7 best games like Alan Wake 2 to play in 2024, from Control to Deadly Premonition
If you’re looking for some of the best games like Alan Wake 2 to play right now, then this is the list for you, with a selection of games ranging from Remedy’s Control to the incomparable Deadly Premonition.
Alan Wake 2 embraces its survival horror blueprints, so finding some similar games to play will get you in the perfect mood for a spooky gaming session while also diving into the intricate narratives similar to what the game has to offer.
How we chose our best games like Alan Wake 2
For this list, we selected games that hit the core foundations of Alan Wake 2’s gameplay, narrative and genre elements. The game is a survival horror at its core and our list reflects that, however it also contains elements of a Lynchian brand of horror that has it stand out among its peers.
Some of the elements that you’ll find in these games are a small town setting, a haunted protagonist, a penchant for the macabre, and strange and uncanny powers to ward off forces that may seek to do you harm.
Best games like Alan Wake
7 - SIGNALIS
- Developer: rose-engine
- Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch
- Release date: 2022
- Subscription service: n/a
- Key features:
- Hardcore mechanics
- Twisting narrative
- Detailed world building and lore
SIGNALIS has a lot in common with Alan Wake 2, though its top-down 2.5D perspective and science fiction setting don't make that immediately obvious. The game is set in the far future, where humanity has colonised the stars and uses synthetic humans for the majority of its workforce.
You play as one of these androids as they try to find their lost memories in a government facility that has fallen to chaos as the other androids have gone rogue. It's hardcore survival horror mechanics can make it a difficult experience to master, but it's well worth to explore its world and highly conceptual narrative.
6 – Ghostwire: Tokyo
- Developer: Tango Gameworks
- Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S
- Release date: 2022
- Subscription service: Xbox Game Pass
- Key features:
- Haptic feedback
- Gorgeous graphics
- Huge open-world replicating Tokyo
Ghostwire: Tokyo, in my opinion, is an underrated gem of a game that shows off just what the PS5 is capable of. With gorgeous graphics that replicate a rain-soaked Tokyo and some haunting haptics from the DualSense controller, you’ll be fighting the most frightening creatures and feel every hit.
With directional input from horror legends, Ikumi Nakamura and Shinji Mikami, Ghostwire: Tokyo has you playing as Akito, who is trying to save his sister from some sinister forces. By merging the spirit world with the real world, Ghostwire: Tokyo establishes its town as an uncanny horror game in the same vein as Alan Wake.
5 - The Evil Within 2
- Developer: Tango Gameworks
- Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
- Release date: 2017
- Subscription service: Xbox Game Pass
- Key features:
- Sequel to a divisive horror game
- Developed by Shinji Mikami
- Open-world horror
Following on from its divisive first entry, The Evil Within 2 sends you back into the nightmare world of S.T.E.M. as detective Sebastian Castellanos goes in search of the daughter, he long thought dead.
The Evil Within 2 is pure psychological horror, brought frighteningly to life once again by the master of horror himself, Shinji Mikami. While the series has certainly divided its fans, one thing can be certain, there is no game more like Alan Wake than one with a sad dude looking for a missing family member.
4 – Dead Space
- Developer: Motive Studio
- Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S
- Release date: 2023
- Subscription service: Xbox Game Pass
- Key features:
- Haptic feedback
- Remake of a classic horror game
- Terrifying enemy encounters
As remakes go, Dead Space has stood out as one of the most frightful in the best possible way. As Isaac Clarke, you go in search of your wife (like Alan Wake in the first game) and attempt to escape the Necromorphs that have slaughtered the crew of the USG Ishimura.
It's common knowledge by now that you can’t just blindly shoot at a Necromorph to kill it. You have to cut off its limbs. Conditions like these are an uncanny reminder of shining a flashlight on the enemies of Alan Wake to remove their shadowy barriers and deliver a round of killing shots.
3 - Silent Hill 2
- Developer: Team Silent
- Platforms: PlayStation 2
- Release date: 2001
- Subscription service: n/a
- Key features:
- Iconic retro horror
- Complex story
- One of the greatest games of all time
If ever there was a reason to dig out the PS2 (or even hop on eBay to purchase one second-hand), then playing Silent Hill 2 is perhaps the most valid. While it may be the most retro game on this list, and with a remake pending, Silent Hill 2 is the pinnacle of horror games and establishes a lot of the foundations that games like Alan Wake are built upon.
While certainly not for the faint of heart, Silent Hill 2 is most certainly one of the best games like Alan Wake to play because of its use of the dark world that bleeds into the real.
2 - Deadly Premonition: Origins
- Developer: Access Games
- Platforms: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch
- Release date: 2019
- Subscription service: n/a
- Key features:
- As funny as it is scary
- Small town setting
- Bizarre but beguiling protagonist
Have you ever imagined a Twin Peaks video game? Well, Dead Premonition is probably the closest you’ll get, next to Alan Wake. By taking up the mantle of FBI agent, Francis York Morgan, you have to solve the ritualistic murder of a young girl in a small town. Sound familiar?
Deadly Premonition: Origins is the Switch port of the game that allows you to not only take it on the go but also provide you with a chance to play it before its rather unexpected sequel that also bears a similar resemblance to Alan Wake. Only time will tell if Alan Wake 2 will have you looking into your coffee for some clues to help find the killer.
Wouldn’t you agree, Zach?
What is the best game like Alan Wake 2?
1 – Control
- Developer: Remedy Entertainment
- Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch
- Release date: 2019
- Subscription service: Xbox Game Pass
- Key features:
- Crossover universe with Alan Wake
- Unique paranormal powers
- Made by Remedy
If there is one game you should play like Alan Wake, it's Remedy Entertainment’s Control. By allowing you to embrace unique paranormal abilities with fluid combat, it takes the lessons learned from the original Alan Wake title and perfects them.
What makes Control the best game like Alan Wake is the interconnected universe between the two games with Control’s AWE DLC. With the Bureau in Control having influence over Alan Wake’s narrative to some degree, it is certainly a title to pick up and play if you’re looking to completely immerse yourself in the Alan Wake universe along with Alan Wake 2.
Check out our lists homepage for more guides like this. We've also covered the best Resident Evil games, the best games like Alone in the Dark, the best games like Dead Island 2, and the best Xbox Game Pass games.