I’ll admit, AW2 has been a hard sell for me. Paranormal mystery always is, because it wants to invite you to ask questions, but it can pull answers literally out of anywhere. Why doesn’t anyone remember old events? Paranormal magic. How did Alan Wake survive at the bottom of a lake for all those years? Paranormal magic. Etcetera.

I don’t even mind games like Ace Attorney that set up a paranormal system like spirit channeling, but cleanly express all their rules and limits before they become involved in the mystery. I’ve watched some partial streams of AW2 but it felt so easy to get lost and have no expectations for it to suddenly defy.