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How to figure out where Nightingale went in Alan Wake 2

For a dead man, Nightingale moves fast.

In order to progress through the second chapter of Alan Wake 2, you will need to chase down Nightingale, a dead FBI agent who has somehow fled the morgue. This can be quite challenging, so here's a walkthrough.

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After a harrowing escape from the undead Nightingale, you will need to track him down. First, you will need to leave the morgue, heading back to the crime scene to see if you can find any clues to his location. Once you arrive, you find some new, barefoot footprints that lead away from the scene, making Saga Anderson realize that Nightingale has returned to this part of Cauldron Lake.

Follow the footsteps

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Follow the trail of footprints down to the lake. The path is a little bit winding, so make sure to keep a close eye on the footprints with your flashlight. It will lead you to the Witch's Ladle where the Ladle itself is located.

Related: Is Alan Wake 2 coming to Game Pass?

Find the Witch's Ladle

The Witch's Ladle is a tree with a hollow interior, making it look like a giant spoon. It is located a little bit south of the Witch's Ladle sign. When you arrive, you will see a weird sort of glittery, swirling weirdness around the center of the tree; this is a bit of Shadow. Shine your flashlight at it, then intensify the beam of light to shatter the piece of Shadow. Behind it will be a Manuscript Page. Read it, and it will point you to the next location.

Head to the Witch's Hut

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As soon as you reach the Witch's Hut, you'll need to find a fuse; this is what is written in the Manuscript Page. If you are facing the door of the Witch's Hut, turn left and head across the wooden bridge. On the other side will be a gray crate with a broken fuse in it. Keep walking past that and there will be a lawn chair, a journal, and a little wall-less shelter; there is a working fuse under this awning. There is also an upgrade lunchbox nearby. Bring the working fuse back to the Witch's Hut, install it, and the lights will then turn on.

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This will turn the Witch's Hut into a Break Room and save point; interact with the coffee thermos to save your game. Also, once the lights are on inside, a new page will appear. Saga will automatically read it as you pick it up. Head to your Mind Place while in this safe space and put together all the new clues, and Saga will realize that the heart of Nightingale is now in the General Store.

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Go to the General Store

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So now that we have our next clue, we need to head back to the General Store and pick up the heart. Nightingale's heart is key to getting into the Overlap, an alternate dimension that seems to be connected to this world through the Witch's Ladle. The Store is just a little bit north of the Murder Scene.

Once inside, start walking through the building, and a Cultist of the Tree will break through the wall. Point your flashlight at them, intensifying the beam until the Shadow inside them breaks. Then, take them out with some bullets. Depending on what difficulty you are on, this can take anywhere from two to ten bullets, so make sure to aim for the center of their chest where the Shadow is to use as few bullets as possible.

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Get Nightingale's heart out of the freezer

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Once the Cultist is dead, go into the room where they were hiding, and look to your left. There will be a freezer with the heart. Pick it up, and Saga will realize she can now read some of the words tattooed on the organ. This is the spell needed to access the Overlap.

Go back to the Witch's Ladle

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Head back west and south to the Witch's Ladle, then make sure to interact with the Witch's Ladle Sign; this will open the menu to choose an item to use on the sign. Pick the heart. There is a hole in the center of the sign, and you need to put the heart through it while reciting the incantation. A cutscene will then play to bring you into the Overlap where Nightingale wakes to try to kill you.

For more Alan Wake 2, check out Where to find all weapons for both characters in Alan Wake 2 on Pro Game Guides.


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Author
Image of Mina Smith
Mina Smith
Mina Smith is freelance writer from Richmond, VA who specializes in video game articles, mostly how-to guides. She has been writing about video games full time since 2019, but started part-time in this career almost a decade. Her number one passion has been video games since the 1990s, and her favorites are FF1, Baten Kaitos, and Viewfinder. In the past five years, Mina has written more than 2,500 articles and has garnered about a quarter of a billion views from audiences all over the world.