Choose Alan Wake
Choose Alan Wake if it's currently about 63% cheaper on the Steam Store. 16,015 Steam reviews back the pick.
Alan Wake vs CONTROL Ultimate Edition
Alan Wake and CONTROL Ultimate Edition both land in Action, Adventure on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Action, Adventure on Steam. Alan Wake (2012) is 8 years older than CONTROL Ultimate Edition (2020). Both sit near 89% positive on Steam (Alan Wake: 16,015 reviews, CONTROL Ultimate Edition: 24,216). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose CONTROL Ultimate Edition
Choose CONTROL Ultimate Edition if you want the HDR available side of the pairing. On Steam, it's the newer release (2020) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 24,216 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Alan Wake and CONTROL Ultimate Edition sit in Action and Adventure on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (88.4% vs 88.8% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Alan Wake |  CONTROL Ultimate Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2012 | 2020 |
| Genres | Action, Adventure | Action, Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows, macOS |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Verified |
| Price | 14.99 USD | 39.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 88.4% positive (16,015 reviews) | 88.8% positive (24,216 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Remedy Entertainment | Remedy Entertainment |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Adventure on Steam.
- Alan Wake (2012) is 8 years older than CONTROL Ultimate Edition (2020).
- Both sit near 89% positive on Steam (Alan Wake: 16,015 reviews, CONTROL Ultimate Edition: 24,216).
- Alan Wake is currently ~63% cheaper on Steam than CONTROL Ultimate Edition (14.99 USD vs. 39.99 USD).
- Both are Deck Verified.
Alan Wake vs CONTROL Ultimate Edition — FAQ
- Which is better, Alan Wake or CONTROL Ultimate Edition?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Alan Wake sits at 88.4% positive (16,015 reviews), CONTROL Ultimate Edition at 88.8% (24,216). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play Alan Wake or CONTROL Ultimate Edition first?
- If you want chronology, Alan Wake (2012) came out before CONTROL Ultimate Edition (2020). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Alan Wake and CONTROL Ultimate Edition similar?
- They overlap on Action, Adventure on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Do Alan Wake and CONTROL Ultimate Edition both run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — both are Steam Deck Verified, meaning Valve confirms they run with full controller support, legible text, and default settings out of the box.