It’s easy to mess up a survival horror game. If their atmosphere and gameplay don’t have precisely the right balance, they collapse. The result is a game that’s forgettable or remembered only for its flaws. Two of the finest survival horror game franchises are Resident Evil and Alan Wake. Though RE has a longer history and far more content available, Alan Wake has established itself as a serious contributor to the genre. With the recent release of Alan Wake 2 and the Resident Evil 4 remake, it’s the perfect time to look at one feature that distinguishes Remedy Entertainment’s newest title and arguably makes it more effective than RE 4. Spoiler warning for one of Alan Wake‘s later acts.
Musical Madness
The Dark Place is fittingly named. The nightmare realm in which Alan finds himself trapped is a bleak and unforgiving place. It’s dark, wet, and populated by shadowy monsters that only a flashlight and gun can stop. In addition to its deep shadows and often grotesque imagery, the Dark Place is nightmarish in another way. It frequently dips into the surreal, cutting together places and memories in unexpected and startling ways. It’s a carefully calculated effect that separates Saga’s journey from Alan’s that much more. At one point, however, the darkness lifts, and something shocking replaces it.
That shocking something is a musical. Specifically, it’s a segment in which Alan wanders through a stage bathed in the electric yellows, blues, and greens of multiple projectors and stage lights. A live-action version of Alan and Mr. Door sing and dance together while you continue to explore the stage. The musical summarizes crucial events in the plot and foreshadows things to come. It’s eerie seeing the game’s terrifying events recounted this way. Even more disquieting is the sudden turn from darkness and silence to song, dance, and a literal light show. Horror thrives on the unexpected: it’s what makes jumpscares effective. It’s also why Alan Wake 2‘s musical is as disturbing as it is funny.
Live Action and Uncanny Horrors
From Las Plagas to Osmund Saddler, Resident Evil 4 makes excellent use of the unexpected. That said, neither version has anything that matches the overwhelming visuals and instant discomfort of Alan Wake 2‘s musical. Some players will likely find the musical funny or charming rather than disturbing, but there’s a good argument for the scene being one of outright horror. The game’s ray tracing and glaring lights aren’t alone in overwhelming our hero, after all. The figures in the musical are live actors, not animated characters, adding an inescapable feeling of uncanniness to the whole production.
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Best PC Settings for Alan Wake 2What makes Resident Evil nightmarish? Blood, gore, violence, and the shambling footsteps of the dead and infected, to name a few things. Yet all of these elements are expected in a horror story, so there’s an ultimate limit on how surprising they can be. Nothing in Alan Wake 2 warns you of its sudden musical transition or the towering appearance of actual human beings. When they arrive, it’s with the force of a surrealist horrorshow. Resident Evil follows a more or less predictable path, whereas Alan Wake 2 blazes a trail all its own with its musical scene. Many players have understandable reservations about mixing animation with live-action performances. Alan Wake 2 is arguably the best argument for doing just that.
Alan Wake 2 vs. Resident Evil
Of course, just because Alan Wake 2 does horror more successfully in the musical scene doesn’t mean Resident Evil should start tossing in dance numbers between bosses. For developers as well as fans, however, it’s worth understanding why Remedy Entertainment’s unique approach unlocks new possibilities for terror. Both are exceptional horror experiences, but if you’ve only played RE, you owe it to yourself to experience Alan Wake 2. The best developers learn from the successes of their colleagues and competitors. Hopefully, Alan Wake 2 will become a case study for others in the horror genre. If it does, the result will be scarier games for everyone.
Alan Wake 2 is available for PC, PlayStation 5, and
