A recent Quantum Break preview has revealed either a clever piece of fan service, or a teaser for the Alan Wake sequel.
Remedy Entertainment does enjoy slipping nods to past games in current titles, including all those Max Payne references in Alan Wake. Now it seems Quantum Break might be taking that theme just a little farther by advertising a potential sequel. A recent Quantum Break preview has revealed all kinds of Alan Wake Easter Eggs, including a potential teaser for Alan Wake Returns.
The first Easter Egg takes the form of a university classroom board, one players would typically ignore while rushing to the next objective. But if you stop to actually read it, you’ll notice events of Alan Wake and Alan Wake’s American Nightmare described in academic detail. While certainly a nice reference, it’s possible this implies Alan Wake and Quantum Break take place in the same universe. After all, the board could just as easily be citing Departure or Return, the manuscripts players collected in previous games.
According to a report from Polygon, a more salient point emerges elsewhere on campus. If you take time to explore, you’ll uncover a television screen playing a trailer for a live-action Alan Wake Returns film. The footage depicts Alan waking up – we see what you did there, Remedy – five years after the game’s events, when his reappearance is the subject of a police investigation.
What’s to say this is more than fan service on Remedy’s part? The simple fact that Remedy has filed a trademark for Alan Wake Returns. And while a trademark doesn’t guarantee a sequel, Remedy’s fondness for Alan Wake certainly raises the hope one is in the works.
Whatever the case, the early buzz on Quantum Break suggests it’s looking great, and should hopefully tide Remedy fans over in the short term. We’ll find out when the game launches on April 5, 2016.
