It’s been two weeks since Alan Wake 2, the sequel to Treatment Leisure’s 2010 cult action-horror sport, was launched, and I can’t cease interested by it. Between the introduction of protagonist and FBI profiler Saga Anderson and the mystery-board storytelling mechanics of the sport’s Thoughts Place system (to not point out a forthcoming new sport plus function and DLC slated for subsequent yr), I’m obsessive about Treatment Leisure’s newest sport — a lot in the identical means I used to be with its final new launch, 2019’s Management.
That obsession has solely grown after puzzling over how the occasions of Alan Wake 2 may relate to the upcoming Management 2. I’ve even began a brand new playthrough of the unique Management in my seek for clues I might need neglected. The Treatment Related Universe has me excited for the opportunity of intertextual storytelling in video video games at a time the place I in any other case really feel fatigue over multi-franchise crossovers. Whether or not it’s the MCU, DCU, or Star Wars, I’m simply over how labyrinthine most of those fictional interconnected universes have develop into. I don’t really feel that means concerning the Treatment Related Universe, although.
![Saga Anderson holding a flashlight to examine a strange pair of wooden ornaments hanging from a dark forest branch in Alan Wake 2.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RZJq8gnFmNZ1e-CyT5D9JnvDj1U=/0x0:3840x2160/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:3840x2160):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25084297/AlanWake2_DET_4K_048.jpg)
Picture: Treatment Leisure/Epic Video games Publishing
I believe I do know why: An interconnected universe on this scale has by no means actually been tried earlier than in video video games. What’s extra, Treatment’s video games have to this point been self-contained sufficient to be pleasing as their very own experiences. Lastly, by advantage of being video video games, that are extraordinarily time-intensive and tough to make, there’s not a brand new one to play each few months.
Shared-world storytelling, whereas compelling when completed proper, is approaching one thing of a nadir in widespread tradition. A latest report by Selection concerning the inner turmoil of Marvel Studios in 2023 paints an image of a studio that, by way of a mix of a number of box-office disappointments and an oversaturation of streaming TV releases, has come to a crossroads in its in any other case unimpeded path of economic success. There are, as of this writing, 33 movies within the Marvel Cinematic Universe and 9 streaming sequence acknowledged as canon.
![Jesse Faden floats down a purple hallway that’s shaped like a pentagon in Control](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/eUGr_eDP9Sj1HllnjbOxw1qyLpM=/0x0:2000x1125/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:2000x1125):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19103866/Control_Screenshot_06.png)
Picture: Treatment Leisure/505 Video games by way of Polygon
That’s quite a lot of “homework” for anybody who desires to remain updated with the newest Marvel developments. Treatment Leisure’s shared universe doesn’t undergo from this identical degree of fatigue-inducing scale — as of this second, there are solely three video games (Alan Wake, Management, and Alan Wake 2) to play with a view to be caught up with what’s happening (leaving apart the numerous delicate connections to and Easter eggs from Max Payne, Max Payne 2, and Quantum Break). And for those who actually couldn’t give a toss concerning the interconnected plot threads between Management’s nook of the Treatment Related Universe and Alan Wake’s, the 2 sequence are nonetheless distinct sufficient that you may simply get pleasure from one or the opposite by itself benefit.
As an example: Do you know that Freya Anderson, the mom of Alan Wake 2 protagonist Saga Anderson and daughter of Previous Gods of Asgard member Tor Anderson, was first name-dropped in a collectible FBC doc within the AWE DLC for Management, three years earlier than the discharge of Alan Wake 2? Or that Sheriff Tim Breaker and Jesse Faden, who’re performed by Shawn Ashmore and Courtney Hope, are implied to be alternate-reality variations of Jack Joyce and Beth Wilder, the protagonists of 2016’s Quantum Break, who’re additionally performed by Ashmore and Hope? Most likely not. Might this be necessary to the way forward for the story of both Management or Alan Wake? Certain, possibly — however solely for individuals who care. The purpose is to reward these gamers who prefer to dive a bit of deeper with a view to draw out these lesser-known connections. Better of all, these sorts of Easter eggs don’t come on the expense of what’s distinctive or pleasing about both Management or Alan Wake.
![Alan Wake points a flashlight and pistol at a group of shadowy figures on a rooftop in Alan Wake 2.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/MMD1NGsliG_-8mtTUg_axbNHX-M=/0x0:3840x2160/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:3840x2160):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25084292/AWII_Launch_052.jpg)
Picture: Treatment Leisure/Epic Video games Publishing
Earlier this yr, Treatment Leisure introduced its transition to a multi-project studio, with over 5 video games presently in manufacturing, together with a sequel to Management, a four-player player-versus-environment co-op sport set on the earth of Management, and a mixed remake of Max Payne and Max Payne 2, every roughly scheduled to return out with a yr between each other. Even when every of those releases have been to be a touchstone within the Treatment Related Universe going ahead, audiences would solely must play one sport a yr, at most, with a view to sustain with the evolving narrative of both Management or Alan Wake.
I completely get the trepidation on the prospect of following one more shared-universe narrative, particularly when there’s no actual said finish purpose at this early level within the Treatment Related Universe. Will Saga Anderson cross paths with Jesse Faden sooner or later sooner or later? Perhaps! Will Quantum Break sooner or later be retroactively acknowledged as a canon a part of this shared fictional universe? Who is aware of? For now, I’m simply alongside for the journey — and so long as Treatment continues to iterate on its previous success, and continues to develop idiosyncratic video games with attention-grabbing characters and compelling storylines, I’m very happy to comply with the developer down whichever narrative rabbit gap it goes down subsequent.