The final DLC for Remedy’s Control is now available and brings to life the Shared Remedy Universe of games. Heavily teased before its release, AWE heralds the return of writer Alan Wake from the 2010 game of the same name. AWE promised to explore more into the incident at Bright Falls and the disappearance of Wake. It manages to do both of these things while adding another good 4-9 hours of excellent Control gameplay. But unlike Control’s first story DLC, The Foundation, which introduced a number of new and exciting twists into the Oldest House, AWE seems more interested in teasing Alan Wake 2.

Story

As Jessie Faden continues to clear the paranormal Hiss from the Oldest House, a new call comes in over the hotline from long-vanished writer Alan Wake. Wake’s message brings Jessie to the sealed Investigations Sector where a true monster of darkness awaits. Now it is up to Jessie to restore the light before the entirety of the Oldest House gets consumed.

Gameplay

If you have played everything in Control up to this point, AWE might feel slightly underwhelming. The Investigations Sector looks no different than any other area of the Oldest House, and even the signature transformations it goes through aren’t present here. There are no significant changes to the core gameplay like we had in The Foundation with the crystal formations. The problems we saw Jessie having with the Board and the mysterious Other are also completely ignored. We do get a new form for the Service Weapon in the form of Surge, a three-shot sticky grenade launcher that can devastate groups of enemies. Jessie’s launch power can also be upgraded to allow for throwing up to three objects simultaneously, which is very satisfying. One new Hiss enemy type makes it into the game in the form of the flying shotgun-wielding Rangers. And finally, there is the monstrous beast that used to be the character of Hartman from Alan Wake.

While AWE doesn’t innovate much on what Control has previously done, it does add new light-based puzzles to the mix, a homage to Alan Wake’s signature gameplay. A number of doors and crates will be locked by mounds of darkness that must be burned away by light to pass or collect. A number of areas will be engulfed in darkness, requiring you to either evade Hartman or solve a puzzle to return light to the area. Unlike Alan Wake though, being engulfed in the darkness thankfully does not drain your health. Instead, it is your power meter that takes the brunt of the drain. A clever trade-off as having your life getting drained would have felt exceptionally cheap in my mind. With the power meter draining, it encourages you to achieve your tasks in the darkness quickly and to return to a safely lit area to recharge.

The Investigations Sector features 4 main areas to explore, with 3 areas for altered world events and a central hub connecting them. 2 of the areas feature a number of rooms and corridors to explore, and a few trips to the Oceanview Motel, as you pursue your main objective of taking down Hartman, while the last has you taking him on in a final showdown of light and dark. Along the way, you will find a number of files and audio logs exploring the events of Alan Wake and the aftermath of the writer’s disappearance. For anyone who has never played through Alan Wake, these files are amazing in helping you understand the nuances of Wake’s appearances throughout the duration of the DLC and the tease for Alan Wake 2 that AWE serves.

I do want to touch on the final fight with Hartman a bit though, as it is now easily my favorite boss encounter in the entire game. The hulking mess that Hartman has become is incredibly creepy and disturbing and unlike the game’s other bosses, something more than just a Hiss transformation. Hartman’s words permeate the battle and left me with slight chills from the terrific voice work. The fight is a challenging one as Hartman can’t be damaged when he is surrounded by darkness, so it is essential to keep the lights on at all costs. If they do happen to go out, all of the damage you had done up to that point will get healed. It took a couple of tries to understand the secret to the fight but it was awesome!

Visuals

The Investigations Sector doesn’t look very different from any other area of the Oldest House, making it seem rather bland compared to the striking red sands of The Foundation. There are some new grotesque looking darkness pools that are cool to see and the live-action segments of Alan Wake are filmed well, making them very atmospheric.

Audio

The true standout for AWE comes in its audio work. Alan Wake’s words and the transformed Hartman are eerie and foreboding, providing an amazing sense of atmosphere. A long-winded conversation with Langston also provided good comedic relief for you to listen to between sections. The rest of Control’s brilliant audio work is, of course, still here to enjoy as you shoot through legions of enemies.

Replayability

When I played through The Foundation a few months ago I was blown away by how long it was. AWE continues this trend, making Remedy’s story expansions actually feel worth the price of entry! Even with my initial playthrough of AWE being purely focused on making it through the main storyline, it took around 5 hours to finish. Going back and trying to find the Investigation Sectors hidden rooms and collectibles has extended this time to around 8 hours and I am still not done yet! Add to this the arcade game challenges of Shum (survival gameplay) and Shum 2 (replay the Ashtray Maze!), there is no shortage of things to do!

What It Could Have Done Better

The Investigations Sector itself is the biggest missed opportunity in AWE for me. This is the sector where altered world events are being explored and their mysteries learned; so why does it feel like I just made a right in the Executive Offices instead of left? This was a chance to bring in some really interesting and otherworldy areas to explore. We did get a cool set-piece with a Lunar Lander light battle against Hartman at least.

Verdict

I enjoyed my time playing through AWE but it felt underwhelming compared to The Foundation in a number of ways. The story’s build to the Shared Remedy Universe needed to happen somewhere, and AWE served the function at the expense of ignoring the ongoing conflict Jessie had with the mysterious Board. The setting also failed to bring anything new to the table aesthetically, instead relying solely on light-based puzzles at various moments to progress. Wake’s sections were interesting and the acting was top notch. Collecting a number of files and audio recordings to learn more about the events of Alan Wake was also a plus. The final showdown with Hartman might also be my favorite boss encounter in the entire game. Despite not being as interesting to me as The Foundation, AWE gave me more Control to play which is never a bad thing.