It brings a smol little tear to my eye to contrast how heartbroken Sam Lake sounded to admit that Alan Wake would have to be placed in the dark for the time being, to game awards 2021. God I love you everyone who works at Remedy and that magnificent bastard Sam Lake.
Two years later, I'm comparing to Game Awards 2023, where Alan Wake 2 won major awards and Sam got to recreate a signature moment by dancing like a fool while the Old Gods played him on. Not a bad victory lap. His smile during the Herald of Darkness performance was so heart warming.
In Control, as you approach the typewriter and you hear Alan Wake narrating what's happening... that moment gave me chills I'll never forget. "Chef's kiss" 😘👌
Damn spoilers haha but nice to see it's there. Now I gotta play both AW and C to experience it fully. Started AW the other month and got about 2hrs in and really enjoyed it. Time to finish it.
I honestly don't understand how this universe of games isn't more talked about, there is literally no other franchise or game developer that has ever set up such a deeply linked universe between games that are seemingly unrelated. This is an amazing video and a must see for fans of the series, I played all these games except for Quantum Break, and loved every minute of it.
I really think it has to do with how subtle some of the connections are. There’s a few blatant references, but at first glance it doesn’t seem as deeply connected as it really is. More and more people are catching on every day though!
@@HiddenMachineGaming True, but Control for example is a great, unique and recent game even with a PS5 version and you don't see many people talking about it. I wonder if it's just because Remedy are not the typical triple A pubishers.
In my opinion over the years Alan has attempted multiple times to write his way out of the Dark place without hurting the balance between light and dark. Every time he has failed so far, he's been trying every scenario he could think of. So he thought back to episode he had written for Night Springs and decided to use that as a jumping off point, and this time it worked leading us into the upcoming Alan Wake 2.
i think it's Sam Lake letting go of Max Payne but that's a damn good memory or just a good catch if you've been playing the game recently lol i remember the scenes of the dog just not the dogs name lol
1:05:37 I love how the more experienced he becomes, the more Alan resembles Ash Williams of Evil Dead in terms of personality, no longer as afraid of the entity, but more relaxed to the point he's cracking jokes and spitting one liners, becoming a Horror Comedic Writer, which in turn contrast with Mr Scratch becoming a twisted version of this funnier Alan Wake, mirroring Patrick Bateman of American Psycho.
Regarding the idea of Alan creating Jesse and the FBC and that cheapening her journey... I think people might be forgetting a certain page from American Nightmare: ?Page 14: Everything Is as Real as Everything Else This act of creation is exhilarating and frightening. Subtext and symbols loom, eager to take effect. Causality and consequence become domino chains that stretch into infinity. The more fundamental the change, the more unpredictable the variables become; reality is too complex to control completely. Ordinary questions become meaningless. "Who created who?" "What is really real?" Everything is as real as everything else. You learn to let go of the things you can't control and go with the flow, or go insane."
Personally I think they were setting up with it back when they first came up with Ordinary, with the mysterious agents with badges with AWE on them, which would develop into a distinction of Altered World Event, implying them collecting the shoeboxes with Tom's things due to being remnants of the Bright Falls AWE
Actually Alan merely created the conflict for Jesse by creating the Hiss. It’s never specifically implied he “created” her or the FBC, but he did say that a hero needs a conflict
I love how the FBC deals with the events in Control, it reminds me of how, in MIB, K tells J that the world is pretty much always in danger, as if world ending events are constant but for them it's just another day.
Considering just how long Alan has been in the dark place it's gonna be really embarassing if he comes back without a finished manuscript lmao. I know he's fighting for his life in a hell dimension or whatever but Jesse saved the entire world\worlds and still had time to get a really good new government job, AND cover for Ahti while he was on vacation. If Alan hasn't finished a book by now he might never live it down.
I don’t think Alan actually wrote control and max Payne literally. But I do like the idea that he influences things beyond himself. It’s a cool tie in to every other game.
he really didn't write the entire story of Control (perhaps even Max Payne), since the FBC existed even before Alan Wake was born. He'd be way too powerful if he can bring everything he writes to reality :p
Wait what? Only 711 Subscribers and 4.4k views as of writing? The absolute density and quality of the research and content here is insane! Hidden Machine team, you deserve so many more subscribers than just the hundreds. Awesome!
This was truly a treat. Being a long term fan of Alan Wake and everything related to it, and of course Remedy, I loved every minute of this video. I thought I knew almost everything related to the lore of Alan Wake, but it was genuinely happy discovering some new things. You sir, went above and beyond with this wonderfully crafted piece of work and I salute you for it. I wish this video gets hundreds of thousands of views. I'll be sure to share it with as many people as I can.
Thank you, that really means a lot! To be honest, there's still a lot more that I didn't cover here, but I had to set some kind of limit for the piece.
Yeah a very good doco makers over there at gaming university the Goto spot for Remedy verse education aswell as other games with scary motives behind there storylines
00:00:00 Section 1: Introduction 00:01:43 Section 2: Death Rally 00:03:51 Section 3.1: Max Payne - Story Recap 00:09:09 Section 3.2: Max Payne - Analysis 00:12:02 Section 4.1: Max Payne 2 - Introduction 00:13:28 Section 4.2: Max Payne 2 - Story Recap 00:18:29 Section 4.3: Max Payne 2 - Analysis 00:25:28 Section 5: Max Payne - The Movie 00:26:44 Section 6.1: Alan Wake - Introduction 00:27:40 Section 6.2: Alan Wake - Bright Falls 00:29:24 Section 6.3: Alan Wake - Introduction 00:30:37 Section 6.4: Alan Wake - Story Recap 00:44:28 Section 6.5: Alan Wake - Analysis 01:00:32 Section 6.6: Alan Wake - Supplemental Materials 01:04:58 Section 6.7: Alan Wake's American Nightmare 01:09:01 Section 7.1: 2012 - Max Payne 3 01:11:01 Section 7.2: 2012 - This House of Dreams 01:13:20 Section 8.1: Mobile Games - Death Rally 01:14:07 Section 8.2: Mobile Games - Agents of Storm 01:14:48 Section 9.1: Quantum Break - Introduction 01:18:38 Section 9.2: Quantum Break - Story Recap 01:21:38 Section 9.3: Quantum Break - Analysis 01:41:46 Section 10.1: Control - Introduction 01:44:43 Section 10.2: Control - Story Recap 02:00:02 Section 10.3: Control - The Foundation 02:00:47 Section 10.4: Control - AWE and Beyond 02:36:08 Section 11: What is Canon? 02:38:56 Section 12: Leftovers Thanks to all who provided voice-over: Ikaros 10032: TH-cam: th-cam.com/users/Ikaros10032 Gaming University: TH-cam: th-cam.com/users/GamingUniversityUoG Andrew Taylor: Facebook: facebook.com/halbeardofficial Instagram: instagram.com/halbeardo/ Kranitoko: TH-cam: th-cam.com/users/Kranitoko Follow Hidden Machine: Instagram: instagram.com/hiddenmachinegaming Twitter: twitter.com/machinehidden Learn more: Remedy Mysteries: www.reddit.com/r/RemedyMysteries/wiki/index Alan Wake Prototype And Beta Footage: th-cam.com/video/IJAxpwqtQmw/w-d-xo.html How Alan Wake Was Rebuilt 3 Years Into Development: th-cam.com/video/AoHkGDu0_Hw/w-d-xo.html Abandoned Alan Wake 2 Concept Demo: th-cam.com/video/OQRUx-w6t4s/w-d-xo.html Morphology of the Folk Tale: monoskop.org/images/f/f3/Propp_Vladimir_Morphology_of_the_Folktale_2nd_ed.pdf The Remedy Story So Far: th-cam.com/video/SlRltJ289y8/w-d-xo.html Riverport Blackboard Easter Egg (Analysis): th-cam.com/video/hehcTwATxSk/w-d-xo.html Examining the Evolution of Gaming and Its Impact on Social, Cultural, and Political Perspectives: www.researchgate.net/profile/Marc-Ouellette-2/publication/327546416_Examining_the_Evolution_of_Gaming_and_Its_Impact_on_Social_Cultural_and_Political_Perspectives_A_volume_in_the_Advances_in_Human_and_Social_Aspects_of_Technology_AHSAT_Book_Series/links/5b956bef299bf1473933bad2/Examining-the-Evolution-of-Gaming-and-Its-Impact-on-Social-Cultural-and-Political-Perspectives-A-volume-in-the-Advances-in-Human-and-Social-Aspects-of-Technology-AHSAT-Book-Series.pdf
i feel alans powers are kind of like "the daevite book" SCP, as in, he writes things, and they become real, but, ever so slightly different from what he wrote, also, like that same SCP. he wrote about "alex casey" and it became "max payne", he wrote "night springs" and got trapped in "cauldron lake", he writes about the "federal bureau of night springs" and creates the "federal bureau of control"
The references to Alan Wake brought up in the section discussing Control (the documents describing some objects from Alan Wake or its universe) seem a lot like how you'd write out a description of an SCP from what I recall, further adding onto the SCP "aura" of this universe/multiverse.
The events that Alan causes all happen near Cauldron Lake and Brightfalls, not beyond that. Also the FBC was created in the 50’s or earlier, decades before the Brightfalls AWE
@@tasvaful who is to say that he cant retroactively create things? ie he writes about a fully grown man, and one is there, meaning his abilities rewrote time, to make that person get born, instead of just "magically appearing".
@@tasvaful i tried to post both halvs of that as one comment but yt kept deleting it for some reason, hopefully you see both halves now.......damnit its gone.....
@@tasvaful like he writes about something that has been around for over five decades, and that makes time rewrite itself to make what he wrote, reality.
Great Video! I became a Control, Alan Wake and ultimately Remedy through Poets of the Fall and since then everytime I see a new connection I get so unbelievably happy! This video did that a lot for me. Thank you so much for it!
i went to sleep watching asmr and woke up to this video, i have no idea who “alan wake” is so i guess ill have to restart the video to get the full context. see yall soon
Fantastic work! This is the best analysis on the RCU I’ve seen. Hope the algorithm finds you soon and you’ll get more exposure. Keep up the great work. And the fantastic content
One extra thing about Alan's power is that he cannot write Deus Ex Machina's to solve problems. His stories have to make logical, coherent sense or they don't become reality. No cheap endings allowed.
The bit about the whiteboard is interesting because an Alan Wake 2, with every new part of Alan's gameplay in which he meet the sheriff in a new destination, The contents of the whiteboard doesn't change, and more notes gets added despite the sheriff saying that he forgets things similar to Alan.
I like the idea that Alan is this hidden force, subtlety tweeting reality to help Jessie instead of him just creating Jessie, Dylan, Polaris, the hiss, the bored and everything else because that really does just feel like a slap in the face
Well the art book almost explicitly states alan wakes powers are limited to nudge things that already exist and that alan didn’t write it in the awe section
@@mountaindewgaming2351 true, but I still think the specifics are a bit murky. Some scenes suggest to me that Alan wrote the Hiss chant. That doesn't mean he created the Hiss, but maybe he gave them the words they used to grow stronger? It's hard to say.
@@HiddenMachineGaming i think it's just another Easter egg because their chant doesn't mean anything they could be saying anything and it would have the same effect as long as it resonates Edit: lmao I just got too the part of the video where you said the same thing
I've been thinking a bit about this and if Max Payne exists in the Remedy verse then he is a parautilitarian with some pretty messed up powers. First is Bullet Time, slowing time or enhancing his perception. Might not seem that dark right, but think about this. How does he recharge that power? By killing people, head shots being extra effective. Then we have his body. Ever think about how we heal in Max Payne? By eating a rave's worth of pills. There is no way something like that would be able to fix a close range blast from a shotgun... and yet, Max is fine. I think he has some kind of power linking his perception of his body, specifically, pain to the state of his physical health. Enough trauma can overwhelm Max' resistance, killing or incapacitating him.
I didn’t cover this idea in the video, but I’ve had very similar thoughts since reflecting on all of the games. It’s disturbing, but it totally fits into the Remedy universe.
@@HiddenMachineGaming Ok hey, that's really cool. Another thing to think about re Max Payne and the FBC: They are both located in New York, a single cop mowing down hundrers of criminals over a single night would surely grab the FBC's attention right, especially in their backyard. Maybe the Inner Circle or mr Woden were able to keep Max from getting stanched up by the FBC? Hell consider that it was Woden that started Max's journey by sending those files to the DA. And it was only after Max's family were attacked that we see him use Bullet Time. Now sure maybe that was something he was able to do before but still. Max Payne's story in the wider Remedyverse has even more strange and dark implications than what we got in his games.
Having heard of Alan's games years ago it was an immediate click when I played Control and it was oddly dark in the main game. Such a nice touch and made me want to look for more. Cant wait for a sequel
I watched this today, a few hours into Alan Wake II. The amount of content that is suddenly thrown into light is incredible, thank you, 2 years after you published this, for the amount of research and care you put into this video
I've only just dipped into the Remedyverse with Alan Wake last year and just recently Control and I've fallen quite in love with it. The concept of games connected in a shared timeline or universe is one I've not seen before, say for Valve and their Half-Life universe (but I don't know anything other than Aperture Science being a competitor to Black Mesa.) I hope that they will one day acquire the rights to Quantum Break (though that's wishful thinking) and make Max Payne more connected rather than having stand-ins. I also hope Alan Wake 2 will free the writer from his 10 year solitary confinement. Something I also wanna add is what I love about Control, which is how much it feels like a triple A SCP game; I had grown up with them in the 2000s - 2010s and they were something id constantly delve into. I'm also a big eldrich horror fan, which both are filled with.
I have a very strong suspicion that Max Payne is being brought back into the fold. After this video was released, Remedy put out their campaign for CrossfireX. That game contained a hidden room that included messages scrawled all over a wall saying things like “it’s all connected” and “Payne”. Shortly after that, they announced that they would be remaking Max Payne 1 and 2. With parts of Alan Wake 2 taking place in NYC, I think there’s great potential for more explicit crossovers beyond the stand ins.
40:27 In interview, Marko Saaresto has said that one interpretation of the name Poets of the Fall is "architects of destruction". 41:51 This concept is the same as that of Poets of the Fall - Dreaming Wide Awake, same album as War featured in Alan Wake. The lyrics of Late Goodbye come to life literally in the film Bright Falls. 1:31:57 At the time, Sam Lake stated in a tweet that the two characters are Alex Casey and Saga Anderson - a name you may now be familiar with. To really understand why canonicity is meaningless for the connected universe, you need to come at the Monomyth concept with a fresh mind. People do not consciously copy it. It is unconsciously replicated through the personification of archetypes derived from the collective unconscious (see the various whiteboards in Control talking about the theories of Carl Jung). Excalibur becomes the Service Weapon while still being the same object, it's just the framing of the times that has changed. The fundamental nature of altered items is the spirit of the thing. Alex Casey IS Max Payne in a way that matters more than copyright or canonicity - spirit. And as for Jung, there's a whole rabbit hole there for Poets of the Fall.
I watched almost the whole thing in one sitting. Help. Great video btw! Thank you so much! Made it way easier to understand then running through and playing all the games and getting the comics and the books and the ect. ect.
This video was created before the release of CrossfireX, and before the announcement of the Max Payne remakes and Alan Wake 2. If you're looking for some updated analysis, here's some follow up videos to check out! ○ Alan Wake: Full Story & Extended Lore Explained th-cam.com/video/lF6j81lVyCc/w-d-xo.html ○ Remedy: "YES! It's all connected!!!" th-cam.com/video/l-bxkkWrrGw/w-d-xo.html ○ Max Payne Remakes and the Remedy Connected Universe th-cam.com/video/yak3nAEBvDI/w-d-xo.html ○ Where does CrossfireX fit into the Remedy Connected Universe? th-cam.com/video/2LP1xQg9k8o/w-d-xo.html
I think Thomas Zane switched places with Alan wake which is why he's trapped in the eldest house wasn't until FBC apprehended Alice wake that Alan spiritual essence was captured in the eldest house Thomas Zane now is able to switch places with Alan wake and he's been re writing reality to make up his mistake making dark version of his late wife bareba yagger this is how I think Quantum break is going to make a come back in control 2
Awesome video. Watching this after Remedy officially announce Alan Wake 2 and Remedy Made/Rockstar funded Max Payne 1+2 remakes makes me even more excited
Love this! Excellent video and thorough analysis of the Remedy Connected Universe. Love your content, this deserves many more views! Hopefully many more discover this great video and your amazing channel. Keep up the great work! 👍
@@HiddenMachineGaming there's a whole generation of games that were essentially just dx11 versions ported to dx12 instead of running natively on dx12...and ran worse in every case. Resident Evil 2 is another big name example
Its so crazy to see this Video being so often spot on. Its almost creepy how your asumptions turned out right. Iam looking forward on your video updating all stories and connections. You have my sub for sure
Great video! Before summer this year I never really watched or played any Remedy game... but after playing Control a few months back I just had to dig deeper! All of them are great in their own right. But so much stuff connecting all of the games makes this universe even more interesting. Remedy sure is consistent with their themes, laying ground work and hints pretty early. And even bringing lots of actors from previous games back every time. This video is a really good summary of most of those things and really, big props to you for making this! :D I somehow jumped on the Remedy hype train at the right time. Looking forward to the next games (besides Project Condor), probably either Alan Wake 2 or Control 2... or a connecting game. There are way too many open questions that I need some answers to! :D
You have no idea how loud I screamed when Ahti the Janitor showed up in Alan Wake 2. All the other FBC Easter Eggs are cool and all but Ahti is easily my favorite character from Control. I can’t wait to see how they will continue to entangle their properties together. Really wish they had full rights to the Quantum Break property because when I first started Control I was like “oh yeah what happened in Quantum Break was definitely an AWE.” Also sad Lance Reddick wasn’t able to be Mr. Door since that was obviously a play on his character from QB.
Dont know, if im repeating anything here but after seeing promotional trailers for alan wake 2; its super interesting to see the alex casey and the blonde girl(suposed to be Saga maybe?) And the case board stuff all the way back in quantum break
The effort and thoroughness of this project is staggering. You've done an amazing job. Thanks for the links and additional context. You've really outdone yourself.
Remedy should go full circle and make an Alex Casey video game. Actually spiritual successor to max, it could be the open world game they have been to wanting to make. Something like GTA with remedy writing.
@@HiddenMachineGaming right? I'd honestly take a linear casey game as well lol and awesome recap dude I'm pretty new to the remedy verse myself kinda just stumbled into it not knowing the games were connected. The multiplayer control game is what I'm looking forward to next besides wake 2, I imagine it's something like destiny set in the oldest house.
@@TheVentrexian definitely, really excited to see what Remedy does with multiplayer. I didn't really mention it in the video, but CrossfireX is releasing on February 10th. It's not technically connected to the other Remedy games, but Remedy developed the single player campaign for the game. It'll be their first FPS title!
1:24:32 It very interesting to hear this since I felt the exact opposite. I played Quantum Break first and really liked it and then played Alan Wake and Control right after where I had a really hard time understanding what was going on. It wasn’t until looking up lore videos that I enjoyed Alan Wake really at all. Fortunately it feels like Alan Wake 2 got the balance a lot better and also makes it clear how important things like the manuscript are to listen to
Who would have thought the wheels were in motion throughout remedy games dating back to the racing game through to control and who would have thought quantum break was a part of the universe aswell years before control tied up the universe and verified thanks to ikka and poretti they have held the entire remedy universe together for 20+ years now and now Alan wake 2 is on the horizon which will further open up more unanswered questions so far in the remedy verse at the end of it I think they were all created through Alan wakes books he never finished
You've now proved that Jesse faden and Beth wilder have met each other this is all the more reason why there is going to be a visit with Quantum break again it's just to uncanny and we know Sam lake is a writer along with the other guy who helps Sam lake with fleshing out the remedy universe and Beth wilder did visit her alternate version but won't be explain until control 2 and files in Alan wake 2 from 2022 will prescribe Beth Wilders journey through the many realitys including that of Quantum break during the time Beth was stuck in the past for over 10yra
1:30:00 and so on... the "AW trailer" inside Quaantum Break. It´s amazing how consistent Remedy is. The "many faces" concept is present in the Alan Wake 2 Trailer.
@@HiddenMachineGaming watching Raycevick´s video on Control, I notice something. The phone in the old house, is the one ringin in Alan Wake 2´s trailer!. That´s why it sounded out of place. Was not part of the Alan Wake 1 game, was part of Control!!
Just found this video today when my brain decided to click over to Remedy and the connections between their games(recently been wanting to replay control for some reason) and at the same time I’ve been rereading House of Leaves. I’d be more than a little curious to hear you thoughts on possible connections between House of Leaves and the Remedy worlds. Especially Control. I always found it curious that the album by Poe that’s connected to House of Leaves (titled Haunted) includes a track on it titled Control. Also total side note head cannon, ever since hearing the FBC member talk about going to see the Alex Casey movie, I imagine the Max Payne games as those movies, partially explaining their bombastic stylized Hollywood violence. But again, that’s just my fun head cannon 😋
Unfortunately, I haven't yet read the book. I've been meaning to for a while now, and do intend to do a video covering that connection eventually. I can say that Remedy and Sam Lake have been very outspoken and candid when it comes to talking about taking influence from books and movies that they love. Max Payne feels like a John Woo movie, and Alan Wake takes a lot of pieces directly from Twin Peaks and the works of Stephen King. At times, these influences are so strong on the games and their stories that they feel like some sort of fan fiction or unofficial continuation of those works. From what I know about House of Leaves, I think that sort of connection to the work is very evident in Control. I was unaware of the Poe album, that's a really interesting companion piece! I'm excited to dig into all of that stuff soon. As for the Max Payne movie head cannon, I love that. I have a strong hunch that in-universe movies and some sort of meta narrative surrounding them are going to be a big part of Alan Wake II.
@@HiddenMachineGaming yeah, Poe is actually the sister of House of Leaves author Mark Z. Danielewski, so Haunted was written as a sort of companion piece to the book, and the title track “Haunted” is actually used in Alan Wake at the end of one of the episodes(can’t remember which off the top of my head) and the description of the house in the book(bigger on the inside than out, and the constantly shifting topography are stand outs) as well as the visual presentation of the book giving a similar FEELING to experiencing the oldest house. Honestly, you’re going to love it lol And I love how open they are about the influences they take, it’s clearly out of love. I especially feel the Twin Peaks influence when dealing with the concepts of doubles throughout their games. Honestly can’t wait for Alan Wake II. It’s clear that Remedy are really taking great care in building their worlds and it does make me eager for more insight.
Angry that Alan Wake heavily influenced the events of Control? No, I wasn't upset by that. I was too busy yelling into my television screen, "Why is a famous author fucking hunting and pecking 20 WPM?!?!?!?!" I mean, come on.. lol
Well done, and appreciated. There are still so much to see, but I hope Remedy in the near future they will give us clearer views of the lore and stories. I played all except MP.
Honestly it's clear the Bureau existed long before Alan knew he had powers let alone how to use them. I'm also interested to see if he maintains his powers after escaping the dark place and leaving Cauldron Lake or if they truly only exist as an extension of that Threshold. Is he a full parautilitarian? If so would the Bureau even let him live a normal life? He's going to be under their surveillance for the rest of his life no matter what if he does get out so he might as well work for them. I definitely can't wait to see him and Jesse meet and I'm sure she'll ask questions herself about just how his abilities work and how he was using them, what was him interfering and what was mere circumstance, etc. I really just want them to have a badass teamup moment. If Jesse doesn't save Alan in some capacity it will feel like the events of Control were a waste of his time and effort, but at the same time he can't just be a damsel in his own sequel. So they've written themselves into the corner of having to walk a fine line between Alan needing to be saved versus being able to save himself. Personally I only care about Jesse and the Bureau characters so I want them to recruit Wake as an agent so bad. I could see him getting out of the dark place via the Ocean View somehow and accidentally letting the dark place leak into the Oldest House. That would be the way to go.
Alex Casey is an FBI agent in Alan wake 2 played by sam lake and max Payne's voice actor Alan wrote his character in to life from the dark place it seems
A couple interesting things I noticed while watching this video: This House of Dreams sort of rhymes with the postmodern book House of Leaves, which is considered a postmodern novel/experience. Alongside Sam Lake bringing up his love of postmodern works in the introduction to the Quantum Break (I believe it was there?), as well as his mention of wanting to make books something more than what they are already (this was a sentiment shared by the author of House of Leaves), plus the mention of the Yggdrasil seen at around 2:47:41 (which is also referenced in House of Leaves) could suggest some inspiration or even some form of mild homages. I'm not sure though.
Wow, I never considered the House of Leaves/House of Dreams similarity, but you are definitely correct in your suspicions here. Sam Lake and other folks that worked on Control have gone on record saying that the book was a very strong influence on the game.
1:10:49 gave me chills! Hah the first time the brother in Control said that. The game control pretty much allows all these games to be together. Edit: big fan of Alan Wake. Had it on the 360. Played it so many times. I just played Control and the DLC for it. Good stuff. Hah
Watching the Return bit that they made with the themes to touch on in Alan Wake 2 after playing Alan Wake 2 makes is just another perfect little echo as well!
God I forgot how much the intro of max Payne 1 scared me as a kid. It was the first M rated game I ever played and made think max Payne was a horror franchise till trailers for mp3 came out!
After playing Alan Wake 2, I am impressed by how even though this video is a year old of the game's release, it still does help to understand the story's depth and what to theorize for any Remedy game sequel.
Wow I really never got into Alan Wake but the second one has blown me away and I appreciate it so much more after listening to this video.. its truly remarkable
This might be one of my favorite videos ever, so in depth. A little biased though, because although I haven't played Alan Wake fully (don't worry I intend to soon) I'm an absolutely massive Max Payne fan and this is just... Beautiful.
@@HiddenMachineGaming I cannot wait to play Alan Wake so I can find and take in every little connection between the two. Are you excited for the Max Payne remakes? We might even get some stuff referencing Alan Wake bringing everything full circle.
After playing Alan Wake 2 and watching the cutscene between Tom and Alan again (in both) they play out so similarly it makes me think Zane is actually scratch.
2:46:15 [...] The Pyramid and the stone file become a Sprouse tree. I think it refers to the board and the nail we see in the Foundation DLC. If you look at the nail, it is missing a triangle piece in the shape of a pyramid used by the board to communicate with the player.
Remedy's games have given me exact same vibes as Quentin Tarantino films. Like, doesn't it almost feel like every single Quentin Tarantino film could be set in the same universe? He uses recurring actors (like Remedy) and similar aspects (protagonist gunslinger) from film to film. It's not the type of "connected universe", more like a multiverse, with the same people in different times, reborn as people who look like their other self, but having different characterization, yet something oddly... Familiar about them. I am certain Tarantino is a big inspiration to Sam Lake and I hope Remedy continues to have the confidence and integrity of Tarantino: To be their "weird" self and do something great and something unique. I hope they won't get too bogged down in trying to make something "mainstream", because that's not how Tarantino made it. He merely respected the genres he made films about, which naturally brought a large audience to him.
Well said. That familiar throughline is present in all of their mainline games from Max Payne forward. As for Remedy being their "weird" self, I think they will continue to do so. I remember an interview from a little while back where the devs were discussing how the super positive reaction to the Ashtray Maze in Control really reiterated the fact that they should fearlessly follow their creative visions and be as weird as they want to be.
2:46:10 "In their drunken fever states, see them more profoundly. The pyramid and the stone file, becomes a spruce tree." 2:47:42 "A video sequence shown twice during the AWE DLC gives us a brief glimpse of a map of Bright Falls, and on it we can see a sticky note that reads "Cult of the Tree". SPOILER for 'Alan Wake II' A group, previously known as 'The Torchbearers', gets ahold of FBC files and inverts the pyramid on their logo to create their own logo - a pair of overlapping triangles that resembles a spruce tree, bringing about the line, "The pyramid and the stone file becomes a spruce tree" line. They rename themselves 'The Cult of the Tree'.
OK Al Gore Rythim, care to explain why you are just suggesting this video/channel to me now? This video has been around for a year and a half and you know Max Payne is my favorite game series and Remedy is one of my favorite developers. You know that because I constantly watch long for content on them! You know, EXACTLY LIKE THIS MASTERPIECE! Ugh, I'm sorry Hidden Machine I'm here now and I've subbed and hit the like button.
I cant believe that i played death rally when it came out and i had no idea that Remedy made it. I watch this video and all i see is Remedy style is in state of constant slow evolution and adaptation and i love their slow but sure build ups and how they keeping the pace without detriments to the quality of the final product. (Max Payne theme music play in background) "You see Remedy and their Alan Wake 2 and smile...a warm fuzzy smile of inner joy. Than, you turn around and se Bethesda....and... your face takes to smile as well...but...it is a sour and bitter smile, like...like you gulped down a whole glass of lemon and lime juice. And all you have now is bitter smile and regret that follows you. And will follow you....for a long time to come."
2:47:58 and now we know who are the cult of the tree :D amazing that such small details are hidden years before the next game's release (in this case AW2)
Absolute quality content........ I recently completed Control ( and its DLC ) and being a long time Remedy fan this video was such a watch... (Completed in one sitting ).... Hopefully Remedy well delivers Alan Wake 2 just like all their games......
2:24:00 in the new alan wake 2 teasers and trailers seems like initiation will be a part of alan wake 2's story 2:30:00 Mr. door appears in one of alan wake 2 teasers as a tv show hosts interviewing alan wake from the dark place.
It is my belief that if remedy does not get the rights back to Max Payne and if they wanted to another game call Alex Casey, give like a prologue where it's a story come to life by Alan Wake, from the brief manuscripts that we read in Alan Wake and the section of the book that we read in the island wake files I could honestly see them making a game using Alex Casey as a protagonist, for a character model as a frame of reference use the Max Payne 2 iteration of the character except alter it here and there to avoid copyright rename characters and alter the story where need be and then other than that you got yourself a game. Then again this is just me grasping a straws.
![กี่หมื่นฟ้า | Your Sky Series EP.1 [1/4]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vLGjxFL6U_I/mqdefault.jpg)
It brings a smol little tear to my eye to contrast how heartbroken Sam Lake sounded to admit that Alan Wake would have to be placed in the dark for the time being, to game awards 2021. God I love you everyone who works at Remedy and that magnificent bastard Sam Lake.
We're so glad he's been able to bring Alan Wake back!
😮😮😅😅😮😅😮😅😅😅😊y😅😮😅😅😅😅😅😅😮😅😅aaS 2:27:22 😅😊🎞🎞😊Dad😅s4ssd😊
Two years later, I'm comparing to Game Awards 2023, where Alan Wake 2 won major awards and Sam got to recreate a signature moment by dancing like a fool while the Old Gods played him on. Not a bad victory lap. His smile during the Herald of Darkness performance was so heart warming.
In Control, as you approach the typewriter and you hear Alan Wake narrating what's happening... that moment gave me chills I'll never forget. "Chef's kiss" 😘👌
Totally, that part was so exciting
Damn spoilers haha but nice to see it's there. Now I gotta play both AW and C to experience it fully. Started AW the other month and got about 2hrs in and really enjoyed it. Time to finish it.
cHeFz KisZ
@@datatsushi2016bRaiN DaMAgEd.
That’s you by the way.
@@5000Seabass StAgE 4
Is what i hope you'll get. Preferably in the pancreas ;) Less chance of recovery.
I honestly don't understand how this universe of games isn't more talked about, there is literally no other franchise or game developer that has ever set up such a deeply linked universe between games that are seemingly unrelated. This is an amazing video and a must see for fans of the series, I played all these games except for Quantum Break, and loved every minute of it.
I really think it has to do with how subtle some of the connections are. There’s a few blatant references, but at first glance it doesn’t seem as deeply connected as it really is. More and more people are catching on every day though!
@@HiddenMachineGaming True, but Control for example is a great, unique and recent game even with a PS5 version and you don't see many people talking about it. I wonder if it's just because Remedy are not the typical triple A pubishers.
In my opinion over the years Alan has attempted multiple times to write his way out of the Dark place without hurting the balance between light and dark. Every time he has failed so far, he's been trying every scenario he could think of. So he thought back to episode he had written for Night Springs and decided to use that as a jumping off point, and this time it worked leading us into the upcoming Alan Wake 2.
Fantastic comment. If you've finished AW2, then your point about balance is very relevant.
Part where Dr.Darling "mocks" Alan is actually small shot from Darling's music masterpiece "Dyna-mite"
Ah, thank you!
Note that 665 is also in Quantum Break. It a code number you need at one point. They also call it the neighbor of the beast in it.
Good catch!
The TV studio in AW2
I loved this
Thank you! Good catch!
i think it's Sam Lake letting go of Max Payne but that's a damn good memory or just a good catch if you've been playing the game recently lol
i remember the scenes of the dog just not the dogs name lol
1:05:37 I love how the more experienced he becomes, the more Alan resembles Ash Williams of Evil Dead in terms of personality, no longer as afraid of the entity, but more relaxed to the point he's cracking jokes and spitting one liners, becoming a Horror Comedic Writer, which in turn contrast with Mr Scratch becoming a twisted version of this funnier Alan Wake, mirroring Patrick Bateman of American Psycho.
Well said!
Regarding the idea of Alan creating Jesse and the FBC and that cheapening her journey...
I think people might be forgetting a certain page from American Nightmare:
?Page 14: Everything Is as Real as Everything Else
This act of creation is exhilarating and frightening. Subtext and symbols loom, eager to take effect. Causality and consequence become domino chains that stretch into infinity. The more fundamental the change, the more unpredictable the variables become; reality is too complex to control completely. Ordinary questions become meaningless.
"Who created who?"
"What is really real?"
Everything is as real as everything else. You learn to let go of the things you can't control and go with the flow, or go insane."
Yes! I was thinking of this passage while working on this video, but couldn't quite remember where it was from and was unable to pull it up.
Personally I think they were setting up with it back when they first came up with Ordinary, with the mysterious agents with badges with AWE on them, which would develop into a distinction of Altered World Event, implying them collecting the shoeboxes with Tom's things due to being remnants of the Bright Falls AWE
Actually Alan merely created the conflict for Jesse by creating the Hiss. It’s never specifically implied he “created” her or the FBC, but he did say that a hero needs a conflict
I love how the FBC deals with the events in Control, it reminds me of how, in MIB, K tells J that the world is pretty much always in danger, as if world ending events are constant but for them it's just another day.
I just rewatched the MIB trilogy, I totally had a similar impression
Considering just how long Alan has been in the dark place it's gonna be really embarassing if he comes back without a finished manuscript lmao. I know he's fighting for his life in a hell dimension or whatever but Jesse saved the entire world\worlds and still had time to get a really good new government job, AND cover for Ahti while he was on vacation. If Alan hasn't finished a book by now he might never live it down.
Maybe he’ll just start a podcast instead
That’s how art works
There’s no time n the dark place, it doesn’t exist.
I don’t think Alan actually wrote control and max Payne literally. But I do like the idea that he influences things beyond himself. It’s a cool tie in to every other game.
he really didn't write the entire story of Control (perhaps even Max Payne), since the FBC existed even before Alan Wake was born. He'd be way too powerful if he can bring everything he writes to reality :p
This is your not average long analysis vide. Before you skip it remember this guy is breaking down 3 games plus DLC. GREAT WORK 👌🏽
Thank you! We’re covering nearly 25 years worth of games here, hard to make it much shorter!
@@HiddenMachineGaming I just saw all my typos lol never using my iPad to comment again. Seriously tho, great video I really enjoyed it.
Late Goodbye was such a bop. Waxing nostalgic.
It’s my favorite song of theirs
Wait what? Only 711 Subscribers and 4.4k views as of writing? The absolute density and quality of the research and content here is insane!
Hidden Machine team, you deserve so many more subscribers than just the hundreds. Awesome!
Thank you! We're trying hard to grow the channel!
Well, it's called HIDDEN machine for a reason I guess, that said, subscribed!
@@HiddenMachineGamingseeing this comment a year later & you’re at nearly 7k subscribers 🎉
This was truly a treat. Being a long term fan of Alan Wake and everything related to it, and of course Remedy, I loved every minute of this video.
I thought I knew almost everything related to the lore of Alan Wake, but it was genuinely happy discovering some new things.
You sir, went above and beyond with this wonderfully crafted piece of work and I salute you for it. I wish this video gets hundreds of thousands of views. I'll be sure to share it with as many people as I can.
Thank you, that really means a lot! To be honest, there's still a lot more that I didn't cover here, but I had to set some kind of limit for the piece.
Yeah a very good doco makers over there at gaming university the Goto spot for Remedy verse education aswell as other games with scary motives behind there storylines
Here here!
I don’t understand people that can do 3 hour long video on anything. Salute your dedication. I’m gonna make sure I watch the entire thing.
Thank you! I also released it in smaller chunks here on the channel as a ten part series that might be easier to get through.
00:00:00 Section 1: Introduction
00:01:43 Section 2: Death Rally
00:03:51 Section 3.1: Max Payne - Story Recap
00:09:09 Section 3.2: Max Payne - Analysis
00:12:02 Section 4.1: Max Payne 2 - Introduction
00:13:28 Section 4.2: Max Payne 2 - Story Recap
00:18:29 Section 4.3: Max Payne 2 - Analysis
00:25:28 Section 5: Max Payne - The Movie
00:26:44 Section 6.1: Alan Wake - Introduction
00:27:40 Section 6.2: Alan Wake - Bright Falls
00:29:24 Section 6.3: Alan Wake - Introduction
00:30:37 Section 6.4: Alan Wake - Story Recap
00:44:28 Section 6.5: Alan Wake - Analysis
01:00:32 Section 6.6: Alan Wake - Supplemental Materials
01:04:58 Section 6.7: Alan Wake's American Nightmare
01:09:01 Section 7.1: 2012 - Max Payne 3
01:11:01 Section 7.2: 2012 - This House of Dreams
01:13:20 Section 8.1: Mobile Games - Death Rally
01:14:07 Section 8.2: Mobile Games - Agents of Storm
01:14:48 Section 9.1: Quantum Break - Introduction
01:18:38 Section 9.2: Quantum Break - Story Recap
01:21:38 Section 9.3: Quantum Break - Analysis
01:41:46 Section 10.1: Control - Introduction
01:44:43 Section 10.2: Control - Story Recap
02:00:02 Section 10.3: Control - The Foundation
02:00:47 Section 10.4: Control - AWE and Beyond
02:36:08 Section 11: What is Canon?
02:38:56 Section 12: Leftovers
Thanks to all who provided voice-over:
Ikaros 10032:
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Gaming University:
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Andrew Taylor:
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Follow Hidden Machine:
Instagram: instagram.com/hiddenmachinegaming
Twitter: twitter.com/machinehidden
Learn more:
Remedy Mysteries:
www.reddit.com/r/RemedyMysteries/wiki/index
Alan Wake Prototype And Beta Footage:
th-cam.com/video/IJAxpwqtQmw/w-d-xo.html
How Alan Wake Was Rebuilt 3 Years Into Development:
th-cam.com/video/AoHkGDu0_Hw/w-d-xo.html
Abandoned Alan Wake 2 Concept Demo:
th-cam.com/video/OQRUx-w6t4s/w-d-xo.html
Morphology of the Folk Tale:
monoskop.org/images/f/f3/Propp_Vladimir_Morphology_of_the_Folktale_2nd_ed.pdf
The Remedy Story So Far:
th-cam.com/video/SlRltJ289y8/w-d-xo.html
Riverport Blackboard Easter Egg (Analysis):
th-cam.com/video/hehcTwATxSk/w-d-xo.html
Examining the Evolution of Gaming and Its Impact on Social, Cultural, and Political Perspectives:
www.researchgate.net/profile/Marc-Ouellette-2/publication/327546416_Examining_the_Evolution_of_Gaming_and_Its_Impact_on_Social_Cultural_and_Political_Perspectives_A_volume_in_the_Advances_in_Human_and_Social_Aspects_of_Technology_AHSAT_Book_Series/links/5b956bef299bf1473933bad2/Examining-the-Evolution-of-Gaming-and-Its-Impact-on-Social-Cultural-and-Political-Perspectives-A-volume-in-the-Advances-in-Human-and-Social-Aspects-of-Technology-AHSAT-Book-Series.pdf
i feel alans powers are kind of like "the daevite book" SCP, as in, he writes things, and they become real, but, ever so slightly different from what he wrote, also, like that same SCP.
he wrote about "alex casey" and it became "max payne", he wrote "night springs" and got trapped in "cauldron lake", he writes about the "federal bureau of night springs" and creates the "federal bureau of control"
The references to Alan Wake brought up in the section discussing Control (the documents describing some objects from Alan Wake or its universe) seem a lot like how you'd write out a description of an SCP from what I recall, further adding onto the SCP "aura" of this universe/multiverse.
The events that Alan causes all happen near Cauldron Lake and Brightfalls, not beyond that. Also the FBC was created in the 50’s or earlier, decades before the Brightfalls AWE
@@tasvaful who is to say that he cant retroactively create things? ie he writes about a fully grown man, and one is there, meaning his abilities rewrote time, to make that person get born, instead of just "magically appearing".
@@tasvaful i tried to post both halvs of that as one comment but yt kept deleting it for some reason, hopefully you see both halves now.......damnit its gone.....
@@tasvaful like he writes about something that has been around for over five decades, and that makes time rewrite itself to make what he wrote, reality.
After playing Alan Wake 2, this video is mind blowing.
Great Video! I became a Control, Alan Wake and ultimately Remedy through Poets of the Fall and since then everytime I see a new connection I get so unbelievably happy! This video did that a lot for me. Thank you so much for it!
So happy to hear that! Can’t wait to make a follow up after Alan Wake 2!
i went to sleep watching asmr and woke up to this video, i have no idea who “alan wake” is so i guess ill have to restart the video to get the full context. see yall soon
Fantastic work! This is the best analysis on the RCU I’ve seen. Hope the algorithm finds you soon and you’ll get more exposure. Keep up the great work. And the fantastic content
Thank you so much!
One extra thing about Alan's power is that he cannot write Deus Ex Machina's to solve problems.
His stories have to make logical, coherent sense or they don't become reality. No cheap endings allowed.
True!
The bit about the whiteboard is interesting because an Alan Wake 2, with every new part of Alan's gameplay in which he meet the sheriff in a new destination, The contents of the whiteboard doesn't change, and more notes gets added despite the sheriff saying that he forgets things similar to Alan.
I watched this entire video front to back and not one ad played, and for the first time in my life I am saddened by that....
Weird! Ads are active for this one!
Wow didn't realise Dore was from quantum break. That's so cool
Yes! Such a fun connection
I like the idea that Alan is this hidden force, subtlety tweeting reality to help Jessie instead of him just creating Jessie, Dylan, Polaris, the hiss, the bored and everything else because that really does just feel like a slap in the face
Totally. I think that the next few games will help clarify the whole situation a lot more.
Well the art book almost explicitly states alan wakes powers are limited to nudge things that already exist and that alan didn’t write it in the awe section
@@mountaindewgaming2351 true, but I still think the specifics are a bit murky. Some scenes suggest to me that Alan wrote the Hiss chant. That doesn't mean he created the Hiss, but maybe he gave them the words they used to grow stronger? It's hard to say.
@@HiddenMachineGaming i think it's just another Easter egg because their chant doesn't mean anything they could be saying anything and it would have the same effect as long as it resonates
Edit: lmao I just got too the part of the video where you said the same thing
I was gonna ask if you meant tweaking reality but tweeting reality is so much more of the moment that it fits
Alan Wake is at the center of it all. Remedy playfully reminding the audience that each world created is born from the mind of the writer.
It really feels that way
I've been thinking a bit about this and if Max Payne exists in the Remedy verse then he is a parautilitarian with some pretty messed up powers.
First is Bullet Time, slowing time or enhancing his perception. Might not seem that dark right, but think about this. How does he recharge that power?
By killing people, head shots being extra effective.
Then we have his body. Ever think about how we heal in Max Payne? By eating a rave's worth of pills. There is no way something like that would be able to fix a close range blast from a shotgun...
and yet, Max is fine. I think he has some kind of power linking his perception of his body, specifically, pain to the state of his physical health. Enough trauma can overwhelm Max' resistance, killing or incapacitating him.
I didn’t cover this idea in the video, but I’ve had very similar thoughts since reflecting on all of the games. It’s disturbing, but it totally fits into the Remedy universe.
@@HiddenMachineGaming Ok hey, that's really cool.
Another thing to think about re Max Payne and the FBC: They are both located in New York, a single cop mowing down hundrers of criminals over a single night would surely grab the FBC's attention right, especially in their backyard.
Maybe the Inner Circle or mr Woden were able to keep Max from getting stanched up by the FBC?
Hell consider that it was Woden that started Max's journey by sending those files to the DA. And it was only after Max's family were attacked that we see him use Bullet Time. Now sure maybe that was something he was able to do before but still.
Max Payne's story in the wider Remedyverse has even more strange and dark implications than what we got in his games.
Seeing all of the blatant connections to Quantum Break and real world things in Alan Wake 2 is insane
Yes, it's like they found the perfect legal loopholes to include the games
Having heard of Alan's games years ago it was an immediate click when I played Control and it was oddly dark in the main game. Such a nice touch and made me want to look for more. Cant wait for a sequel
I watched this today, a few hours into Alan Wake II. The amount of content that is suddenly thrown into light is incredible, thank you, 2 years after you published this, for the amount of research and care you put into this video
Thank you for watching!
I've only just dipped into the Remedyverse with Alan Wake last year and just recently Control and I've fallen quite in love with it. The concept of games connected in a shared timeline or universe is one I've not seen before, say for Valve and their Half-Life universe (but I don't know anything other than Aperture Science being a competitor to Black Mesa.) I hope that they will one day acquire the rights to Quantum Break (though that's wishful thinking) and make Max Payne more connected rather than having stand-ins. I also hope Alan Wake 2 will free the writer from his 10 year solitary confinement. Something I also wanna add is what I love about Control, which is how much it feels like a triple A SCP game; I had grown up with them in the 2000s - 2010s and they were something id constantly delve into. I'm also a big eldrich horror fan, which both are filled with.
I have a very strong suspicion that Max Payne is being brought back into the fold. After this video was released, Remedy put out their campaign for CrossfireX. That game contained a hidden room that included messages scrawled all over a wall saying things like “it’s all connected” and “Payne”. Shortly after that, they announced that they would be remaking Max Payne 1 and 2. With parts of Alan Wake 2 taking place in NYC, I think there’s great potential for more explicit crossovers beyond the stand ins.
sam lake is the single greatest writer working in video games, everything he writes is shoulder to should w dan houser's very best work.
Agreed!
40:27 In interview, Marko Saaresto has said that one interpretation of the name Poets of the Fall is "architects of destruction".
41:51 This concept is the same as that of Poets of the Fall - Dreaming Wide Awake, same album as War featured in Alan Wake.
The lyrics of Late Goodbye come to life literally in the film Bright Falls.
1:31:57 At the time, Sam Lake stated in a tweet that the two characters are Alex Casey and Saga Anderson - a name you may now be familiar with.
To really understand why canonicity is meaningless for the connected universe, you need to come at the Monomyth concept with a fresh mind. People do not consciously copy it. It is unconsciously replicated through the personification of archetypes derived from the collective unconscious (see the various whiteboards in Control talking about the theories of Carl Jung). Excalibur becomes the Service Weapon while still being the same object, it's just the framing of the times that has changed. The fundamental nature of altered items is the spirit of the thing. Alex Casey IS Max Payne in a way that matters more than copyright or canonicity - spirit. And as for Jung, there's a whole rabbit hole there for Poets of the Fall.
Great points!
I watched almost the whole thing in one sitting. Help.
Great video btw! Thank you so much! Made it way easier to understand then running through and playing all the games and getting the comics and the books and the ect. ect.
Happy to hear it!
This video was created before the release of CrossfireX, and before the announcement of the Max Payne remakes and Alan Wake 2. If you're looking for some updated analysis, here's some follow up videos to check out!
○ Alan Wake: Full Story & Extended Lore Explained
th-cam.com/video/lF6j81lVyCc/w-d-xo.html
○ Remedy: "YES! It's all connected!!!"
th-cam.com/video/l-bxkkWrrGw/w-d-xo.html
○ Max Payne Remakes and the Remedy Connected Universe
th-cam.com/video/yak3nAEBvDI/w-d-xo.html
○ Where does CrossfireX fit into the Remedy Connected Universe?
th-cam.com/video/2LP1xQg9k8o/w-d-xo.html
What max Payne remakes I never heard of that on Yt nobody mentioned it not even remedy or Rockstar
Max Payne, Quantum Break and especially CrossfireX is NOT part of the Remedy Connected Universe
I think Thomas Zane switched places with Alan wake which is why he's trapped in the eldest house wasn't until FBC apprehended Alice wake that Alan spiritual essence was captured in the eldest house Thomas Zane now is able to switch places with Alan wake and he's been re writing reality to make up his mistake making dark version of his late wife bareba yagger this is how I think Quantum break is going to make a come back in control 2
Great video made only better by the fact that Alan Wake 2 was announced the following month after it was published. Man's ahead of the curve
Thank you! It was a very lucky coincidence.
Nice video man, thats a full exploration, I hope it gets more views in the future, is very good to put things in another context
Thank you!
Awesome video. Watching this after Remedy officially announce Alan Wake 2 and Remedy Made/Rockstar funded Max Payne 1+2 remakes makes me even more excited
Thank you! So pumped for the next set of Remedy games
Love this! Excellent video and thorough analysis of the Remedy Connected Universe. Love your content, this deserves many more views! Hopefully many more discover this great video and your amazing channel. Keep up the great work! 👍
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Concerning the time ripples in Quantum Break, Monarch's emblem is a butterfly, possibly a reference to the butterfly effect aka cause and effect.
Great catch!
quantum break was a black sheep because it has a massive install size, and the windows release got botched with the dx11/12 versioning
True, I have since found that out.
@@HiddenMachineGaming there's a whole generation of games that were essentially just dx11 versions ported to dx12 instead of running natively on dx12...and ran worse in every case. Resident Evil 2 is another big name example
Truly amazing video, this guy needs more subs.
Thank you!
Its so crazy to see this Video being so often spot on. Its almost creepy how your asumptions turned out right. Iam looking forward on your video updating all stories and connections. You have my sub for sure
Thank you! Definitely fun to look back on stuff
Great video! Before summer this year I never really watched or played any Remedy game... but after playing Control a few months back I just had to dig deeper! All of them are great in their own right. But so much stuff connecting all of the games makes this universe even more interesting. Remedy sure is consistent with their themes, laying ground work and hints pretty early. And even bringing lots of actors from previous games back every time. This video is a really good summary of most of those things and really, big props to you for making this! :D I somehow jumped on the Remedy hype train at the right time. Looking forward to the next games (besides Project Condor), probably either Alan Wake 2 or Control 2... or a connecting game. There are way too many open questions that I need some answers to! :D
Thank you! It’s definitely an exciting time to be a Remedy fan
You have no idea how loud I screamed when Ahti the Janitor showed up in Alan Wake 2. All the other FBC Easter Eggs are cool and all but Ahti is easily my favorite character from Control. I can’t wait to see how they will continue to entangle their properties together. Really wish they had full rights to the Quantum Break property because when I first started Control I was like “oh yeah what happened in Quantum Break was definitely an AWE.”
Also sad Lance Reddick wasn’t able to be Mr. Door since that was obviously a play on his character from QB.
Dont know, if im repeating anything here but after seeing promotional trailers for alan wake 2; its super interesting to see the alex casey and the blonde girl(suposed to be Saga maybe?) And the case board stuff all the way back in quantum break
Yeah, it’s pretty wild how early the core concepts were established, I think some of it goes back to cut content from the first game.
when considering the remedy connected universe, one must over think EVERYTHING. it is the only way.
Agreed
Wow your speculation on hatch/door was spot on. Now we have to wait for control 2
Thanks! So pumped to see what Remedy does next!
The effort and thoroughness of this project is staggering. You've done an amazing job. Thanks for the links and additional context. You've really outdone yourself.
Thank you! I really appreciate that
Remedy should go full circle and make an Alex Casey video game. Actually spiritual successor to max, it could be the open world game they have been to wanting to make. Something like GTA with remedy writing.
That would be so cool
@@HiddenMachineGaming right? I'd honestly take a linear casey game as well lol and awesome recap dude I'm pretty new to the remedy verse myself kinda just stumbled into it not knowing the games were connected. The multiplayer control game is what I'm looking forward to next besides wake 2, I imagine it's something like destiny set in the oldest house.
@@TheVentrexian definitely, really excited to see what Remedy does with multiplayer. I didn't really mention it in the video, but CrossfireX is releasing on February 10th. It's not technically connected to the other Remedy games, but Remedy developed the single player campaign for the game. It'll be their first FPS title!
@@HiddenMachineGaming oh yea I'm looking forward to it for sure, I'd like to see if it's at all connected to the verse at large.
1:24:32 It very interesting to hear this since I felt the exact opposite. I played Quantum Break first and really liked it and then played Alan Wake and Control right after where I had a really hard time understanding what was going on. It wasn’t until looking up lore videos that I enjoyed Alan Wake really at all. Fortunately it feels like Alan Wake 2 got the balance a lot better and also makes it clear how important things like the manuscript are to listen to
Who would have thought the wheels were in motion throughout remedy games dating back to the racing game through to control and who would have thought quantum break was a part of the universe aswell years before control tied up the universe and verified thanks to ikka and poretti they have held the entire remedy universe together for 20+ years now and now Alan wake 2 is on the horizon which will further open up more unanswered questions so far in the remedy verse at the end of it I think they were all created through Alan wakes books he never finished
This video should have like 1 million+ views. This was so well put together and well made. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much!
This is absolutely brilliant. Very, very well done. Consider me a fan.
Thank you very much!
You've now proved that Jesse faden and Beth wilder have met each other this is all the more reason why there is going to be a visit with Quantum break again it's just to uncanny and we know Sam lake is a writer along with the other guy who helps Sam lake with fleshing out the remedy universe and Beth wilder did visit her alternate version but won't be explain until control 2 and files in Alan wake 2 from 2022 will prescribe Beth Wilders journey through the many realitys including that of Quantum break during the time Beth was stuck in the past for over 10yra
1:30:00 and so on... the "AW trailer" inside Quaantum Break. It´s amazing how consistent Remedy is. The "many faces" concept is present in the Alan Wake 2 Trailer.
It’ll be fun to compare that QB trailer to the full game
@@HiddenMachineGaming Maybe trailer to trailer as we wait for the full game? :D
@@HiddenMachineGaming watching Raycevick´s video on Control, I notice something. The phone in the old house, is the one ringin in Alan Wake 2´s trailer!. That´s why it sounded out of place. Was not part of the Alan Wake 1 game, was part of Control!!
This was a really long and good one I appreciate you
Thank you so much!
Just found this video today when my brain decided to click over to Remedy and the connections between their games(recently been wanting to replay control for some reason) and at the same time I’ve been rereading House of Leaves. I’d be more than a little curious to hear you thoughts on possible connections between House of Leaves and the Remedy worlds. Especially Control. I always found it curious that the album by Poe that’s connected to House of Leaves (titled Haunted) includes a track on it titled Control.
Also total side note head cannon, ever since hearing the FBC member talk about going to see the Alex Casey movie, I imagine the Max Payne games as those movies, partially explaining their bombastic stylized Hollywood violence. But again, that’s just my fun head cannon 😋
Unfortunately, I haven't yet read the book. I've been meaning to for a while now, and do intend to do a video covering that connection eventually.
I can say that Remedy and Sam Lake have been very outspoken and candid when it comes to talking about taking influence from books and movies that they love. Max Payne feels like a John Woo movie, and Alan Wake takes a lot of pieces directly from Twin Peaks and the works of Stephen King. At times, these influences are so strong on the games and their stories that they feel like some sort of fan fiction or unofficial continuation of those works. From what I know about House of Leaves, I think that sort of connection to the work is very evident in Control.
I was unaware of the Poe album, that's a really interesting companion piece! I'm excited to dig into all of that stuff soon.
As for the Max Payne movie head cannon, I love that. I have a strong hunch that in-universe movies and some sort of meta narrative surrounding them are going to be a big part of Alan Wake II.
@@HiddenMachineGaming yeah, Poe is actually the sister of House of Leaves author Mark Z. Danielewski, so Haunted was written as a sort of companion piece to the book, and the title track “Haunted” is actually used in Alan Wake at the end of one of the episodes(can’t remember which off the top of my head) and the description of the house in the book(bigger on the inside than out, and the constantly shifting topography are stand outs) as well as the visual presentation of the book giving a similar FEELING to experiencing the oldest house. Honestly, you’re going to love it lol
And I love how open they are about the influences they take, it’s clearly out of love. I especially feel the Twin Peaks influence when dealing with the concepts of doubles throughout their games. Honestly can’t wait for Alan Wake II. It’s clear that Remedy are really taking great care in building their worlds and it does make me eager for more insight.
@@Ec1ecticStyle just ordered a copy, excited to get into it!
Awesome video. I have just finished Control and I was looking for these connections. Ty!!
Thanks for watching!
Angry that Alan Wake heavily influenced the events of Control? No, I wasn't upset by that.
I was too busy yelling into my television screen, "Why is a famous author fucking hunting and pecking 20 WPM?!?!?!?!"
I mean, come on..
lol
I just assume he was drunk
As a little girl, death rally was one of my favourite games. So much so that I actually played until I beat the adversary.
Wow! I wasn’t able to get that far, but it’s definitely a fun game.
Well done, and appreciated. There are still so much to see, but I hope Remedy in the near future they will give us clearer views of the lore and stories. I played all except MP.
Thank you! Max Payne still holds up really well, hope you get a chance to check it out!
Honestly it's clear the Bureau existed long before Alan knew he had powers let alone how to use them. I'm also interested to see if he maintains his powers after escaping the dark place and leaving Cauldron Lake or if they truly only exist as an extension of that Threshold. Is he a full parautilitarian? If so would the Bureau even let him live a normal life? He's going to be under their surveillance for the rest of his life no matter what if he does get out so he might as well work for them. I definitely can't wait to see him and Jesse meet and I'm sure she'll ask questions herself about just how his abilities work and how he was using them, what was him interfering and what was mere circumstance, etc. I really just want them to have a badass teamup moment.
If Jesse doesn't save Alan in some capacity it will feel like the events of Control were a waste of his time and effort, but at the same time he can't just be a damsel in his own sequel. So they've written themselves into the corner of having to walk a fine line between Alan needing to be saved versus being able to save himself. Personally I only care about Jesse and the Bureau characters so I want them to recruit Wake as an agent so bad. I could see him getting out of the dark place via the Ocean View somehow and accidentally letting the dark place leak into the Oldest House. That would be the way to go.
Yeah, I’m really curious about the role the FBC will play in the future of Alan Wake. So many possibilities!
Wellllllp
Alex Casey is an FBI agent in Alan wake 2 played by sam lake and max Payne's voice actor Alan wrote his character in to life from the dark place it seems
It’s very exciting!
So hype to see what they do with this universe in the future.
Same here!
Vocal recording sounds great !
Thank you! I use an SM7B with some cleanup in RX!
A couple interesting things I noticed while watching this video: This House of Dreams sort of rhymes with the postmodern book House of Leaves, which is considered a postmodern novel/experience. Alongside Sam Lake bringing up his love of postmodern works in the introduction to the Quantum Break (I believe it was there?), as well as his mention of wanting to make books something more than what they are already (this was a sentiment shared by the author of House of Leaves), plus the mention of the Yggdrasil seen at around 2:47:41 (which is also referenced in House of Leaves) could suggest some inspiration or even some form of mild homages. I'm not sure though.
Wow, I never considered the House of Leaves/House of Dreams similarity, but you are definitely correct in your suspicions here.
Sam Lake and other folks that worked on Control have gone on record saying that the book was a very strong influence on the game.
@HiddenMachineGaming yeah and the Oldest House is like the house from the Navidson Record with its infinite and ever-shifting rooms
1:10:49 gave me chills! Hah the first time the brother in Control said that.
The game control pretty much allows all these games to be together.
Edit: big fan of Alan Wake. Had it on the 360. Played it so many times.
I just played Control and the DLC for it. Good stuff. Hah
Thanks for watching! Glad you dug Control!
Watching the Return bit that they made with the themes to touch on in Alan Wake 2 after playing Alan Wake 2 makes is just another perfect little echo as well!
God I forgot how much the intro of max Payne 1 scared me as a kid. It was the first M rated game I ever played and made think max Payne was a horror franchise till trailers for mp3 came out!
There’s definitely some horror vibes in those first two games!
super underrated video. Just finished control and this video really helped
btw u had 1 hit kill on on control
Thank you!
lol it was my third time playing and I just needed to capture footage, i had all the difficult modifiers on
After playing Alan Wake 2, I am impressed by how even though this video is a year old of the game's release, it still does help to understand the story's depth and what to theorize for any Remedy game sequel.
Very glad to hear that!
Wow I really never got into Alan Wake but the second one has blown me away and I appreciate it so much more after listening to this video.. its truly remarkable
Awesome! There’s definitely a lot going on here
Here after one year to say you were ABSOLUTELY ON THE MONEY about Initiation, goddamn
Thank you for acknowledging that! What a wild game!
Loving the Alan Wake passion man! Awesome video! Subbed and looking forward to seeing more of your videos.
Thank you! Subbed to you as well!
@@HiddenMachineGaming Nice Thanks man!
This might be one of my favorite videos ever, so in depth. A little biased though, because although I haven't played Alan Wake fully (don't worry I intend to soon) I'm an absolutely massive Max Payne fan and this is just... Beautiful.
Thank you so much! There is a lot of shared DNA between Max Payne and Alan Wake, two great game series.
@@HiddenMachineGaming I cannot wait to play Alan Wake so I can find and take in every little connection between the two. Are you excited for the Max Payne remakes? We might even get some stuff referencing Alan Wake bringing everything full circle.
After playing Alan Wake 2 and watching the cutscene between Tom and Alan again (in both) they play out so similarly it makes me think Zane is actually scratch.
One interesting thing about the Service Weapon is that it's theorized to once have taken the form of Excalibur.
It's fun to think about all of the legendary weapons that may have been the Service Weapon in another form.
2:39:43 damn Emily, chill, it was the funniest shit I ever heard and she just busted out of the lab and slammed the door on her way out
This guy time traveled and played Alan wake 2 in 2019, unbelievable spot on
Shhh don’t tell anyone about the time traveling
Dude...what an underrated and underappreciated gem.
Both remedy, and the video you have made.
If I could sub harder I'd break my phone screen.
Thank you!
2:46:15 [...] The Pyramid and the stone file become a Sprouse tree.
I think it refers to the board and the nail we see in the Foundation DLC.
If you look at the nail, it is missing a triangle piece in the shape of a pyramid used by the board to communicate with the player.
Oh wow, that totally went over my head!
Remedy's games have given me exact same vibes as Quentin Tarantino films.
Like, doesn't it almost feel like every single Quentin Tarantino film could be set in the same universe? He uses recurring actors (like Remedy) and similar aspects (protagonist gunslinger) from film to film. It's not the type of "connected universe", more like a multiverse, with the same people in different times, reborn as people who look like their other self, but having different characterization, yet something oddly... Familiar about them.
I am certain Tarantino is a big inspiration to Sam Lake and I hope Remedy continues to have the confidence and integrity of Tarantino: To be their "weird" self and do something great and something unique. I hope they won't get too bogged down in trying to make something "mainstream", because that's not how Tarantino made it. He merely respected the genres he made films about, which naturally brought a large audience to him.
Well said. That familiar throughline is present in all of their mainline games from Max Payne forward.
As for Remedy being their "weird" self, I think they will continue to do so. I remember an interview from a little while back where the devs were discussing how the super positive reaction to the Ashtray Maze in Control really reiterated the fact that they should fearlessly follow their creative visions and be as weird as they want to be.
2:46:10 "In their drunken fever states, see them more profoundly. The pyramid and the stone file, becomes a spruce tree."
2:47:42 "A video sequence shown twice during the AWE DLC gives us a brief glimpse of a map of Bright Falls, and on it we can see a sticky note that reads "Cult of the Tree".
SPOILER for 'Alan Wake II'
A group, previously known as 'The Torchbearers', gets ahold of FBC files and inverts the pyramid on their logo to create their own logo - a pair of overlapping triangles that resembles a spruce tree, bringing about the line, "The pyramid and the stone file becomes a spruce tree" line. They rename themselves 'The Cult of the Tree'.
Yes!
*Me taking a break on my phone and minding my business*:
Dark place shadow 🗣️: "Wake...... Alan..... WAKE!"
They are relentless
So much work. I'm so impressed by this video.
Thank you!
OK Al Gore Rythim, care to explain why you are just suggesting this video/channel to me now? This video has been around for a year and a half and you know Max Payne is my favorite game series and Remedy is one of my favorite developers. You know that because I constantly watch long for content on them! You know, EXACTLY LIKE THIS MASTERPIECE! Ugh, I'm sorry Hidden Machine I'm here now and I've subbed and hit the like button.
So glad you enjoyed it! We’ve got plenty more Remedy and Max Payne talk on here!
I cant believe that i played death rally when it came out and i had no idea that Remedy made it. I watch this video and all i see is Remedy style is in state of constant slow evolution and adaptation and i love their slow but sure build ups and how they keeping the pace without detriments to the quality of the final product.
(Max Payne theme music play in background)
"You see Remedy and their Alan Wake 2 and smile...a warm fuzzy smile of inner joy. Than, you turn around and se Bethesda....and... your face takes to smile as well...but...it is a sour and bitter smile, like...like you gulped down a whole glass of lemon and lime juice. And all you have now is bitter smile and regret that follows you. And will follow you....for a long time to come."
Haha well said
2:47:58 and now we know who are the cult of the tree :D amazing that such small details are hidden years before the next game's release (in this case AW2)
This was an incredible video, I can only imagine how much work you put into it. Well done and thank you!
Thank you so much!
Absolute quality content........ I recently completed Control ( and its DLC ) and being a long time Remedy fan this video was such a watch... (Completed in one sitting ).... Hopefully Remedy well delivers Alan Wake 2 just like all their games......
Thank you very much! So excited for Alan Wake 2!
Amazing video, extremly well researched and put together. A little on the short side hopefully the next one's longer.
Many thanks. Honestly, once Alan Wake 2 drops I know I’ll be making a whopper of a follow up
@@HiddenMachineGaming Can't wait for it.
What about:
Max Payne is real and Mr Wake just took inspiration of his case and wrote a book, changed some names and made millions? X D
Hahaha I love it
It's so incredible to finally get an answer to all these questions with Alan Wake 2.
Truly
2:24:00 in the new alan wake 2 teasers and trailers seems like initiation will be a part of alan wake 2's story
2:30:00 Mr. door appears in one of alan wake 2 teasers as a tv show hosts interviewing alan wake from the dark place.
Yes! So excited
It is my belief that if remedy does not get the rights back to Max Payne and if they wanted to another game call Alex Casey, give like a prologue where it's a story come to life by Alan Wake, from the brief manuscripts that we read in Alan Wake and the section of the book that we read in the island wake files I could honestly see them making a game using Alex Casey as a protagonist, for a character model as a frame of reference use the Max Payne 2 iteration of the character except alter it here and there to avoid copyright rename characters and alter the story where need be and then other than that you got yourself a game. Then again this is just me grasping a straws.
I would love to see that happen! I think we'll see more Alex Casey in Alan Wake 2, but a standalone game could be really great.