Control: AWE Reviews
I had a lot of fun with both extensions and was happy every time the correspondence between the employees of the Bureau of Control turned into rampant hate speech.
Review in German | Read full review
There are plenty of reasons to play, and enjoy, with this second and last expansion of Control
Review in Spanish | Read full review
It’s great to see the Alan Wake connection grow, and the mysteries of the oldest house are always a delight. While the AWE expansion doesn’t do much to change the core mechanics of the game, it does offer a new area to explore, a new weapon, and a delightfully demented antagonist.
Control: AWE leverages Remedy's lineage to make one of the best expansions of the year.
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.
Control: AWE offers an enjoyable two-hour romp that fans of Alan Wake are sure to love, even if it doesn’t make the most of the source material in all elements of its design. Sure, battling Dr. Hartman and the darkness is great, but I’d have loved to have seen a bit more of Alan Wake’s world woven within the experience too. Still, with its brilliant blend of gameplay mechanics and countless nods to Alan Wake, Control: AWE really is quite special. It might only really appeal to those that played Alan Wake before, but, as a big fan of the title myself, it has left me very excited for the future of Remedy’s shared universe.
What Remedy are pitching us is incredibly ambitious. They’re looking to tie their past games together and put them under the same roof. AWE has given them a gateway. It’s given us all a glimpse as to how it might be possible and provided a new starting point for Remedy’s bold future. In some ways, you might even see the ending of AWE as a soft announcement of their next major project. But it’s more than that because this DLC gives them the context needed to do that, while surely sowing the seeds for even more projects further down the line. Because of that, AWE could well be the most important DLC of this, or any other generation.
For some this may end up feeling more like an interactive trailer for the next title by Remedy but for those of us who just love being in the world of Control, it's arguably just a good excuse to jump back in. I still really love this game world and the mechanics they've developed for it. Using Jesse's powers feels quite intuitive and powerful and is just a joy. If you haven't grabbed Control already, grab the ultimate edition and you will get AWE with it anyway. If you already have the main game and want to learn more about Alan Wake and related characters then I'd still suggest it's a worthwhile purchase.
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
AWE is just a small DLC that shows a glimpse of something much bigger to come. And I can't wait for it.
Review in Russian | Read full review
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.
AWE may be a teaser for the next game in the series, but that would be disregarding the fact that the contents of the DLC are very well put together. In any case, we got a taste of what a Control game would be like when it enters the realm of Cauldron Lake. I, for one, can’t wait for what’s next in the story of Allan Wake and the Federal Bureau of Control.
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.
The AWE DLC for Control is a great little piece of content that ties into the Alan Wake mythos. If you enjoyed Control and want more, be sure to pick it up.
Control's new AWE DLC is simply more Control. While it explores a new area of the building, it doesn't do anything new or expand on the lore of the first house directly. It does reveal officially how the 505 Games world setting interconnects, but that may not be such a good thing for some players.
Smaller and more focused than The Foundation, Control: AWE is sold entirely on the return and crossover with a certain Mr. Wake.
Control AWE is a no-brainer for those who are invested in Control’s franchise. It’s an incredible demonstration of amazing action platforming, with some captivating cinematics, magnificent narrative progression, enamouring environments, and engrossing gameplay. Highly recommended for those looking to jump back into this supernatural epic.
Control: AWE admirably serves its purpose as a formal beginning to the Remedy Connected Universe and adds a few cool perks along the way, but fails to stand as a compelling Control expansion in its own right.
AWE feels less like the beginning of some grand interconnected universe and more like a tacked-on reference to Remedy’s previous work.
Control AWE may not be a true and fully fledged DLC, but it won't disappoint. There are some overly challenging moments here and there, and some more cut-scenes would have helped, but AWE is still a better DLC than Foundation overall, and a great gift for the fans of Alan Wake.
Review in Persian | Read full review