COG Considers: Gaming’s Major Crossover Event
In film and television, there are a ton of examples of expanded universes and crossovers. When done right, they end up being cash cows, which we are kidding ourselves if we don’t acknowledge that that’s what it’s all about. The closest thing that games have done with that is Super Smash Bros. or Warner Bros. Multiversus. However, Remedy Entertainment is in the perfect position to try out a major crossover event between their games.
As you may know, Remedy Entertainment is the studio behind Control, Alan Wake, Max Payne, and Quantum Break. They have multiple games in the works right now, most recently announced, the Max Payne remakes.
Now follow me: Remedy Entertainment Universe, REU. Think about it. In 2019’s Control, records from The Oldest House had mention of the events in Alan Wake in its records. Moreover, the AWE DLC directly connects with locations and characters from Alan Wake. The DLC ends with hints that Jesse and Alan may cross paths in the future.
If you have played Control, you know that The Oldest House is the land of weird. A lot of strange stuff happens there, like folding matter, alternate dimensions, and monsters. The concepts explored in Alan Wake and Quantum Break are not too farfetched next to Control.
As for the more grounded franchise from Remedy Entertainment, Max Payne is kind of on its own. As far as we can tell, there are no paranormal or supernatural forces at work in the series. However, kind of like how The Punisher exists in the same universe as Thor and Doctor Strange, Max could find his place fighting against the Hiss or the Dark Presence. We know that Remedy is working on remakes for the first two Max Payne games. Now might be a good time to make some changes to the world Max lives in.
What would a shared universe look like? Well, every expanded universe franchise wants to have its “Avengers Assemble” moment. A chance to have your favorite characters come face to face, team up, and save the day or whatever. With sequels coming to both Control and Alan Wake, a lot can be done to draw some of these games closer together and put the characters on the same path.
Maybe I’m just a sucker for a team-up story, but it would be sweet to see Max Payne, Jesse Faden, and Alan Wake working together in some crazy time travel interdimensional criminal conspiracy written up by Alan. Or you know, we could just have another brawler platformer with cartoon characters…
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