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After 13 years, we finally got a sequel to the original Alan Wake and I really enjoyed much of the duo Alan and Saga's adventure. It was very stylish, it was well made and in places of course wonderfully crazy. With Night Springs, we get the first of two planned expansions and it is a very different concept that Remedy offers us with three different episodes with as many different main characters. But of course, nothing should be predictable or normal as we once again step into this wonderful and whimsical world.
There's something a little too simplistic and clumsy about, as a reviewer, making comparisons to drugs and the classic "what were they on when they made this?" reference when things are as crazy as they are in both the main game and this expansion. So, instead of that (even if it is mentioned), it's just as well to say that these three episodes are in most ways quite, you guessed it, strange in their moments.
You can access all three episodes via the main menu and play them in any order you like. The first is entitled "Number One Fan" and here you play as Rose who, as anyone who knows their Alan Wake lore knows, is the waitress at Bright Falls' cosy Oh Deer Diner. But most importantly, she absolutely adores the author Alan Wake. She receives a mysterious message from her idol saying he needs saving and so she picks up two guns and then, eagerly cheered on by the whole town, sets off to do just that.
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Number One Fan then becomes a pure action-fest, mixing humorous dialogue with Rose shooting her way through hordes of enemies all pointing out what a terrible writer Wake is. It's bloody and it's light-hearted and there's plenty of ammunition. Everything feels a little simpler, a little less visually spectacular and significantly less cinematic than the main game. It's a tongue-in-cheek action fest. But above all, it's quite fun, despite some stiff controls and a set-up that doesn't really get boring because the episode is so short, it works.
You could say that the simplicity is something that permeates all three of these episodes. It's like playing a game in the middle of a game, without much context, and giving you a few hours of simple entertainment. Kind of like if the musical part from the main game had been its own expansion. It's fun and works as something of its own, but it also lacks that impact of being part of a larger context and thus becomes elements that do not have the rest to lean on.
In episode two, called North Star, we leave Rose and take on a new character, recognised from Remedy's game Control. Here, Jesse arrives at the Coffe World amusem*nt park, one of the best locations from the game and there is more of a leaning towards horror and puzzles here than in the first episode. The flashlight is now back and where Rose avoided this altogether, Jesse now has to shine it on the creepy shadows first in order to make them vulnerable.
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The second episode feels like the most uninspired of the three, although the setting is good. Again, I get that feeling that there is a lack of context. Of course, I realise that's a big part of the point here. There should be three different kinds of parts, with as much madness as the developers can muster. It's also easy to argue that this is, after all, an expansion. But a lot of what makes Alan Wake so good is precisely the different elements that work together and provide a variety and a whole. Here, that is missing and in addition, all parts lean for the most part on just lots of action. You basically have unlimited ammunition and the horror parts have been replaced to become something of an arcade-like shooters. There is not much mystery or excitement in exploring the surroundings, but it is carved paths towards the end.
The third episode is called Time Breaker and here we play as The Actor who in turn is better known as Sheriff Baker from the main game. Who is also played by the same actor who is the main character in Quantum Break. This very fact is played with here, in a kind of multiverse saga that is probably the most fluffy of the three parts. Not everything this episode does resonates particularly well with me, but at least it shows off a creative side and a little "we'll do what we feel like" jargon from the developers regarding this expansion as a whole.
I like the little introductory videos where Mr Door briefly introduces the episodes and there are at least a few parts here that feel like the scenes that were the best thing about Alan Wake 2. But I probably wish there was more of this particular commodity. It didn't have to be much, but when each episode is more of a standalone action sequence, a lot of the atmosphere that is this game series' strongest card is lost. Sure, it takes place in the world itself, the dialogue often has funny little references and there is an ounce of self-aware humour. But regardless of whether it's "just" an expansion, I would have liked to see a little more context and the kind of scenes I liked in Alan Wake 2. It's missing here and Alan Wake 2 wasn't great mostly based on its battles but because of more other reasons.
That being said, it is still in many ways three pretty entertaining parts. Rose's frenetic action party, Jesse's visit to Coffee World, and Sheriff Baker's twisted journey to say the least. All have their dose of charm and there is much that still works. You get a clearly approved reason to return to the Alan Wake world and even though it's not exactly what I wanted and as a whole lacks much of what I think made Alan Wake 2 special, it still works well as a kind of complement.
