Alan Wake - The Writer DLC Analysis & Guide
Alan Wake - The Writer DLC Guide
As the second piece of downloadable content and additional episodic story for Alan Wake, The Writer provides both closure to the main game and a cliffhanger ending for the purposes of an alluded-to sequel or even more pieces of additional episodic content. The Writer sees Alan Wake confront his own nightmarish version of Bright Falls while writing a new manuscript as a means of escaping the dark presence that has trapped him. This article provides a guide, analysis and simple walkthrough of the events found in The Writer DLC, with particular emphasis on key plot points the player will encounter during the three-to-four hour long piece of content.
The Writer is the followup downloadable episode that players can purchase from the Xbox LIVE Arcade. As such, the events of its predecessor – The Signal – should at least be outlined before proceeding. In the first DLC, Alan finds himself battling through flying televisions and a twisted, dream-like vision of Bright Falls, as Thomas Zane tries to keep him from going totally insane. Upon the revelation that this is in Alan’s mind and not necessarily the dark presence’s doing, Alan rebels and ends up strewn across the floor of the lake cabin, with sheets of a manuscript all around him.
The Writer - Alan Wake Copes With His Nightmare
At the beginning of The Writer, Alan Wake sees a ghostly apparition of Dr. Hartman transform into his friend, agent & manager Barry Wheeler. After this, Alan traverses a twisted version of the Cauldron Lake Lodge, to meet Barry on the opposite side of a gate. When they meet however, Alan transports himself into a re-imagined Anderson’s Farm and has to fight several waves of Taken. Having dealt with the threat of these darkness-possessed enemies, Thomas Zane appears before Alan, telling him that he needs to get to the cabin on Cauldron Lake otherwise he may lose himself to the dark presence for good.
The next destination for Alan is set, but there are obstacles in his way, which Zane provides a solution to. An empty manuscript page allows Alan to write warding words on it, saving himself the trouble of fighting through multiple waves of enemies or obstructions. As the fantasy world around him begins to grow even queerer, Alan enters an elevator and into another conversation with Zane, who reiterates that everything is in Alan’s head and it is a dream. To compound the matter further, Zane tells Alan that the dark presence is still active and he himself is still trapped within it’s grasp.
Alan Wake - The Writer DLC Ending & His Return
Alan exits the elevator and finds himself at Stucky’s Gas Station, before moving forward towards the omnipresent lighthouse – which provides a gateway to the Cauldron Lake cabin. Soon after it is revealed by Zane that Alan’s deranged side is currently residing in the cabin, being pressured and driven into insanity by the dark presence. While the insane Wake speaks with Dr. Hartman and regresses further, rational Alan ignites the lighthouse’s spotlight via the use of a manuscript page. At the top of the lighthouse, Alan enters a hatch and finds himself at the cabin, where his insane self resides.
Barry appears before Alan, trying to stop him from entering the cabin. His initial attempts fail to curry favor with him however and after an ill-judged attack, he enlists the help of the Anderson brothers & Dr. Hartman in trying to stop Alan. Once they are dealt with, Alan finds his insane self upstairs babbling incoherently. Upon touching the others shoulder, the two Alan’s merge together, allowing him control over his mind. He sits at the typewriter a final time, in full knowledge he may never be able to escape the dark presence, as the words on the page “Return by Alan Wake” come into view.
This post is part of the series: Alan Wake DLC & Ending Analysis
A series of articles dealing with the ending to Alan Wake as well as the additional content releases that have been posthumously brought out.
