Remedy Entertainment quickly and quietly became one of the preeminent game development companies in the whole industry right now following the release of Alan Wake II. Focusing on tightly constructed, well planned, and mind-bending narratives with fun gameplay and engaging characters. While so many other studios focus on live-service looter-shooter microtransaction-riddled garbage because “player retention.” Remedy is one of the few AAA studios going right now that understands how to actually keep and grow a fanbase.
Remedy’s Creative Director, Sam Lake, is obsessed with pushing the limits of storytelling in games. Finding ways to do things that no one else is doing. And that has lead to the birth of the Remedy Connected Universe. In a way the Marvel Cinematic Universe of gaming. Combining Remedy’s 2010 cult classic Alan Wake and their 2019 surprise hit Control into one intriguing world of supernatural occurrences, alternate dimensions, and a surprising amount of singing. With the incredible reception and success of Alan Wake II firmly establishing Remedy as top dogs in the industry.
Jesse Faden & Alan Wake. Protagonists of the RCU
However, there is a lot going on in the RCU already. Especially considering there’s only three entries in it. More if you count the references to their other games Max Payne and Quantum Break. And a lot of it can be pretty hard to understand. So I broke down all the important story beats and characters that you need to know to understand the world. Keep in mind, a lot is left open to interpretation. I highly recommend playing the games for yourself, especially if you love immersive worlds with lots of lore.
It should go without saying that this article contains major spoilers for Alan Wake, Control, and Alan Wake II.
Important Characters
In order of article appearance:
- Jesse Faden: Parautilitarian Director of the Federal Bureau of Control guided by sentient resonance named Polaris.
- Dylan Faden: Younger brother of Jesse groomed by the FBC to become director. Currently comatose after being influenced by The Hiss.
- Ahti: Enigmatic janitor of the FBC classified as Entity A-001 who enjoys vacationing in Watery, Washington.
- Dr. Casper Darling: Former FBC Head of Research who mysteriously disappeared after exposure to Hedron resonance.
- Alan Wake: World-famous author who went missing in 2010. Currently trapped in The Dark Place.
- Alice Wake: Wife of Alan Wake who was trapped in The Dark Place before Alan freed her by taking her place.
- The Dark Presence / Mr. Scratch: Villainous entity of darkness residing in The Dark Place and trying to escape to take over the world.
- Saga Anderson: FBI Agent investigating strange occurrences in the town of Bright Falls, Washington with a past connection to the area.
- Alex Casey: Saga’s partner who shares his name with the main character of Alan Wake’s famous crime fiction novels.
- The Old Gods of Asgard: ’70s rockers Odin and Tor Anderson who previously encountered The Dark Presence.
- Tim Breaker: Sheriff of Bright Falls, Washington trapped in The Dark Place and investigating Warlin Door.
- Warlin Door: Mysterious talk show host in The Dark Place with the ability to travel between realities.
- Thomas Zane: A Finnish filmmaker trapped in The Dark Place since 1970, who looks exactly like Alan Wake.
The Federal Bureau of Control
Everything in Remedy’s Connected Universe runs through the FBC. A secretive branch of the United States government focused on the research, containment, and coverup of paranatural occurrences around the world. That can range from straight up alien encounters to locking up a fridge that goes on a violent rampage if someone isn’t looking at it. Which is just one of many objects in the FBC’s headquarters, The Oldest House, to be altered by otherworldly energy.
There are two different kinds of paranatural objects: Altered Items and Objects of Power. Altered Items are objects with – usually dangerous – powers that can not be controlled. And Objects of Power (OOPs) are a special variant of Altered Items. Most of them share a direct connection with The Board. A group of paranatural entities from the Astral Plane (a different dimension) that work with the FBC. OOPs can be bound to special individuals known as Parautilitarians. This gives the Parautilitarian specific powers like levitation, telekinesis, and more.
Whatever you do, don’t look away from the fridge
Jesse Faden is one of the most powerful known Parautilitarians. With her story being the center of 2019’s Control. As the game follows Jesse’s arrival to the FBC in search of her brother, Dylan. However, she soon finds herself the new Director of the FBC. And forced to defeat an invading hostile resonance known as The Hiss. Where she meets many interesting characters along the way. Like the strange Finnish janitor Ahti and the quirky Doctor Darling, who is missing in action. Though his instructional videos prove very helpful.
Jesse is able to defeat the Hiss and their strongest soldier, Dylan. As she closes the Slide Projector Altered Item that opens doorways to other dimensions. Which includes the one the Hiss came from. Though her story doesn’t end there. After all, she’s still the FBC’s Director.
Bright Falls (AWE-35)
“Altered World Events” is the FBC term for any paranatural occurrence that takes place. And few AWEs are as mysterious as the one that took place in Bright Falls, Washington in 2010. Luckily, the events of this very AWE are the center of Alan Wake. In which writer Alan Wake finds himself trapped in a horror story he doesn’t remember writing in an effort to save his wife, Alice.
It turns out that both Alan and Alice are the latest victims of The Dark Presence. Which is the name Alan gives to the entity of darkness living in a dark dimension known as The Dark Place that can be accessed in Bright Falls’ Cauldron Lake. Also, those types of gateways from our world to another are “Thresholds.” And Alan discovers The Dark Place has the power to make works of fiction come true. With the story he’s in being The Dark Presence’s attempt to escape The Dark Place. And it captured Alice to manipulate Alan into writing it.
Alan and Alice Wake arrive in Bright Falls
But Alan is able to overcome The Dark Presence with help from The Clicker. A potential OOP capable of making the new reality created by the fiction become permanent. However, Alan is only able to free Alice by taking her place. Leaving him trapped in The Dark Place since 2010. And the Dark Presence is reborn as his doppelganger Mr. Scratch.
Alan reaches out to Jesse in 2019. And potentially set up the Hiss invasion to put Jesse in a spot to help him escape. Also to get the FBC’s attention to tell them that another AWE will take place in Bright Falls in the future.
Initiation & Return
This brings us to the events of Alan Wake II. Which splits into two stories. First, “Initiation” follows Alan Wake’s journey through The Dark Place. Because he needs to locate the manuscript for “Return” that he doesn’t remember writing. And he believes it to be the work of Scratch. At the same time, FBI Agents Saga Anderson and Alex Casey find themselves characters in “Return.”
Eventually both Alan and Saga discover that Alan Wake and Mr. Scratch are the same person. Because The Dark Presence took over Alan’s body after he discovered Alice committed suicide. Unable to live with being haunted by Scratch. However, time isn’t linear in The Dark Place. So their battle over Alan’s mind happens both before and after he’s taken over. Furthermore, Saga discovers she’s the granddaughter of Tor Anderson of The Old Gods of Asgard. And she’s inherited their powers as a “Seer.” Which means she’s able to read other people’s minds and see through the fictional reality being created.
Alan in The Dark Place
After that, Alan and Saga use The Clicker and a bullet of light photographed by Alice to kill The Dark Presence seemingly for good by shooting Alan in the head. Afterwards, he wakes up to the realization that “it’s not a loop, it’s a spiral.” In summary, his belief that he was doomed to repeat the same loop in The Dark Place is incorrect. Instead, every “loop” he completes brings him closer to his ascension.
Alan Wake II‘s “Final Draft” New Game Plus Mode gives us a bit more information. Because it’s Alan retelling the story with the knowledge from the previous attempt. Basically he discovers Alice faked her death so he’d discover the truth behind Scratch. Moreover, she’s back in The Dark Place to help him ascend. Finally, this newfound discovery leads him to christen himself “The Master of Many Worlds.”
Master of Many Worlds
However, it’s unclear exactly what “The Master of Many Worlds” means. Though certain clues might give us an idea. And we have Shawn Ashmore’s Tim Breaker and David Harewood’s Warlin Door to thank for that.
Alan encounters Tim in The Dark Place, and sees him obsessing over the true identity of Warlin Door. A strange talk show host with a seemingly unknown vendetta against Wake. Tim talks about having dreams of himself, Door, and other people. Vivid dreams where they’re different people with different identities. Specifically, this is a reference to Remedy’s Quantum Break. As Ashmore also played that game’s main character Jack Joyce, and the late Lance Reddick played a character similar to Warlin Door named Martin Hatch. Reddick was meant to play Door before his passing.
Jack Joyce using his time powers in Quantum Break
There are mentions of both Door and Hatch having the ability to walk between dimensions. Even implications that they’re the same person. And that he very well may be the main antagonist of Alan Wake III as he attempts to get revenge for Alan bringing his daughter, Saga, into the story. However, it’s not explicitly stated that Saga is his daughter. Though there are several clues if you know what you’re looking for.
The first mention of Mr. Door is actually back in Control. As Dylan also mentions a dream where he meets Door. The “dark man” talking about worlds where a writer writes about a detective, and another where the detective is real. The latter being a reference to Remedy’s Max Payne. In summary, if Warlin Door has the capability to walk between realities as he pleases, Alan calling himself “The Master of Many Worlds” may very well mean he can do the same. Or at least astral project himself into other realities, as he did in The Dark Place.
Ahti & The Oceanview Motel
This friendly face is way more than meets the eye. And being the janitor of an impossibly large building is by far the least impressive thing on his résumé. In fact, he is one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, characters in the Remedy Connected Universe. Capable of telepathy, teleportation, and singing. On top of that, he has a natural resistance to the infectious Hiss in Control, and can transport people between dimensions through water, as shown in Alan Wake II. Which may have something to do with him being named after a Finnish water god. The water connection may also be his link to The Oceanview Motel.
Ahti the “Janitor”
The Oceanview Motel is another place of power, one capable of sending people to other dimensions. Similar to Ahti’s power. On top of that, Control implies that the Janitor’s closet in the Motel is Ahti’s. So it’s likely he is connected to that place in some way. Well, at least that Oceanview. As Alan Wake II introduces another Oceanview, this one being a hotel in The Dark Place’s version of New York City. As well as an old bunker in Bright Falls that local teens have named The Oceanview Motel. Located underneath a building containing a door with a spiral symbol on it.
That is the calling card of the Oceanview Motel. A door marked with a specific symbol will take the person to that dimension. So far, all we know for sure is that the Black Pyramid door takes people to The Oldest House. And the Spiral door takes people to The Dark Place. Perhaps Ahti set up the Oceanview locations to assist those who can access it. Or maybe the two aren’t connected at all. I’m sure we’ll get that answer eventually.
The Lake House DLC & Control 2 Speculation
There isn’t much crossover between the characters of Control and those from Alan Wake yet. Only Alan himself, the filmmaker Thomas Zane, Ahti, and Dr. Darling have appeared in both series at the time of writing this. Though I expect that to change in the future. Perhaps as early as Alan Wake II‘s future DLC: The Lake House. Which is the FBC’s local research center on the Bright Falls AWE and Cauldron Lake. Though we already have some story threads that allow us to speculate on the future of the franchise.
The Final Draft mode in Alan Wake II reveals that Dr. Darling is now trapped in The Dark Place as well. Eventually meeting Thomas Zane and agreeing to work with him to escape. In fact, we may have already seen a product of that partnership in Control. Furthermore, it implies a link between Polaris and The Dark Place. As Polaris was able to send Darling to The Dark Place, though the reason for doing so is unknown. Perhaps there exists a slide for the Slide Projector that opens a portal to The Dark Place.
Thomas Zane meets Casper Darling
While Jesse doesn’t appear in Alan Wake II aside from a brief cameo, there are subtle hints that something isn’t quite right back in the FBC. As the agent on site mentions HQ going dark. Something that will probably be expanded in The Lake House. As fans eagerly await the first real meeting between the franchise’s two central heroes.
There are many more unanswered questions that fans can and will theorize on and speculate about until the next game drops. Like why Thomas Zane and Alan Wake look identical. How Alice is going to help Alan ascend out of The Dark Place. And if it will take another 13 years for Alan Wake III. However, that about covers everything you need to know to have a general understanding of the Remedy Connected Universe, and where it may be heading.
