Alan Wake 2 gameplay trailer caught my horror-loving attention

I was barely curious, but now I’m wishlisting it

There was a lot to check out from yesterday’s Summer Game Fest, and there’s still a lot more to come. We’ll be bringing details about what else has been showcased at this year’s Geoff Keighley event, but there was definitely one thing of note for horror fans, and those who have been waiting for Alan Wake 2 will probably have already checked out the new gameplay trailer.

If you haven’t, the new footage follows protagonist Saga Anderson, an FBI agent sent to investigate a series of murders in Bright Falls. The sequel takes place some 13 years after 2010’s Alan Wake, and the recent trailer shown at SGF gives a brief taste of what’s to come. With a much creepier vibe than its predecessor, it’s one that fans will probably be keeping an eye on. I now count myself among those people.

The much darker atmosphere that it’s got going for it immediately turned my head. I’ll be honest with you. I was not a massive fan of Alan Wake. It was fine, but it just didn’t pull me in the way it did with many other horror fans. Admittedly, it’s been years since I played it, so maybe my memory of it is a bit hazy. I just remember it not leaving as big an impact on me as I’d hoped. The fact is, I wasn’t paying too much attention to the sequel until this gameplay footage emerged.

Perhaps it’s obvious to say, but Alan Wake 2 looks like it’s got a Resident Evil remake thing going for it. As a fan of this rejuvenation of Capcom’s iconic series, AW2 definitely has a lot of appeal, even from this relatively short clip. It’s too early to say, but I’m hoping the new installment will be somewhat broodier and atmospheric. It certainly looks a lot better, but that’s to be expected given the years that have elapsed since the first game. Where the OG release didn’t really scare me, I’m hoping this follow-up will offer up much more of a “brown pants” scenario.

In short, I had little interest in AW2 before. Then I saw the Summer Game Fest trailer. Now I think it could be one of this year’s most exciting survival horror games.

Alan Wake 2 launches October 17 on PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X.