Note: This post contains some spoilers for Control and some tiny story tidbits. If you want to uncover it all on your own, you might want to come back after you’ve completed Control and the AWE DLC.
When Control was released, it was fascinatingly weird and full of mystery. As we tried to fight the extra-dimensional Hiss, we learned about the strange entities in charge of the Federal Bureau of Control, discovered supernaturally Altered Items, and uncovered story tidbits linking Control to a Remedy cult classic, 2010’s Alan Wake. But the game’s greatest secret was hidden away in its best sequence, the Ashtray Maze. Listen carefully to the song that plays there, and you could hear a secret message that seemed to hint at hidden content buried somewhere inside Control.
One year later to the day, Control fans have discovered what that secret message was all about. It did hint at hidden content–but it was content that didn’t appear in Control until the release of its final DLC expansion, AWE. Discover the right nook of the Oldest House in AWE and you’ll find the puzzle’s solution, unlocking a tiny tidbit of a story Easter egg–and what seems to be the game’s greatest piece of gear.
