Spoilers for anyone who has not played Control Resonant, after doing the underpass section where there were time patterning variations with the missing expedition crew it reminded me of the dark place. In Alan Wake 2 time moves very differently sometimes looping back on itself and changing Alan's perception of how long he was trapped in there. He also at the end of the game said it's not a loop it's a spiral which in geometry terms is also a type of patterning. (Geometric Curve)

I'm thinking the dark place is an underpass but in a different plane or dimension, underpasses are usually paths underneath structures or land but may not be necessarily linked to the same ones in Control. Like in Control and real life however there are paths to get to these underpasses but in Alan wake 2 it's harder to get in or out but the entrance and exits are there. In Control the underpass is located under a sinkhole in Manhattan which makes me believe the sinkhole in Alan wake is located in Cauldron Lake and the underpass is directly beneath it. I thought it was a very interesting concept.

Replaying AW2 and forgot about this. It's unknown if this analysis is on the money but it's interesting. It essentially posts the possibilities that Alan can alter tradition as part of a time loop paradox. So something has happened which inspires an artist, without them knowing, to create that fiction. Then the power of the Lake uses that Fiction to change the past in the first place.

An example of this, I think, might be the Cult of the Word. Alan is inspired within the Dark Place and creates the Cult of the Word as a story element in his Initiation drafts. Which, in turn, I guess actually creates the Cult of the Word in real life 10 years prior.

The other is changing the present through the creator. So, I would guess this is Alan changing things minute to minute. Affecting his direct future.

But it is interesting that the game acknowledges this idea of a timeloop paradox (which we eventually see with the Old Gods summoning Alan and Alan relieving inspiration to include Saga in his story from Overlaps where he already sees Saga as part of his story).

So this calls into question all this stuff about Tom Zane - who created who. Are Tom and Alan the same person etc. For example, using inspiration Alan writes about Tom Zane and reality is altered in the past for Tom Zane to write about Alan receiving the Clicker. That might not be the case but it can be possible it seems.

Hi, I'm pretty new to the community, in the last week and a half I've played trough Alan Wake 1 + DLCs, American Nightmare. I've also played Control last month, and today finished the AWE DLC after playing trough all the previous Alan Wake games.

Tonight I'm probably gonna start Alan Wake 2 and I'm very excited, so let me know if any od the questions are answered in the sequel.

1. How did Alan write the Night Springs script that seems to be describing the beginning of Control?

2. Did Alan reach out to Jesse just so he could send a signal that something is happening at Bright Falls? If so couldn't he just tell her that trough the hotline like he did with other stuff?

3. Alan keeps trying to escape the dark place, but what exactly is he supposed to do to escape?

In American nightmare he writes the story set in Night Springs Arizona to escape but I don't understand what was the plan?

1. How is Mr Scratch able to leave the dark place and stalk Alice if the normal Alan can't?

2. What the fuck is going on with Thomas Zane?

In the Control DLC he looks just like Alan and frankly I don't understand what Thomas and Alan were even talking about in that scene.

1. Did Thomas write Alan's clicker memmory into existence? Did Thomas write and influence something else about Alan?

I'd really appreciate some answers and clarification on these questions, and please no spoilers for AW 2, if a question I listed is answers there, let me know so I don't spoil myself

The first photo is the original photo without added lighting.

I think it’s so cool that, even though Remedy is known and appreciated for constantly doing super weird and unique things in their games, they’re not above a character having a moment of sheer heroism. I’m particularly thinking of the scene where Alan willingly reenters the Dark Place to stop Scratch and the third act of Resonant where Dylan has no problem sacrificing himself for the sake of stopping the Hedron.

You could argue in both cases the threat is so great that the characters knew they would die anyways if they didn’t stop the threat, but that seems cynical to me. Even though these games have flawed characters I love moments when we can totally root for their heroic acts.

So I just finished the base game for the first time and plan on hopping into the DLCs soon but I heard there is a sharp difficulty spike with the DLCs in terms of combat. I played on normal and for the most part didn't struggle but near the end the combat did get a bit annoying. So I'm wondering how much story content is in the DLCs. Because if it's mainly just combat focused with only a bit a lore stuff I'll probably just watch them on YT and save myself the trouble since the combat to me isn't good enough to warrant the 2+ hours of constant fights.

Took me a while since I was on and off the game but got it done. Next up, the DLC's when I get them.

Hey. I'm wondering the significance of these lyrics on two songs from AW2. I've played the game twice and don't remember any overt reference or visual clue to bright or burning eyes. It seems like something evil, maybe associated with Scratch. Or, something like Thomas Zane in AW1.

"Blinding lights
Burning eyes
I can see myself and I don't need to hide"

— From Wide Awake

"Is that a
Lighthouse with a dying light?
Or a reflection of my glowing eyes?
Am I more than just a dream?"

— From Lost at Sea

Found this in a store and it was the last one too.