did a quick replay through the base game plus all side quests and hidden areas so i can move onto the DLC and Alan Wake II finally. there's so many nice costumes/skins in this game that end up available after you're finished pretty much. such a waste tbh.
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as with Quantum Break before it, this was also a bit better than i had given credit for in the past. the combat plays like a refined version of what that game was working with but the powers stand out more on their own and have much more oomph/impact to them. Jesse feels like one of the biggest examples of glass cannon i've encountered in a game in that you will be reaming EVERYTHING but can only take two, maybe three solid hits yourself before dying. playing this the first time years back near release before any of the updates with combat settings and better performance (this game made my PS4 pro sound like a hairdryer constantly) made for a rough adjustment with the relative difficulty of everything but today it fared better. as long as you boost your health/energy a few levels earlyish on, level your launch to max asap, and keep moving you should be okay.
elsewhere i also enjoy the moment to moment gameplay of navigating the Oldest House which has a surprising amount of variance in pathways, hidden areas, and other stuff to uncover. getting from point A to point B at times can be more complicated than expected which is natural for its setting. this was a replay and my prior knowledge kept most of this just fresh enough that i wasn't getting lost much, if at all.
the only place this truly stumbles is in personal investment to the narrative, overall universe, and characters honestly. Jesse as a lead character is someone that i go back and forth on. some of the abrupt cuts to her inner monologue are funny and among the best parts of the game but at the same time she falls into the gabby protagonist/player character thing that wears thin for me. at large, the characters are stronger than the narrative and universe itself for me with Arish and Marhall being my favorites. almost every section of the Oldest House is absolutely stunning, it just ends up being a bit of a pretty but otherwise vacant thing for me.
who knows, maybe the DLC chapters will be what fully pull me into Control investment wise. at the very least, i'm under the impression that the second one in some way helps set up Alan Wake II so it should have that going for it at least. curious to how Control 2 turns out as well. exciting times for Remedy.
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as with Quantum Break before it, this was also a bit better than i had given credit for in the past. the combat plays like a refined version of what that game was working with but the powers stand out more on their own and have much more oomph/impact to them. Jesse feels like one of the biggest examples of glass cannon i've encountered in a game in that you will be reaming EVERYTHING but can only take two, maybe three solid hits yourself before dying. playing this the first time years back near release before any of the updates with combat settings and better performance (this game made my PS4 pro sound like a hairdryer constantly) made for a rough adjustment with the relative difficulty of everything but today it fared better. as long as you boost your health/energy a few levels earlyish on, level your launch to max asap, and keep moving you should be okay.
elsewhere i also enjoy the moment to moment gameplay of navigating the Oldest House which has a surprising amount of variance in pathways, hidden areas, and other stuff to uncover. getting from point A to point B at times can be more complicated than expected which is natural for its setting. this was a replay and my prior knowledge kept most of this just fresh enough that i wasn't getting lost much, if at all.
the only place this truly stumbles is in personal investment to the narrative, overall universe, and characters honestly. Jesse as a lead character is someone that i go back and forth on. some of the abrupt cuts to her inner monologue are funny and among the best parts of the game but at the same time she falls into the gabby protagonist/player character thing that wears thin for me. at large, the characters are stronger than the narrative and universe itself for me with Arish and Marhall being my favorites. almost every section of the Oldest House is absolutely stunning, it just ends up being a bit of a pretty but otherwise vacant thing for me.
who knows, maybe the DLC chapters will be what fully pull me into Control investment wise. at the very least, i'm under the impression that the second one in some way helps set up Alan Wake II so it should have that going for it at least. curious to how Control 2 turns out as well. exciting times for Remedy.
5 Comments
@wilx so was i, honestly. i think the mild familiarity helped a lot with not getting lost and how to best go about upgrades so the combat becomes easier early on.
@thehotrock reading your review and that makes me more optimistic that i'll get something when i do a remedy playthrough such as you've been doing. now to decide when to start.... do i wait potentially a year for the max payne 1+2 remake? decisions
@wilx fingers crossed it clicks more for you! i cannot wait for the MP1+2 remake. if you pace yourself between the games a bit you might be able to have a thing going where we get an announcement of a release date or something by the time you work through?
@thehotrock yeah that might be the play. just leave it for last. we might be seeing alan wake 2 dlc soon as well
wilx
25 days ago