Alan Wake 2 and Uzumaki 🌀
I finished Alan Wake 2 a few hours ago, and honestly, what an absurdly brilliant experience. Easily a 10/10 for me and one of the most unforgettable psychological horror games I’ve played. It genuinely feels like a masterpiece.
I’ve recently started diving deeper into psychological horror, with Silent Hill 2 next on my list, because apparently emotional stability is overrated.
While playing, I kept drawing parallels between Alan Wake 2 and Uzumaki by Junji Ito. The recurring spiral imagery, cosmic horror elements, cyclical entrapment, unsettling small-town atmosphere, and the disturbing behavioral changes in affected characters all felt strikingly similar. Both works capture that same creeping dread, where reality slowly distorts into something inescapable and deeply uncanny.
It really made me wonder whether Uzumaki may have served as some level of inspiration, whether directly or indirectly. The thematic resemblance feels too strong to ignore.
For anyone here who has read Uzumaki, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the comparison. And if you haven’t read it yet, I strongly recommend it. It’s a phenomenal piece of psychological and cosmic horror.
Now that I’ve completed Alan Wake 2, I’m also wondering whether Alan Wake 1 is worth playing in retrospect. Honest opinions please!
EDIT: I don't mean to convey Alan Wake 2 took a 1 to 1 direct influence from Uzumaki. Of course, it did that from a lot of sources. Including Lynch's work, I am trying to offer a different perspective.