Summary
Warning: Spoilers for Alan Wake and Alan Wake 2Alan Wake 2is Remedy Entertainment’s latest title, released this past October after a 13-year-long wait following the original 2010 entry to wide acclaim. The first game was more of a cult classic, butAlan Wake 2was a major success, winning three awards at The Game Awards 2023: Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, and Best Game Direction; and satisfying long-time fans along with grabbing the attention of many new ones. The journey of the eponymous author who finds himself drawn into an alternate dimension by an otherworldly monster, and must use his talents as a writer to escape, is one of the most complex narratives seen in the medium.
With an emphasis on survival horror design,Alan Wake 2stood out in its gameplay and mind-bending tale. Just before the end of the year, Remedy put outAlan Wake 2’s Final Draft modeupdate, which added fresh narrative elements as well as a new alternate ending. 2024 will see more content forAW2in the form of two DLCs, withNight Springsthe first set to release. Given how the story stands now,Night Springsis poised to go down some interesting paths in both familiar and new territory.
Night Springscurrently has a “Spring” release window, but no firm date yet.
What Alan Wake 2’s Night Springs DLC Could Be
Night Springs in the World of Alan Wake
ATwilight Zone-inspired TV anthology series,Night Springsfirst appeared in the original game as a set of collectibles. When found, players were shown a short episode in the supernatural vein of both its inspiration and the setting of the game, many of which paralleled events and themes of the plot. In thecanon ofAlan Wake, Alan got his start writing scripts for the show and thus has a link to it in-universe.Night Springs featured heavily in the 2012 spin-off,Alan Wake’s American Nightmare,with the premise being Alan is trapped inside an episode of it and must follow certain plot details exactly to escape.
Night Springsreturned inAlan Wake 2, albeit slightly differently, and there are only a few TVs to find that directly reference it. However, it’s the character of Sheriff Tim Breaker who appeared to have the biggest connection toNight Springsand seems the most likely to feature prominently in the forthcoming DLC. While this is largely a theory, some numerous signs and clues point to it being the case.
Breaker is portrayed by Shawn Ashmore, who starred as Jack Joyce in Remedy’s 2016 titleQuantum Break.
Alan Wake 2’s Night Springs DLC Possible Plot
After attempting to helpAlan Wake 2’s FBI Agent Saga Andersonin the real world, the Sheriff was seemingly drawn into the nightmare reality of the Dark Place by the monstrous Dark Presence. Alan runs across Tim at various points during his own attempts to navigate the shifting dream world. Tim looks to be putting together an investigation as to how he got there, and how to escape. If players listen carefully, Tim can be heard humming theNight Springstheme as well.
AW2’s Final Draft ending definitively concluded Alan and Saga’s story, showing them overcoming their dilemma with Alan becoming “a master of many worlds.“Alan Wake 2’s Sheriff Tim Breaker, though, is still ostensibly trapped. Given Alan’s newfound mastery, perhaps he will return to rescue Tim. This could be either alongside him by making both playable protagonists similar to the main campaign or perhaps fans will take control solely of Tim, with Alan acting as a guiding force.
It could even be that the DLC is framed as another episode ofNight Springsa laAmerican Nightmare. In any case, Tim will likely be focused on, and fans can surely expect Remedy to move the story in some intriguing directions.
