Alan Wake 2 gets two protagonists, dual stories, and an Oct. 17 release

Alan Wake is back to write a new kind of horror story in the latest trailer for Alan Wake 2. The trailer, which debuted during Sony’s PlayStation Showcase 2023, shows off little bits of gameplay, reveals a return to Bright Falls, and announces the game’s Oct. 17 release date.

While the trailer is a little cryptic, a post on the PlayStation Blog reveals a little more about the game. Alan Wake 2 will give players dual narratives, to play through in any order they choose. Both stories play into each other, with each one advancing and foreshadowing the other’s plot. One story will bring back the titular writer, while the other will focus on an entirely new character.

In Alan Wake’s portion of the game story, he’s still trapped in the nightmare he ended the first game in, and he’s trying to use his magic writing to escape.

The game will also center on the story of Saga Anderson, an FBI agent looking into a series of grisly murders happening in the town of Bright Falls, where the first game was set. As Saga and her partner investigate the murders, they begin finding pages of a story, written by Alan Wake himself, that seems to tell the exact narrative of the murders they’re investigating, with them as the main characters.

According to developer Remedy Entertainment, one of the goals of the game is to make sure anyone can play it, whether they’ve experienced the first part of Alan Wake’s journey or not. As for how that might work, or what else players can expect when the game arrives in October, Remedy says it will share more in the next few months.