With Alan(Porretta, still an obsessed, troubled writer, albeit here it isn't really explored) where we left him(not giving it away, for anyone who don't know the ending), he is now chasing his evil double, Mr. Scratch, who leaves behind video recordings(live-action, as most cutscenes in this) that show his exploits, brutally torturing and murdering people in his path. What exactly are his motives and the limitations to his powers? These questions and more, will not be answered here – in Night Springs, AZ(no, seriously
yes, it's framed as an episode of the Twilight Zone-esque show, compete with Rod Serling-ish narrator).
Anyway, our protagonist is trapped in a time-loop, which would be an excellent way to do a straight adventure title, where you have a time limit before you go back to the start of that scenario, and you have to gather clues, figure out what to accomplish and how, and only when you do it just right do you get to progress to the next one, with compelling characters and a gradually unfolding plot that explains what's going on. Unfortunately, nothing like that is here. It's 3 hours long, with few settings, since, well, it has nothing to say that isn't there purely to make a single-player campaign. It's another recent release that has to include that to justify its own existence.
The focus here is on the gunplay, the amount of which has been increased, in spite of there already being a bit much in the original(and that one, we loved for its engrossing story and carefully built atmosphere, neither present here), which this is an in-universe spin-off to – not sequel, that one is supposedly and hopefully still coming. It also wasn't a third-person shooting experience that you'd really drop everything to go get. With a handful of new weapons that don't really fit the otherwise unaltered gameplay(SMG, nailgun, etc.), and uninspired enemies, it's meant to be rejuvenated. Why are Taken, blue-collar workers using the tools of their trade(firemen with axes, etc.) possessed by a dark, Venom-like substance, still your foes? The tone has shifted without bringing the engine along.
This was made for the Arcade mode, where you have to survive for ten minutes in one of five arenas(cemetery, ghost town, etc.), in one of the two difficulty settings(and you have to do well on early ones in order to unlock later ones) of this, against increasingly dangerous opposition. There are international leaderboards for this. And that's about it. This is meant to attract more people to the franchise, but how? By showing off an OK aspect, one that is outdone by many others? This should have been a free DLC for those who already had the first one – it's what you'd have called an expansion pack some years back. They didn't even fix the few actual issues, like when you try to pick something up from a group of items, and it doesn't cycle past(or just pick up what it can – they're nearly always in piles!) the closest one, even if that one is at your full capacity.
You still have a flashlight to remove the "dark halo" before you can take someone out with bullets, and you have to balance those two(use it at an "unnecessary" time, it'll essentially stun) with the time-it-just-right dodge mechanic in order to do well at this. Lampposts serve as checkpoint saves and the way to heal. This is too stand-alone for it to be worth it, with a thin, poorly done(although in spite of what some have said, it does make sense) plot that doesn't affect anything. The people you come across in it have nothing to do, and could have been replaced with the now-manual-like, this-time-devoid-of-subtlety manuscript pages that grant access to boxes that each have a high-level weapon.
This is not well-paced. It starts with you fighting(rather than letting you absorb where you are and what's going on), after an exposition dump that doesn't recap previous events(this doesn't give away anything that has already happened
it also spends almost no time of its 3 hour length explaining something that was built up and explored over the 9 and a half hour 1st), no, it sets up what's going on! Show, don't tell! There is no suspense, dialog is seldom as clever as it wants to be, and the whole thing lacks the production values of first. It feels lazy, rushed.
In a lot of ways, this is similar to the two chapters that came as DLC. Surreal, you having to get through unpredictable areas and having encounters with others that are "off". However, that was much more creative, had a lot of fun with the concept and actually added thematically(if not with progression in the overall story). While I wouldn't spend money on it if it didn't come with purchasing that full game, something I wholeheartedly encourage you to do, it easily beats this.
The mini-map/GPS shows icons for the new ammo refill spots(
ugh), and other things you might need to find. You can carry one sidearm(pistol or the like), one two-handed(shotgun, hunting rifle, etc.), flashbangs, flares and a gun for the latter. If close enough, those can be highly useful in the fight. You can only carry 3-5 extra clips for any of them, so you do have to stay on your toes, look around for more. Well, mostly in the "survival" part, in the single-player, you have to work hard to come close to running out. Heck, this threw three different secondary arms at me before I had anything to use even one of them on! Barry(Berman, enthusiastic, big-city type) returns, often on the radio, now managing The Old Gods of Asgard(!). That's not the only nod/reference, either.
There is some disturbing, violent and suggestively sexual content in this. I recommend this to those who want everything with Mr. Wake's name on it, and no one else. Anything this offers, you can get better elsewhere. 7/10
