The greatest Finnish entertainment product of all time! Alan Wake 2 offers chilling horror and Finnish humor

Made by Finnish game studio Remedy, very popular Alan Wake-game will continue after 13 years. Set in Washington State Alan Wake 2 rips with Finnish humor and serves up a chilling horror story.

Creative Director of Remedy Sami Järvi says that it is the biggest entertainment product of the year and maybe even the biggest entertainment product ever made in Finland for the international market.

– We have been quite ambitious in terms of the story, Järvi says.

The budget of the game has not been published, but you can get some idea of ​​the scale when you remember that Remedy’s biggest game so far, Control 2, was made with a budget of around 50 million euros.

The game series is about a possessed writer who is in trouble with the forces of darkness. Already the first Alan Wake game collected several game of the year awards, and now the size category of the game is growing even more. Alan Wake 2 is Remedy’s biggest project they’ve ever had.

Finland goes to America

Alan Wake is dark horror in Remedy’s style. The first part had a lot of references, including the horror series To Twin Peaks and a horror writer by Stephen King to works.

– After swimming in this potion potion of American popular culture during my childhood, I have also noticed the beauty of Finnish culture over the years. We have a lot of stuff here, with which you can stand out in your own way, says Järvi.

The game’s Finnish roots are emphasized Alan Wake 2, more than in any of Remedy’s previous games. In the game presentation shown to the press, the game’s characters talk about saunas and windsurfing, among other things.

One of the central parts of the game is the dark place called overlap, where the player sometimes finds himself. There is also a surprising Finnish connection to this.

– This comes over our reality and starts to distort it into a strange nightmare place. The inspiration for this has been the blanket of the forest of Finnish mythology, Järvi says.

Supernatural things with a twist

The game naturally continues the story from where the first part left off. Alan Wake 2 however, it has been implemented in such a way that the gameplay does not suffer even if you do not know the previous part of the game or other Remedy games at all.

– This is of the utmost importance to us, which is why we also have a new hero character, Saga Anderson, who also does not know supernatural things. He will learn these things quite quickly, Järvi hints.

As a perspective character, Anderson acts as a surface for new players to identify with the game. Anderson’s character moves the story forward simultaneously with Wake’s character.

Anderson in the game is played by HBO’s hit series Even in Game of Thrones British actress who played Melanie Liburd. This is his first video game role.

– We now see the combination of games and film in a completely new way in Remedy’s technologies, and it is really wonderful and very artistic. I myself went to art school a long time ago, but Remedy is already on a completely different level here, comments Liburd.

However, Liburd is not the only surprising addition to the game’s cast.

Alone at home in his overalls

Despite its dark tone, Finnish culture has also been brought into the game in terms of humor. Finnish-spirited dark humor is sprinkled in the game in a cunningly subtle way.

The fictitious Wolverine beer included in the game is indicative of Remedy’s twisted humor, for example. The in-game advertisements tell about the beer, for example, how Ahmaa can enjoy it alone at home in his pants or, for example, in the sauna.

Wolverine beer is advertised in the game by American-Finnish twins Jaakko and Ilmo Koskela. Acting characters by Peter Franzé. However, the significance of the Koskela brothers, who are side characters, in the story of the game is still a mystery, which will only be clarified later.

Franzén says that the project was very interesting. The role of twin brothers has brought its own challenge to acting, but according to Franzén, this has mostly been just fascinating. He is delighted with how Finnish culture is brought out in the game.

– I have played a few games developed by Remedy in the past, and it is an honor to be a part of this. On top of everything, it’s a uniquely Finnish product, so I’m super excited to be a part of this, says Franzén.

The Finnish actor continues in the role of Alan Wake Ilkka Villi.

– I approach the character of Alan Wake largely through myself, although of course the role has been built in close cooperation with the directors Sami Järve and Anssi Määtä with. It feels great to be a part of a story that has left a lasting mark on popular culture, comments Villi.

Horror and agent fantasy

In addition to the horror and beautiful fascinating environment Alan Wake 2 focuses especially on narrative. This was also a great strength of the first part of the game.

– The progression of the story is built interactively in such a way that the player affects the course of the story and has to work to promote it himself, the designer responsible for the game’s story Molly Maloney tells.

A new element in the game is Saga’s inner world, where the player, like an FBI agent, has to build a story forward from the clues they encounter in different games, and think about the connections between the clues.

– We like mysteries in our game. The player is sprinkled with hints, which, however, do not specify how the player should play the game, Alan Wake 2game director of Kyle Rowley states.

Alan Wake 2 will be published on 17.10.