‘Alan Wake II: Night Springs’ DLC Mini Review

Developer: Remedy Entertainment | Platform: PS5 | Playtime: 2:35 (0:45, 1:00, 0:50)

Much like it’s predecessor, Alan Wake II has seen the release of two DLCs. Unlike the first which followed on from the end of the games story, these are side tales adding to the wider Remedy Connected Universe. First up is Night Springs.

The first DLC offers three short romps through unique episodes of the Remedy Universe Twin Peaks show, Night Springs. Each of the three episodes are standalone to the game and each other, meaning they can be played in any order. I accessed them via the menu but I have read that they can be accessed in the world.

Each of the three episodes stars a different character and each takes an aspect of the gameplay of the main game. The first episode stars Diner Waitress and Alan Wake super fan Rose on a quest to save her favourite author from his evil jealous brother and a horde of ‘haters’. A comedic campaign with a focus on gunplay. Campaign two ups the weirdness letting the player play as Jessie from Control, once again on the search for her brother - this time at Watery’s coffee world. The gameplay here is more akin to Saga’s from the main game. Finally a campaign with Tim Breaker which plays more like Alan’s gameplay, a puzzle combat mix.

They’re all… okay. Immediately I can put Time Breaker as my least favourite of the three of them. That leaves Number One Fan and North Star as contenders for the top spot. Coming off the back of Silent Hill 2, it took a wee while to get used to Alan Wake’s combat again which mau have spoilt my experience with Rose;s story, especially as it’s faster paced than the normal game - perhaps more akin to the first Alan Wake. That puts North Star at the top then which I think I’m happy with. While Control’s AWE DLC put Alan Wake into the world of Control, this story does a good job of doing vice versa.

Probably the better of the two DLC’s that came out, perhaps down to it’s wider net of catching fans wanting different things from the game. Stay tuned for the review of DLC 2 - The Lake House.