In terms of developing the most unique, innovative action games around, few other studios are as celebrated within the industry as Remedy. Its neo-noir Max Payne thrillers helped put the studio on the map, while follow up titles such as Alan Wake seamlessly blended supernatural themes with high octane action. The company's most recent release, Control, is arguably its most effective blending of genres yet, resulting in a cerebral, exciting action-adventure game. There were, however, much greater ambitions hidden within Control for players to discover. This article contains spoilers regarding Alan Wake—and therefore the Alan Wake Remaster—as well as Control.
While exploring the halls of the FBC (Federal Bureau of Control), players are encouraged to veer off the beaten path to discover hidden collectibles and other side missions. This Metroid style approach to exploration provided Control with a sense of mystery for curious players, something which would result in often intriguing finds. Hidden within the building are various documents which detail past paranormal events that the FBC have investigated, with one in particular that directly connects this game to Remedy's past work: Alan Wake, resulting in a shared video game universe.
Alan Wake - Bright Falls Experienced an "AWE" (Altered World Event)
For some context, a brief rundown of the events in Alan Wake will follow. Drawing inspiration from neo-noir detective thrills and old supernatural television serials, Alan Wake followed the titular character, a writer, as he ventures to the small town of Bright Falls with his wife Alice. His goal was to enjoy a mini-vacation and possibly rid himself of writer's block, but shortly after arriving at his location, eerie things begin to happen. Creatures made of shadow begin to attack Alan, as he learns his only defense against these entities is light.
Over the course of the journey, Alan notices that the evils which haunt sometimes bear a strange resemblance to ideas from his own writing, suggesting that the entire game is taking place within his mind. It turns out, however, that Bright Falls is being controlled by an entity known as the Dark Presence and is using its paranormal abilities to project people's own thoughts into real things, literally turning fiction into reality. There's more to it leading up to the climax, something which players can experience firsthand when Alan Wake Remastered is available in early October.
How Alan Wake Connects to Control
The FBC is an organization that specializes in monitoring otherwordly threats to planet Earth, no different than how the Ghostbusters hunt the things that go bump in the night. Because of this, the entire building is filled with offices that are stacked with countless files regarding past Altered World Events. As mentioned, one of the files which players can find chronicles the FBC's research of a small town named Bright Falls, where a writer named Alan Wake fended off the forces of darkness that were turning fiction into reality.
This brief but groundbreaking detail confirms that Alan Wake was not just its own standalone adventure, but is now a part of a larger interconnected gaming universe. Considering that the FBC watches supernatural events, and Alan Wake in itself was just a single event, adds more weight to this world and further expands the universe, making it feel exceptionally large. This concept is taken advantage of in Control's DLC pack aptly titled "AWE", in which Jesse Faden meets Alan Wake. The two team up when evil forces from both of their respective games combine into one larger entity, threatening to destroy the world.
While shared universes have become commonplace in films thanks to the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the video game medium has yet to make it just as mainstream. However, considering Remedy's titles all share very similar themes, gameplay mechanics, and tones, the studio is taking an ambitious leap with the shared universe concept and has so far set itself up for very exciting things to come.