Between the Control 2, now is a great time to be a fan of Remedy Entertainment. The studio has been behind some of the most acclaimed titles of the last two decades, and its slate of releases is arguably the most exciting and ambitious it's had yet. Given what has been revealed about these projects so far as well, that excitement is more than justified.
Although it has only been three years since players first explored the Federal Bureau of Control, Alan Wake and Max Payne fans have been waiting over a decade for new titles. Although Rockstar Games released a third Max Payne in 2012, the title was praised by critics but proved controversial with fans. This controversy is likely because Remedy didn't make Max Payne 3. Remedy's creative director (and the original face of Max Payne) Sam Lake later stated that he was pleased that Rockstar didn't try to copy Remedy's style and did their own thing with Max Payne 3. For Alan Wake fans, the spinoff Alan Wake's American Nightmare was released the same year as Max Payne 3, but many fans still wanted a direct follow-up to the main title.
Remedy's Original Max Payne Games Are Getting Remakes
Max Payne was Remedy's second game following its racing title Death Rally and was a huge hit upon its release in 2001, delivering bullet time gameplay and ragdoll physics along with classic Film Noir-inspired storytelling as the titular protagonist uncovers a conspiracy behind the brutal murder of his wife and baby. Max Payne is a staple of Remedy's back-catalog and has been rereleased over the years as part of PlayStation's digital PS2 Classics collection with added trophy along with other titles of the era owned by publisher Rockstar Games such as Bully, The Warriors, Red Dead Revolver and Manhunt, as well as on mobile devices.
Its sequel, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, was released two years later and followed Max's doomed relationship with assassin Mona Sax as they investigate a series of contract killings, including that of a United States Senator. Max Payne 2 hasn't been rereleased like its predecessor, and is currently only available on modern devices through Xbox's backward compatibility scheme, or on PC.
Despite both titles being highly acclaimed upon their release, in 2022 they are showing their age, with a common criticism being that the story and gameplay hold up, but the visuals are extremely dated compared to the near-photorealistic standards of today's gaming. In April 2022, it was confirmed that both of Remedy's Max Payne titles would be getting remakes, with an announcement so popular that Max Payne fans crashed Remedy's website.
Remedy will be developing the remakes within the Northlight Engine, which was previously used to create Control, Quantum Break, and the Alan Wake 2, and the studio will work alongside Rockstar under a new publishing agreement that will see Remedy handling development while Rockstar finances the project. Although there was no confirmation of returning cast , many fans have expressed their wishes for Sam Lake's face to be used on the protagonist's character model for the first title, and more importantly, that the voice of Max Payne, James McCaffrey will return. There is currently no release date, but the Max Payne remakes will be new-gen exclusives.
Remedy's Survival Horror Title Alan Wake 2 Is Due For A 2023 Release
Alan Wake fans first experienced the mystery of the titular best-selling novelist's search for his wife in the fictional town of Bright Falls back in 2010, but unfortunately, its proximity to the release date of Red Dead Redemption impacted its sales performance. Despite this, Alan Wake built up a solid fan base with a story that was heavily inspired by the works of Stephen King and David Lynch, which saw Alan Wake's real-life mystery reflecting the one in his latest manuscript. Even though the more pulpy, action-packed American Nightmare spin-off was released two years later, that has been widely regarded as an independent game that doesn’t reflect on Alan Wake’s major storyline. Therefore, many have been hoping for a proper continuation of Alan Wake's story since.
The first Alan Wake was generally well received upon its release for its storytelling, which mimicked a TV episodic format in the style of Lynch's Twin Peaks, and its innovative mechanics that saw the author using light to weaken and defeat his foes. Remedy released an incredibly photorealistic trailer for Alan Wake 2 at 2021’s The Game Awards, and confirmed that Alan Wake 2 is Remedy's first survival horror, with the sequel expanding upon the first game's dark themes and supernatural elements with new horror-based mechanics. An update in May 2022 then gave fans a look at the title's creepy environments and one of its new villains but confirmed that there would be no trailer or gameplay demo for a while to enable the studio to maintain momentum with its development, leaving fans to speculate what Remedy's horror title has in store for a while longer.
Remedy And 505 Games Are Expanding Control's Universe
Control was released in 2019 to huge critical acclaim, and won several "Game of the Year" awards, so many fans expected that a sequel was an inevitability. Control's paranormal mystery focused on Jesse Faden as she investigates her kidnapped brother's whereabouts and inadvertently becomes the director of the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC), a secret U.S. government agency tasked with containing and studying phenomena that violate the laws of reality, which cover Altered World Events (AWEs), Altered Items, Objects of Power, Places of Power, and other realms and dimensions.
The game was praised for its action-packed gameplay which involves Jesse's special psychokinetic powers that vary between launching various items found in the open world, to forcing enemies to work alongside the player, and the Service Weapon, the Federal Bureau of Control’s Director’s shapeshifting weapon that can change between multiple forms to dispatch particular foes. Unlike Remedy's other titles, which featured more linear level design, the Oldest House's ever-changing Brutalist architecture allowed players to unlock and revisit new areas as the game's story progressed. In June 2021, Remedy announced its intentions to expand upon the world of Control with multitudes of stories, events, and characters, and that it was developing a new game, codenamed Condor, which is a multiplayer spinoff of Control. Another project that has a bigger budget is also in development.
Although very little is still known about the Condor spinoff, earlier this month, Remedy confirmed its "bigger budget" title is Control's sequel- formerly known as Codename Heron - and that the developer had signed a co-development and co-publishing agreement with 505 Games. The agreement will see the development, marketing, and post-launch investments, as well as the future net revenues generated by the game will be equally split between 505 Games and Remedy.
Remedy shared the news alongside a piece of concept art that showed an external area that is "FBC Contained", indicating that the title will be exploring other locations outside the mind-bending corridors of the Oldest House, which was the main setting of the first Control game. Not much is known about the Control sequel's story, but the announcement confirmed a bigger budget than its predecessor, current-gen exclusivity, and revealed that Remedy will retain the ownership of the game’s intellectual property.
Max Payne, Alan Wake, and Control have all been hugely popular titles for the studio, and fans are eager to revisit their worlds. In recent years, Sam Lake has confirmed that Remedy's titles are part of a connected universe, with EastereEggs and lore to be explored by die-hard fans, but that players can also enjoy each series independently should they wish. While only Alan Wake 2 has a set release date out of the Max Payne remakes and Control 2, fans should have plenty to look forward to in the coming years given the developer's many announcements of late.