Alan Wake 2 wears its influences on its sleeve, and Twin Peaks might be the one it’s proudest of. Twin Peaks, which began airing in 1990, is part gentle soap opera satire, and part surreal murder mystery. But where the first Alan Wake was based on the first two seasons of Twin Peaks, Alan Wake 2 has more in common with the third season, The Return. As a result, it has a somewhat different tone and narrative focus, but one thing that hasn’t changed is just how much it ties back to the seminal series.
Strangely enough, Twin Peaks: The Return and Alan Wake 2 even followed a similar release strategy. Twin Peaks was abruptly canceled after its explosive second season finale in 1991, at which point it went on a 26-year hiatus, only to return in 2017. Similarly, Alan Wake flew under the radar after its initial 2010 release, with only the 2012 spin-off Alan Wake’s American Nightmare and some heavy references in Control’s AWE DLC. Now, 13 years later, there’s a true sequel to the original in Alan Wake 2 – and both the game and the show have taken advantage of their long periods of silence to craft strange, terrifying stories.
Related: Alan Wake 2 Ending Explained (In Detail)
Both Alan Wake and Twin Peaks are set in small Washington towns, where everyone knows everyone and news travels fast. That makes it all the more devastating when terrible, inexplicable events plague these peaceful hamlets – Laura Palmer’s death in Twin Peaks, and Alan’s disappearance in Alan Wake. Everyone finds out immediately, and the tragedy touches everyone’s life in one way or another. Also, in both season one of Twin Peaks and Alan Wake 2, FBI agents arrive in these small towns, causing the rumor mill to churn as daily small-town life is disrupted by big-government watchfulness.
Alan Wake’s Bright Falls even shares some geographical and infrastructural features with the titular town of Twin Peaks. Each is set against a backdrop of mountain ranges and evergreen forests, and each has a robust logging and fishing industry – although that’s hardly a surprise for Washington state. Both towns have their social hubs in coffee shops with repetitive initials in their names: in Twin Peaks, the Double R Diner, and in Bright Falls, Triple D’s Oh Deer Diner. Both diners pride themselves on their desserts and coffee, with the Oh Deer dishing out cupcakes while the Double R draws crowds for its cherry pie.
2023-11-08 20:00:22
Article from screenrant.com
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