Should you play Control before Alan Wake 2?

Alan Wake 2 is almost here, meaning fans need not wait much longer to meet the iconic writer and engage in new escapades through a terrifying world. Those new to the series in the first place may be less excited, particularly given the narrative focus of these titles. As such, players out of the loop may want to catch up with the Remedyverse lore established so far before jumping into the upcoming horror entry.

With Remedy Entertainment's latest major game being Control, do players need to play through it to understand what's going on in Alan Wake 2?

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Control ties into the overarching Remedyverse but isn't a requirement to play Alan Wake 2

While the Alan Wake series is survival horror, 2019's Control is more of a supernatural-centric third-person shooter. In other words, it is more about the bizarreness and creep factor than scares—because Control is not a scary game. In fact, it is inspired by the SCP, a fictional organization that monitors and contains paranormal events and anomalies.

The protagonist of Control is also different; instead of the author Alan Wake, we have Jesse Faden. As newly assigned Director of the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC), which is also a secret organization tasked with studying supernatural occurrences, she must defend reality against an invasive entity called The Hiss.

This interdimensional threat manifests in the form of otherworldly creatures that Jesse must put down with brute force. To do this, she utilizes a powerful self-modifying gun known as the Service Weapon. Coupled with cool abilities such as levitation, she must explore the FBC headquarters known as The Oldest House.

Heavily inspired by brutalist architecture, this ever-shifting maze of time and space is a joy to explore through the game's 20+ hour adventure. From lore tidbits that help with worldbuilding and collectibles to exciting boss fights and masterful art direction, Control is in every way an Alan Wake spiritual successor as far as gameplay is concerned.

More than that, it even acknowledges the existence of the Alan Wake universe as they both are part of an overarching macro-narrative, with Alan Wake 2 set to join it soon.

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How does Alan Wake and its sequel tie into Control?

Remedy Entertainment released the AWE DLC for Control three years ago, largely focusing on Alan Wake after his disappearance at the end of the original 2010 game. It will be best understood by those who have wrapped up Alan's original adventure. But to summarize, it signals to players that the next adventure will take place in Bright Falls—the location of both Alan Wake titles.

With Alan Wake 2, players will follow Saga Anderson, an FBI agent who was hinted at in Quantum Break, another Remedy-developed game. Players will step into her shoes for the first time ever as she investigates a murderous cult in Bright Falls. On the flip side, players will also control Alan Wake himself as he tries to escape from a twisted, dark dimension he has been trapped inside since the first game.

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The technically demanding Alan Wake 2 is set to be released on October 27, 2023. The game will arrive on PC (via Epic Games Store exclusively) as well as PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S platforms. Check out the release timings and get ready for the impending launch.