Alan Wake 2 Doesn't Compromise on the Horror, Sam Lake Says

Alan Wake 2 is officially happening and Remedy is promising a true, survival horror experience. This is an important distinction because the first Alan Wake was more akin to a psychological thriller. But in an interview with IGN (watch it below), Remedy creative director Sam Lake says the team is going full-speed with the survival-horror genre and has the freedom of an “M” rating to chase this creative vision.

When asked about the M rating (The first Alan Wake is Rated T) Lake called it, “Liberating,” to not make “compromises or censor yourself with the content.” At the same time, Lake reiterated that Alan Wake will be true to the psychologically-tinged vision Remedy cooked up for the story and that the developers “are not necessarily trying to do shocking content for its own sake.”

“For anything to do with Alan Wake the story is very central — this horror story,” Lake says. “Let’s do Remedy’s take on a survival horror game and focus on story… the horror story is this psychological, layered, deep mystery to dive into. And yes, it’s going to be scary. But it just works really really well with the gameplay.”

The original Alan Wake followed the eponymous character, a writer, to a small town of Bright Falls with his wife. A mysterious dark force takes over the town and Wake must use the power of light to rescue his taken wife.

Have you played Alan Wake? YES NO

The first Alan Wake utilized a combat mechanic where players must use light to weaken an enemy before being able to kill them with conventional weapons like a gun. The first Alan Wake didn’t have gameplay elements like resource management or limited health which is traditional to the survival horror genre. But these elements sound like they could be appearing in the sequel.

Lake says Alan Wake 2 is set to be the most beautiful Remedy game yet thanks to its Northlight engine. And be sure to check here for everything announced at The Game Awards.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.