same as the one in reality in Watery. It was originally planned to be a location we’d visit in Control, but it didn’t wind up making it into the game. Not sure about the body, I have noticed it but can’t make much sense of it. I think it might be the only body like that we encounter while in an overlap.
What I wish they did with the flashlight was to (with the controller) map the shine button to clicking the right stick, then RB or R1 would still be open for flares, flashbangs, propane tanks & rocket flares to be equipped at the same time as projectile weapons, similar to as they were with Max Payne 1/2 & Alan Wake 1. I feel like using the d-pad to pull those throwable items out made them far less useful in the midst of a battle. Also the shine wouldn't work half the time, & it felt like the majority of the time when I didn't break a darkness shield, it was the fault of the game. Still didn't ruin my experience though. My personal GOTY.
I liked the dpad inventory and the subsequent animations because of the physicality of the character having to move things in and out of their hand.
Also imo the shine not working is on you for letting the enemies dodge out of the way or being too far away.
I felt similarly about the light and controls, but I still loved it all.
I have found the holy grail
Are you guys sure Ahti acts confused once the lights go out during return 5. I’ve spoked to him every chance I’ve gotten and I never had him say he was confused or anything like that .
I’ve played through the game 2 times normal 1 final draft mode and you talk to him once in his room before lights out about Blum. And then he talks to you in the hallway after about going to the basement when the lights go out . I’ve followed him back to his room every time after that and I never get any conversation options . He just sits there in the dark. I would love to see a clip of this if it isn’t just a false memory! Keep up the content btw I loved the long content about the game !
@@waltzforvenus_9164 hi! We are certain, yes. The scene is very odd, I've triggered it twice. It will happen right after you pick up the record from Cynthia's room, but it doesn't happen every time. So far, no one can figure out what causes it to appear or not.
You can see the footage on r/AlanWake, there is a post titled "I remember someone mentioning this, and people wanting to footage of it! Don't know if it was already posted here or not, but still eerie!"
@@HiddenMachineGaming interesting! Thanks for the quick reply and I’m going to go check it out ! Just found the podcast looking up Alan wake 2 stuff and I really enjoyed it ! Looking forward to your in depth analysis on the coming night springs and lake house dlc !
I was able to get it to trigger by sticking around a bit after you ask him about the angers remorse record. At least on the final draft mode.
@@shawnweaver777 interesting!
Excellent tutorial! You explain it very well my buddy! Thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
HI EVERYONE, CAN SOMENE SEE THIS ? I THINK I MANAGED TO GOT SOMETHING HERE, TELL ME WHAT YOU ALL THINK: Can someone explain me how everyone knows Darling is trapped inside the Dark Place, and how you're all so sure thar was Tom who created Alan? Remember that there is a poster in Ahti presentation in Watery that states that Tom's real name is actually Tom Seine, Alan maybe confused and changed his name to "Zane" while was in the Dark Place, since the time in the Dark Place is not the same as in our world, the writing of Alan Wake managed to reach Alan from another world and another timelane, just like happened to Saga and Casey since they were real in another world, with that said, The Dark Presence reached him through his dreams... Its confused but i think you guys will sort all of this! Trust me on this: Alan is Tom from another world, and Alice is Barbara from another world. Both of them are the same, dont trust on Tom The Cineast, since he was created, just like Tom The Diver and Tom Zane The Poet, the only one that true remains, is Tom Seine, even the Lady Of The Light, which previously was Cyntia Weaver, never call Tom as "Zane", but always as TOM ! We are Tom, Alan and maybe... Even Darling! Cause in the end, it begins with a dream!
I think you’re onto something here, especially after playing Night Springs!
Loving the discussion but I gotta know where you get your wrestling shirts. Also curious if you're an OSW fan.
tbh I don’t know what OSW is, but I mostly get them from Matt Botvin or Cobra Vision, both can be found on Instagram.
@@HiddenMachineGaming Finally finished the discussion, can't wait for Alan's part! I highly recommend you check out OSW Review here on youtube. Fantastic and extremely entertaining coverage of retro wrestling arcs by a few really funny Irish dudes.
5 hours long???
Hell yeah im watching every single minute
Thank you
Counter argument for things becoming more and more "hack" as it goes on. Scratch is a BAD writer. He's everything folks say about allen wake that is negitive, including "BAD WRITER" so the more he wrote... and the bad ending, and the later part of the novel is more and more his... the worse it is. Alan maybe had more input at the start, but he is obliged by his rules to match the style of "bad writing" when he writes his changes "person had the item" into the story. I'm sure originally scratch had each of the people saved in the story die horribly in those places, until a hero was written in to save them and they just happen to have the needed item. Before the hero, before wake, scratch used that to make sure that the useful item was removed from play, by being taken when the character was taken out.
You can take a pic of Document dude
That dude with the bad computer needs to get a ps5 or xbox series x. Those consoles are perfect for people who can’t afford $1k+ nvidia graphics cards.
He’s committed to the bad computer
I love you guys for this, thank you. Where do you get your hands on the shirt hanging in the back ?
Thank you! It was from a company called Makia, they did a collab with Remedy for Alan Wake 2 merch. They should have some stuff on the Makia website still.
Saw it but everything’s like an xs or medium unfortunately. What did it come to about and how was shipping?
@@joecalabrese8979 I don't actually know, it was sent to the channel as a gift from Remedy.
As a more recent Alan Wake fan (and as someone who LOATHED Alan Wake 1 and Control), I really appreciated this in-depth analysis and hilarious commentary from you two. Alan Wake 2 took me by surprise and it makes me want to go back and play the first one, Control and even Max Payne. Thank you for this video (it took me a week to finish lol) and I look forward to the next episode! 🥳
Thank you for watching!
The new merciless mode in the game had me wanting to kill myself, i played both of my playthroughs on normal and then immediately jumped into merciless, it wasnt too hard where i was like 'fuck this i gotta switch my difficulty' but id die every few times, around the cynthia bossfight though that spiked HARD to the point to where id had to try 5 or 6 times in some fights. Also, the enemies youd find around were fucking DEVESTATING to fight. It truly made me feel like I desperately needed to run away- at the same time, though, my aim is terrible, so it might have been a skill issue 😅😅
Time to sit my ass down and LISTEN.
Really appreciate all the work you guys and everyone else is putting into the rcu. Just want to say thank you for everything you guys are doing Matt and the whole hidden machine crew
Thank you! Glad you dig it
does anyone know where to buy the hoodie (?) in the backround?
It was from a company called Makia, they did a collab with Remedy for Alan Wake 2 merch. They should have some stuff on the Makia website still.
@@HiddenMachineGaming thanks!
sadly they dont seem to have this one anymore... man its so cool, super sad. anyways, thanks for answering and greetings from berlin xD@@HiddenMachineGaming
Just commenting that I'll be back after I play it. Been fomo'd out of my mind with all the aw2 content as my piddly 3050 mobile ain't up to the task. One day, I'll get a gpu, I'll play alan wake 2 then I'll come watch this. One day. Probably 👀
It will be worth the wait, for sure. The game has had a few frustrating bugs (nothing major, just annoying stuff) that have been being smoothed out with each update.
I love your channel and your videos but man… you guys are so wrong about Schitt’s Creek! That is honestly one of the funniest shows I’ve ever seen. Seriously, give it a chance.
Okay! I honestly will.
- Matt
Yeaaahhhhh 😎
3:29:56
I forgive you
One point for forgiveness!
You know what i mean
Do we?
17:57 im wondering why never anyone speaks about the awful tinfoil mirrors the game has? Or is this on console only? Im on Xbox Series X...
I mean the game otherwise looks great, but i found that very weak..
I was very confused by this as well and had people tell me that it was common in a lot of modern games. Hard to say if it’s a bug here or not
@@HiddenMachineGaming i heard that also, but it seems only partially correct. because when i look at games like Hitman for example, it has perfect mirrors and reflections in general, and the last part came out in 2021. maybe it's a problem with the engine. i remember tinfoil mirrors in other games too, like Mafia 3, which came out 2016 i believe, and its still not fixed till today.. Northlight usually is pretty good, as we saw in Control, but seems to have its problems.. all in all i would say IOI does one of the best jobs with their Glacier engine, they prove it's possible. i rarely saw a franchise looking better than the Hitman trilogy.
The word aluminum has no 'i' and is pronounced "Ah-LOOM-in-um", but the British actually do spell it "Aluminium" (which coincides with other elements like, Chromium, Sodium, Titanium, etc. and is pronounced "Ah-loo-MIN-ee-um". Because the different spellings are less commonly known than the pronunciations, each of our sides sees the other side as wrong, and feels that the word is odd.
"The word was first proposed by Davy in the form alumium, and changed by him to aluminum; but was finally made aluminium to conform to the analogy of sodium, potassium, etc. The form aluminum is in common use in mining, manufacturing, and the trade in the United States; the form aluminium is used with practical uniformity in Great Britain and generally by chemists in the United States."
Source: Webster's Dictionary 1909
Thanks for clearing that up for us lol
2:26:00 👁️👁️ ❌
bruh 5 hours
We did seven hours on Control