Horror game sequel has way more gore and violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
a lot
This is an extremely graphic game, with scenes of blood, gore, and even torture. Players use guns to shoot at ghastly humanoid and spectral enemies, creating sprays and splashes of blood. Environments are sometimes covered in blood and bodies. Several non-interactive scenes show terrified characters in extreme duress, including live action footage of death by gunshot.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
Alcohol and tobacco products are shown and used by characters in various scenes throughout the game. A fake live action commercial advertises a fictional beer and shows men drinking it.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.
Themes of identity, duality, and morality run through a complicated story about an author who writes events into reality (including an alternate, evil version of himself). There's plenty of sensationalized violence and jump scares along the way, but the moral is to trust yourself, help who you can, and ultimately do what you think is right.
Positive Role Models
a little
Alan Wake, an author who drinks heavily and has difficulty distinguishing fiction and fantasy, is a troubling character whose motives and actions can't always be trusted. A second player character, FBI agent Saga Anderson, is less dubious, with a focus clearly set on helping people and pursuing the truth.
Diverse Representations
a little
One of the playable characters is a Black woman FBI agent who serves as the moral anchor of the story. Most non-player characters are light-skinned and of Northern European descent, but several key personalities include men and women of varying skin tones, including a Black man who plays a talk show host. There's one lesbian character.
Combat difficulty can be adjusted, but certain play elements -- such as environment puzzles -- will leave many players stumped and looking for help. A handful of simple accessibility options allow players to reduce loud noises and receive aim assistance.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know Alan Wake 2 is an extremely graphic horror action sequel for Windows PCs, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X. Players control two characters, an author whose writing turns into reality and an. FBI agent who's the moral anchor of the game. Both characters fight a variety of humanoid and spectral enemies using guns, resulting in sprays and splashes of blood. A handful of environments are coated red and littered with bodies, some of which show obvious signs of torture, including a nude man, buttocks and and genitalia in view, who's been mutilated. Live action sequences include scenes of gun violence, as well as fake commercials for weapons and a fictional beer. Alcohol and tobacco products are regularly in view throughout. Parents should also be aware that this is a very challenging game with only a handful of accessibility options.
This game is a MASTERPIECE in nearly everything it sets out to do. You play as a horror writer whos stories come to life and what transpires is a mind bending nightmare. I wont do any spoilers but trust me the story is phenomenal. This game is fairly complex in gameplay as well as story so most casual players might find it off putting. There is full frontal male nudity but not in a sexual way as this is do to a BRUTAL murder and the crime scene investigation. The violence is brutal as one scene a man gets his heart cut out of his chest in a ritualistic killing. The rest of the violence is based more on shooting and lots of blood which is also graphic. Language is bad as the f-bomb is dropped regularly. In case there is any question NO THIS GAME IS NOT FOR CHILDREN. The fear factor here is real. In at least half the game you are in a shadowy dark dimension full of disturbing imagery and ALOT of tense moments. Intense images jump onto the screen at time with a loud sound which can attribute to many jump scares if you aren't expecting it. If you are into horror games, there will be few better than this.
It really is not as bad as ESRB makes it out to be. There is a decent amount of Violence in this game, but it isn't too bad. Nudity can be turned off in settings.
What’s It About?
Set a decade after the events of the first game, ALAN WAKE 2 brings players back to Bright Falls, the eerie northwestern town where horror novel author Alan Wake disappeared while fighting a dark, malignant entity in 2010. The story begins with players in control of Saga Anderson, an FBI agent with the ability to sort and organize her thoughts with amazing clarity in a mental space she calls her Mind Place. She's investigating a murder, which leads her to discover a series of bizarre goings-on in the area, ranging from a zealous cult to townspeople who seem to know her from another life she can't remember. Eventually players will also take control of Alan, who appears to be locked in a nightmare he has inadvertently authored and is attempting to rewrite in order to save himself and everyone around him. Players spend the bulk of the game exploring dark and creepy locations, frequently being attacked by shadowy monsters. They can either fight these creatures or take refuge in well lit areas to recuperate and plan their next steps. As the game progresses, both characters begin to question what's real and what isn't as the town's slowly enveloped in a darkness of Alan's own creation.
Few games are as breathtakingly, mind-blowingly creative as this one. Alan Wake 2 is bursting with original ideas, such as Alan's ability to rewrite the nightmarish world he inhabits, changing and revisiting scenes in order to create the outcome he requires. Saga's Mind Place is similarly fascinating, allowing players to piece together the information she collects in intuitive ways that eventually lead to probing character profiles and story-altering deductions. And the level design is wildly imaginative, such as one scene set within a dynamic live action music video that fluidly morphs and evolves as players progress. The designers have somehow managed to make this inventive storytelling work alongside action packed and terrifying play elements that make it feel as though players are in full control.
It's a masterpiece of interactive horror, but it's not perfect. There are times while playing as Alan that it can be difficult to discern what to do or where to go next, leading to extended periods of confusion and frustration. Players are forced to backtrack repeatedly and engage in trial and error-style play in order to figure out what they need to do to progress. The sense of immersion and tension that the game works so hard to create is sometimes spoiled in these moments, and takes time to rebuild. Still, there's no denying the imaginative brilliance of the rest of the experience. Not many games have the ability to shock, terrify, and straight up blow players' minds the way Alan Wake 2 does over and over again throughout its 20-hour play time. But it should be noted, this game is definitely not for kids and older teens and even adults to consider their own sensibility before diving into this graphic game.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in media. Alan Wake 2 is an extremely violent and graphic horror game, but several sequences also rely on psychological terror. Do you think games, movies, and books can be just as scary without relying on violence?
Talk about how we distinguish reality from fantasy. How do you know what's real and what isn't in your day-to-day life? What senses and basic principles do you rely on to know that something is real?
Alan Wake 2 is significantly more violent than the first game. Do you think this element of added violence adds to the game in any way? Why may this be harmful to younger audiences who loved the first game, which didn't have the added violence and nudity?
ESRB rating:
M for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language
Last updated:
January 28, 2024
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suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Chad Sapieha
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