Alan Wake has been making something of a comeback in recent years. The game was referenced a handful of times in 2019's Control, and then the Bright Falls Incident was prominently featured in the game's 2020 AWE DLC expansion. Now that Wake is back in Alan Wake Remastered, fans are playing through the game and keeping an eye open for any references to Control. Unfortunately for anyone looking for new content connecting the two even further in the remaster, there isn't a whole lot of added material. That said, the two still share quite a bit, as Alan Wake's story is a smaller part of the much bigger world of Control.
Because Control was released nearly a decade after Alan Wake, it's not entirely accurate to say that anything in the remaster is a reference to the game, as Alan Wake came first. Essentially, anything listed below isn't a reference in Alan Wake to Control, but the other way around. With Control fleshing out the universe further, though, all of these connections are as important to Alan Wake as they are to the greater universe the games share.
The TV Show Night Springs
Night Springs is a fictional TV show that plays on various hidden TVs throughout the story of Alan Wake. The show can be watched in-game and is clearly an homage to the classic show The Twilight Zone. In the fiction of the game, Barry helped get Alan a writing gig for one of the episodes, but it's revealed in Control that the show was something of a facade. The Federal Bureau of Control created the TV series as a way to slowly introduce the public to paranormal happenings and concepts in a way that was natural and non-intrusive.
Alan Wake's Collectible Coffee Thermoses
While they were likely added as one of several collectible secrets hidden around Bright Falls in Alan Wake, the coffee thermoses are much more dangerous than can be seen on the outside. The thermoses are Altered Items: objects that have been manipulated by another dimension but don't pose a threat like Objects of Power do. The thermoses seem to teleport away from Alan each time he picks it up, which is right in line with some of the other mischievous natures of other Altered Items.
The Old Gods of Asgard
The Old Gods of Asgard are a band that make for some of the most memorable moments in both Alan Wake and Control. In Alan Wake, the two remaining members of the band, Tor and Odin, are locked up in the Cauldron Lake Lodge, but frequently sneak out to play music on their homemade concert venue. Alan and Barry eventually head to their farm in search of some answers and fight the Taken using fireworks and pyrotechnics while the Norse rockband blasts their music. In Control, Jesse is guided through the Ash Tray maze towards the end of the game by a song written by the Old Gods of Asgard. As it turns out, they're one of the mysterious janitor Ahti's favorites.
The Bright Falls Incident
The entire story of Alan Wake is recontextualized after playing through Control and its DLC AWE. The events that take place during the narrative are actually a close-up look at an Altered World Event as is explained in Control. The entire incident is documented in collectibles littered throughout the Oldest House, but playing through Alan Wake really gives players a good look into what AWEs are actually like. Playing the game feels like the beginnings of what's to come somewhere down the line for both series, as they're set to intersect at some point. As a result, players who have played through Control will likely be wondering about what's going on in the Oldest House when the events of Alan Wake are taking place.
Alan Wake Remastered is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.