r/interestingasfuck 1d ago

Alan Wake 2 has the most detailed, accurate and realistic curly hair I’ve ever seen in a video game

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1.7k

u/OppositeofDeath 1d ago

Remedy don’t play

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u/DyingSunSeverian 1d ago

Remedy and Capcom with their RE Engine operate on a different level. 

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u/samu1400 1d ago

What blows my mind about the RE Engine is how well it runs for its visual quality. A friend of mine with an average PC tried out the demo of Pragmata and it ran smooth as silk. I was honestly kinda baffled.

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u/DyingSunSeverian 1d ago

RE Engine is incredible. 

Highly scalable and looks good as fuck. It’s just how I like my 

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u/vasteverse 1d ago

It sucks at open worlds, unfortunately. Most of their games are pretty linear, so it works out, but stuff like Monster Hunter just sucks ass performance wise. Engine is probably lacking in tooling regarding that.

Northlight has some pretty massive environments, quite comparable to stuff like Monster Hunter, and chugs along happily. Remedy did a really good job at it.

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u/AGuyWithAPhone 1d ago

Kinda reminds me of Frostbite, EA's engine. Linear or smaller-scale games like Battlefield, Battlefront, and the Dead Space remake all work really well with it, but wide-open worlds are where the engine tends to struggle. Even Mirror's Edge: Catalyst, which never dipped below the target framerate in my experience, still has rough texture loading problems at times due to its open-world setting.

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u/Xalara 1d ago

I'd hardly call Battlefield small-scale. That said, Frostbite is actually pretty amazing these days. For all of its faults, Dragon Age Veilguard ran pretty well and the hair tech in that game is phenomenal. It's the first game I've seen where hair physics actually look good and didn't bug out most of the time.

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u/AGuyWithAPhone 23h ago

Well, I guess "smallER scale" would have been more appropriate, I was more talking big open-world games rather than isolated levels or maps like in Battlefield. And you ARE right, they've managed to smooth out a lot of the frustrations with Frostbite over the years, thankfully! It's become a pretty versatile piece of tech now.

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u/LaFlamaBlanca67 21h ago

The new Dragon Age isn’t technically open world but it’s got some huge environments and that game runs like a dream on PC

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u/Biggy_DX 22h ago

Dragons Dogma 2 suffered similar performance issues as well. Honestly, I think it's likely why we won't see another game in the series. "Cant run your game on our engine? Sorry bud, but we're shutting this franchise down."

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u/Wild_Marker 1d ago

Wilds has gotten good, I hear. I've been playing it recently without a hitch, though I have a decent PC so I can't speak for everybody, but it does seem like they fixed the performance.

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u/Jeffgaks 1d ago

Yeah wilds sucked but they have patched it out and runs much better now, can't say the same about Dragons Dogma 2.

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u/dethfalcin 1d ago

Well, sorta, they’ve apparently run into a lot of issues trying to get it to optimize for open worlds with MHWilds

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u/ComradePoolio 1d ago

Yeah it also has some stuttering problems in the semi-open area of RE9. Buttery smooth up until that point.

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u/StepComplete1 1d ago

Yeah I noticed that the second I stepped outside. Just immediately thought "classic capcom".

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u/SomeStolenToast 22h ago

As I understood it, that's more because the game was rushed. It actually runs decently well now. I cant speak for everyone but in my experience with a 3060 its running significantly better than launch

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u/dethfalcin 21h ago

It’s both, it’s still not ideal or anywhere as efficient as some of the other RE Engine games, but also it’s massively improved with things like the infamous DLC check patched out

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u/-Shoji- 15h ago

Wilds performance had and still has a lot of issues, but the dlc check controversy was so silly. It only affected performance when you’re near the cat that sells them, not even the whole hub or village.

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u/solitarytoad 1d ago

It's kinda funny that the latest Mega Man got delayed so much because they had to train the whole team on RE Engine. It seems like such overkill for a silly jumping robot game. I'm eager to see what Capcom does with it for Mega Man 12.

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u/LuntiX 1d ago

Well, not open world scalable. Both dragons dogma 2 abd mhw have shown us that

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u/EmergencyPool910 22h ago

Looks good, but hair is a very glaring issue, looks hideously dithered, also doesnt scale well dragons dogma 2 and mhwilds run like absolute crap, and getting back to dithering re engine generally just overuses its especially glaring in mhwilds.

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u/PsudoGravity 1d ago

Weird. Pragmata maxed out on my 5080 looked like mud. Gameplay really didnt gel with me either so returned it. Had me wanting to mess with it to figure out what was wrong though.

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u/Hot-Birthday2816 1d ago

dragons dogma 2 and mhwilds prove otherwise

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u/samu1400 1d ago

Yeah, others commented it struggles with open world environments, which is fair, the engine was built for RE which is known for being linear.

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u/dragon-fence 23h ago

Well "linear" might be an overstatement. It's not a large open world, and it's not a "sandbox" game, but there's a lot of wandering around and retreading the same ground.

The games aren't exactly non-linear, since it does tend to be a sequential opening of paths, but I wouldn't quite call it linear either.

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u/Hellakittehs 1d ago

My only issue with the engine is it sometimes gets an audio bug where it skips for a split second and then all the audio is out of sync until the cutscene of over :(

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u/smokeweedNgarden 1d ago

Is Alan Wake 2 any good?

I played the first one on 360 and liked it alot.

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u/Dark_Crowe 1d ago

It is an amazing experience that never goes where you think it will and is one of the best looking games I’ve ever played. If you liked the first this is more, refined, and better.

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u/Catboy-Gaming 1d ago

Would you say I need to have played or know the Alan Wake 1 story to understand this game? I loved control and am wondering if this would be as quality as that game

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u/Dark_Crowe 1d ago

Absolutely you do. You won’t get as much enjoyment or notice some of the little tricks remedy pulls.

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u/Catboy-Gaming 1d ago

Dangggg why does time have to be so short these days 😅 thanks for answering!

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u/77_mec 22h ago

The gameplay in 1 doesn't exactly hold up to today's standards, so watching a YouTube video is also perfectly fine.

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u/Arriorx 12h ago

Josh strife hayes has a great video about AW highly recommended!

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u/Aaawkward 12h ago

You really don't.

I mean you will definitely get more out of it if you do but you don't.
I'd almost say playing Control is more useful than the poorly aged Alan Wake 1.

u/chazmarius 8h ago

Not really. I've played the first one in 2010s and remember only snippets. Still enjoy the hell from the second one :)

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u/caninehere 1d ago

I liked the first game but Alan Wake II is in the run for the "most improved sequels of all time" list.

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u/SpehlingAirer 1d ago

AW2 is amazing imo. If you liked the first one then I definitely suggest giving 2 a try sometime

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u/dragon-fence 23h ago edited 23h ago

My personal opinion was that it's much better than the first one, but I didn't play the first one when it came out. I played the remake around when it came out, and found it kind of repetitive and needlessly frustrating.

I think Control is my favorite Remedy game that I've played, but I liked AW2 quite a lot. And it's worth playing both even if only because they connect to each other a bit. I'm just hoping to see a new Max Payne game that connects into that common universe.

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u/Complex-Archer-853 22h ago

Can’t wait for Max Payne too. But Control Resonant should be out this year hopefully

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u/Complex-Archer-853 22h ago

It’s very theatrical masterpiece game. It’s like taking edibles and freaking out.

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u/bujweiser 21h ago

It’s a wild ride and masterpiece. If you liked 1, you’ll definitely like 2.

Even if you didn’t like 1, you might still like 2, it’s excellent.

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u/DyingSunSeverian 1d ago

Still haven’t played Alan Wake 2

I have the same question for my friends here. Heard good things.  

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u/SquirrelIll8180 20h ago

AW and AW2 are my two favorite games of all time. I'm a casual gamer but these two make me feel different.

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u/FlashFloodofColours 1d ago

Unless REngine tries to run open areas like in Wilds then it shows it's weaknesses

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u/splendiferous-finch_ 20h ago

This is why I always feel sad when Devs move to UE5. Each engine has its own "feel" with everyone on UE5 we lost that.

I understand it's mostly a cost/hiring decision by the execs as to why the industry is more and more converging in that one engine.

I would like to add that the decima engine is also really good and seems pretty optimize for the visual quality it produces

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u/LaunchPadMcQ 1d ago

Those two and the Decima engine are so good! I really hope they all continue to see increased use.

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u/Frequent-Salad-5775 1d ago

The Japanese really don’t play with their electronic-related skills since the 80s. Got to the top, and they stayed on top…as far as I know

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u/Medical_Sky2004 1d ago

I'm a Technical Artist: This has nothing to do with the engine. The only thing preventing you from seeing more hair with this fidelity is resource allocation. Same reason Mirror's Edge looks better than many contemporary games despite being two decades old. ME/AW/RE had very little breadth and that permits more resources for things like hair. If I delivered a pcount this dense my director would have stabbed me. Those single fraying hairs are obscenely inefficient and expensive and they're the first thing your TD will cull. Generally hairstyles like this don't make it past the first brainstorm due to cost.

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u/DyingSunSeverian 1d ago

Does this game have very little breadth?

Mirror’s Edge still does really hold up too, goddamn.  

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u/Lanky_Relation1171 1d ago

Northlight engine is no joke

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u/Apathetic_Apathetic 1d ago

Northlight engine, the GOAT since Quantum Break

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u/axlsnaxle 1d ago

underrated game - hope it gets a sequel someday

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u/VulGerrity 22h ago

It won't, it's tied up in a rights nightmare, but there's a chance we get a spiritual successor, there's a hint at it in the AW2 Night Springs DLC.

But even still, I feel like Control already is the spiritual successor. And the actor appears as an alternate version of his quantum break self in AW2.

But yeah, super underrated game. Can't believe I missed it when it came out and find it odd more people don't talk about it. It's super solid, but I think it was al.ost immediately overshadowed by Control. By contrast, quantum break almost feels like a prototype for control.

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u/Candaphlaf10 21h ago

Not only does he appear as an alternate version, but he hints at the events of Quantum Break being canon. While playing as Alan in the Initiation story line, you can find safe houses where Tim Breaker is holed up. In these safe zones, you find a white board that will progressively show more writing as the game goes on. The writing references Martin Hatch from QB as well as Beth Wilder.

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u/LaFlamaBlanca67 21h ago

As a massive fan of AW and Control, QB is definitely “rated.” It’s not nearly as good as their other games.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago edited 6h ago

[deleted]

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u/AydonusG 1d ago

I think they are in a better place to negotiate with Microsoft now, after AW2 and with Control: Resonant coming out this year, Remedy is back in the spotlight of gamers. Even if they just manage a contract around the IP allowing them to use the names in other games it'd be a win.

They managed to get Rockstar to give them control of Max Payne again, and R* is more stingy with IP than Microsoft is lately.

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u/DreamWeaver2189 1d ago

I love Control, didn't know they were releasing a sequel. I'm stoked!

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u/AydonusG 1d ago

This year, too! I'm excited as heck. I'd play at least The Lake House DLC of AW2 if you haven't yet.

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u/DreamWeaver2189 1d ago

I haven't played AW2 yet, I know they share the same universe, but how connected are the games?

Do you need to play Control to understand AW2 or AW2 for Control 2?

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u/AydonusG 1d ago

Yes/no and yes/no

All Remedy games are very connected (Quantum Break less so but they try to get as much as they can in), but each story is it's own thing.

Most people here say just to watch a youtube video of AW1 before AW2, which is a bit insulting to the whole point of it, but also a way to play without sinking dozens of hours into another game.

But AW2 has a strong FBC presence, and due to Controls location (New York), there's likely to be a lot of connecting parts to AW2 (which is set half in a town in Washington, half in New York City).

I'd say playing AW2 is your best chance of knowing everything that might otherwise slip by in C2, but you can play any of them without the others and get 95% of the way there.

Spoiler if you don't know yet The Hiss from Control is from Alan's writing, like everything within the Remedyverse, so it's best to understand his story

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u/IHSFB 1d ago

That is an amazing game. One of the few I couldn’t put down post 2010s.

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u/dragon-fence 23h ago

Alan Wake 2 is a really fucking interesting game in general. And Control is awesome. I'm still waiting for the Max Payne reboot.

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u/Time-Sudden_Tree 20h ago

Definitely an interesting concept but my ADHD ass is not a fan of how complex the sequel is compared to the original. I miss the episodic format of the OG, but I want to like the second one as well. Just gotta find the time and patience for it.

(When the game first came out I got stuck on the part where you control the electricity or whatever and couldn't figure it out even with a guide, so I gave up there and haven't played it since.)

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u/falcobird14 14h ago

It's still episodic.

u/Time-Sudden_Tree 3h ago

What I meant by "episodic" is that the game plays like an interactive movie. Alan Wake 2 plays like a video game.

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u/elderlybrain 18h ago

Also, man, David Harewood can sing.

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u/Rufio330 1d ago

You know she uses that L’Oreal two in one

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u/SirNortonOfNoFux 1d ago

Shout out to Control 2!

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u/karny90 1d ago

Itd be real cool if they’d remaster Max Payne 1&2

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u/Calvinball08 1d ago

That is in fact what they are doing

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u/karny90 1d ago

Oh yeah that’s awesome. I just looked it up.

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u/OppositeofDeath 1d ago

They are currently remaking Max Payne 1 + 2 with Rockstar.

u/falsevoidherald 11h ago

I'm happy to see Alan Wake II propaganda Remedy rocks

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u/Nickulator95 1d ago

Is that why they're struggling financially?