History VideoGame / AlanWakeII

* GridInventory: The inventory used for consumables and weaponry works like this, with bigger supplies using up up to three spaces on the grid. The InventoryManagementPuzzle usually brought on by this is more simplified than most examples, as all weaponry must be stored horizontally and all supplies except the bigger guns only being a single inventory slot.

* InterfaceSpoiler: A somewhat common bug can cause a collectible icon for [[spoiler:Alice's photos]] to appear on the talk show studio map as early as the very first time Alan visits the basement during the first chapter of his plotline, spoiling the involvement of an important character whose state isn't even known at that point. It's not even possible to access this area, let alone pick up this item, until nearly the end of Alan's story.

* ThisIsMyNameOnForeign: The "Yötön Yö" short film was supposedly based on a novel by "Veikko Alén", who is also a character in the film played by [[spoiler:Thomas Seine]]. The in-game closed captions also name "Veikko" as "Alan", confirming that this is intended to be some version of Alan Wake. Even more curiously, as a Finnish given name, "Veikko" means "brother" and was traditionally given to the second son. Beyond that, this connection has thus far not been elaborated on.

* ThisIsMyNameOnForeign: The "Yötön Yö" short film was supposedly based on a novel by "Veikko Alén", who is also a character in the film played by [[spoiler:Thomas Seine]]. The in-game closed captions also name "Veikko" as "Alan", confirming that this is intended to be some version of Alan Wake. Beyond that, this connection has thus far not been elaborated on.

** Cult stashes are sometimes locked behind math puzzles. The notes you find in them indicate the cultists are ''extremely'' annoyed at being forced to SolveTheSoupCans to access their gear.

** Items such as keys and puzzle components don't take up space in your inventory; only consumables and ammo.

** On Story and Normal difficulties, enemies will drop batteries if Saga or Alan are running low. On those difficulties at least, they will also drop ammo too from time to time.
** Near the end of the game, if you go meet Mayor Setter in Watery, you get a charm that will reveal all items and interactables around Saga. This is very useful for mopping up the rest of the lunchboxes, rhyme puzzles, and even some of the cult stashes (if the chest needs a key, the charm will reveal it), some of which can be hard to find, especially in the dark [[spoiler:(which is will be by the time you can get it)]]. Additionally, while strictly following the story won't take you back to Watery, it will take you past by a campaign sign saying that you can meet Setter in Watery, which Saga comments on, to nudge you in the right direction.

* MeaningfulEcho: Unintentionally on his part, but Agent Casey accidentally quotes his counterpart from the Dark Place while in the same situation with Alan; both men in danger, Alan begging for a gun:

* NoticeThis: In every Alan level you can find Sheriff Breaker hanging out in an isolated room, trying to piece together what's happening in the Dark Place -- he and Alan can amicably chat and trade theories, and there's usually some helpful gear for Alan in the room. The sheriff's room is always marked with yellow police tape. There's usually some sort of additional exploration required to access the room, which is frequently locked or otherwise inaccessible. The path to access the room is also helpfully marked with the same police tape.

** At the cinema in the Dark Place, Alan finds [[spoiler:the Yoton Yo actor who looks like Casey]] tied to a chair, who repeatedly and stiltedly begs Alan not to sacrifice him using a nearby knife, as he repeatedly jerks his head towards said knife, with Alan awkwardly repeating what he is saying. Alan's internal dialogue notes how stilted and awkward the entire exchange is, like the first draft of a scene that could really use a few more passes.

* EquipmentUpgrade: Once a weapon is discovered by Saga, a magazine for it is added to her Mind Place. With Manuscript fragments she can find in the hidden Alex Casey lunchboxes, she choose from three upgrades each for the weapons, which range from magazines holding more bullets to attacks growing stronger with consecutive hits.

** Alan can find a book by Dr. Casper Darling in Mr. Door's dressing room.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: In the endgame, a small moment of levity is given amid the insanity when, right before the ritual at Cauldron Lake, Odin [[MusicalisInterruptus screws up the opening riff to "Dark Ocean Summoning" and has to start over]]. While he has been a professional rocker for over 50 years, he is out of practice, extremely elderly, and about to play a song he wrote half an hour ago for the first time. The fact neither of the Andersons screw up again is remarkable itself.

* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: The map that Saga can access at any time is in her Mind Place, so essentially she memorizes any map she sees and is recalling it as needed. [[spoiler:So whenever you control Alan in the real world, he is unable to access the map, as he never actually saw them. This is most relevant at the end of the game when he has to make his way from the shore of Cauldron Lake all the way back to Saga's car.]]

* LightswitchSurprise: Exaggerated. Alan is guided to a torch known as the "Angel Light" that the Clicker (a supernaturally-charged light switch) was made from, that has the power to turn lights on even if they shouldn't be working, while also being able to turn lights off which normally aren't as easy to turn off -- but sometimes changes the environment around the formerly shadowed or lighted area into something completely different. Surprise.

** It's occasionally pointed out how strange it is for The Cult of The Tree to call themselves a cult. [[spoiler: They're not really a cult. They wanted people to think there was a dangerous cult in the woods so that no one would go in there and run afoul the real danger.]]

** In the cutscene that concludes Initiation 6, Alan's attempt to alter the manuscript of ''Return'' is interrupted by a doppelganger of himself shooting him, initially implied to be Scratch... [[spoiler:but Scratch DoesntLikeGuns; he said so himself in ''[[VideoGame/AlanWake American Nightmare]]'' -- and indeed, that Alan is later revealed to be ''the'' Alan from a later point in the spiral.]]

** Near the end of the game, if you go meet Mayor Setter in Watery, you get a charm that will reveal all items and interactables around Saga. This is very useful for mopping up the rest of the lunchboxes, rhyme puzzles, and even some of the cult stashes (if the chest needs a key, the charm will reveal it), some of which can be hard to find, especially in the dark [[spoiler:(which is will be by the time you can get it)]].

* AbandonedHospital: The Valhalla Nursing Home's Wellness Center, which is a small private practice for the residents of the main manor of the estate. It is ominous, quiet, and other then the raving Tor, completely abandoned of staff and patients by the time Saga arrives. On top of this, the first of the [[MirrorMonster Taken Divers]] lurk the building.

** There is also [[spoiler:a second musical number by the Old Gods which, like the original musical section from the original game, has Saga protecting them from the hordes of Taken while they attempt to summon Alan Wake back through the song "Dark Ocean Summoning".]]

* EscapeSequence: [[RuleOfThree Three times]] throughout Initiation, Alan is forced to flee from his life from the unstoppable Dark Presence. The first two times are the climax of both the Caldera Station and Oceanview Hotel murder scenes, where it is a giant shrieking ball of Darkness, and finally [[spoiler:in Scratch's distorted reality, where he chases Alan in Casey's body]].

* GuardianOfTheMultiverse: Warlin Door... maybe. ''VideoGame/{{Control}}'' had Dylan Faden claim that Door was a being that knew about the multiverse and existed throughout it, and he seemingly saves Tim Breaker... by pulling him into the Dark Place. He also, in his own way, warns Alan about the existence of Initiation, and there seems to be no point to We Sing other than to try to pep Alan up. [[spoiler:In their last meeting, Door also chastises Alan, warning that their next meeting would take place in "very different" circumstances, and that the author would do well to "play [his] part", or "stay out of [Door's] way".]]

* ShaggyDogStory: Part way through Initiation, Alan finds the script for ''Return'' in the "real" writer's room only to realize that it has been completely written by Mr. Scratch and if left unchecked would lead to the Dark Presence escaping. As he is unable to just throw it out, Alan begins to edit the story to create a version with a better ending than what the Dark Presence has in mind, but before he can finish, Mr. Scratch breaks into the room and shoots him in the head. Alan spends much of the rest of the story attempting to get back to that room to stop Mr. Scratch from undoing his edits. [[spoiler:When he finally reaches his apartment, he sees a film that reveals that Alice killed herself after over a decade of being tormented by Mr. Scratch. In anger, he manages to break into the Writer's Room and shoots Mr. Scratch in the head, only to realize that he had really shot ''himself'' in the head, creating a StableTimeLoop of sorts moments before the Dark Presence showed up to possess him, making all his efforts seemingly pointless.]] However, this is subverted post credits when [[spoiler:we see that Alice only faked her suicide as part of a plan with the Federal Bureau of Control to ultimately help Alan finally escape the Dark Place with zero strings attached. As the whole experience makes Alan realize, it's not a loop, it's a spiral.]]

* EpicRocking: Granted, it sort of depends on how quickly you make your way through the section, but, in grand Remedy fashion, the game contains [[spoiler: an incredibly elaborate musical number by Music/PoetsOfTheFall as the Old Gods of Asgard, in the form of "Herald of Darkness", a song that manages to completely shift genres at times from hard metal to showtune. In-game, its length depends on how long you take to get through ''Alan Wake: The Musical'', as Mr. Door puts it, which can take around ''twenty minutes''. The version you get on the radio in the Writer's Room, however? ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Fourteen. Minutes. Long]].'' A "complete edit" version was later released, which is over ''[[UpToEleven double]]'' the length at '''thirty minutes'''.]]

* EpicRocking: Granted, it sort of depends on how quickly you make your way through the section, but, in grand Remedy fashion, the game contains [[spoiler: an incredibly elaborate musical number by Music/PoetsOfTheFall as the Old Gods of Asgard, in the form of "Herald of Darkness", a song that manages to completely shift genres at times from hard metal to showtune. In-game, its length depends on how long you take to get through ''Alan Wake: The Musical'', as Mr. Door puts it, which can take around ''twenty minutes''. The version you get on the radio in the Writer's Room, however? ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Fourteen. Minutes. Long]].'']]

** Night Springs returns from the first game with a reboot on the way, like its [[Series/TheTwilightZone direct inspiration]], and posters and ads by Mr. Door advertise this throughout the Dark Place. The Andersons also mention enjoying watching it together.