Should I play Control before Alan Wake 2?

The games by Remedy Entertainment have accustomed players to meta-commentary. They’ve also recently begun planting the seeds of a shared universe they call “Remedy Connected Universe”.

This might have a lot of players wondering if the events of Control, the latest hit from the Finish company, bear some relevance to what transpires in Alan Wake 2.

Are Alan Wake and Control connected?

The short answer is yes. Both games take place in the same universe. Also, the Federal Bureau Of Control, the organization we work for in Control, knows about Alan Wake’s first adventure. They explain that Wake is a “Parautilitarian”. That’s a type of person who possesses some sort of “paranatural”, aka supernatural, power over reality.

The FBC explains that Cauldron Lake, the location where the original Alan Wake takes place, is a threshold. It connects our world to a different dimension called “Dark Place”. That’s interesting, but it’s all stuff that we more or less learn from the original AW, anyway.

As for whether or not there is a direct connection between Alan Wake and Jesse Faden, the main character in Control, the answer is no.

Should I ultimately play Control to understand Alan Wake 2?

Playing Control might provide you with some additional information regarding the original Alan Wake. I welcome that, considering how wackily the original AW handles story exposition. Still, it’s not really necessary.

While it might help with understanding some Easter eggs in the story, you don’t need a degree in Control to follow the story of Alan Wake 2.

While we’re at it, should I play any other Remedy games to understand Alan Wake 2?

For the sole purpose of understanding Alan Wake 2, no. Remedy states that you don’t even need to play the original Alan Wake nor its American Nightmare DLC to understand Alan Wake 2.

The sequel will still follow the protagonist of the first game as well as send some neat throwbacks your way, but AW2 provides players with a completely new and horrifying standalone experience.

You can now unveil the mysteries of Alan Wake 2 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.