Remedy’s beloved horror franchise, Alan Wake, never really got a fair shot, despite critical acclaim and brilliantly turning the gameplay of Max Payne on its head. Still, it ultimately became popular on PC, as Remedy is using many of the same ideas and structure for Quantum Break. And, apparently, hinting at a return for Alan while they’re at it.
The first episode of Quantum Break is out to critics, and they’ve quickly noticed that there’s a lot of Alan Wake references scattered around. For one thing, there’s a chalkboard that extensively breaks down the game’s mythology, which is pretty neat. But it goes deeper; at the very beginning of the game, if you wander into the right tent, there’s a full, live-action Alan Wake trailer.
And that’s not the only hint, if you’re willing to do some digging. If you look closely at the chalkboard, at the bottom left, you’ll find notes discussing AWE, stating it could mean “Alan Wake Experience” or “Altered World Events.” That’s particularly attention-getting because Remedy just took out a trademark on Bureau of Altered World Events. Notice that Quantum Break and Alan Wake have very similar structures, right down to episodes of a TV series being important to advance the plot. Oh, and let’s not forget Alan has the ability to alter reality with his writing.
Put it all together and if nothing else, it seems that Alan Wake is very much on Remedy’s mind. We’ll see how that comes together in the future, but these are some tantalizing hints.