The system requirements for Alan Wake 2, released last week, left many fans frustrated. The minimum specs for 1080p, 30fps gameplay at low graphics presets are an Intel i5-7600K CPU, RTX 2060 GPU, and 16GB of RAM, rising rapidly from there to recommended, ultra, and ray-tracing requirements. However, some optimistic gamers have expressed hope that Remedy is inflating the PC system requirements for "Alan Wake 2" in order to ensure that it will run well on all specs, even at the low end, and it appears so.

"We really played it safe when it came to the PC setup." Underpromise,Overdeliver" or something like that in Finnish.

This is good news, but I have to wonder if Puha's tweet is adding confusion to this issue. If the minimum requirements are not really minimum requirements, people with underpowered PCs will be tempted to roll the dice and will be disappointed as a result" It is important that all system requirements are clear, which is crucial in the current lack of console style uniformity.

Further complicating matters is a deleted tweet from Remedy developer newincpp, in which he states that the system requirements exclude the Nvidia GTX 10 series and AMD RX 5000 series GPUs. newincpp states that "the 6600 is about the same performance, so don't be surprised or saddened if a player thinks the RX 5700 XT can handle it." But even that warning is met with confusion, as the developer states that without mesh shader support, "we don't know if it will work."

"Theoretically the vertex shader path was implemented, but due to many (performance) issues and bugs we dropped it," they tweeted. 'It may be possible to revive it with a mod, but don't expect miracles.'

Digital Trends tested Alan Wake 2 on five different graphics cards and found that even low-end GPUs could achieve playable frame rates: at low graphics presets, 55-75 fps on the RTX 2060 Super could be maintained; similar performance was achieved using DLSS performance mode and maxing out the settings. This is just one review by one site, but still good news for gamers on the bubble.

Still, in conclusion, as with Remedy, we recommend playing it safe: if your PC is up to spec, you will enjoy smooth, solid gameplay.