Remedy Entertainment has announced that “The Final Draft,” a new update for Alan Wake 2 that brings New Game Plus, a Nightmare Difficulty level, and more to the Finnish developer’s first survival horror game, is now available for those who want to brave the shadows of Bright Falls and the Dark Place again.
Sam Lake, Creative Director at Remedy Entertainment, has shared a new post at the official PlayStation blog to celebrate its release, explaining that the update provides more than what players might find in the usual New Game Plus mode, including narrative changes (e.g., Wake himself acknowledging the repeat of events), as well as new videos and even a different ending, per a new trailer:
You retain all your unlocked weapons, charms, and upgrades. You have earned that by playing through the game. There is a new Nightmare difficulty level if you want to face further challenge. But most importantly, there are some narrative elements to show that this replay has a meaning. It is a part of the lore. Things have shifted in subtle ways. There is progress. You are making progress. You will hear that in Alan Wake’s narration at the very beginning. A new awareness, even if it soon fades—a promise.
Lake goes on to suggest that The Final Draft will offer a closure of some sorts, with Wake finally escaping what Remedy’s lead writer has described as being a nightmare loop:
For a long time, Wake has been trapped in a nightmare loop, and with him, so have we all, no matter how many times we have played through the game. Finally, with the New Game Plus and Alice’s help, we are set free from the loop and ready to proceed deeper into the spiral.
This is The Final Draft of both Initiation and Return. And it will lead us to what awaits at the end of the spiral.
Remedy Entertainment confirmed that Alan Wake 2’s first major game update would be launching on December 11 in a post last week titled “unveiling The Final Draft,” noting that the update would include not only a New Game Plus mode and Nightmare Difficulty level, but also bug fixes and “slight performance optimizations.”
Alan Wake 2 managed to take home three awards during last week’s The Game Awards, including Best Art Direction, Best Narrative, and Best Game Direction.
Lake represented Remedy at the event, going so far as to take part in a dance routine for a performance led by Poets of the Fall, the Finnish rock band from Helsinki that stars as the Old Gods of Asgard in the Alan Wake games, as well as in Control.
The PC version of Alan Wake 2 remains available exclusively through the Epic Games Store.