Alan Wake just can’t catch a break. After dealing with all manner of psychological torment and darkness-infused beasts in Alan Wake 2, he’s now set to face horrors of another kind, as he joins the cast of Dead by Daylight. Per developer Behaviour Interactive, Wake will become a playable Survivor from 30 January 2024, with players gaining new abilities as the so-called Champion of Light.
Delightfully, he is once again voiced by Matthew Porretta for this appearance, with his likeness provided by Ilkka Villi. There is also the suggestion in Behaviour Interactive’s announcement that the events of his appearance are actually canon to the Alan Wake story.
“As a prisoner, Alan Wake is fighting tooth and nail to escape,” the developer revealed. “However, his attempt to write his way to freedom led him straight into the thralls of The Entity, trading one Dark Place for another.”
In the canon of Alan Wake, the titular writer has the strange ability to reshape reality through his writing – although he’s guided by the rules of storytelling, and the influence of the haunted realm known as the Dark Place. After the events of Alan Wake, he’s trapped in the Dark Place and must write his way out, with game sequels Alan Wake’s American Nightmare and Alan Wake 2 both serving as “escape attempts” for Alan.
Read: Alan Wake 2 Review – Save The Writer, Save The World
In short, these games are “written” by Alan in the attempt to escape the Dark Place, in a way that makes narrative sense. His journey through Dead by Daylight and his meeting of the game’s Entity appears to be another canon loop for the writer – and Behaviour has even provided a manuscript page which suggests this is the case.
“As I searched for a way out, for a little light in the dark, I recalled a script I wrote for Night Springs about a place engulfed in fog,” the manuscript page reads. “As those memories poured back, the same fog surrounded me. Once again, I find myself in an unfamiliar place – trapped. I need to find a way out. I don’t know why, but I know rewriting that script is key.”
Dead by Daylight players will be able to experience this struggle for themselves when Alan Wake launches as a playable Survivor in the game, from 30 January 2024.
