10 Best Gaming Surprises Of 2023

In the lead-up to the long-awaited Alan Wake II it felt like this could be the real moment of coming together for the Remedy universe. Not only was it clearly jumping off from the set-up of Control's AWE DLC but it was shown that the developers had reached even further back into their history.

Alan Wake II just so happens to feature a surly detective by the name of Alex Casey, who shares his name with a character from Wake's in-world novels. He sounds a lot like, and in fact shares a face with, Remedy's original hero Max Payne. More than just seeing Sam Lake's face back gurning on our screens however, it's paired with the voice of Payne actor James McCaffrey.

Both Lake's face and McCaffrey's voice have appeared in multiple Remedy games over the years but this was the first time they'd been properly paired together since the original Max Payne. And, in Alan Wake II's twisted world of the Dark Place, it was just like watching the grizzled detective back in action again.

Best of all, it wasn't done purely for the sake of nostalgia - it felt incredibly sincere. If you weren't excited for Remedy's upcoming remakes of the first two Payne games, seeing Casey skulking around dark, wet alleyways and waxing lyrical about crime ought to do it.