Alan Wake 2 grabs an update with bug fixes and one massive, highly-requested feature

What you need to know

• Remedy Entertainment's Alan Wake 2 first launched back in October 2023.
• Remedy promised that the game would get a photo mode, but didn't have an exact date in mind. 
• The latest update for Alan Wake 2 brings photo mode, allowing players to explore their inner photographer and capture the game's haunting beauty. 
• Night Springs, the first story DLC for Alan Wake 2, is also available as of today.

The Dark Place is calling again. 

The latest update for Alan Wake 2 is now available on all platforms, bringing the promised photo mode alongside a number of fixes for the game, particularly for Xbox console players. 

This update also comes alongside the launch of Night Springs, the first DLC for Alan Wake 2 that was shown off just a day earlier during the Summer Game fest live show. Night Springs is included in the Deluxe Edition of Alan Wake 2, but standard edition buyers can simply upgrade to the Deluxe Edition in order to access it. You can find the full patch notes for Alan Wake 2's latest update below:

• Night Springs Expansion
• Added Photo Mode
• Increased manual save slots from 3 to 6
• Added Razer Chroma support on PC
• Improved Xbox Series S game stability
• Improvements to Xbox Series audio synchronization issues
• Improved lighting in several areas of the game
• Multiple minor fixes and improvements for a better experience 
• Chapter Select: Added a missing chapter combination for the end game (Return 7 – Initiation 9)
• Fixed a rare instance of player character becoming unresponsive when falling on the ground after a sequence of attacks (Removed realism, check.)
• Fixed an issue that would bring up Saga’s Mind Place UI prompts when loading into a session with Alan. (This was not an intentional meta play.)
• Fixed multiple instances of camera clipping issues on ultrawide monitors on PC

Alan Wake 2

Two stories intertwine as FBI agent Saga Anderson seeks to unravel a series of murders, while writer Alan Wake desperately tries to escape the Dark Place. 

Buy from: GreenManGaming (Epic Games Store)

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Analysis: Going back to the loop

Alan Wake 2 was one of my favorite games of 2023, and it's been amazing to see its reception, from garnering awards to becoming Remedy Entertainment's fastest-selling game ever. I hope more people hop in now that photo mode is here, and I always look forward to seeing the impressive captures players are able to achieve using that tool. As for me, I feel a replay coming on once I go through Night Springs, which looks absolutely wild in the best possible way as its stories branch across three very different characters.

In my review of Alan Wake 2, I wrote that "Alan Wake 2 is raw, making it a brutal experience that shouldn't be missed by longtime Remedy fans or newcomers drawn by promises of terror. It's a story that examines what it means to be a writer and balance expectations from an audience, matched with satisfying combat that bloodily earns its place as a horror game."

Alan Wake 2 is currently available on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC (via the Epic Games Store), and PlayStation 5. A physical deluxe edition and collector's edition are currently in available for preorder.