Alan Wake 2 on PS5 takes advantage of the Dualsense controller’s haptics, similar to all games. It gets the haptic triggers for shooting and the usual even rumble for effects. However, the game also includes an extra setting I have never encountered before that all players should use.
This setting can be found in the Audio section called Dialogue Vibration Intensity, and it is set to off by default. What it does is that character dialogue, whether in cutscenes or just surrounding chatter while in towns, will cause the Dualsense to vibrate.
What’s neat is that this makes it like you are feeling the base of a character’s voice. While it allows you to change this on a scale from 0-100, I completely recommend cranking it up to the max; you won’t regret it.
The serious edge to any voice in the game is heightened to an extra degree, making watching the live-action scenes much more engaging. It’s truly a shame this is only available on PS5, but players should be taking advantage of it. Though I can be love-hate with the adaptive triggers, this is one setting I would never turn off on any game.
The best way to pair this setting is with a nice headset so you hear the audio right in your ears as it tingles against your fingertips, pulling you into the narrative.
As things ramp up in the story, there’s nothing better than feeling the (almost) literal weight of the words in your hands. I’m shocked Remedy Entertainment hasn’t been making more noise about this awesome feature. With any luck, it will catch on. Though, I would just as easily settle for enjoying Control 2, or the Max Payne remake with it as an option.
Considering it’s been a 13-year break between games in the Alan Wake series, it is very nice to see Remedy doing all they can to make this entry feel like a perfect evolution.