Alan Wake 2 PC Path Tracing: The Next Level In Visual Fidelity?

We've established that Alan Wake is a stunning game both on consoles and on mainstream PCs, but what if you want to push up to the next level and tax your GPU with high-end path tracing features? In this extended video, Alex goes in-depth on each and every RT feature in the game, checks out DLSS ray reconstruction and discovers Remedy's chosen fusion of RT and non-RT lighting. Rounding off, there's some optimised settings if you're looking to get some semblance of 'bang for the buck' from the menu of ray tracing options.

Optimised RT settings, chosen for RTX 3080 and RTX 4070:

Direct Lighting: On
Ray Reconstruction: On
Indirect Lighting: Low (4070) or Off (3080)
Transparency: Low (4070) or Off (3080)
Frame Generation: On (4070)

For general optimised settings (in addition to the above or without RT altogether):

Post-Processing: Low
Texture Resolution: Medium or Higher
Texture Filtering: High
Volumetric Lighting: Low
Volumetric Spotlight Quality: Low
Global Illumination Quality: Medium
Shadow Resolution: Low (or High if you can afford it)
Shadow Filtering: Medium
SSAO: On
Global Reflections: Low (or High if you can afford it)
Screen-Space Reflections: Low (or High if you can afford it)
Fog Quality: Medium
Terrain Quality: Medium
Far Object Detail (LOD): Medium
Scattered Object Density: Medium

00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:06 Ray Traced Direct Lighting
00:05:44 Path Traced Reflections
00:11:49 Path Traced Global Illumination
00:19:16 Path Tracing Idiosyncrasies
00:23:03 Ray Tracing Optimised Settings
00:27:57 DLSS Ray Reconstruction
00:30:08 Conclusion

[Krackerjax]

I walk around Bright Falls and I feel like im in 2030 with how good some things look. Then I see two NPCs talking to each other with super low quality faces, both wearing identical outfits. And then Im instantly snapped back to 2010.

[stefansamoyloff]

Using the "Control" location card font and sounds for your text introducing the name of the effect was such a wonderful and intelligent way to shout out your appreciation of Remedy's ongoing commitment to graphical excellence. Great work.

[azazelleblack]

It's really funny that the noise from the software RT gives the illusion of additional surface details. It reminds me of when Id Software, after demands for a "high-res texture patch" from fans, added a noise grain filter to the virtual texturing system in RAGE and called it "detail texturing".

[maxmusterman]

I expected a great looking game with Path Tracing after all I heard and how good control was back in the day, but the thing which impressed me the most is how good it looks when RT is off, I mean wow Remedy really hit the nail in both classes, fantastic.

[antivanti]

One thing I noticed is that the CRT monitors in the game do not emit light. They don't illuminate the room they're in and they aren't even visible in darkness

[Schizm]

Tbh AW2 is IMO one of the best examples of how amazing games can look.... without hardware RT.
Unlike some titles where RT is complete game changer I feel in AW2 RT and PT is more of a "cherry on top" effect and game looks outstanding even without those effects.

[alephnole]

I love how the pattern on the curtains in the diner actually have clear shadows with RT because the thicker fabric of the embroidery would block the light.

[axtonjcranston]

Back in the mid 90s I was in college learning about ray tracing and how it will change things, it's so nice to see it finally available. But still a shame that 99% of players will miss these details. DF you are doing such a service to all the devs out there who make this work.

[RichardServello]

This game is SO ahead of it's time. I can't wait to see it in 10 years. I just played Quantum Break and now that it actually runs right it looks SO GOOD.

[akshaydabhadkarofficial]

Remedy’s art direction is just stunning. Agree that the technical aspect of the visuals is incredible as well, but the artistic aspect is even more striking. This game will look great even after 10 years.

[montlejohnbojangles]

It really is an absolutely staggering technical achievement in so many ways. I loved just about every second with this weird, wonderful, game.

[syntaxed]

Pathtraced shadows and those soft contact shadows are sooo delicious.

[Psychoss]

It looks like Remedy is using a technique I was hoping devs would use when ray tracing was first introduced back in 2018. Use it as a visual guide for the non-ray traced counterpart. In art, thinking of it as tracing the source image. So many scenes are pretty close.

[a]

Outstanding video as always Alex. Your attention to detail is second to none and in this case really rewards the Remedy devs' attention to detail too! 👏

[simoncodrington]

Now this is some top quality coverage guys. Really keen on this one, especially showcasing the different RT effects and how they work both in still images and in motion. Keep it up!

[defromdark]

Edit: update 12 fixed the issue described below:

Enabling frame generation introduces hitching whenever the game transitions from pre-rendered cinematics to real-time rendered graphics, similar to what The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk used to have before Nvidia released Streamline 1.5.6.

[EricAbbottTri]

We should praise Remedy for making small and relatively insigificant cuts to ray tracing in order for the game to run well. That is how you optimize a game. They made cuts that no one would notice in game to give most systems a chance to hit 60fps. Well Done!

[Kotka]

Alan Wake 2 indeed looks gorgeous. All Remedy games have their own & tailored look ( that for me personally works 100 % ) that differentiates them from other AAA titles and that's why even Max Payne 1 looks good to me all those years later. I showed screenshots from my playthrough to my colleagues to illustrate how Remedy applies the right amount of restraint when placing assets in the environments so that the assets, materials & overall composition can shine without unnecessary visual clutter. The only small nitpick i have with the PT & RT reflections is that they really did the mirrors in this game dirty by having this awesome tech and still making the surfaces look rather bumpy and producing really weird reflections. Other than that, looking at the extremely noisy reflections on the ground in Robocop :Rogue City i realized how much better Northlight engine ( and RED engine, for that matter, after playing through Phantom Liberty with PT on ) look when implementing those techniques than UE5 right now. P.S using music from the first Max Payne game here brought a smile on my face :)

[existentialselkath]

I've been looking forward to this.
For the first time in a long time, asset quality is now the limiting factor in realism. Lighting is effectively a solved problem.

[Denden-kjrn]

i always get excited when alex talks about anything rt. Love his perspective