Summary

• Collectibles and achievements in Alan Wake 2 can easily be missed or neglected, some of which are time-sensitive and cannot be returned to.
• The game features various collectible items such as Cult Stashes, Lunch Boxes, and Writer's Journey Videos, which are essential for completing certain achievements.
• Achievements like Hidden by the Trees and The Trail of the Writer require thorough exploration and attention to detail, as missing even one collectible or video can prevent unlocking the related achievements.

Released in Fall 2023, Remedy Entertainment and Epic Games Publishing's phenomenal survival horror game Alan Wake 2 is a horror tour de force. Like many games, Alan Wake 2 features a number of collectible items as well as trophies for satisfying certain criteria. While many of the game's achievements cannot be missed, or can at least be completed at the player's leisure, a number are time-sensitive and can all too easily be overlooked or neglected.

The events of Alan Wake 2 take place 13 years after those of the first game in the series, Alan Wake. The game sees the return of the titular protagonist, the novelist Alan Wake. Alan finds himself trapped in a scary and dangerous alternate dimension, and Alan's only hope of escape is the fact that his writing can manipulate said dimension. While trying to write his way to safety, Alan's tale traps Saga Anderson, an FBI agent. Throughout the game, there are a number of collectibles and achievements that can easily be missed - and once missed, cannot be returned to and retrieved.

10 Secret Stashes (Trophy/Achievement)

Discover One Cult Stash & One Lunch Box

The trophy Secret Stashes is one of Alan Wake 2's small number of missable achievements. Though very easy to unlock - the player must simply discover one Cult Stash and one Lunch Box - it is all too easy to fail to locate, or simply neglect to interact with any of the Cult Stashes or Lunch Boxes that litter the game's spooky landscape. While it is nearly impossible to miss all the Cult Stashes, it is far easier to stumble past a discarded Lunch Box and fail to notice that it can be interacted with and may contain some valuable resources.

9 Adventure Tours (Collectible)

Koskela Brother Commercial

Located in Bright Falls in the Sherif Station employee lounge is a missable Koskela Brother Commercial - Adventure Tours. If Sage does not enter the employee’s lounge before the end of the chapter Return 3: Local Girl, there will be no way to return to trigger the commercial. This will unfortunately cause The Koskela Brothers achievement to become blocked, as obtaining it requires the player to have watched all six Koskela Brothers commercials.

8 The Dark Presence (Collectible)

Writer's Journey Video

Located at the end of the chapter Initiation 1: Late Night, the first Writer's Journey Video, The Dark Presence, is a particularly ominous look into the unstable mind of a writer on the edge. Despite being the first in the series of such videos, the Writer's Journey Video: The Dark Presence is easily missed. If it is not triggered before the end of the Initiation 5: Room 665 chapter, Alan will be unable to return to it, and therefore, the opportunity to watch it will be gone. Though this is a pain in its own right, failing to watch all the Writer's Journey Videos will prevent the player from unlocking an achievement.

7 Initiation (Collectible)

Writer's Journey Video

The final Writer's Journey Video, Initiation, like a number of the other clips in this series is not only missable, but easily missed. Only available during Initiation 8: Zane's Film, Writer's Journey Video: Initiation can be triggered during the third loop of the mission. Doing so involves locating a door in the Projector Room that is below an exit sign - going to this door will give the player the option to play the video.

6 Hidden By The Trees (Trophy/Achievement)

Find All Cult Stashes & Lunch Boxes

The trophy Hidden by the Trees is both easily missed and difficult to achieve. Requiring the player to obtain all Cult Stashes and all Lunch Boxes, Hidden by the Trees is one of the hardest achievements in Alan Wake 2. Simply missing one of these often well-concealed caches will prevent the triggering of this achievement, and with 22 Cult Stashes and 21 Lunch Boxes to find across the map of Alan Wake 2, this achievement is one that can take a great deal of time to unlock.

5 All ed For (Trophy/Achievement)

Find All Weapons For Both Characters

The achievement All ed For sees the player attempt to collect all the weapons available to Alan and Sage in Alan Wake 2. Though the number of guns in the game is fairly low at eight, many take a great deal of exploration to locate - and some of the game's guns will only become available to the player if they can successfully complete a gun case combination or cracking puzzle. Furthermore, it has been reported that this particular achievement is susceptible to bugs, so even satiating the requirements can prove to not be enough to unlock this trophy.

4 Visions (Collectible)

Writer's Journey Video

Only available during the Initiation 5: Room 665 chapter, simply locating Writer's Journey Video: Visions is a challenge that makes this one of the easiest Writer's Journey Videos to miss in Alan Wake 2. To find this well-concealed collectible, Alan must visit room 101 at the Oceanview Hotel. The room is initially locked, so Alan must first find the key before he can gain entry. Like the other Writer's Journey Videos, failing to witness the Visions video will prevent the unlocking of an achievement.

To find the key for room 101, go to the Ballroom Break Room and do some exploring.

3 Drowning (Collectible)

Writer's Journey Video

If the Writer's Journey Video: Drowning is not viewed during the Initiation 7: Masks chapter, it will not be available and will void any claim to the Writer's Journey Video-related achievement. Before leaving the studio, a cleaning staff member will request Alan to go into the basement to locate Alice's photographs. While it is advisable to help, it is theoretically possible to skip this objective by going through a different set of doors than the ones Alan is directed to - this will, however, make it impossible to find and watch a Writer's Journey Video, as failing to locate Alice's photographs will prevent Alan from exiting the level on the path with the Writer's Journey Video: Drowning.

2 The Trail Of The Writer (Trophy/Achievement)

Watch all the Writer's Journey Videos

The achievement The Trail of the Writer is quite possibly the easiest to miss in Alan Wake 2, primarily as a result of its compulsory requirement - Alan must watch all the Writer's Journey Videos - a deceptively difficult thing to do. Failing to watch even one of the eight well-hidden Writer's Journey Videos will make the collection of this trophy impossible - furthermore, a number of these videos cannot be returned to after a certain point in the Alan Wake 2 story; consequently, players will have to go back to previous saves or, more realistically, play through the game again to sate the needs of this painfully easy-to-miss achievement.

1 The Nice Things In Life (Trophy/Achievement)

Pet Mayor Setter

The achievement The Nice Things In Life is a collectibles-based trophy that helps incentivize the player to obtain the six Campaign Slogans which are scattered across Bright Falls and Watery. Once all six have been found, the player must head to the Café in Watery, where they will see a canine bureaucrat, Mayor Setter, sitting on the stage. Interacting with this good boy will activate an animation in which Sage will pet them. Failing to collect the slogans or pet the dog before a certain point and this trophy will be forfeited - as a result of this, it is one of the easiest to miss things in Alan Wake 2.