The Mind Place is one of Alan Wake 2's more creative gameplay features, but it doesn't leave much room for players to play detective.
Among all the marketing material and features shown off leading up to Alan Wake 2‘s release, nothing got me more excited to return to Bright Falls than The Mind Place.
Recommended Videos Not quite a True Detective Creating a detective game where the player is an active participant in solving a mystery sounds like a nightmare to design. On one hand, the designers need to provide all the clues to reach the correct solution, while simultaneously making it neither too obvious nor obscure to solve. Lean too far in either direction and the player will either feel unsatisfied and potentially pandered to, or frustrated and betrayed.
The reality of the Mind Place is far less exciting. I’m not an active participant in solving a mystery, but merely going through the motions of watching someone else piece it together. Clues can only be placed into a specific spot, with no room for players to make guesses as to where things belong. If players get clues related to a story thread Saga doesn’t have yet, they simply aren’t allowed to place them at all until the time is right.
It also doesn’t help that the case board is an awkward mess to control on PS5. The zoom levels feel way too tight or distant, sliding clues around is slippery, and the cursor can easily get lost off-screen. Rather than be a helpful way to get a nice overview of the case, it’s difficult to read without fumbling to zoom in and out on each individual section spread out across the entire wall.
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