Alan Wake 2: The ultimate easter egg and secrets guide

Alan Wake 2 is one of those rare video game gems that doesn't get talked about enough. Its horrifyingly good story, amazing art direction, and unique gameplay mechanics earned it eight nominations in the Game Awards and a victory in three of those categories. Not only is this the biggest project Remedy has done to date, but perhaps it's best as it perfectly blends action, mystery, horror, and live-action videos all in one 24-hour-long adventure.

There are many things we could compliment about Alan Wake 2, but something that took us by surprise is the amount of secrets it offers. Ever since Remedy decided to unite all of its different video game franchises in an interconnected universe a la MCU, there's been no shortage of easter eggs for players to find. Since their latest project is no different, it's time to grab a flashlight and venture into unfamiliar territory to uncover all the secrets that Alan Wake 2 hides.

1. The Former makes a return

Control is an amazing game that has even more mysteries and unexplainable phenomena than Alan Wake. One of those unresolved enigmas is that of The Former, a being that once belonged to The Board that gives orders to the Federal Bureau of Control (or F.B.C. for short). The governmental agency is an organization in charge of stopping paranormal events from tearing our reality apart and a major driving force in Control.

As its name indicates, The Former was removed from The Board for unexplained reasons. Players can encounter it and even fight it multiple times as they venture their way into the Oldest House. Jesse Faden, Control's protagonist, is unable to understand what The Former says even if it speaks like the rest of The Board. But while its true nature and intentions remain unknown to this date, it still managed to haunt players in Remedy's latest project.

When playing as Saga Anderson in Alan Wake 2, players can examine her house trailer which contains drawings of her daughter Logan. One of those drawings shows Logan and her father playing a video game with the Former making an appearance on the TV screen. Its signature eye and tentacles are more than enough to let us know that the mysterious entity Jesse Faden encountered is still watching us even in a completely different game.

2. The board of directors

While we're on the subject of a board of directors pulling the strings from the shadows, we need to talk about video game developers. Players can find the names of Remedy's staff members placed on golden plates on a board inside Suomi Hall. If you ever go to Watery when playing as Saga Anderson, it wouldn't hurt to pay them a visit.

3. Haunted swinging bench

Alan Wake 2 takes players into a world where their worst nightmares are just one leap away from becoming real. That means the acclaimed title has its fair share of scares and creepy moments scattered throughout its entire campaign. However, there's one uniquely disturbing detail that I didn't manage to find in other parts of the game (and believe me, I tried).

Ever since I encountered this haunted swinging bench moving on its own I paid attention to all other benches to see if it was a recurrent behavior or not. Much to my surprise, it didn't happen anywhere else but only next to the Wheel of Fortune in Coffee World.

Maybe I missed other swinging benches moving on their own, and this is not much of a secret. Or perhaps there's something more sinister than meets the eye. After all, I wouldn't put it past Remedy to include haunted items in their games only to creep out players as much as they can.

4. Returning items from Control

As it's become evident by now, Remedy games are connected in more ways than players can imagine. One of those connections comes in the form of returning items from Control in Alan Wake 2.

Players can spot a familiar yellow energy cell after their final fight against Scratch. If this seemingly random item seems somewhat recognizable, it's because it appears in multiple instances on Control. It shouldn't come as a surprise that the energy cells make a return since the F.B.C. is the party responsible for setting them up to power the lights used to defeat Scratch. And wouldn't you know it, but the F.B.C. is also the driving force behind everything that happens in Control.

However, this is not the only familiar item players will spot while playing Alan Wake. If you look closely, you'll also see... a Newton's cradle.

Alan Wake's Newton's cradles are completely identical to the ones used in Control's most confusing puzzle. It even has one of the swinging spheres painted in a different color just like in Jesse Faden's paranormal adventure. So in case you need a refresher, here are what the original Newton's cradles looked like in Control:

Granted, these items being identical across both games is a minor secret that won't blow anyone's mind. But don't worry, we still have many big Control references to go over, such as...

5. Key plot points of Alan Wake 2 were revealed in Control

Alan Wake's latest journey was filled with many twists and turns along the way, making players question what's really going on in Remedy's interconnected universe. However, even if Alan Wake 2 was released in 2023, many of its events have been foreshadowed way before that.

Up until this point, we've talked about the many secrets hidden in Alan Wake 2 that reference other Remedy games. So let's shake things things up a bit a little, shall we? This easter egg has been included in Control since the game was released in 2019 and it references the things that were going to happen four years later in Remedy's latest project.

Mr. Door, a recurring character in Alan Wake 2, is mentioned by Dylan Faden when he talks to his sister about the different dreams he's had. Dylan also mentions how Alan would write a fictional story about a cop that would end up becoming real. That line could be referencing either Alex Casey or Saga Anderson, both protagonistic characters in Remedy's latest title. The only difference is that they are FBI agents instead of cops but, hey, the reference still works. It's truly amazing to know Remedy was planning the events of Alan Wake 2 four years in anticipation, but what if I told you they knew everything that was going to happen even long before that?