Control: AWE Reviews
AWE is an enjoyable few hours back in the world of the Bureau and a great first step into Remedy's Connected Universe.
AWE is full of fun lore tidbits linking Control to Alan Wake, but it underwhelms as an addition to both the latter's universe and the former's weird game world.
Smaller and more focused than The Foundation, Control: AWE is sold entirely on the return and crossover with a certain Mr. Wake.
Control: AWE brings back Alan Wake and Bright Falls while smartly integrating the fiction of Control with Remedy's connected universe.
I finished AWE with a yearning for more Alan Wake and a yearning for more Control. Remedy has more or less confirmed we'll get more of both at some point in the future, although they might be presented through the lens of yet another series. That's the reality of the Remedy Connected Universe. As a trial run, AWE manages to be a great double-dip on some beloved narratives, even though it's not necessarily a great representation of either Control or Alan Wake individually. Sometimes the sum is greater than the parts, sometimes the lake is really an ocean.
AWE is an awesome, wondrous expansion with an Alan Wake experience that appropriately weds earlier Remedy titles with Control.
Control: AWE is good in that it's more Control. But it feels like it was leaning a little bit too hard on being a teaser for its Alan Wake connections and the Remedy Connected Universe, which hurt its ability to be a really fun and engaging expansion for the Control side of things. For as brief as the expansion is, much of the runtime feels like it's just spinning its wheels and never really going anywhere. I'm always happy to step into the shoes of Director Jesse Faden again, but AWE never gains its own identity as anything more than an interactive MCU-style post-credits scene; a lot of set up that we'll need to wait years to see payoff. But hey, now you can replay the Ashtray Maze while you wait.
Control's AWE Expansion will satisfy a lot of Alan Wake fans who have been theorizing for nearly a decade about what happened to the writer. While it does introduce some great ideas, you'll ultimately have to wait for whatever Remedy does next to get real resolution.
Beyond its two parts though, Control: AWE takes concepts from the previous chapters of the story and heightens them in every way. This is the best-written chapter of Control yet, and one that has me frantically searching wikis to figure out where the story is going next
If you’re already a fan of Alan Wake, this is a brilliant experience that provides more juicy tidbits from the beloved property. If you’re new to Alan Wake, though, this is not the right starting point.
Control AWE does a great job of bringing the events of Alan Wake into a shared universe, without ever breaking its own identity or gameplay conventions. Almost all of Control's technical issues are gone, leaving behind a great nugget of gameplay that pushes the universe forward into interesting new placed. Highly recommended for fans of either franchise.
If you're waiting for Alan Wake to take a stroll in the corridors of the Oldest House, you might be disappointed by AWE. But if on the other hand what you're looking for is to shed a light on Alan's misadventures, face familiar foes and play an instrumental role in the writer's path to freedom, and also have an excuse to dive back into Control with new tools to play with, AWE is the right DLC for you.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The AWE expansion is a fantastic addition to the Control base game. Everything about it is just that shade better than the original content. It delivers a horror experience that is a step above, a new weapon that offers something really unique, and a final showdown that is bigger and badder than anything you've done in this game yet. It's a few more hours of a good game, that this time around takes a slight step forward to be even better.
Alan Wake makes his official debut in Control in full force, delivering a very large helping of lore and storytelling that goes down great with the overall game experience. If only he had a brought a small side of new gameplay mechanics as well, because the formula remains pretty much the same.
In the end, AWE is another solid but lacking chapter of Control. The gameplay is fun, and a fantastic boss in Hartman is introduced. But there's not much more to it besides that. The new weapon form isn't necessary, and I'm not even sure it fits in the narrative.There aren't new abilities, and you're going to finish AWE pretty quickly. But detractors aside, I got two things I really wanted, more of Alan Wake and more of Control, which is all that really matters. Here's to hoping the Remedyverse has more of both for us out there.
AWE builds on the best parts of Control to deliver a gorgeous and terrifying survival horror experience.
AWE had a lot of potential and I'm sad to say that it's mostly wasted here. Most of what it offers is exactly the same as what players have experienced before and I found the new stuff to be equal parts obnoxious and tedious.
Despite some flaws, AWE is a very good expansion that brings Alan Wake into Remedy's shared universe and teases exciting things for the future.
Perhaps the hardest thing about this expansion is that it fits in a weird place. The new weapon and locations don't add a whole lot, with limited new gameplay elements. It really relies heavily on bringing the worlds of Control and Alan Wake together and introducing a new boss that seems far more threatening than he actually is. As a result, enjoyment really relies on what you enjoy about this franchise. If it's the overarching story and seeing the conclusion of various storylines, you'll probably be disappointed, unless you care about a now even larger picture. Those looking for more things to shoot and toss stuff at will probably have fun though. Regardless of where you stand, I will say if you loved what came before, I would suggest it just because it says so much about where the series is going. Whether it will succeed or crash and burn like some players are expecting has yet to be seen but it is a journey I am excited to take.
Remedy continues to tell unique and extremely interesting stories, and in relation to how AWE concludes and what that means for the future of the Remedy Connected Universe, is just so damn exciting.