Finnish team Remedy has revealed its upcoming PS5 survival horror game Alan Wake 2 will be its longest yet, clocking in at more than 20 hours. Creative director Sam Lake shared the respective playtime in the latest episode of the Kinda Funny Games Daily show, revealing the studio has wanted to makes its games longer for some time. "So Control was our longest game to date, and Alan Wake 2 is going to be longer than that — 20 hours plus," he said.
Lake explained Remedy felt the pressure to extend playtimes due to the monetary value perspective some consumers use when deciding to buy a game. The longer a game is, the more worth it has to some buyers. Same Lake then added that one way Alan Wake 2 has been made longer is by adding more worth to the series' classic thermos flasks. Now, they'll act as the item you save your game with like in a classic Resident Evil title.
Alan Wake 2 will be split across two campaigns — one from the perspective of returning protagonist Alan Wake and a new character in FBI agent Saga Anderson. The PS5 game is set to release on 27th October 2023 as a digital-only title. Are you looking forward to a lengthier Alan Wake experience? Let us know in the comments below.
[source youtube.com, via rockpapershotgun.com]
Comments 52
It depends. if it adds play time buy dispersing currency in 10000 searchable chests like Bioshock Infinite? Hell no I avoid that like open flames. If it adds time through meaningful gameplay and story? Yes I go to that like marshmallows over open flames.
Was looking forward to it until the "digital-only title" announcement some time ago. Control was one of the best titles on last gen (intriguing and very creepy!) so I was hyped to see what Remedy were going to come up with.
Ah well, wait for a sale, I suppose.
By the sound of it this isn’t relying on some piss poor side missions and knowing the great stories of Remedy games; I’m pumped for longer games.
@sanderson72 But..why? What's the big deal about it being digital only?
Alan wake 2 is one of the few games that i would have bought the deluxe premium mambo jumbo with cherry edition if it got a retail version...Why Remedy why?Lets hope that in the future we will get a retail version...
I dunno. I feel like game length is a detractor for me. I’ve never completed a Persona game, for instance, because it’s an arduous and Herculean task to stick to one game THAT long. I prefer a solid, memorable campaign to a chunky morass of endless content. 20 hours is fine. Control was pretty much the perfect length.
That said, Alan Wake is my most anticipated title this year, so I can’t wait for it. I’ll be dropping every other game for that one. I’m really hoping I get through Starfield and Mirage first, but it doesn’t matter if I don’t.
@somnambulance I think 20 hours is a sweet spot. 40 for a deep rpg. 10-15 for action adventure or a platformer. 100 hours on some deep jrpg ends up being really tedious.
this is my formula
Thats a pretty decent legnth. I like remedy as a dev, and I'm hoping this will do well. I certainly like what I've seen and Im pretty keen to see more.
I think such long story-driven games are dangerous for smaller studios like Remedy. They cost a lot to produce, so a commercial disaster can become a financial threat for the whole studio. Let’s hope it goes well.
Wait, was Control under 20h? I thought it was pretty big
sorry but i wont be supporting AAA games not getting a disc release
bigger games arnt necessarily better games in fact alot of games suffer from too much bloat
I don’t get the bit about the flask. Are they saying people will be forced to play longer because they’ll need to reach the next save point or play until they find another flask?
Always hated the ribbons in the original resident evil, and that was when I was a kid with far more time on my hands. I would absolutely despise them now…am I misunderstanding him?
@kungfumongoose
It means it’s 2-3 times more expensive due to a lack of resale value. For me anyway. Others just like collecting physical items.
I imagine there's going to be a large number of cutscenes and FMV sequences, which I'm guessing they're including in the overall length. It's probably also going to have semi-open level design, much like Control; although that's a complete guess, I'm hoping I'm right. Would be nice to be able to explore the eery town a bit.
@kungfumongoose I think it comes down to personal preference. I'm a physical buyer only - for me it's usually much cheaper, and I sell them on once I 100%/platinum them, or if I've had my fill.
When there isn't an option however, such as with this and BG III, well then I sort of have no choice I guess. But I completely understand the frustration.
@Powerplay94 that makes sense, I did most things in the base game (and I should go back and play the DLC)
I hope this doesn't mean they padded it out with collectible text diaries like they did in Quantum Break. Played that on PC recently and while I enjoyed it overall, there were way too many text notes to read, and they were long as well. Obviously they're optional, but so much of the story was fleshed out through them that you're missing out if you skip them. Every few steps and you're reading for 3 minutes.
@xDD90x did you watch the live action show that went with every chapter? I think it was optional but can’t remember as it’s been a while
@Fuzzymonkeyfunk also wish they would release a 60fps update 😢
Sounds great. Already pre-ordered. Remedy is one of my fav developers.
But Digital only games I only buy for PC. Reason I have a console is for the option of Renting or Selling my full price Day 1 games. Consoles loose value if not an option. How I keep cost down.
If paying full price for digital, rather keep it on PC and not risk Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft deciding if get to keep my collection or not.
Ok, I won't play it. 20 hours is way too long. Why not 6 hours?
@Fuzzymonkeyfunk I did watch them; they weren't bad, but I would've preferred more gameplay. You can skip them. Also, when I played it there was a Windows bug that caused the videos to play at a higher speed, so I had to watch them on YouTube and the video quality was poor. I haven't played Control yet, but it seems like they learned a lot from QB and improved in many ways. Looking forward to playing it soon.
@Cashews That’s pretty much my guidelines as well, though I don’t play as many RPGs now as I used to because… well… time. It’s exceedingly rare that I hit 100 hours in anything these days. I think, in the last maybe 5-10 years or so, I’ve hit 100 hours in half a dozen games or so.
@somnambulance depends if online or not. or covid. I have two from covid I went over 500 in >.>
monster hunter rise and animal crossing.
@sanderson72 exactly what I was going to type. I want the game but I'm going to wait for a sale price because I'd rather not support digital only. Especially not for a big AAA game. It's ***** because Alone in the Dark was going to be my alternative for this year but that's been pushed to next year. Maybe Limited Run will release a physical edition maybe
@kungfumongoose Finish the game and there's no trade in value. And physical games seem to be £10 to £20 cheaper after the initial release couple of weeks whereas you have to wait a long time for the PS Store to get any kind of discount which is normally nowhere near the same price as a disc.
This and Spider Man 2 are gonna keep me busy 😎
@Cashews whoa. 500 hours is a lot. My wife did over 300 hours in AC and Splatoon 2, but that’s beyond my ability lol. I think Skyrim’s the last time I hit those kind of numbers
@somnambulance well for Ac it was 3 of us (family) playing constantly for almost 9 months. It was the first game I ever played with my kids. Then MH Rise hit and it was all over for me. That was over 1.5 years roughly with the expansion. I'd dabble in some other games but really just played those constantly. I'll hold both of those games in high regard forever.
I lived in a s*** town that was more restrictive than those around me and everyone was all judgy all of the time when you went outside to enjoy life. At the time these games were a way to avoid those miscreants - whom I came to sincerely loathe. I still do.
good news - I gtfo out of there last summer.
@Cashews Congratulations on leaving. I live in Wisconsin, so, when COVID happened, it was pretty much life as usual except no one had jobs. Ironically, I never got COVID until after life went “back to normal.” COVID definitely enabled me to clear my backlog and get paid for it by the government. What an odd time, thinking back. I can’t think of another time in my adult life I could leisurely tackle Dragon Quest 11.
@somnambulance I live in georgia - which was really loose with the pandemic. But I lived in an extremely left teeny tiny city that was trying to prove a point. that was my issue. People all over the state were acting normally but this dumb town 4 square miles large was acting like we were in a contagion movie.
I've had covid more times than I can count (well...about 4 or 5 times and I can count to 5) - I always played loose with it and still do. I had the Og covid - before they shut down the county. MLK weekend 2020 was when i contracted it to be exact. I'm like a patient zero
It's refreshing to hear a developer mention game length where they boast about it being in excess of 20 hours rather than 200. I think 15 to 30 hours is a sweet spot for games of this nature. The Evil Within 2 was maybe 15 to 20 hours long and it was honestly a pretty decent length. It didn't drag but it also felt like it had plenty of content.
So.... 200 manuscript pages, 100 coffee thermals, 20 can stacks and 30 tv/commercial ads?
Nah.
@Cashews Lol. I know exactly what you mean. I’m from Illinois and live not far from the border. As soon as you hit Illinois in driving, it was like entering a biohazard scene. Every time I’d see my parents, it was like entering a totally different world. I was actually uninvited from my cousin’s wedding because I live in Wisconsin, believe it or not.
@somnambulance Oh I believe it. Some of my friendships will never be quite the same after the event.
The thing that stuck out the most to me was my kid coming home from kindergarten - the teacher told her "this is what you should think about the pandemic" and then said things. I looked her dead in the eyes, my own eyes absolutely blazing - I said, "DON'T YOU EVER LET ANYONE TELL YOU WHAT YOU SHOULD FEEL ABOUT THIS. NOT YOUR TEACHERS, NOT ME NOT ANYONE! WE HAVE NO RIGHT TO TELL YOU HOW TO FEEL.'" they weren't allowed to talk during lunch and had to put their mask on after they took a bite of food while they chewed it. She was 5. Violent Criminals in prison got more respect.
She was kind of shocked but I think she got it. I'm hoping the covid kid generation brings punk rock back or lights everything on fire in 10 years or something.
@Cashews Man, that story makes me glad my wife homeschools.
Lol. It absolutely is true that violent criminals in prison got more respect than kids (or really anyone in normal society, depending on where you were) did in COVID time. Meanwhile, the prisons didn’t follow COVID guidelines… What a time that was. But hey those stimulus checks, I miss those!
That’s great that you expressed the think for yourself mentality to your kid. More kids need to realize that, especially now, as our world saturates in information and mis-information.
Jeez, I really do hope that punk rock comes back for the kids. I say that as my son prefers listening to movie scores and orchestral music at the ripe age of 5.
We may want to transition back to being on topic though. We’re a little off on the community guidelines, as much as I am enjoying our conversation. So that Alan Wake 2, huh?
40 odd hours Should be standard love mass effect I got 60 hours out of the first game 80 off the second and 100 out of the third I like to enjoy the game I dont rush.
@Cashews Hell yeah, burn it all down properly this time. You've wound me up now. Gonna go dig out the old Pistals albums.
@xDD90x yeah I think I played QB on my PC back in the day at it rang well. Control is fantastic, did you get it when it was on PSplus a year or so ago?
@Fuzzymonkeyfunk No, I rarely subscribe to PS+. I got the Ultimate Edition for free on PC from a family member's Prime Gaming monthly games. I still might pick it up on PS5 if there's a good enough sale.
@somnambulance I really hope Alan Wake 2 is good and I am willing to buy it digital only, even though i prefer the discs, if they knock it out of the park.
I've been doing a rewatch of Twin Peaks: The Return and the switch from the talk show reality to the nightmare kind of fits that vibe i think. I am rooting for the game!
Can't wait. Apart from that crap game shooter they got involved in their stuff is normally really good. Alan wake was a great game I loved pretty much all of it. This is one for sure buy this year along with Forza 😁🙏
@SgtTruth There are plenty of games if you appreciate quieter moments as well.
However, this describes the new God of War to a fault.
Didn't like the first one
@Cashews I’m hoping it’s good too. If it’s as good as Control was, it’s a GOTY contender for me, whether the rest of the world agrees or not.
@somnambulance I just bought Control Ultimate Edition a month ago during a huge sale. i havent had the chance to jump in but I am stoked.
@Cashews It’s honestly a phenomenal and unique title. I’m a sucker for surreal sci-fi, so Control delivered on all fronts for me. It’s got really solid gameplay as well. I would say the game also has one of my top 10 ever gameplay sequences pretty deep in.
Fifty four comments before mine. I’m not going tk read them but I’m going to guess st least 20 are the usual chorus of ‘I’m not going to buy it because it’s digital only’. Sigh
@Totheteeth 10 of them are about covid experiences. enjoy!
I don't like the sound of that. Padding hurt AC Valhalla and TLOU2 overall.
@kungfumongoose I have zero problem with it being digital only but there’s people are who physical media purist and like to have a physical collection.
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