The nightmare isn’t over yet for Alan Wake. Today, the first major story expansion for Remedy Entertainment’s psychological horror hit Alan Wake II has arrived in the form of the unsettling Night Springs DLC.
Available now for Deluxe Edition owners or as a separate purchase, Night Springs transports players deep into the titular surreal television series world that exists within the game’s universe. Inspired by iconic anthology shows like The Twilight Zone, this three-episode DLC pays homage to classic sci-fi/horror television in frighteningly meta fashion.
In Night Springs, Alan finds himself inexplicably trapped within the Dark Place, a nightmarish dimension of limitless potential stories. His only hope of escape is to pen new scripts for the fictional Night Springs TV show, which begins blurring the line between reality and fantasy in dangerous ways.
Players will step into the roles of three different playable characters – including Control’s Jesse Faden and actor Shawn Ashmore – each caught in an endless, ominous time loop within the Night Springs realm. Their intersecting missions to break free make up the overarching narrative across the DLC’s trio of episodes.
“Night Springs pays respect to the eerie, thought-provoking TV shows we all grew up watching, while putting our unique Remedy spin on the anthology format,” said creative director Sam Lake. “Exploring enormously vast possibilities of cosmic horror through such an innovative framing device has been a passion project.”
Fans can expect the signature elements Remedy has become renowned for – mindbending psychological thrills, rich atmospheric world-building, and a host of obscure literary and pop culture references layered throughout.
While established characters like Wake, Faden, and familiar faces from Quantum Break make appearances, the DLC’s fresh anthology format allows for radically new tones and storytelling risks. Cosmic horror, black comedy, and surreal headscratchers all find their place across the three episodes.
“We’ve embraced the freedom to get experimental and push boundaries with Night Springs,” Lake teased. “Audiences should prepare for some supremely wild, uncanny experiences unlike anything in our games before.”
With the second DLC expansion, The Lake House, still to come later this year, it’s clear Remedy isn’t done exploring the depths of Wake’s haunted psyche and mystic Dark Place anytime soon. After Night Springs’ meta-tastic mind-bender, fans’ realities may never be the same either.
