Why Alan Wake 2’s DLCs Might Be Equally Important for Control 2

Remedy Entertainment’s Alan Wake 2 was released in October 2023, and went on to be one of the most acclaimed games of the year, winning in three categories at The Game Awards 2023, including Best Narrative, and currently sitting at a 92 Metacritic score. After a 13-year gap between the original, Alan Wake 2‘s continuation of its eponymous author’s trials and tribulations trapped in the alternate reality dimension known as the Dark Place by the powerful and malevolent Lovecraftian Dark Presence was widely considered to be Remedy’s most polished accomplishment to date.

Prior to Alan Wake 2, Remedy shipped Control in 2019, the studio’s SCP-like and conspiracy theory-influenced action thriller. Control 2 was previously announced in 2022, and is currently in the proof-of-concept stage. Given the fact that the first title coincided with the official unveiling of Remedy’s plans to unite its releases under what it dubbed The Remedy Connected Universe (RCU, or Remedyverse), Control and Alan Wake thus have an intimate relationship with each other. In 2024, Alan Wake 2 is set to receive two DLCs which promise to further expand on the RCU lore, characters, and overall story, and will almost assuredly have strong links and setups for Control 2 to some degree.

Alan Wake 2’s DLCs Are Likely to Have Big Connections to Control 2

Alan Wake, Control, and The Remedy Connected Universe

Remedy’s ambitious vision for its Remedyverse began with Control‘s second and final piece of DLC, AWE. In it, Control‘s protagonist, Jesse Faden, begins seeing visions of and receiving messages from Alan via its setting of The Oldest House’s “interdimensional hallway,” The Oceanview Hotel. This same hotel appeared as an important location in Alan Wake 2, as Alan navigated through it himself in his efforts to escape the looping nightmare landscape the Dark Presence was keeping him in. In the developer’s signature meta-way, the Oceanview serves as an otherworldly connective thread that bridges both series, as its heroes come into contact with each other and attempt to convey the nature of their respective dilemmas while working together to remedy them, although this was left open-ended.

How Alan Wake 2’s DLCs Could Connect to Control 2

With Alan Wake 2 Final Draft mode’s new ending, which updated and changed the base conclusion in a major way, the writer is poised to return, possibly in a kind of ascended guide or mentor role, as in the final scene Alan stated that he had become “a master of many worlds,” heavily implying an ability to traverse space-time realities at will. This will probably fit with the framework of the Night Springs DLC, as the character of Sheriff Tim Breaker was last seen still adrift in the Dark Place, in a scenario closely resembling one from the titular fictional Twilight Zone-inspired TV series that is part of AW‘s world.

However, mirroring the case of Control and AWE, Alan Wake 2‘s Lake House DLC is the more likely piece of content to directly reference or hint at what might be in store for Control 2. The Lake House itself in AW2 is already connected to Control’s FBC, as it is one of the secretive agency’s outposts, set up to monitor and help contain supernatural catastrophes, like the one occurring in Alan Wake 2. FBC Agent Kiran Estevez showed up during the plot to assist Alan and FBI Agent Saga Anderson in their battle against the Presence, acting as their liaison to the organization. It is therefore highly probable that in the same manner that AWE brought Alan into Jesse’s world, The Lake House will do the same similarly for Jesse, strengthening the groundwork between the two and laying out how Control 2 will continue building the RCU.

Alan Wake 2

Franchise

alan wake

Released

October 27, 2023

Genre(s)

Survival Horror

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language

How Long To Beat

17 Hours

Metascore

92

PS Plus Availability

N/A