Control Resonant and Max Payne aren’t officially part of the same shared universe, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look for any connection between the two. In fact, Resonant has at least one pretty obvious Max Payne Easter egg: an Oldest House elevator made by “Paine Industries,” with “MAX” written directly underneath it.
Resonant’s Manhattan environments, especially the streets and subway areas, look strangely similar to Max Payne’s and when you add the fact that Remedy is currently developing the Max Payne 1 & 2 remake, things start to make a little more sense.
Remedy has officially stated that Control and Alan Wake are part of the Remedy Connected Universe, but that can’t be said about Max Payne because it’s a partner franchise that Remedy originally created back in the early 2000s.
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Is There a Max Payne Easter Egg in Control Resonant?
Yes, there seems to be at least one pretty obvious Max Payne Easter egg in Control Resonant. In the Oldest House, the elevator is made by Paine Industries and directly underneath it you can see MAX written in all caps as the maximum load. Put those two together and, well, you get MAX PAINE.
Max Payne and the Remedy Connected Universe
Let’s see what Remedy has to say about this. According to Remedy, Control and Alan Wake are established franchises that are part of the Remedy Connected Universe. However, for Max Payne, this is a little bit different.
Remedy says Max Payne is a partner franchise that was created by them and published by Rockstar more than two decades ago. This means, based on what they’re saying, you shouldn’t treat the similarities in Resonant as confirmation that Max Payne has joined the Remedy Connected Universe club.
Control Resonant and Max Payne Similarities
There’s this familiar vibe that you get when roaming New York City in Control Resonant. This captures the same New York vibe as Max Payne, where the story takes place. Take the subway area, for instance.
I can’t deny that whenever I walk through the subway station, I just wonder, “Damn, this could be what the new Max Payne remake looks like.
In the grand scheme of things, this comparison makes sense. Remedy created the original Max Payne and it’s now remaking Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne as a single title through an agreement with Rockstar Games.
Alex Casey and the Max Payne Connection
When you’re looking for a connection between the Control franchise and Max Payne, no character makes that connection more obvious than Alex Casey. Why is that, you may ask? Well, the most obvious connection is Sam Lake himself, Remedy’s creative director.
Lake provides Alex Casey’s likeness, just as he famously served as the face of the original Max Payne. That’s not all. He wrote the first two Max Payne games and was the lead writer on Control. What’s even crazier is that James McCaffrey voices Max Payne in the original games and Alex Casey in Alan Wake 2. See?
All of this makes the Max Payne influence on Alex Casey pretty hard to miss. Sam Lake has even described Casey as part of a deliberate meta parallel between Remedy’s success with Max Payne and Alan Wake’s success with his fictional detective novels. This leads us to believe that Alex Casey is essentially Max Payne in all but name.
Could Control Resonant Share Assets With the Max Payne Remake?
This is another interesting question. The timing makes things even more interesting because Remedy is currently developing the Max Payne 1 & 2 remake on its Northlight engine. So, it wouldn’t be that surprising if some of the environmental work ends up being shared between the two projects.
Still, Remedy hasn’t confirmed any asset reuse. Who knows? Maybe Aesir Corporation could somehow be connected to the FBC. Valkyr users in Max Payne and Hiss-infected enemies in Control, they’re associated with strange disturbed speech or ranting, which I believe is another small thematic resemblance between the two series.
All in all, Control Resonant has clear Max Payne references and similarities, including the Paine Industries/MAX Easter egg, but Remedy still hasn’t confirmed Max Payne as part of the Remedy Connected Universe. The timing of the Max Payne remake makes the comparison even more interesting, but until Remedy says otherwise, the connection is much more intriguing than anything official.
CONTROL Resonant
