How Alan Wake 2 Connects To Quantum Break

Highlights

• Alan Wake 2 connects to other games in Remedy Entertainment’s universe, with explicit references to Control and a more creative tie-in to Quantum Break.
• The inclusion of Quantum Break in Alan Wake 2 faced legal challenges, but Remedy found a way to incorporate elements of the game subtly.
• Characters in Alan Wake 2, such as Sheriff Tim Breaker and Mr. Door, have strong connections to Quantum Break, further linking the two games in Remedy’s interconnected world.

Alan Wake 2 is the latest title from Remedy Entertainment, and as the first release following the studio’s previously announced plans for a connected universe between all their titles, it goes all-in on its efforts to tie its games together. Alan Wake 2 has multiple references large and small to all of Remedy’s other games. The most obvious and prominent is from Control, since the two bridge the gap between the pre-official RCU and the current phase. Control‘s AWE DLC set this up quite clearly, and fans naturally expected it to feature heavily in Alan Wake 2.

Nevertheless, Alan Wake 2 manages to fit in pieces of Quantum Break lore, albeit in a more creatively roundabout fashion than Control‘s. While Control is certainly the biggest crossover component in Alan Wake 2, Remedy’s 2016 time-traveling adventure Quantum Break also makes an appearance, in a manner.

RELATED: How Alan Wake 2 Connects to Control

Alan Wake 2’s Quantum Break Connections

Quantum Break’s Status In The Remedy Connected Universe

Due to the above complications, Quantum Break is an outlier in Remedy’s catalog, especially regarding its place within the RCU. With the thorny legal issues involved, incorporating it into the RCU presents problems. Fittingly, Quantum Break sits somewhat out of sync with the rest of Remedy’s releases and the RCU overall. Still, Remedy expressed its intent to consider all previous titles fair game, regardless of real-world roadblocks. Thus, the studio will endeavor to insert Quantum Break into its titles when it can to assure fans that, indeed, it still counts.

Quantum Break contained an Alan Wake Easter egg, and in true Remedy fashion, Alan Wake 2 continues the cycle by including some more than passing references to Quantum Break. Specifically, these show up in the form of two characters who share the most glaring association with it. Though not technically the same as their original incarnations, they are easily recognizable equivalents, and Remedy’s solution for keeping Quantum Break in the RCU.

Sheriff Tim Breaker and Mr. Door in Alan Wake 2

The clearest connections Alan Wake 2 has to Quantum Break are Sheriff Tim Breaker and Mr. Door. In one of their signature meta moves, Remedy cast Shawn Ashmore, who starred as Jack Joyce in Quantum Break, as Alan Wake 2‘s Tim Breaker. Alan encounters Tim throughout the Dark Place, where he appears to be working on his own conspiracy board in an effort to untangle events. It strongly resembles the chalkboard from Quantum Break, and Tim comments on how he feels “adrift in time,” which is exactly what Jack Joyce experienced. It’s almost like he’s a fractured version of Jack, which, of course, would be precisely on point.

Similarly, Alan Wake 2‘s mysterious Mr. Door is the mirrored version of Quantum Break‘s Mr. Hatch. Hatch was portrayed by the legendary Lance Reddick, who unfortunately passed away earlier this year. Remedy had allegedly planned to cast Reddick in the role of Door, which would only have strengthened the connection.

Either way, the characters resemble each other in many ways; from their namesakes and mannerisms to their ability to seemingly traverse space-time realities at will. Both also appear to be driven by an ulterior motive, sometimes assisting Jack and Alan, while at others obscuring information.

With these, Remedy was able to find a clever workaround for the sticky situation involving Quantum Break, allowing it to keep its connective tissue intact in Alan Wake 2 without stepping on any legal landmines. Remedy is set to accelerate its plans with Alan Wake 2 DLC already confirmed, and the eventual Control 2 poised to continue building the RCU.

It’s all but certain Remedy will find more resourceful and subtle ways to weave Quantum Break into its interconnected world in the future.