In Alan Wake 2, the light from my torch cuts through the darkness to illuminate the smiling face of a big coffee pot statue. The literally caffeinated figure wears an oversized bow-tie and is perched on a ledge, framed by trees that obscure the gray skies above. A handful of colorful balloons decorate the scene, and one is adorned with a crudely drawn face that matches the coffee pot's exaggerated grin. The clownish quality of the coffee pot is enough to leave a bad taste in my mouth as it is, but the way it looms over me just adds to my ever increasing sense of dread. Nothing has even attacked me, yet, but the disquiet I feel is palpable. I can't believe it. I've finally made it to Coffee World, a place I was actually excited to get to thanks to some well placed teases earlier on in the game. But now that I'm actually here, all I want to do is leave.
This may be an amusement park, but I'm far from amused. In fact, I'm downright terrified. The abandoned attractions, unsettling, jovial characters, and pitch blackness of the night brew up the perfect blend of horror. Just moments into exploring the area, I've more than had my fill, but I must make my way to the Percolator ride in search of a screwdriver. I find myself thinking that if I wasn't so compelled to see how the story of Alan Wake's return and Saga's journey shakes out, I would have chickened out ages ago. But even as I jump at the slightest sound and constantly feel on edge, reaching this eerie park just makes me glad that I've kept preserving in spite of myself.
