On its release in 2010, the original Alan Wake caused quite a stir. An Xbox 360 exclusive, it followed the nightmarish exploits of a horror writer trapped in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. Featuring a novel episodic structure, it wore its influences proudly, specifically Twin Peaks and the expansive work of Stephen King. A short follow-up game (Alan Wake’s American Nightmare) was released two years later to little effect, and it’s taken all this time for developer Remedy to release a full sequel just in time for Halloween.

The new game returns to Alan’s plight (he’s been trapped in an alternate dimension, a situation not dissimilar to the premise of Twin Peaks: The Return) while adding in a new playable character, FBI agent Saga Anderson. The first game’s slightly odd combat mechanic (you first need to focus light on ethereal enemies in order to make them vulnerable to attack) returns, although following the blistering success of the recent Resident Evil games, Alan Wake II is pitched more as survival horror than action adventure. The original game was lauded for its meta-narrative presentation, atmospheric setting and, for the time, spectacular graphics. If Remedy can refine the experience for modern systems, then this could be a fitting sequel.

Released on Friday 27 October on PS5, PC and Xbox Series X/S.