How The Alan Wake Event Works in Phasmophobia: Completing and Solving

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The Alan Wake crossover event in Phasmophobia combines ghost hunting with a bizarre storytelling style, as if a ghost story was written after consuming too much coffee. The usual investigation maps have been transformed into strange, storybook-like versions, featuring shadowy figures, hidden glowing messages, and creepy dolls that make checking every room feel even more unsettling.

Inspired by Alan Wake, the event introduces new gameplay elements centered around Words of Power, Dark Presences, and a multi-stage doll puzzle in the lobby. Whether you’re aiming for Event Points, hunting for cosmetics, or trying to understand why a shadowy whispering figure is lurking in the farmhouse, there’s a lot happening during this crossover.

How the Alan Wake Event Works

The event takes place across themed versions of known investigation maps. Although the layouts mostly stay the same, each location contains unique objects tied to the event, such as Words of Power, Dark Presences, Dolls, and related puzzles.

Event maps include places like Oh Deer Diner, Cauldron Lake, Coffee World, and Elderwood Palace Lodge. These locations are marked on the Contract Voting board in the lobby by small notes on their top right corners of the map images.

During investigations, players can earn Event Points to progress both individually and in the community. Points only count if the contract is played on at least standard difficulty (x1.00 multiplier), meaning lower custom difficulty settings won’t award points.

Correctly identifying the ghost awards ten Event Points. Revealing Words of Power grants two points each, while banishing a Dark Presence awards two points per entity. Increasing difficulty modifiers boosts point gains, so difficult investigations are the fastest way to earn progress.

Rewards include reaching community points goals for a Manifestation ID Card and Badge, earning enough personal points to unlock the Angel Lamp Charm, revealing all 68 Words of Power to unlock Alan Wake’s Suit cosmetic set, and collecting dolls and solving lobby puzzles for Saga Anderson’s Outfit cosmetics.

What Are The Dark Presences?

Dark Presences appear as motionless shadowy figures scattered across the event maps. They emit whispering sounds that make them easier to find in quiet areas. To remove a Dark Presence, players must grab the Angel Lamp from the investigation truck’s monitor, then aim it at the figure. Holding the use button for several seconds causes the entity to be engulfed in a sparkly explosion of light, making it disappear. Maps can have up to about 20 Dark Presence spawns.

How Words Of Power Work

Words of Power are hidden phrases only revealed with a UV Light. While exploring, glowing yellow arrows appear when near a hidden word, leading players toward a spiral of glowing letters somewhere in the environment. Once found, shine the UV light directly onto the word; the darkness around the letters will fade, causing the word to vanish once fully revealed. When playing with friends, each player must reveal their own Word of Power, as progress doesn’t transfer between players. When a word is revealed by one player, it disappears for them but remains visible to others until they reveal it themselves.

How To Solve The Doll Puzzle

Across the themed maps, dolls are scattered, acting as collectibles or puzzle pieces needed for the final lobby challenge. They are usually hidden on shelves, inside tents, on desks, or in small corners, requiring careful exploration. The dolls used in the final puzzle are located near a collection of chalk drawings in the lobby, beside a central desk.

The puzzle involves placing specific dolls on matching chalk symbols across multiple stages:

First stage: Place the Moose Doll on the Tree symbol, and the Deer Doll on the House symbol.
Second stage: Place the Child Doll on the Sun, the Father Doll on the House, and the Old Man Doll on the Waves.
Final stage: Place the Child Doll on the Tree, Princess Doll on the Eye, Father Doll on the Heart, and Jester Doll on the Sun.

Once completed, the puzzle resets with a new arrangement, requiring players to repeat the process for the next stage.