The ending of the original Alan Wake is cyptic, some would say intentionally so, to say the least. Alan jumps into the Cauldron Lake to save Alice who is trapped in The Dark Place, a parallel dimension and the source of the darkness. He succeeds, sending Alice back to the real world. She arrives next to the shore by lake calling out for Alan. Our hero is now still trapped in the Dark Place. The question is... why?
Having finished his Novel, the departure he should have returned with Alice. The darkness is a metaphor for very own writing, and throughout the story he struggles with writing a good ending. And like all good writers he is his own worst critic, skeptically unable to believe that a true happy ending exists for any one, let alone if he himself deserves one. But that begs the question -- was it a rescue mission -- or does he have unfinished business in The Darkness?
The last line of dialogue in the game, "Its not a lake, it's an ocean." This implies that The Darkness is much larger than we anticipated. Perhaps he returned to the darkness, not only to rescue Alice, but to irradiate them ounce and for all. This is further backed up when you consider its connection to Control -- not only taking place in the same universe, but also implying that its story elements are intertwined. Control's AWE DLC confirms that not only was Control aware of the Bright Falls Event, but implies that Alan may have created Control in an effort to get back to his own universe. (Egan, p. 10).
This not only makes sense, but also explains the constantly shifting landscape in the world of Control. The idea that an outside force is guiding Jesse is pretty evident from the get-go, but we are led to believe that influence is coming from her brother. This is particularly evident in some of the more cerebral puzzles in the game, such as in the many "Hotel" sequences with Jesse being intentionally led down a particular path. From a gameplay point of view this also explains the constantly shifting landscapes in The Oldest House, from moving staircases to upside down corridors.
Alan's mission into The Darkness is also reminciant of another survival horror title, The Evil Within 2. The Shiji Makiami romp also involved a protagonist traversing into another world on what appeared to be a rescue mission. Ultimately, this means that Alan Wake 2 will be more like Control and Quantum Break, a world where the rules of reality and what is possible is constantly changing and shifting, which will undoubtedly create some create and proabably intense set pieces. This makes the idea that Alan Wake 2 will be more of a survival horror title than the first was all the more fascinating.
Going forward it seems that Alan Wake might be a major factor in the Control storyline, making the two franchises connected even further. You can jump into The Darkness when Alan Wake 2 releases on October 27th.
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