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Most of pop culture is derivative, and the benchmarks we use reveal more about our age than about true originality.

That said, the references to Control in this game definitely feel a bit hamfisted. You even encounter a familiar character from Control, and they seem to have a lot less depth than in the original game.

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I mean, there’s a reason we have the notion of pastiche vs. influence. Some works are derivative or unoriginal in a way that damages their artistry. Twin Peaks was wildly influential, but not everything it inspired does the same kind of cut-and-paste stuff that Alan Wake does. Control is, in fact, a better example of this - it’s thoroughly Lynchian without regurgitating so much of the specifics.

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