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Alan Wake 2 "overdid it a little bit" with its jump scares, admits game director Kyle Rowley

Angie

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Some of Alan Wake 2's gnarliest and more memorable moments are when the game decides to flash horrifying footage of gory monsters and twisted villains across the screen. (Depicted above!) Don't get us started on that death screen. As humans, we hate when things get into our faces, be they cobwebs, gardening rakes, or an ill-judged cupboard door. Getting digitally slapped in the face in Alan Wake 2, with the game's impressive and unsettling visuals, can be a terrifying experience. But upon release, a significant amount of players complained that it was a trick Alan Wake 2 leaned on a bit too hard. But one the base game leaned on very hard.
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"It's difficult," says game director Kyle Rowley when we ask how the team balanced making them effective with trying to avoid feeling cheap. "I feel like we kind of overdid it a little bit looking back." Whenever a new foe is on the prowl, you could be sure they'd pop up to say hello with a horror sting.
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"Thematically, story-wise, they're meant to be like a psychological attack on the character who's receiving them," Rowley explains. "Especially in the base game, you know, where you're getting introduced to Overlap Guardians, whether that's Nightingale or Cynthia, they're meant to be this kind of mental assault."
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For Alan Wake 2: The Lake House, with its tight and (presumably) single-area setting – an FBC facility in the outskirts of Bright Falls – retooling the jump scares was just one consideration for dialling up the chills. But make no mistake, jump scares are back, and even this early on with the DLC we've already been menaced by two sets of faces staring back at us through the screen – the cursed husband-and-wife overseers of the Lake House facility, and one of the absolutely terrifying goopy paint monsters.
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"For this one, we've tried to make sure that we utilize them – and maybe in a slightly more reduced manner – but they are still a key part of our way of getting across the mental state of characters and the way the supernatural works and the way the psychological elements of the game works," says Rowley. "We wanted to keep them as part of our repertoire of tools to kind of scare the player and get across some narrative beats."
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www.gamesradar.com

Alan Wake 2 "overdid it a little bit" with its jump scares, admits game director Kyle Rowley

Interview | Game director Kyle Rowley reflects on the base game's jump scares, and how Alan Wake 2: The Lake House uses them in "a slightly more reduced manner"
www.gamesradar.com www.gamesradar.com
 
PlanetSmasher

PlanetSmasher

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He's not wrong, though they also didn't bother me that much, frankly. They only really startled me once or twice. Most of the time they just felt like vibes and not the game actively trying to make me jump.

And Saga actively telling one of them to fuck off made me laugh out loud, not gonna lie. I don't think that would've landed if the game hadn't relied strongly on them.
 
--R

--R

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Sometimes they felt excessive but I get what they were going for. So I didn't really ended up minding them that much.
 
Chaserjoey

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There were a lot, and it really got to me in the Old Gods chapter but that was deliberate and Saga commenting on the amount of jump scares helped ease me through.

Still terrified of how they're implemented in this DLC though! Gonna have to have my eyes shut
 
brunotorquato

brunotorquato

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Sep 9, 2024
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"a little bit"? lol

It was way too much that it was not fun or scary anymore by the later portions... It should have been used way less and in better ways, like from that
old lady by the window in the hospital,
that was one of the best jump scares I had received in my life, my soul jumped out of my body lol
 
Swearing.circle

Swearing.circle

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Mar 19, 2020
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I was against the idea of them at first but I actually liked them in the end.

I only ever found the shadows in Wakes section scary to be honest. Hoping the dlc builds on the scares.
 
doops.

doops.

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Yeah, I'd say so lol. Call me a baby but I've yet to play it all the way through because of this, even though the DLCs look cool. Yes, I'm aware there are toggles now, but they're still pretty intense even with them.
 
JustTeaThankYou

JustTeaThankYou

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Weirdly, they were the only jumpscares I was OK with. I'm someone who won't watch a film if I know there are jumpscares in it. IDK why, maybe because I didn't see them coming?
 
dstarMDA

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Does anyone have experience with the toggle to reduce jumpscares? I have yet to play the game and can't find much feedback online on the feature.
 
SuperOctopus

SuperOctopus

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Did my whole playthrough with the Low intensity setting and that was already pretty intense. That one level in particular had maybe a tiny bit too many jump scares but the rest felt just right to me.
 
Roxas

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PlanetSmasher said:
He's not wrong, though they also didn't bother me that much, frankly. They only really startled me once or twice. Most of the time they just felt like vibes and not the game actively trying to make me jump.

And Saga actively telling one of them to fuck off made me laugh out loud, not gonna lie. I don't think that would've landed if the game hadn't relied strongly on them.
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Yeah, I agree with you. Also this:

"Thematically, story-wise, they're meant to be like a psychological attack on the character who's receiving them," Rowley explains. "Especially in the base game, you know, where you're getting introduced to Overlap Guardians, whether that's Nightingale or Cynthia, they're meant to be this kind of mental assault."
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makes perfect sense and I agree with the reasoning.
 
Bony Manifesto

Bony Manifesto

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Oct 27, 2017
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The only time they were a problem was in the old peoples' home level. And that was because when you do a random full-screen screamer every couple of minutes, you dilute the impact, as well as lessen the impact of the more subtle atmospheric scares after that (when you've been barraged by that for fifteen minutes, why would you react to, say, a disappearing shadowy figure in your periphery?).
 
Annie85x

Annie85x

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They were ultimately what led to me not finishing the game.
Though knowing they updated it to allow you to tone them down makes me want to go back and finish it... Just not got round to it yet.
 
Rickyrozay2o9

Rickyrozay2o9

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I found zero wrong with the amount of jump scares. The real problem was it was somewhat janky at times because it would kill the performance with stutters. At least earlier on anyway before more patches came out.
 
The-JUV

The-JUV

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Oct 25, 2017
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While I agree it was excessive, the only time it truly freaked me out was when you were in the nursing home area looking for the old lady, fucking scariest part of the game for me lol
 
Young Liar

Young Liar

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Nov 30, 2017
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i don't mind them as much, and i do think they fit well enough with the overall narrative of the dark place piercing through the walls of reality to mentally assault the protagonists (and even the player on a meta level), but i agree with other folks saying they went overboard with it in the nursing home chapter to the point that it lost some of its impact. i'm fine with these types of jump scares showing up again in the lake house dlc, but yeah, i'm glad to hear that it seems like they'll be used more strategically.
 
snausages

snausages

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Feb 12, 2018
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Kinda my only beef is it was the same type of jump scare again and again. I also prefer jump scares with a bit more anticipation.

Ironic with the topic about David Lynch yesterday, that when he does a scare it just draws the whole thing out so deliciously. It's a treat to get a scare like that
 
thepenguin55

thepenguin55

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Oct 28, 2017
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Not only were they overdone but they were really corny jump scares. Jump scares can be good but they were really dumb in this game.
 
Mirage

Mirage

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PlanetSmasher said:
He's not wrong, though they also didn't bother me that much, frankly. They only really startled me once or twice. Most of the time they just felt like vibes and not the game actively trying to make me jump.

And Saga actively telling one of them to fuck off made me laugh out loud, not gonna lie. I don't think that would've landed if the game hadn't relied strongly on them.
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Same, I thought it was fine for myself.

That part was funny too.
 
Lotus

Lotus

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One of the many barriers making me not want to give this game a try 😒
 
Rassilon

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PlanetSmasher said:
He's not wrong, though they also didn't bother me that much, frankly. They only really startled me once or twice. Most of the time they just felt like vibes and not the game actively trying to make me jump.

And Saga actively telling one of them to fuck off made me laugh out loud, not gonna lie. I don't think that would've landed if the game hadn't relied strongly on them.
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I hate jump scares in movies but for some reason it didn't bother me so much in AW2.
As to the spoiler - hell yes, it was cathartic
 
th1nk

th1nk

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Nov 6, 2017
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This kinda puts me off playing the game at all. Played all recent RE games and SH2, but frequent jump scares are not my jam. Hmm I read about a option toggle to reduce this, is it effective?
 
J-Skee

J-Skee

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Oct 25, 2017
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So the jump scare toggle is worth turning on? Because I was gonna leave it alone due to "creator's intent", but if it helps to tone it then, I'll gladly hit that toggle.
 
MadMod

MadMod

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Dec 4, 2017
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Played half the game and honestly I don't even remember one haha. But then again they don't do anything for me.
 
gabdeg

gabdeg

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Oct 26, 2017
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Really major misstep with this game that made me wonder who thought that would be a good idea during development. Good on them though for responding to criticism and not doubling down on even more jump scares for the DLC or whatever.
 
Dal

Dal

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Aug 18, 2024
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Tbh I pretty much only felt genuinely scared once during the entire game, the jumpscares added nothing for me.
 
coldsagging

coldsagging

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They were effective at least lol I nearly died at the first one in the retirement home. I was OK with it, but I imagine they'll be more annoying on a replay.
 
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