Like most people in their 30’s, our first real experience with Remedy Entertainment was Max Payne, a far-beyond-average action adventure game that leaves lasting impressions to this day thanks to it’s endlessly effective narrative cocktail. It’s also a game well known for establishing that the manipulation of time could be a balanced, well-implemented mechanic through the “Bullet Time” feature.
Simply put, it was fairly revolutionary – it wasn’t completely perfect, but its story didn’t just stay with players, it rattled them to the core with drugs, nightmares sequences, the occult, and classic New York noir, not to mention nods to John Woo action films. Plus, the game was all wrapped up in a uniquely effective comic book aesthetic. So really, we knew to expect greatness early on from Remedy, even if we were, what, twelve when we first beat the game? But sweet Jesus Christ, if only we had any idea what they was starting to cook up.
The franchise’s second game came out two years later in 2003, and despite the general reputation of sequels developed under pressure, Max Payne 2 managed to deliver a better looking, better playing, and even more tragic arc. We still remember the distinct emotional overwhelm of the last couple of levels as betrayals overlap, compound, and inevitably implode.
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But let’s be clear, this article isn’t about Max Payne, or at least, not exclusively. After Max Payne 2, for better or for worse, the rights went to Rockstar, who produced a bizarre third game for the series, which to be fair was far from terrible. They also let the 2008 movie happen, which is, in a word, painful. Looking back at how much respect Remedy holds for cinema, this must have been particularly difficult. But at least they weren’t just sitting on their hands watching it happen – actually, they were gearing up for a second groundbreaking franchise.
Alan Wake came out in 2010, and generally it was considered an instant-classic that raised the bar for drama and storytelling in video games, with many even going so far as to say it matched Silent Hill 2‘s legendary presentation. It also received a spinoff called Alan Wake: American Nightmare, which we’ve yet to play but still hear good things. That being said, having played through the remaster of Alan Wake a couple of months ago, we’re happy to relay that, even if certain mechanics are dated, we were still instantly taken by the pacing, locations, and narrative – you know, the strengths the Remedy has become known for. Also, if you listen closely, you can hear the voice of Max Payne (James McAffrey) as The Diver.
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But these storytelling strengths were starting to coalesce into something more – for 2016’s Quantum Break, Remedy started to transcend the barriers of the industry with real-time footage and performances from actors like Lance Reddick, Shawn Ashmore, Courtney Hope, Dominic Monaghan and many more. While a celebrated game in its own right, it’s also when this coalescence of medium, talent, and vision started to officially give birth to what would eventually become Remedy Entertainment’s shared / connected universe. We say this fully knowing that as an IP, Quantum Break is technically owned by Microsoft to this day, which explains why some of the recurring characters undergo subtle name changes or identity shifts.
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So now, we’re almost up to speed for the main event – yep. You’re still reading the intro. Or are you?
For many, 2019’s Control was Remedy’s biggest home run since Alan Wake, and as a longtime fan, we felt the same way. As expected, Control carried on with the effusive, transcendent elements of Quantum Break, but the gameplay and mechanics finally felt like they matched the intensity of the story. This was never a massive issue, as the action, movement, and interaction in Remedy games have always been serviceable or better, but Control showed us the devs still had plenty grit to spare, even as their vision expanded. So as funny as funny as it might sound, about halfway through completing the game, we did a hard stop and tried our best to erase it from our memory. Obviously, it’s not because we weren’t having a good time – it was because we knew we needed to start over, and not just from the beginning of the game, but from the beginning of the universe.
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Control and its expansions officially confirmed connections between Max Payne, Alan Wake, and on an unofficial level even Quantum Break. Much like Alan Wake, the base game did most of the heavy lifting in terms of getting interested players to see how it all could come together through collectible documents, journals, and environmental storytelling without telling them explicitly. But for better or worse, many of these elements are somewhat optional, and we’d be lying if we said we didn’t run like hell during parts of MOST Remedy games instead of look for clues. Hey, sometimes that is the safest option.
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The expansions however, are where the dots can be most tangibly connected: Alan Wake’s Specials (at least one of them) have multiple references to Max Payne. Control’s A.W.E. and Foundation expansions lay even more bridges back to Alan Wake and Bright Falls. And although it’s not an expansion, if you play the remastered version of Alan Wake, you can even find a letter addressed to Frank Breaker, the time-traveling legend associated with Quantum Break who, turns out, is the father of Wake’s second-most trusted ally, Sheriff Sarah Breaker. Maybe we should have seen that one coming.
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But finally, this brings us to the game that’s been damn near literally eating us alive – the masterpiece that is Alan Wake 2. If every Remedy title up to this point was a 9 or 10 out of 10 taco, what they accomplish with Alan Wake’s sequel is a 100/100 plate of gourmet fourth-dimensional nachos. Never before have we found ourselves uttering “Kojima don’t have shit on this,” but we admit, we said it a few times, mostly during the filmed bits and extended musical sequences. It’s also thoroughly gorgeous, and the only bug we encountered was an inventory issue that didn’t really effect us.
To be blunt, there are things this game does that as an average enjoyer, I never thought were possible, but as a writer I’ve always dreamed of. The room you’re in doesn’t have a door? Write a new draft where there is one. Want to switch characters? Go stare at your reflection in some mop water. Entering liminal limbo? Don’t bother getting to know your surroundings, focus on the heart of the issue and run loops till you have a revelation. Having trouble making sense of all the clues? GO INSIDE YOUR MIND AND MAKE DEDUCTIONS FROM YOUR HANDWRITTEN NOTES LIKE CHARLIE FECKING DAY.
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Yes, we’re going to keep frothing at the mouth, but let’s get back to the script. Alan Wake 2 flips the ratio we mentioned above – way before you get into its expansions, the gang is all here. Sure, some names have been changed for legal reasons, and it might be jarring for longtime fans trying to piece it all together, but Remedy fits this into Wake’s universe in a way that somehow feels natural.
If you’ve played Control, you don’t have to beat it or even play for more than an hour to see that from Jesse McFadden and the FBC’s perspective, the people, events, and situations of Bright Falls are part of an Altered World Event, and these occur everywhere. Yet from Wake’s perspective, what’s happening to him feels unprecedented. His fleeting visions and endless drafts could influence the world at large, but at the end of the day, he is just trying to get the heck out of there and find his wife. Oh, if only it were so simple. Listen, as much as we want to, we won’t spoil the plot. But suffice it to say that Alan Wake 2’s core campaign is an incredible time, whether you’re an action fan, a horror fan, or simply a fan of great narrative. In fact, if you’re a writer, even if you don’t like video games, you really should give this one a shot, or at least watch someone play it. When people say that video games are the next modality of storytelling, they can say that with confidence because of games like this one.
Of course, Alan Wake 2 is where all of these characters start to truly reflect the scale of Remedy’s connected universe. You’d be forgiven for thinking that because of that, it’s also where it would all start to make sense – but if that’s what you’re looking for, the expansions for it are essential for any semblance of closure. Much like the end of the first Alan Wake, Alan Wake 2’s climax erupts with a sudden revelation, and… poof… the credits roll. You are once again euphoric, enraged, flabbergasted, and more.
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But if you finish the game’s expansions, you can expect an even deeper sense of “what did I just witness?”
If you tackle things chronologically, the first three are all Night Springs episodes that you can find in the game organically. In fact, in retrospect, if you’re playing the game and you’re given the option to start the DLC, we highly recommend it. We were too wrapped up in the main plot to digress, but looking back there may have been some critical inter-universal insight.
The first one, called Number One Fan, is some of the most fun we’ve had blasting baddies with a shotgun since the original Max Payne, and it features a downright hilarious interpretation of the base game’s story. There’s also Time Breaker, which lets you play as Tim Breaker and vaguely make sense of how he started to appear around Alan Wake, which kind of gave us nightmares – did you know there’s a phenomenon associated with writers where their level of concentration results in genuine, three-dimensional tulpa / thought-forms? One day we’d really love to talk to Sam Lake about that over a couple of coffees. Unless we’re a tulpa.
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But the remaining Night Springs expansion, The North Star, packs a true wallop for such a short playtime. It lets you play as a certain concerned sibling from Control, and you get to uncover a totally different angle of what’s happening at Coffee World. It pays to bear in mind that The North Star is sort of the sister content to The Lake House, in that they both let you play as characters based in the universe of Control while exploring the world of Alan Wake. That in itself is kind of the revelation, and you get to continue learning about Tim Breaker, as he also makes an appearance. But then you get to the end.
And at the end of The North Star, we literally couldn’t believe what Remedy had dreamt up for its conclusion. We googled it. Dozens of times. We were not alone, but we were flummoxed. We were bamboozled. We were tumescent. If there was ever a point in Alan Wake 2’s narrative that felt conclusive, shockingly, the North Star DLC’s climax was it, but it’s such a revelation that you find yourself right back where you started – absolutely clueless, slow clapping, ugly crying, and throwing roses at the TV. That’s how you know they did a good job.
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At this point, in addition to FBC: Firebreak, a multiplayer game based on Control, Remedy Entertainment is confirmed to be working on a dual remaster of Max Payne 1 and 2. This alone is huge, because the only complaint we had about the sequel was that the aesthetic wasn’t quite as gritty, and having both games take place in the same engine will likely take care of this. But honestly, it could look exactly the same and we’d play it again no questions asked, because what everyone’s really wondering is how it’s going to fit into the connected universe. We have ideas, of course, but at this point we also know to expect the unexpected from Remedy. As a gamer, we are exhausted. But as a writer, we’ve never been more inspired.
Completely unrelated but a few years ago my spouse bought me a copy of Cyberpunk 2077 for Christmas, and it’s been my favorite game since. But when I finally finished Alan Wake 2 and its expansions, I turned to my spouse and said “Honestly think this might be the best video game I’ve ever played.”
Cheers to Sam Lake, Kyle Rowley, Tyler Burton-Smith, Anssi Määttä, Clay Murphy, Mikael Kasurinen, everyone else at Remedy, and last but not least, endless love and respect to the legend, James McAffrey.
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