Alan Wake 2 gets an update with over 200 fixes, improves image quality on Xbox consoles

Alan Wake 2 The Dark Place
(Image credit: Epic Games Publishing)

What you need to know

  • Alan Wake 2 is available now on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Windows PC via the Epic Games Store.
  • The latest patch for Alan Wake 2 is now available on all platforms.
  • This patch contains over 200 fixes, including an improvement to image quality on consoles in Performance mode and on Xbox Series S.

One of the best games of the year is getting even better. 

Remedy Entertainment shared the details on the latest patch for Alan Wake 2 on Wednesday. This patch includes over 200 fixes across all platforms, meaning players should have a better experience regardless of where they choose to play the game. 

Notably, Remedy Entertainment says that image quality on consoles should improve when playing on Xbox Series S, or when playing in performance mode on Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. You can check out the full list of patch notes below:

Global

  • Various localization fixes, such as improved subtitle timings for all languages
  • Improved localized audio for live-action cinematics
  • Various audio-related improvements and additional polish
  • Improved lip sync in some instances
  • Fixed various graphical issues in the environments
  • Fixed various minor issues in cinematics
  • Minor improvements to image aliasing in Performance mode and Xbox Series S
  • Improved lighting
  • Fixed lighting bugs in multiple locations
  • Various UI-related fixes and additional polish
  • Various gameplay fixes and improvements
  • Minor gameplay finetuning
  • Improved auto-aim for specific circumstances
  • Fixed rare player character animation issues
  • Fixed various issues in the Case Board
  • Fixed various map issues
  • Several conversations failing to trigger and thus blocking progress later have been fixed
  • Fixed Rose’s dialogue choices, sometimes not being selectable, blocking progress
  • Fixed a rare issue with Saga’s lines not playing when going to the Sheriff’s Station, blocking progress
  • Resolved a potential problem in the player getting stuck in a Case Board Tutorial
  • Fixed exploration rewards for Lighthouse 

Mission specific

  • INVITATION
    • Fixed a bug where Saga could get stuck in the environment (“Crazy forest”)
  • CASEY
    • Fixed potential issue with players able to get stuck when falling from ladders
    • Fixed potential issues with Dark Presence (it remains a threat)
    • Fixed a rare crash
  • ZANE’S FILM
    • Fixed a bug where Alan could fall through the environment
  • SCRATCH
    • Fixed a bug where Saga could fall through the world
    • Fixed a bug in where a gate could get locked after reloading a save game, causing the player to get blocked from progressing
    • Fixed an issue where, in rare circumstances, the player could end up outside of the game world when opening the map
    • Fixed an issue where, in rare cases, the Lighthouse key could not be picked up
  • WE SING
    • Fixed a bug where Alan could get stuck in the environment
  • ROOM 665
    • Fixed an issue that caused the Oceanview Hotel Lobby Echo not to align correctly (this one was really annoying; we apologize)
  • MASKS
    • Fixed an issue where if the player performed specific tasks in an unpredictable order, the mission progress could get blocked
  • DEERFEST
    • Fixed an issue (much to Rose’s chagrin) with physics-related props that could block the player in and halt progress
  • COME HOME
    • Fixed an issue where the player, in rare instances, could not exit the radio, TV, or manuscript interact modules. 

PC issues

  • Fixed a bug that could cause graphics settings to reset when launching the game
  • Improvements to PC Window handling logic
  • Fixed mouse cursor sometimes not appearing in menus 

Analysis: A fantastic game gets even better

Alan Wake 2 was already a fantastic experience, so it's good to see the team at Remedy addressing any remaining problems. In my review of Alan Wake 2, I noted that it was an awesome (if messy) time, and part of that was due to running into several technical issues, so newer players not having to deal with those problems is a good thing. 

I have seen some Xbox players complaining about an audio drop issue, primarily in the earliest chapters of the game. If you're one of the ones that has experienced this problem, please be sure to share if this patch fixed it for you or not.

Samuel Tolbert
Freelance Writer

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert.