124 - Alan Wake II
Added 2024-02-07 07:00:05 +0000 UTCMy name is Alan Wake. I’m a writer. Two years ago, three “critics” from The Worst of All Possible Worlds podcast decided to slander my good name and drag my first game through the mud. Now, they’ve Returned from their previous Departure and have fully Initiated themselves into my torment anew. Will they dub me the Champion of Light? Or cast me off as the Herald of Darkness? Only one thing’s for sure: Stephen King once wrote “Nobody better lay a finger on my Butterfinger.” He said this before snorting three lines of cocaine and trying to fight a bus. He would later go on to marry that bus in a private ceremony in Maine. This marriage was quickly annulled when everyone involved realized you cannot marry a bus. I married Alice, a human woman. I know this because I know the difference between a woman and a bus. That’s why I famously wrote the line: “It’s not a woman, it’s a bus.”
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Media Referenced in this Episode:
- Alan Wake II. Remedy Entertainment. 2023.
- 13 Minutes of Alan Wake 2 GAMEPLAY (Unreleased). Polygon. 2016.
- Alan Wake 2 Announcement: World Premiere Trailer and Interview. The Game Awards, 2021.
- “Sam Lake and the Remedy Team shine a light on what it takes to make games like Alan Wake 2”. BAFTA, 2024.
- “Sisu: A Word that Explains Finland” by Hudson Strode Professor of English, University of Alabamapenguin (sic), Bonney-Elisofon, Solbelman and Black Star. NYTimes. Jan. 14th, 1940.
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Comments
Lads, if you want to say anything to Sam Lake, he’s right behind me queueing to see The Substance. You have 25 minutes
hexapus
2024-09-26 14:20:49 +0000 UTCman shout out to oregon
Lain of the Wired
2024-06-23 00:53:26 +0000 UTCMy Alan Wake journey has been, hated playing 1, dlc was kind of interesting, American Nightmare was a blast, now excited to play this game. Would love for you guys to cover a modern Resident Evil title, I have loved every single one of them. And wonderfully they all have easy modes, because sometimes you need it to preserve that atmosphere!
Dergon
2024-03-20 20:10:50 +0000 UTCHorse analysis is great and insightful. It belongs at the centaur of any discussion.
Noblesse Oblahaj
2024-03-09 18:39:33 +0000 UTCRemedy's arc as a game developer is like "what if David Cage was capable of learning and doing better?"
Noblesse Oblahaj
2024-03-09 16:24:03 +0000 UTCAs someone with a Great Uncle Pud, I dearly cherished the Weird Southern Relatives Corner
Jon
2024-02-08 23:38:10 +0000 UTCI also just want to recommend Outer Wilds as much as possible, lol. An incredibly fun game and super interesting in how it conveys a story in an open world without quests/rewards, just relying on intrinsic motivation.
Nietopyr
2024-02-08 21:17:00 +0000 UTCRE: the detective evidence board thing - it sounds a bit similar to what Outer Wilds does! In that game, you have a computer on your ship that keeps track of all the locations/concepts you've discovered up to that point, summarizes any information you've found there, and draws connections to other spots in the solar system based on that. On top of just being a nice refresher when you come back to the game, it's great for keeping the stuff you learn from being overwhelming and always giving players a "next step" in a game without quests or waypoints.
Nietopyr
2024-02-08 20:59:44 +0000 UTCIt also plays into the convention of andersons having names that relate to norse gods , saga being a minor god, of the sunken bank/ beach.
S-lappin
2024-02-08 14:03:49 +0000 UTCWell, this was a fun surprise, I say having very little experience of Remedy games myself but living with a Sam Lake superfan whom I messaged ten minutes in to the effect of "holy shit darling they loved this one". I guess I should give this game a shot. Also, small point but since it didn't come up and seemed like it had to be an intentional choice for that character: I know "saga" as an English word has some connection to stories and myths, but in Swedish it's like the most common term for "a fairy tale". And also a fairly common name, but yeah that stuck out like a sore thumb.
Elaine Åhlfeldt
2024-02-08 07:08:46 +0000 UTCOMG I’m so happy you guys loved the game. It really feels like Remedy is really coming into their own and I really really hope their next games are excellent too.
Dr. Arroway
2024-02-08 04:07:32 +0000 UTCI love this podcast so much. It feels like it was somehow tailor-made for me, videogames and movies from a left-political perspective with a love for musical theatre and a background of being raised on a media diet of kooky evangelical Christian radio. It's so strangely specific, but for me, it's perfect.
Sam Milne
2024-02-08 04:04:34 +0000 UTCThis episode is what finally convinced me to become a patron, just an insanely good game i just want to hear everyone talk about
Nyx
2024-02-08 01:27:26 +0000 UTCJust noticed the patron count. You all still planning to go to focus on the family?
Ben Gialenios
2024-02-08 00:25:01 +0000 UTCCONTROL is in many ways is a love letter to Americana and an absolute victory of vibe and design and mood over gameplay (which is ..fine but as mentioned very repetitive) but oh god, the carpet in the cube farms! The repeating motif of waves or sound in the art direction! The research department that looks like being able to fly around the Montreal metro! I just want to wander around this sinister modernist art book.
John Leavitt
2024-02-07 23:24:09 +0000 UTCLooking forward to another great episode with my favourite Finnish podcaster, Antero Juhana Dittinen
Max Johansson
2024-02-07 20:37:09 +0000 UTCI have bad news for you, specifically
The Worst of all Possible Worlds
2024-02-07 19:26:59 +0000 UTCNot sure if you saw it, but if you enter the diner during deerfest, the final commercial is so good, a review of the book on its construction and outside, and the ghost are great. Also Setter is the Only Good Mayor Ever
S-lappin
2024-02-07 19:25:12 +0000 UTC😞the perils of posting before listening to more than the opening
Yura
2024-02-07 19:24:48 +0000 UTCThis is the start of the looping season not the arguing season
Elias
2024-02-07 17:34:09 +0000 UTCTo be fair a long psychiatrist IS scary!
Grouchiest Marxiest
2024-02-07 16:31:17 +0000 UTCAbout to scare everyone here: Dooooocccccttttoooorrrrrrr Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeesssss Doooooooooooobbbbbbbbbbssssssssooooooooonnnnn
Dergon
2024-02-07 16:03:47 +0000 UTCWith that opening I was confused, scared, and wondering if I was going insane... then Josh said "I'm Mickey Mouse" and all was right with the world again.
Dergon
2024-02-07 15:16:02 +0000 UTCStill listening though but to your point about spiderman musical content in spiderverse, I think in the 2nd one in that scene with Donald glover where there's a bunch of villans in cages, I think one of the many ones there is the weird original metal one from the musical
S-lappin
2024-02-07 14:48:42 +0000 UTCSteven King once said: "If you are making the third thing in a series it should have a 2 in the title."
BarFly
2024-02-07 12:03:08 +0000 UTCIf you haven't seen it already they did the Herald of Darkness song live at the game awards https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMmU3mZ5gBc
Kapjak
2024-02-07 11:39:10 +0000 UTCThe Finnish accents on this one are borderline offensive as they swerve quite hard towards Swedish. But you are still welcome to get drunk on a boat - I have one an hour west of Helsinki. Oh, also to be a total stereotype I am writing this while taking a brake from ice skating around a decommisioned airport in Helsinki.
hexapus
2024-02-07 09:31:08 +0000 UTCI too had a lamp with that switch… my second last name is Taipale… so accusing me of also being Finnish has some evidence to it.
James Cézanne-Taipale
2024-02-07 09:26:51 +0000 UTCI hope you guys give this game the thrashing it deserves. The scores it's getting are baffling
Yura
2024-02-07 07:25:45 +0000 UTC
