Shown leading among all marketing materials and features alan wake 2 Nothing has made me more excited to return to Bright Falls than the release, The Mind Place. More than focusing on survival horror, a mix of live-action and in-game cinematics, or simply finishing a story I started a decade ago, the idea of a metaphorical space in which I – or rather FBI agent Saga Anderson – – I could imagine and create the clues I was collecting to piece together the dark magical mystery presented, which most captivated my imagination.
What we ultimately got was not what I expected. Designed as a clever spot where players can piece together the game’s driving secret case, this spot doesn’t leave as much room for smart deduction as I had hoped. It was necessary to maximize the possibilities for this space alan wake 2 On both a narrative and gameplay level, it felt like an opportunity was missed during my playthrough that slowed down the sequel’s strong momentum.
Not a true detective at all
Creating a detective game where the player is an active participant in solving a mystery seems like a nightmare to design. On the one hand, designers need to provide all the clues to reach the correct solution, while also making it neither too obvious nor too vague to solve. Leaning too much in either direction will leave the player feeling either dissatisfied and potentially abused, or frustrated and cheated. This is a feat that few games attempt, and even fewer pull off.
enter alan wake 2 And the bold decision to introduce a second main character alongside the title author in Saga Andersen. Considering that this was a deliberate creative decision, as well as creating an entirely new mechanic in the Mind Place specifically for Saga and her investigation, I had high hopes that Remedy would involve the player in solving the game. Has come up with a new and interesting way to do it. Mystery. My initial impressions of seeing the large corkboard with clues made me eager to experiment with how I could present evidence, make connections, and make tentative deductions until I found new information. Which would give a completely new shape to my spread web of notes.
The reality of the mind place is much less exciting. I am not an active participant in solving a mystery, but merely going through the motions of watching someone else piece it together. Clues can only be placed in a specific location, leaving no room for players to guess where things are. If players find clues related to a story that Saga does not yet have, they are not allowed to enter them until the time is right.
What makes this even more difficult is how painfully obvious the game makes the placement of these clues. It feels as if I’ve been given a handful of blocks and asked to put a square in a square hole to continue. There’s no cutting required here and there’s not much satisfaction from sticking a clue in the right place. This is a common plot codex in the game menu but requires more work to assemble.
It also doesn’t help that the case board is an awkward mess to control on the PS5. Zoom levels seem too tight or far away, moving clues around is slippery, and the cursor can easily get lost off-screen. Rather than being a helpful way to get a good overview of the case, it is difficult to read without zooming in and out on each individual section spanning the entire wall.
In my view cuts are the biggest culprit. At certain points, the game will suddenly stop and prompt you to cut out before continuing the storyline. When this happens, you are forced to go into the mind space and make cuts. I say “perform” because no actual interaction or input is required from the player. All you have to do is select the only option available, Saga magically encapsulates some important information, and then the game allows you to proceed. It’s an unnecessary, slow-moving task that doesn’t make me feel like a spy.
The Mind Place is a great concept and I applaud Remedy for creating such a creative way to put players at the center of a mystery that would otherwise be told through dialogue or static logs. As a spy system it never reaches its potential. I was eager to piece together the mysteries of Bright Falls for myself, but Mind Place made sure I wouldn’t be able to move one step further from the story.
Alan Wake 2 is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
