There actually weren’t many flaws to shine a shaky flashlight beam on in Alan Wake II, however one factor I did lament in 2023’s wonderful survival horror sequel was the entire absence of Night Springs episodes on the in-game televisions. These quirky, Twilight Zone-inspired tales have been a constant pleasure to find in Alan Wake’s unique 2010 journey, so to seek out them seemingly off the air as if they have been the casualties of some form of in-game writers’ strike was a contact disappointing. The excellent news is that the sequence has returned in a now fully-playable type because of the Alan Wake II: Night Springs DLC, which serves up three standalone tales that take us again to the small city of Vivid Falls and past. They’re admittedly somewhat on the quick aspect since I used to be capable of knock all three episodes over in a single two-hour sitting, however I actually had a blast with these twisted new nightmares whereas they lasted.
Night Springs’ first episode, Quantity One Fan, is unquestionably each the goofiest and goriest within the assortment, permitting us to play as obsessive Alan Wake fan Rose Marigold as she waits tables in Vivid Falls’ Oh Deer Diner. This action-heavy installment begins with Rose topping up espresso cups and clearing away pie crumb-covered plates, however she’s quickly compelled to blaze a path by means of a bloodthirsty mob after she’s despatched an SOS from Alan Wake himself, who’s apparently been kidnapped. How does she obtain this request for assist? Through an sudden transmission by means of the puckered maw of a type of wall-mounted Large Mouth Billy Bass singing fishes that 1000’s of dissatisfied dads unwrapped on Fathers Day within the 12 months 2000. Yep, issues in Night Springs are enjoyably off-kilter virtually from the very outset.
Quantity One Fan utterly strips the survival element out of Alan Wake II by strapping a completely computerized shotgun to Rose’s shoulder and lining the pockets of her apron with an virtually limitless provide of shells. The entire episode takes place through the magic hour shortly earlier than sundown so not one of the enemies are cloaked in shadowy shields, and subsequently there’s no have to burn the darkness away with a battery-hungry flashlight earlier than you possibly can dispatch them. As a substitute, the fight in Quantity One Fan swaps the sequence’ signature light-based fights for extra excessive tempo working and gunning. Though its crunchy gunplay could also be extra easy, it nonetheless manages to be an extremely violent delight because of the campy ‘50s rock music that propels it and the cutesy quips that Rose spouts with every axe-wielding maniac she mulches – like she’s a pump-action-toting Princess Peach. Night Springs’ first episode kicks the gathering off with a concussive sequence of skull-shattering bangs in Rose’s relentlessly entertaining and revved up rescue mission.
Visitor Aspect Story
The second episode, North Star, slows the tempo down significantly as you plunge into the inkiest depths of darkness you’d anticipate from an Alan Wake journey. I used to be initially thrilled to step again into the sneakers of Jesse Faden from Management right here, nonetheless my enthusiasm took a little bit of a success after I realised that she hadn’t introduced her superb shape-shifting gun and spectacular suite of superpowers from the 2019 motion epic alongside together with her. Nonetheless, this midnight stalk by means of the creepy Espresso World theme park featured in Alan Wake II’s fundamental marketing campaign efficiently ratchets up the strain after the comparatively carefree homicide spree of the earlier episode, arming Jesse with a flashlight and common, non-transforming pistol as she is pit towards the identical spooky silhouettes that had me nervously taking pictures at shadows in final 12 months’s sport.
North Star can also be the extra puzzle-oriented of the episodes featured right here, and I loved cracking keypad codes and manipulating the mechanical controls of a ferris wheel throughout this transient investigation into the mysterious disappearance of Jesse’s brother. Nonetheless, I can’t assist however really feel that of the three episodes included in Night Springs, this second one is the least exceptional. It fails to leverage the jaw-dropping talent set of its visitor star, and quite a lot of what transpires in it appears like well-made however pretty customary survival horror fare. This entire second episode successfully went down like a scorching beverage from the Espresso World concession stand – stimulating sufficient, however it additionally left me with a barely bitter style in my mouth.
Serling Silver
Fortunately, Night Springs’ third and closing episode, Time Breaker, is the very best and boldest of the bunch and rounds out this assortment in essentially the most mind-bendingly meta manner potential. Right here we’re solid because the real-world actor Shawn Ashmore, who we discover reprising his position as Sheriff Breaker from Alan Wake II in a model new sport being directed by developer Treatment Leisure’s inventive director, Sam Lake. Throughout a break in manufacturing and after a hilarious second with Lake giving a particularly self-aware and exhaustingly acronym-heavy rationalization of his new sport’s plot, Ashmore is blinked into one other time and area by Night Springs’ Rod Serling stand-in and multiversal maestro, Mr. Door.
What follows is a surreal string of sequences by means of ominous forest paths and disorientating resort hall loops, psychedelically shifting from the monochrome presentation of early tv to the vivid colors of comedian e-book paneling that appear to deliberately mirror Treatment’s previous work on the Max Payne sequence. To say something extra could be to spoil an excessive amount of, however there are some wonderful story surprises and left-turn degree designs to be discovered right here that rival essentially the most outside-of-the-box moments from the principle Alan Wake II marketing campaign, and it meant that Night Springs completed on a totally hypnotic excessive word that left me wanting extra.