WARNING to epileptic gamers -- there are several scenes/in-game moments involving rapidly-flashing lights
This is a review of the AWE DLC - for my critique of the base game (which also holds in-depth breakdowns of the game’s technical facets), check out https://backloggd.com/u/RedBackLoggd/review/1311820/
For my critique of the previous expansion, The Foundation, check out https://backloggd.com/u/RedBackLoggd/review/1311823/
Add half a star if you’re a diehard Alan Wake fan
In a time where crossovers are abundant, AWE should’ve been a layup - after all, not only was Alan Wake retroactively added to the Control universe via files in the base game, but there were plenty of reasons the writers could’ve concocted for Jesse to travel to Bright Falls and meet the eponymous writer.
Unfortunately for fans and non-fans alike, Remedy opted for the cheaper route - the opening of a new wing in the Oldest House that sees Jesse investigating it for paranormal activity. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the same exact premise Foundation floated on, the only differences being instead of Emily it’s Alan initiating the mission, and instead of a new Object of Power, it’s a new threat that needs to be handled. That new threat in question is a character from the base Alan Wake game, his random appearance here relegated to, you guessed it, optional archives you’ll need to read/listen to lest you get lost on the plot details.
Yeah, it goes without saying that AWE has a lot of flaws, the largest being its doubling-down on the same problems that plagued the vanilla game, and if you read my review, you’ll know that, chief among those, was the decision to shove 50% of the narrative into collectables, an aspect that has been gleefully replicated here to a nauseating degree. In the first room alone, let me repeat, in the first room alone, there were around 10 docs to find, and it only gets worse as the story progresses.
Unfortunately, that’s not the only negative brought over from the prequel: in paying homage to Alan Wake, a lot of dark interiors were added to this sector of the Oldest House, and just like before, the lighting is overly-dim to a fault (and no, this wasn’t a result of my monitor - I YouTubed videos to affirm as much). Enjoy having to max out your brightness every now and then just to get an idea of where to walk!
Side missions also make a return following their semi-absence in Foundation, yet they’re tragically modeled after the worse variants from the main title, including the eradication of Mold and pointless fetch quests. AWE does add a couple of challenge “maps” via a possessed arcade cabinet that task you with clearing out a limited amount of enemies under special caveats, and while I completed the two easy versions, the endeavor as a whole felt like a rehash of the Jukebox excavations.
But let’s get to the main course -- obviously the presence of Alan Wake means a lot of fans will be going into this excursion eager for some red meat; however, such boys and girls will be liable to being disappointed courtesy of the story existing as a very loose crossover. Minus a few boring epileptic cutscenes involving Wake, there’s no juicy interaction between the two properties. It’d be akin to someone calling the Captain America cameo in Thor 2 a crossover; sure, technically it is one, but you’d ultimately cast it aside as mild fanservice, and that’s really what sums up AWE in a nutshell: it’s bland, forgettable fanservice ripe with the same issues as its progenitor. This isn’t even getting into the overreliance on combat scenarios, of which the only tangible difference is the inclusion of a self-healing enemy archetype (compared to Foundation which at least integrated two new abilities AND a fresh Hiss variant).
If I had to drum up any praises, it’d be that more effort went into the environmental personalization here compared to the vanilla game. It’s still not great, but seeing a basketball hoop or specialized posters on walls went a long way compared to the OG. But that’s about it. As I stated in the disclaimer, unless you’re a huge Alan Wake fan, you won’t get much enjoyment from AWE.
NOTES
-No new music.
-The creation (recreation?) of the Apollo 14 capsule + moon dust in one area was absolutely exceptional (too bad it’s not used for anything other than another combat playpen).
-There was one side mission involving a train puzzle that I did enjoy, no matter its shortness (featured some incredible sound design).
-Was ambivalent about Jesse being more sarcastic here, though I suppose it is, in a strict sense of the word, character progression.
This is a review of the AWE DLC - for my critique of the base game (which also holds in-depth breakdowns of the game’s technical facets), check out https://backloggd.com/u/RedBackLoggd/review/1311820/
For my critique of the previous expansion, The Foundation, check out https://backloggd.com/u/RedBackLoggd/review/1311823/
Add half a star if you’re a diehard Alan Wake fan
In a time where crossovers are abundant, AWE should’ve been a layup - after all, not only was Alan Wake retroactively added to the Control universe via files in the base game, but there were plenty of reasons the writers could’ve concocted for Jesse to travel to Bright Falls and meet the eponymous writer.
Unfortunately for fans and non-fans alike, Remedy opted for the cheaper route - the opening of a new wing in the Oldest House that sees Jesse investigating it for paranormal activity. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the same exact premise Foundation floated on, the only differences being instead of Emily it’s Alan initiating the mission, and instead of a new Object of Power, it’s a new threat that needs to be handled. That new threat in question is a character from the base Alan Wake game, his random appearance here relegated to, you guessed it, optional archives you’ll need to read/listen to lest you get lost on the plot details.
Yeah, it goes without saying that AWE has a lot of flaws, the largest being its doubling-down on the same problems that plagued the vanilla game, and if you read my review, you’ll know that, chief among those, was the decision to shove 50% of the narrative into collectables, an aspect that has been gleefully replicated here to a nauseating degree. In the first room alone, let me repeat, in the first room alone, there were around 10 docs to find, and it only gets worse as the story progresses.
Unfortunately, that’s not the only negative brought over from the prequel: in paying homage to Alan Wake, a lot of dark interiors were added to this sector of the Oldest House, and just like before, the lighting is overly-dim to a fault (and no, this wasn’t a result of my monitor - I YouTubed videos to affirm as much). Enjoy having to max out your brightness every now and then just to get an idea of where to walk!
Side missions also make a return following their semi-absence in Foundation, yet they’re tragically modeled after the worse variants from the main title, including the eradication of Mold and pointless fetch quests. AWE does add a couple of challenge “maps” via a possessed arcade cabinet that task you with clearing out a limited amount of enemies under special caveats, and while I completed the two easy versions, the endeavor as a whole felt like a rehash of the Jukebox excavations.
But let’s get to the main course -- obviously the presence of Alan Wake means a lot of fans will be going into this excursion eager for some red meat; however, such boys and girls will be liable to being disappointed courtesy of the story existing as a very loose crossover. Minus a few boring epileptic cutscenes involving Wake, there’s no juicy interaction between the two properties. It’d be akin to someone calling the Captain America cameo in Thor 2 a crossover; sure, technically it is one, but you’d ultimately cast it aside as mild fanservice, and that’s really what sums up AWE in a nutshell: it’s bland, forgettable fanservice ripe with the same issues as its progenitor. This isn’t even getting into the overreliance on combat scenarios, of which the only tangible difference is the inclusion of a self-healing enemy archetype (compared to Foundation which at least integrated two new abilities AND a fresh Hiss variant).
If I had to drum up any praises, it’d be that more effort went into the environmental personalization here compared to the vanilla game. It’s still not great, but seeing a basketball hoop or specialized posters on walls went a long way compared to the OG. But that’s about it. As I stated in the disclaimer, unless you’re a huge Alan Wake fan, you won’t get much enjoyment from AWE.
NOTES
-No new music.
-The creation (recreation?) of the Apollo 14 capsule + moon dust in one area was absolutely exceptional (too bad it’s not used for anything other than another combat playpen).
-There was one side mission involving a train puzzle that I did enjoy, no matter its shortness (featured some incredible sound design).
-Was ambivalent about Jesse being more sarcastic here, though I suppose it is, in a strict sense of the word, character progression.