I'm surrounded by shadows in Alan Wake 2. I grip my PS5 DualSense controller for dear life, as though I'm actually holding the torch that acts as Alan's first line of defense against the dark entities. I can't tell which of these silhouetted figures will actually attack me, and which will simply fade away when I shine a light on them, but if I've learned anything about the Dark Place by now, it's that you can never trust what you see. I'm constantly on edge as I inch further into the theater hall of a cinema; acutely aware of the tension freezing every muscle in my body. I've just changed the scene using Alan's plot board, and the sight of shadows filling theater seats fills me with dread. I barely have any battery left to fight against them, but I need to reach the stage ahead to progress. There's nothing else for it. I have to run.
I sit up straight as an arrow in my seat, inhaling a deep breath like I'm preparing to bolt forward to relative safety in reality. Steeling myself, I push Alan forward, beelining it past every shadow as they angrily yell "WAKE". It's not until some time later, when I stand in the now empty theater and watch a short live-action film play out on the screen inside the game, that I remember why I'm doing all of this in the first place.
