Alan Wake 2 is here, and as you would expect from a survival horror game, it throws some fairly tough challenges at you, including a number of boss fights.

　　Warning: This article contains some early-game SPOILERS for Alan Wake 2.

　　The first of these bosses you’ll face is former FBI agent Robert Nightingale. I say former FBI agent, because Nightingale has been murdered and come back to life as a violent, shambling (and very naked) “Taken.” Nightingale is actually one of the more difficult bosses in the game, particularly since he’s one of the first serious combat challenges you face, and you might not be quite up to speed on the game’s controls and mechanics yet. But don’t worry, follow our guide and you shouldn’t have too much trouble…

　　You’ll first encounter Nightingale doing something evil in a wooded clearing. He’ll immediately begin to attack you with a large tree branch. Press L1 to dodge his attacks. If he does get you and knock you down, continue to push L1 to roll out of the way of further attacks and get on your feet.

　　Concentrate your flashlight beam on Nightingale, which will stun him and a reveal glowing red “Source Point” on his chest. Shoot this weak point and you’ll blow open his chest, doing heavy damage. It’s easiest to do this with the sawed-off shotgun (which you can find earlier in the chapter) but that has limited ammo. If you have no shotgun shells, just aim for the Source Point with your pistol. Same effect.

　　Eventually, you’ll do enough damage to Nightingale and he’ll collapse and disappear. Soon after, a red vortex that damages you will appear. Run away from it and a rocky wall will close behind you, trapping you on a long, mostly linear path. This is a good moment to use any healing items you might need, as Nightingale will reappear shortly and start chasing you.

　　Choose left or right (it doesn’t really matter) and run in a single direction down the linear path in the woods you now find yourself on. As long as you keep moving in one direction, Nightingale won’t catch you. Stop when you come to an item cache, as this is where you can find essential ammo and healing items. Eventually, you’ll emerge into a more open watery area. This is where you’ll have your next showdown with Nightingale. As before, dodge his attacks with L1 and stun him with your flashlight. That said, you won’t get any Source Points to attack this time. Instead, go for headshots.

　　Eventually, Nightingale will disappear again, the vortex will reappear and the second phase of the boss fight will repeat. Basically, do exactly the same thing again, damaging him until he falls down a third time, and the fight should be over (although sometimes you have to knock him down four times).

　　Phew! And there you go, Nightingale is down. Again, don’t feel bad if you’re having some trouble with this fight as it’s the first real difficulty spike in the game.

　　Alan Wake 2 can be played on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5. You can check out more of Wccftech’s Alan Wake 2 guides here.