How to defeat Nightingale in Alan Wake 2

Bright Falls is home to many dark presences, and they’re not very friendly. The “survival” part of survival horror takes center stage, especially when confronted with fight against Agent Nightingale in Alan Wake 2.

After Nightingale comes back to life and storms out of the police station, Saga sets off to chase him down. Upon entering the Overlap, Saga will have to confront an enraged and super-strong Nightingale, who’s got some supernatural powers to boot.

It’s not the gentlest way to ease into combat. So here are some tips from someone who spent a bit bashing their head against Nightingale boss fight in Alan Wake 2.

Tips and tricks for fighting Nightingale in Alan Wake 2

The fight with Nightingale is broken up into several stages, all of which follow a general pattern. The zombified agent lugs around a massive tree branch, and can swing it a few different ways.

An overhead pattern will cascade out in a decently wide line in front of Nightingale, while the horizontal sweeps can either be one or two strikes in succession. Use L1 to dodge around these, moving to the side for the overhead and backwards for the horizontal sweeps.

The double-sweep strike is probably Nightingale’s deadliest move; it can take you out in a quick 1-2 punch if you don’t dodge it. If you’re knocked onto the ground by the first hit, remember that you can hit L1 to do a ground dodge too.

The big guy also has a grab move that can be an issue. If grabbed, start mashing the Cross Button (X) on PlayStation, or your controller/keyboard equivalent. You’ll have to shine a light into his eyes to break the grip.

Look into the light

Light is a very handy tool in this fight. The first time you focus a flashlight beam on Agent Nightingale, you can pop a glowing red weak spot. Blasting that, plus a few extra rounds, should take care of one “phase” by itself. I recommend doing this ASAP.

Light can still stun Nightingale on later uses, but don’t over-rely on it; you won’t get more weak spots, and he can eventually close the distance. Headshots can also stagger Nightingale sometimes, so don’t be afraid to aim rather than spray. The sawed-off shotgun makes for a good way to deliver damage, too.

Grab some pick-ups

There are several “phases” of the Nightingale fight, where once you’ve dealt enough damage, you’ll get the screaming face screen and the big guy will disappear. You’ll have a short moment to collect yourself and prepare before he reappears and attacks again.

During this time, there are a few order-of-operations to tackle. First, top off your health. If you’re below half your radial life bar, heal.

Then, sprint through the arena and pick up some pick-ups from the loot littered around the area. Nightingale takes a lot of bullets to defeat, and depending on how you’ve been playing so far, you might need the restock.

When the musical stinger plays again, that’s your cue that Nightingale is back on the hunt. Try to get into a more open area with some room to maneuver, and stay mobile. He hits hard, but Nightingale isn’t exactly agile aside from the occasional dash attack, which happened fairly infrequently for me.

Stay determined, and you’ll bring an end to the agent’s nightmare. Defeating Nightingale is just the start of your Alan Wake 2 journey, though. Get ready, because things only get weirder from here.