Game of the Year: #4 - Alan Wake 2

Image: Push Square

It's kind of funny having a sequel to a 13-year-old game, that didn't initially launch on PlayStation, make its way into the upper half of our top 10 - but that's what happens when said game is Alan Wake 2. Remedy's long-awaited sequel completely blew us away, earning one of the few 10 out of 10 ratings on the site this year. It's bold, it's unique, and most importantly, it's unapologetically Remedy.

The studio has conjured up a following across the years, steadily carving itself a space in the industry as that team that makes weird games. It's always been a part of its DNA, but it really solidified that niche with 2019's Control. Mixing live-action elements with gameplay gave the game a strong visual identity, on top of being pretty fun. However, in hindsight it's clear that Remedy was testing the water for something bigger, better, and even weirder.

By the time the title card hit, we knew Alan Wake 2 was a different beast. This is a game that knows exactly what it wants to be, and Remedy clearly wanted to take things up a notch. This is a dark, disturbing, and wholly original game — despite wearing its inspirations proudly. And somehow, Remedy manages to improve every single aspect over the original, while still feeling like a true sequel.

A lot of that is down to the brilliant dual-protagonist split of Alan Wake and Saga Anderson. Not only serving as interweaving narrative episodes, the two protagonists offer up different gaming experiences. Saga's is your True Detective-inspired murder mystery with pangs of the Resident Evil remakes, while Alan's segments are nightmarish distortions of reality as you navigate the shifting Dark Place. We're not sure what's more impressive: the fact that the two stories can be played in any order, or that they're equally entertaining, never overshadowing one or the other.