Summary
- Leaked content from Alan Wake 2 reveals hidden cutscene files, including a new ending.
- The leaks also indicate a potential crossover with the game Control.
- While the leaks provide some answers, there are still unanswered questions surrounding the Night Springs DLC and the fate of the characters.
Leaked content from New Game Plus mode to Alan Wake 2, adding new narrative threads and a higher difficulty setting. That'll go along with two DLC expansions to be released throughout 2024: Night Springs and Lake House.
[Warning: This article contains massive spoilers for the ending of Alan Wake 2.]
After the initial announcement, there was a lot of mystery around what the update and DLC could bring to the game. The ending of Alan Wake 2 leaves a few questions unanswered, teasing more information to be revealed in the DLC. Now, with new locked content unearthed by dataminers, it's possible to make a more informed guess about what's to come.
"Remedy's Magnum Opus": Alan Wake 2 Review
Alan Wake 2 is a mind-bending, epic thriller that takes the best of Remedy’s catalogue & combines it all into nothing short of a masterpiece.
Alan Wake 2 Leaks Confirm A New Ending
Saga And Logan's Story Resolved
A recap of a 4Chan dataminer's thread, posted to Reddit by LucidThump, reveals that Alan Wake 2 contains hidden cutscene files, including a new ending to the game. The files are all live-action scenes without sound, so there may be some details missing, but the visuals are clear enough to make a few assumptions.
One scene seems to take place in the Writer's Room, directly after the default ending of Alan Wake 2. Saga answers Logan's phone call and can be seen saying, "Logan? Are you alright?” Saga then nods, saying, “Okay, baby,” before the camera cuts to a wide shot in which it's difficult to read her lips. However, she continuously appears calm and relieved throughout the entire conversation. From this, it's possible to assume that Logan is alive and well on the other end, or at least Saga believes as much.
Afterward, the scene's focus shifts to the dead Alan sitting at his desk. He begins to gasp and is abruptly revived. His initial distress and confusion begin to melt away as visions of Alice materialize before he lowers his head and speaks to himself, nodding.
It would appear that Alan realizes something pertaining to Alice's message in this scene, which reveals that the events of the game are occurring in a time loop that he needs to escape from. As the scene ends, he takes on a resolved look, as if he knows what he needs to do next, even if it's going to be difficult. This is probably intended to set up his arc in the DLC, whatever that may involve - and the leaks provide hints about that, too.
Leaked Alan Wake 2 Scenes Also Hint At A Control Crossover
Likely Planned For The Lake House DLC
Other leaked scenes hint at a continued crossover between Alan Wake and Control, another surreal Remedy Entertainment game. Also, in Alice's final message, she mentions being in touch with an independent organization looking into Alan's disappearance, among other mysterious events in Bright Falls. The Federal Bureau of Control, the research agency whose headquarters provide the setting for Control, fits the bill perfectly. During the Control DLC AWE, it was confirmed that the FBC poured significant time and money into researching the Bright Falls phenomena.
Another scene included in the leaks opens with the FBC's logo, before cutting to a character from Control, the FBC researcher Dr. Casper Darling, speaking directly to the camera. Again, the leaked version is without sound, so it's not totally clear what he's saying, but the whiteboard behind him provides some hints. Several concepts from Alan Wake are written or drawn there: Cauldron Lake, a shadow entity, and Alan Wake's manuscript, to name a few. Also appearing on the board behind him are the phrases, "WILL HAPPEN AGAIN" and "WE ARE READY," implying that the FBC's research into Bright Falls has progressed, and they're aware of an impending occurrence.
Control 2 Confirmed: Sequel Being Co-Developed By Remedy & 505 Games
Remedy has announced that Control 2 will be co-developed and co-published with 505 Games, and some details about the sequel have been revealed.
Just what that might be and how Dr. Darling plans to respond isn't totally clear, but yet another leaked scene suggests what the results might be. In this scene, Dr. Darling takes on a more panicked demeanor. The whiteboard behind him is gone; he seems to be standing in a room devoid of light, which suggests Dr. Darling could wind up trapped in the Dark Place like Alan before him. He laughs frequently as he holds up what looks to be some sort of makeshift device, resembling a transistor radio with a clothes hanger for an antenna.
What purpose this device serves is unclear in the silent scene and may be unclear even in the final version with sound and subtitles. However, it certainly appears that Dr. Darling is in a difficult situation and is exercising his resourcefulness in an attempt to get out. This theory is further ed by a final leaked scene, in which Dr. Darling chatters frantically and wanders around half-naked. These are likely to be featured in the Lake House DLC, the plot summary for which also references a research organization looking into Bright Falls.
Mysteries Alan Wake's DLC Still Needs To Solve
A Series Of Unanswered Questions
These leaks include some big reveals, but there are still plenty of questions left unanswered. The final leaked Dr. Darling scene also features him sharing a drink with Thomas Zane, the missing Finnish filmmaker who guides Alan through the events of the first game in the series. It's not immediately obvious how he factors into the story, but if Dr. Darling is stuck in the Dark Place, Thomas could serve as his guide out, too.
Also, relatively little is known about the Night Springs DLC, which is scheduled to be released before Lake House. Its title, along with the vague plot summary already provided, suggests that it might have something to do with the fictional TV show of the same name. Night Springs acts as a foreshadowing device throughout the Alan Wake series, portraying alternate versions of its events before they occur. It also serves as a framing device for the spin-off title Alan Wake's American Nightmare, which plays out as an episode of the show. Nothing in the leaks seems to suggest new information about Night Springs.
Other questions arise due to the leaked clips' lack of sound. It's impossible to know exactly what Logan says to Saga in her phone call or what Alan is saying after he gets up. Still, others just don't have enough evidence to opine on yet. Are Saga, Alan, and Alex still technically in the Dark Place during the final scene of Alan Wake 2? If so, how do they plan to get out? And since Saga contributed to the final pages of Alan's novel, does she count as a co-author? How much control does she have over what happens in Bright Falls?
While the leaks shed a lot of light on the ending and what comes next, players still remain in the dark. More mysteries should be solved when Alan Wake 2's Final Draft update is released later this November, with even more to come in the two DLCs planned for 2024.
Source: LucidThump/Reddit
