Alan Wake II

BrawlMan

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Either I'm doing something wrong, or the combat is a real trainwreck.
The combat can be finnicky at times, but it usually works. I know there was a big patch update a few weeks ago to make things easier for certain encounters or better hit detection.
 

Silvanus

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Platinum'd it not long ago. Had an absolute blast-- major improvement on #1 (which I already enjoyed), fantastic tone-setting, some great performances (esp live-action Wake and Ahti's VA). It's a lot more punishing than #1 as well but not overwhelmingly so IMO.

Wears it's Twin Peaks influence on its sleeve. That diner in Bright Falls is a near-replica of the Twin Peaks diner.

Minor criticisms: the third boss fight isn't well balanced or fair, though most others are (and in fact a later major boss is if anything too easy). Resource scarcity is gruelling near the start, then swings towards over-abundence by the end of the game (in my experience), doesn't quite get the balance right. But these gripes are small. Fantastic game.
 
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Casual Shinji

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Either I'm doing something wrong, or the combat is a real trainwreck.
You're not, the combat is pretty shit. During Alan's segments the combat is complete garbage, and during Saga's sections it's serviceable but too infrequent to really get used to.
 

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New Game Plus is out next week on December 11th.

 
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Silvanus

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Apparently the NG+ comes along with a new ending & story content.

I need a bit of a break before going again...
 
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Apparently the NG+ comes along with a new ending & story content.

I need a bit of a break before going again...
Same here. I thought of jumping in instantly, but I don't feel like it right now. Plus, Ragnarok's DLC comes out today.
 
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FakeSympathy

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So I just started playing AW2. First off, my heartfelt condolences for the passing of James McCaffery. I am currently enjoying his voice as Agent Casey, and also enjoyed his role in Control too.

As for the game itself, let me start off by saying I never played the first game, so it was really surreal to see the game takes place in Washington State. As a local resident, I know Brightfall and Cauldron lake are fictional locations, but I can definitely see both being amalgamations of various locations here in WA. Like, we have tons of mountains, forrests, lakes, and the small towns surrounding them. The game is beautiful-looking too. It's so strange how they nailed the atmosphere here to near perfection.

The biggest mindfuck I came across so far is visiting Saga's mind place in the actual town. Like, I was just exploring the lounge, entered the private area and boom, there it is.

I love the experience so far!
 
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CriticalGaming

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I tried played AW2 when it went on sale earlier this month. I really love the atmosphere but I hate the gameplay. It's just a slog to go through imo and the flashlight mechanic is poor like the first game, it really only serves to be frustrating because you need to pour a bunch of time into burning their darkness before you can then just shoot them dead and it feels like extra steps to traditional 3rd person shooter combat that don't quite work well enough to be effective.

I think I'll end up watching one of those gaming movies of this one to enjoy the story and not deal with actually playing it.
 

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I tried played AW2 when it went on sale earlier this month. I really love the atmosphere but I hate the gameplay. It's just a slog to go through imo and the flashlight mechanic is poor like the first game, it really only serves to be frustrating because you need to pour a bunch of time into burning their darkness before you can then just shoot them dead and it feels like extra steps to traditional 3rd person shooter combat that don't quite work well enough to be effective.

I think I'll end up watching one of those gaming movies of this one to enjoy the story and not deal with actually playing it.
They still didn't fix the flashlight issue even after the updates? Weird. I can see your point. There is a work around her to that, but I know you're not going to play it again. With Saga, once she gets the crossbow and you get at least one of the three proper upgrades. Mainly the double shot; the crossbow just negates using the flashlight on most enemies. Hit them once or twice,with some of the tougher ones, and they go down quick. That's right, these crossbows can negate going through their shadow shield protection. And there's more than plenty of ammo to go around for it.
 

hanselthecaretaker2

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I tried played AW2 when it went on sale earlier this month. I really love the atmosphere but I hate the gameplay. It's just a slog to go through imo and the flashlight mechanic is poor like the first game, it really only serves to be frustrating because you need to pour a bunch of time into burning their darkness before you can then just shoot them dead and it feels like extra steps to traditional 3rd person shooter combat that don't quite work well enough to be effective.

I think I'll end up watching one of those gaming movies of this one to enjoy the story and not deal with actually playing it.
That’s about my take on a majority of games these days but I did pick up The Quarry on Steam winter sale. Plan on playing it because it feels like it’d be a better Quantum Dream style narrative adventure. It reminds me of that one other horror game of people stuck in a cabin early on PS4.
 

FakeSympathy

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I tried played AW2 when it went on sale earlier this month. I really love the atmosphere but I hate the gameplay. It's just a slog to go through imo and the flashlight mechanic is poor like the first game, it really only serves to be frustrating because you need to pour a bunch of time into burning their darkness before you can then just shoot them dead and it feels like extra steps to traditional 3rd person shooter combat that don't quite work well enough to be effective.

I think I'll end up watching one of those gaming movies of this one to enjoy the story and not deal with actually playing it.
Yeah, it was a tad bit hard to play through. I also think both Saga/Alan move a bit too slow. And the maps are designed just big enough to make me feel it takes forever to get anywhere.

But the story was still excellent. All the characters and the storytelling piqued my interest just enough to make me wanna keep going
 
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hanselthecaretaker2

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Yeah, it was a tad bit hard to play through. I also think both Saga/Alan move a bit too slow. And the maps are designed just big enough to make me feel it takes forever to get anywhere.

But the story was still excellent. All the characters and the storytelling piqued my interest just enough to make me wanna keep going

It's kinda crazy these are the people who made Max Payne/2. Maybe they got rid of their gameplay talent and replaced it with story talent.
 

BrawlMan

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It's kinda crazy these are the people who made Max Payne/2. Maybe they got rid of their gameplay talent and replaced it with story talent.
I think most of their gameplay talent is still there (see Control), but they went harder on the story, characters, and narrative. They did a good job overall, but the flashlight issue should have been addressed with the updates.
 
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Silvanus

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Y'all being too down on the combat. It's perfectly serviceable, quite similar to Resi 2 Remake in feeling. You're not supposed to be taking on hordes as you are in Control so the feeling/balancing are totally different.
 

Casual Shinji

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Y'all being too down on the combat. It's perfectly serviceable, quite similar to Resi 2 Remake in feeling. You're not supposed to be taking on hordes as you are in Control so the feeling/balancing are totally different.
Yeah, but RE2 Remake didn't have zombies flash-stepping right in your face.

Alan Wake 2 has the combat of a Silent Hill, but the enemy behaviour of an RE4 Remake.
 
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