Summary
Alan Wake 2is a game that juggles quite a lot at once. Though itsResident Evil-inspired combatisn’t overly complex,Alan Wake 2’s overall gameplay and story have a lot more going on beneath the surface than some fans might realize. And whileAlan Wake 2’s individual elements may not be the most novel or revolutionary mechanics or features out there by themselves, when they’re combined they end up creating a wholly unique experience that’s unlike anything on the market right now.
One of the biggest highlights ofAlan Wake 2’s gameplay is that no single mechanic or feature is left to do the heavy lifting all by itself. Players are never just walking through a dark hallway blasting away shadow monsters, which would rely solely on the game’s combat to make it exciting. Instead,Alan Wake 2’s environments work alongside the combat, movement, characters, enemy design, and story to make each encounter feel memorable. But while that’s true, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any standout mechanics in the game, andAlan Wake 2’s Mind Placeis certainly one of those, lending itself perfectly to a Batman game.
Alan Wake 2’s Mind Place Would Fit a Batman Game Perfectly
How Alan Wake 2’s Mind Place Works
Alan Wake 2’s Mind Place, only available when playing as FBI Agent Saga Anderson, is a small cabin that manifests inside Saga’s head and is the site of all her FBI deductions. Immediately familiar to any fans of BBC’sSherlock, the Mind Place lets players access weapon upgrades and collectibles, but its main feature is the Case Board. When using the Case Board, players are given multiple files all based on the game’s major plot threads and mysteries. These cases are solved gradually over the course of the game as players advance through the story and discover new pieces of evidence in the environment.
Adding a new piece of evidence to the Mind Place Case Board will see Saga connect the various threads of the specific case, eventually coming to a conclusion based on all the evidence present. These conclusions not only furtherAlan Wake 2’s storybut are also used as an engaging way to recap the complex story for players. Saga also has a unique Profiling ability when in her Mind Place, in which she can interrogate certain characters about specific pieces of evidence and plot points.
EnteringAlan Wake 2’s Mind Place doesn’t pause the game, so players need to make sure their environment is completely clear before hunkering down and sorting some evidence.
What Makes The Mind Place Such a Great Fit for Batman
Batman games don’t often put the hero’s detective work at the forefront of the experience. One of the biggest points of praise for the originalBatman: Arkhamseries is just how much detective work the player gets to do in-game, though even then it’s still quite linear, with players mostly needing to scan the environment for a clue and press and hold a button to analyze. TheBatman: Arkhamseriesdoesn’t give the player too much agency when it comes to actually profiling a criminal or sorting evidence, and that’s whereAlan Wake 2’s Mind Place could come into play.
WhileAlan Wake 2’s Mind Place is still a very linear mechanic, with players only being able to sort evidence into specific spots on the board, and the game’s Profiling mechanic requiring players to simply press on an investigation prompt, it still acts as a solid starting point fora future Batman game. The general structure of the Mind Place already fits Batman very well, though a few small alterations would make it fit even better, such as having the Mind Place be the Batcave’s Bat-Computer, where players could research and tie pieces of evidence together themselves.
Alan Wake 2
WHERE TO PLAY
A string of ritualistic murders threatens Bright Falls, a small-town community surrounded by Pacific Northwest wilderness. Saga Anderson, an accomplished FBI agent with a reputation for solving impossible cases arrives to investigate the murders. Anderson’s case spirals into a nightmare when she discovers pages of a horror story that starts to come true around her.Alan Wake, a lost writer trapped in a nightmare beyond our world, writes a dark story in an attempt to shape the reality around him and escape his prison. With a dark horror hunting him, Wake is trying to retain his sanity and beat the devil at his own game.Anderson and Wake are two heroes on two desperate journeys in two separate realities, connected at heart in ways neither of them can understand: reflecting each other, echoing each other, and affecting the worlds around them.Fueled by the horror story, supernatural darkness invades Bright Falls, corrupting the locals and threatening the loved ones of both Anderson and Wake. Light is their weapon—and their safe haven — against the darkness they face. Trapped in a sinister horror story where there are only victims and monsters, can they break out to be the heroes they need to be?
