Kind of. Mechanically Alan Wake 2 is so good that yes, it does stand on its own, and it’s such a great game that if you’re completely against playing the preceding games then it’s probably worth playing on its own.
However, Remedy are doing a Marvel-style connected universe, so in my opinion it’s a case of “the more you invest in it, the more rewarded you get”. The story of AW2 is a direct sequel to AW1, and also directly overlaps with Control. Control had a DLC called AWE that acts like a direct bridge between AW 1&2.
Furthermore, despite having to change the name to Alex Casey due to Rockstar owning the IP the character Alan Wake canonically wrote the stories about Max Payne, so they are also referenced. Quantum Break is only vaguely hinted at due to again, Microsoft owning the IP, so that one you can probably skip if you want.
Personally, I think Remedy have produced all bangers (though I haven’t played Firebreak), so playing them all never felt like a burden. There is also a timely Humble Bundle celebrating their 30th anniversary which has their entire catalogue minus Firebreak for like 30 bucks.
Coelacanth coming through with the good info, as usual! dude you are becoming one of my fav users in lemmy.
Humm…interesting, so, the answer is more complex than I expected haha. I’m not against going through the previous games at all, I asked bacause I thought AW2 was going to be in Ps+ but, I’m seeing I was mislead >:/ however, Control is, and I also heard is very good, so hum, maybe I’ll pivot and try that first.
What need is to play and actually finish something that’s not a soulslike or adjacent this year, I’m thinking maybe the time constraint of it being on a subscription will certainly help me not abandon the playthrough? ( But there’s also Demons Souls and Tymesia on Ps+ Damn it!!! ) we’ll see how this goes. Thanks a lot!
I don’t think you were mislead, Alan Wake 2 is slated to be on PS+ starting Oct. 7th. It was announced during the recent State of Play.
Anyway, I still recommend going through all the games as they are amazing in their own right, and playing one will only heighten the appreciation of the next. Particularly if played in release order. Alan Wake 2 is definitely the crown jewel, so I understand wanting to get to it ASAP, but at the same time it will have a much more profound impact if saved for last.
EDIT: also I forgot but, thank you for the nice words. It’s still kind of weird that I’m being recognised by name around here from time to time but I guess I do comment a lot, and verbosely at that.
Oh I see, oct 7th. it appeared as only a trial when I looked.
But I think you are correct, better to not rush and experience the story right. Me wanting to jump in right away was mostly a budget thing. But I’ll wait and give control a shot instead.
Control is awesome, amazing world building and lore packed inside a really tight third person shooter. There are some Alan Wake references in the lore, but for the most part you can play Control first I think. However, I definitely advise to hold off on playing the AWE DLC until after Alan Wake 1.
Not currently playing but considering Alan Wake 2, can someone elucidate me, does it stand on its own?
Kind of. Mechanically Alan Wake 2 is so good that yes, it does stand on its own, and it’s such a great game that if you’re completely against playing the preceding games then it’s probably worth playing on its own.
However, Remedy are doing a Marvel-style connected universe, so in my opinion it’s a case of “the more you invest in it, the more rewarded you get”. The story of AW2 is a direct sequel to AW1, and also directly overlaps with Control. Control had a DLC called AWE that acts like a direct bridge between AW 1&2.
Furthermore, despite having to change the name to Alex Casey due to Rockstar owning the IP the character Alan Wake canonically wrote the stories about Max Payne, so they are also referenced. Quantum Break is only vaguely hinted at due to again, Microsoft owning the IP, so that one you can probably skip if you want.
Personally, I think Remedy have produced all bangers (though I haven’t played Firebreak), so playing them all never felt like a burden. There is also a timely Humble Bundle celebrating their 30th anniversary which has their entire catalogue minus Firebreak for like 30 bucks.
The plot of the whole thing is somewhat convoluted, so trying to absorb it all from a YouTube recap is kind of hard, but if that’s what you want here’s Sam Lake attempting to recap the story leading up to AW2 in 15 minutes. This is heavy spoilers for the preceding game obviously.
Coelacanth coming through with the good info, as usual! dude you are becoming one of my fav users in lemmy.
Humm…interesting, so, the answer is more complex than I expected haha. I’m not against going through the previous games at all, I asked bacause I thought AW2 was going to be in Ps+ but, I’m seeing I was mislead >:/ however, Control is, and I also heard is very good, so hum, maybe I’ll pivot and try that first.
What need is to play and actually finish something that’s not a soulslike or adjacent this year, I’m thinking maybe the time constraint of it being on a subscription will certainly help me not abandon the playthrough? ( But there’s also Demons Souls and Tymesia on Ps+ Damn it!!! ) we’ll see how this goes. Thanks a lot!
I don’t think you were mislead, Alan Wake 2 is slated to be on PS+ starting Oct. 7th. It was announced during the recent State of Play.
Anyway, I still recommend going through all the games as they are amazing in their own right, and playing one will only heighten the appreciation of the next. Particularly if played in release order. Alan Wake 2 is definitely the crown jewel, so I understand wanting to get to it ASAP, but at the same time it will have a much more profound impact if saved for last.
EDIT: also I forgot but, thank you for the nice words. It’s still kind of weird that I’m being recognised by name around here from time to time but I guess I do comment a lot, and verbosely at that.
Oh I see, oct 7th. it appeared as only a trial when I looked. But I think you are correct, better to not rush and experience the story right. Me wanting to jump in right away was mostly a budget thing. But I’ll wait and give control a shot instead.
Control is awesome, amazing world building and lore packed inside a really tight third person shooter. There are some Alan Wake references in the lore, but for the most part you can play Control first I think. However, I definitely advise to hold off on playing the AWE DLC until after Alan Wake 1.