Remedy’s CONTROL AWE Review for Xbox One

Before I go into the more detailed review of Control’s new DLC pack, AWE, I would like to preface this review by mentioning that I have not personally played Remedy’s former title, Alan Wake. I feel that I should specify this before moving onward with the review so that the readers know that there are certain aspects of AWE that were probably lost on me because of my ignorance of the Alan Wake game. That being said, I felt like Remedy managed to create a pretty amazing experience for their long-time fans in a way that I really appreciated. Take a look at my CONTROL (base game) review.

AWE involves the opening of a completely new sector of the Oldest House for Jesse and the player to look through (specifically, the investigations division of the Bureau). Jesse is tasked with defeating the evil Dr. Hartman (who I understand was also the villain from Alan Wake), however, this time the doctor takes on the form of a disgusting creature who has been taken over by both the Darkness and the Hiss, fluidly combining the Control universe and the Alan Wake universe. While I certainly enjoyed AWE, it should be noted to any squeamish gamers out there that this DLC definitely delves into the vein of horror more so than The Foundation or Control’s main storyline.

Despite not having played Alan Wake, I had a blast with this DLC and felt like Remedy did a nice job of blending their newer title with an older game in order to build upon the lore of both stories and form a bridge between the two that seems to point at Remedy almost creating their own interconnecting universe. There were a lot of various hints, Easter Eggs, and collectible items that could be found throughout the experience that were somewhat lost on me due to my lack of Alan Wake knowledge, but were plenty enough that I’m sure a fan of the older game would adore the new contributions to the lore of a beloved story and character.

The variety of puzzles and missions that the player has to complete as they navigate their way through this game was incredibly enjoyable despite maybe being a little bit simple compared to the challenges I was expecting based on the main missions of Control, however, I just have such a wonderful time fighting in this game and find Jesse’s telekinetic abilities and her service weapon to be so fun to use that I really don’t mind if some of the challenges and puzzles become a bit monotonous. It was almost as if the developers at Remedy knew that they just had to incorporate some new challenges for us players to work on our gun skill as AWE introduced a new type of Hiss enemy that moves around with jetpacks, requiring a bit more precision and accuracy from players who are used to being able to just shoot a heaping mass of debris at their slow-moving enemies. 

Remedy did not skimp on the environments or physical gameplay of AWE either (not that I expected them to skimp considering their outstanding track record of meaningful and mind-bending titles) as I was just as astonished by the beautiful game design and butter-smooth gunplay/gameplay as I was in Control and The Foundation. I did find the new weapon mod, Surge (a remote-controlled grenade launcher of sorts) to be a little bit lackluster considering the impact-based weapon mods and abilities that we had already attained earlier in the main game.

Being completely honest, I actually had a better time doing the side missions in this DLC than completing the main storyline (likely due to my lack of Alan Wake knowledge), however, that is not to say that the main story missions of AWE were not enjoyable. I genuinely think that Remedy did their very best to make this DLC as enjoyable for Control-only fans as well as Alan Wake fans by ensuring that elements of the story contributed to the lore of both. I understand that it is incredibly challenging to forge new connections across titles that were made 9 years apart, and I think that Remedy created a very crowd-pleasing experience for fans of both of their titles. I never cease to be amazed by what this studio can accomplish and I am anxiously awaiting to see what this spectacular group of developers can accomplish next. If you consider yourself to be a fan of Alan Wake or Control (or just good games in general), then I strongly recommend that you invest in the AWE expansion as you will not be disappointed. 

Score: 8.5/10 

Check Out the CONTROL Awe DLC Trailer:

For more information, please visit www.controlgame.com.

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Hayden Vassey

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I've been playing video games since I got a Playstation 2 when I was about 5 or 6 years old. The original Star Wars: Battlefront series and the Spyro series initially ignited my interest in gaming, but it wasn't until I got older that I truly appreciated the subtle details that make video games such a unique form of entertainment. My favorite type of video game would have to be any lengthy and plot-driven open world game, with my favorite games of all time being Batman: Arkham City, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, and Firewatch.

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