Control: AWE

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.

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 brings back Alan Wake and Bright Falls while smartly integrating the fiction of Control with Remedy's connected universe.

Control AWE is an excellent expansion for fans who are craving to go further down the rabbit hole. The focus stays heavily on Jesse and her goals, even with the inclusion of Alan Wake, who doesn’t overpower the scenes. The expansion once again proves how good Remedy is at storytelling and I’m glad to see them continue to provide those WTF moments that we all love.

Substantial, and makes us excited to see what’s next in Remedy’s Connected Universe. Our only question is ‘Alan Wake remaster when?’ [Issue#180, p.81]

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.

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.

AWE is an enjoyable few hours back in the world of the Bureau and a great first step into Remedy’s Connected Universe.

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.

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.

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. Wait for the –hopefully – PS5 remaster and then come back to AWE after that.

AWE is basically more of the same.It has great action sequences and dark atmosphere. Control fans will feel straight at home. However that does not compensate on it's lack of innovation and poor puzzles. It is by no means an Alan Wake sequel but its kind of a start. AWE is a relatively short expansion that would only fit control and Alan Wake die-hard fans.

Teased in the base game through several documents, Alan Wake plays a central role in AWE. Unfortunately, beyond the act of diving back into the world of Bright Falls and the pleasure of reuniting with an old friend, this content highlights a certain looseness of Remedy. Less inventive than The Foundation, too busy sprinkling the fan service adventure from start to finish, to the point of neglecting most other aspects of the game, AWE is proving to be disappointing in many ways.

If The Foundation had already raised some doubts, in this case Remedy has pulled too hard, trying to save a structurally and playfully weak content with the indisputable charm of the franchise that is about to recover.