AWE

ACTION-ADVENTURE - Reclaim the Investigations Sector by defeating the now-transformed Hartman that wanders this long-abandoned section of the Bureau.

PROS:

++ Hartman. Hartman was well-designed and really creeped me out initially. It would have been cool if he randomly attacked all throughout the map whenever the player was in darkness, but as it was, he only appeared in certain locations. The eventual boss fight with him was quite underwhelming, but I still liked him as the main "antagonist" of this DLC.

++ Puzzles. The puzzles weren't amazing or anything, but I enjoyed them. Especially the rooms where you had to turn on the lights while avoiding Hartman. It was a bit too easy, but still tense nonetheless.

++ Langston's quips. Really enjoyed the humour Langston provided.

CONS:

-- Narrative. I've never played Alan Wake so all the references to that game were lost on me. And it also meant I didn't really get what was going on in the DLC, except for the fact that I had to stop Hartman. Also, it ended quite abruptly.

-- Setting. The setting was meh, and lacked the charm and appeal of the base game's map, or the beauty of Foundation's map.

Let me preface this by saying Control is easily one of my favorite games of all time. It’s one of the very few games I’ve 100% the main game and all the DLC.

That out of the way I’m kind of bummed on the AWE content. It feels so short and quick even to 100% it. But I have to remember it is a second DLC so I shouldn’t expect too much?

Love being back in the world, missed Jessie for sure. I also loved kicking ass again. Jumping back into the world and using all the powers felt great still, and the weapons. The addition was good as well.

The story was about Alan Wake which is another game I loved. And I was so impressed with how they trickled content into the main control game about the former game. So this DLC was high on my list.

I liked it. But it felt pretty paint by numbers and just didn’t hit the notes I expected? You run into the boss pretty quickly and chase it down in one area only to go to another area, has a very old school vibe in that sense I guess.

The light mechanic from Alan wake is back and works but can’t help but feel a bit out of place? Maybe cause it slows the game down some?

But it still has pops of greatness and plenty of fun. If you loved the base game I highly recommend both DLCs.

So, the big question: "Do you need to play Alan Wake before you play the AWE DLC?"

If you have any inkling to play Alan Wake in the future, I'd say play that first (and don't forget the two DLCs). Otherwise, you'll spoil that game's story (even more than base game Control already has), and really have no reason to go back. American Nightmare isn't entirely essential, but I think its (barebones) story gives you an idea of how the series will continue.

If you don't plan on playing the original 2010 Alan Wake game, then you can jump right into AWE, as most of the story of Alan Wake is recapped in files & tapes found throughout the DLC.

The environment is lot more like the base game than the Foundation DLC was. Unfortunately, the bulk of the AWE DLC is just the same "remember that guy from Alan Wake?" boss fight recycled 5 times (with the final fight being stupidly frustrating, due to the boss' ability to heal way-too-fast). Luckily, you can adjust some new difficulty sliders introduced with this DLC to deal with this ridiculously bullet-spongy final boss fight.

There are also a few uninspired checklist side quests (clear 3 mold rooms, clear 3 gunk -- I mean "darkness" -- rooms, etc).

Alan Wake himself's Hotline appearances are just a bunch of gibberish dialogue and really don't add much to the add-on. The whole DLC really feels like filler for a quick "something is happening in Bright Falls in a couple years" Alan Wake 2 teaser at the end.

Alan. My man. I missed you bro.

Where the fuck have you been?