“Hello darkness, my old friend”

Trapped in the horrors of his own writing, author Alan Wake must survive the darkness and save his wife in the psychological thriller that has been a cult classic since its original launch as an Xbox console exclusive in 2010. Alan Wake Remastered is finally here, bringing the epic six episode story and its two special episodes together and for the first time, the experience is also available on PlayStation.

The unique gameplay, thrilling narrative and malevolent Dark Presence have never looked better with the various visual and technical enhancements that have been added. While the experience doesn’t quite reach the presentational standards of current gen titles, after a decade of fans clamoring for more, any Alan Wake is some good Alan Wake.

Alan Wake established a cult status for its incredible writing, unique and engaging gameplay and thrilling cinematic presentation. Its brilliant story is excellently paced and the episodic structure the narrative unfolds within allows each episode to feel like a self-contained story while contributing to a broader, more exciting overall arc that is built masterfully with gripping cliffhangers. Each episode opens with a “previously on Alan Wake” story recap that works great for players that only have time to tackle the movie length episodes one at a time. Players are brought up to speed from the events of the previous episode with information relevant to the next.

The formula just works. Had the game be told in a linear structure without the episodic breaks the suspense wouldn’t quite hit the same. Developer Remedy Entertainment have become synonymous with incredible writing, complex narratives and establishing layers of suspense and atmosphere that are unrivaled amongst their peers. And telling it through the lens of the protagonist author… the writing is masterful. Period.

Alan and his wife, Alice, are taking some much needed vacation time away from their big city life. Alan, a best-selling crime fiction author suffering from two years of writer’s block and Alice, professional photographer and designer of her husbands novel covers, retreat to the seemingly sleepy town of Bright Falls, Washington at the advice of Alan’s best friend and agent, Barry Wheeler.  A small cabin on a small island in the middle of Cauldron Lake seems like the perfect getaway from the pressures of the city.

It’s quiet, isolated and quaint but the true nature of their getaway is revealed by Alice as a scheduled visit for Alan to meet with famous psychologist, Dr. Emil Hartman, in an effort to remedy his writer’s block. After seeing the typewriter she has prepared for him, Alan is infuriated and heads outside to clear his head. Immediately following his hasty departure Alice screams from the cabin, leading Alan to rush back only to find her gone and to catch a glimpse of her being dragged under the water by a mysterious force. Diving in after her, Alan blacks out, regaining consciousness a week later after driving his car off the road with no recollection of what happened since the cabin.

Pursued by entities manifested from the darkness, which Alan would come to learn was a mysterious force known as the Dark Presence, Alan discovers pages of a manuscript that foretell the events he would go on to experience. This manuscript was written by Alan himself, for a story called ‘Departure’ that he doesn’t remember writing. With the realisation that he has written himself into a horrific and thrilling tale full of twists and turns, not unlike his previous works or that of a source of his inspiration, Stephen King.

Every horror, every obstacle, every life or death situation that Alan finds himself in is the result of his own writing, his own wild and dark imagination. Imbued with a sense of hope that the ending he doesn’t remember writing is one that reunites him with Alice motivates him to continue despite the manipulation of his own words by the Dark Presence and the powers seemingly tied to the history of Bright Falls, Alan discovers this isn’t the first time the writings of an author have become a twisted version of reality. He isn’t the first author to become trapped by the Dark Presence but he will be the first to escape its clutches if he succeeds, a task that seems possible only with the help of the other writer, a metaphorical AND physical beacon of light guiding him on the path he has laid out for himself. Thomas Zane is that beacon and together, they must confront the Dark Presence, defeat it if they can and escape the horror story that Alan has written himself into the darkest corners of.

Alan Wake Remastered is the definition of a remaster. The story remains unchanged, the gameplay remains as it was in 2010 and unfortunately, the minor issues that haunted the original are back. The enhanced visuals significantly improve the experience and are more than enough to overcome the minor inconveniences such as Alan’s extremely limited stamina that slows him from a sprint in mere seconds, stiff character animations, clunky platforming sections and the shared dodge/sprint button. These flaws are as prevalent as they were a decade ago but when compared against every element that Alan Wake gets right from the writing, atmosphere, score and unique gameplay, they equate to a sentence in a chapter full of page-turning moments that flow one after the other.

The gameplay is incredibly simplistic thought its unique formula in regards to the combat is excitingly different. Equipped with a flashlight, guns, flares and flashbang grenades, Alan can only overcome the horrors of his self-inflicted nightmare by shining light on its darkness, exposing the entities and leaving them vulnerable to gunfire. Every enemy has an aura, a shield of darkness that protects them from damage from Alan’s arsenal of guns, a shield that can only be penetrated by light.

Alan’s flashlight can be aimed at the enemies until they are vulnerable, with the strength of light based on the player’s pressure on the left trigger. The flashlight uses battery power and needs its batteries replaced but luckily, there is never a shortage of battery packs to find throughout the entire game. The battery also slowly regenerates when not in use. Aside from the flashlight, enemy shields can also be depleted by using flares, the flare gun, flashbang grenades or spotlights. When enemies are no longer protected by the darkness they can be shot and killed, with some enemy variants taking more shots than others, dependent on their size and the difficulty the game is being played on.

Alan can dodge out of the way of enemy attacks and can attempt to outrun enemies but the poor stamina system requires players to face the horrors of the night in most cases. When Alan takes damage, there are no health packs or first aid items to replenish it. Fittingly, Alan is only safe in the light and in illuminated areas called Safe Havens, enemies nearby will despawn and Alan’s health will replenish.

Aside from the simplistic combat system, Alan can interact with switches and generators, drive cars in certain sections, climb short ledges and jump. Understanding the strengths of Alan’s arsenal of light-summoning weapons, for lack of a better term, are key to using his limited inventory efficiently and buying time to perform some of these actions without fear of interruption from the unrelenting Dark Presence. As flares last around ten seconds before fizzing out, this precious window of safety can be used to activate generators, wait for electronic doors or gates to open or for weapon reloading ahead of the next descent into the darkness.

Littered throughout the nightmarish plane are various types of collectibles for completionists to pursue. Coffee Thermoses and signs comprise the least exciting of the list but the radio shows that can be found and listened to and the TV sets that can be switched on and watched offer compelling context and additional backstory that are worth seeking out and sitting through. Hidden chests that can be found by following yellow markings that are only revealed by Alan’s light offer valuable resources such as flares, flare guns and ammo that are worth taking a detour for if a glimpse of yellow paint is stumbled across.

Easily the most interesting collectible though provides incredible insight into the story and upcoming sequences in the form of the manuscript pages. While some of them appear as unmissable, story-related interactions, there are 106 in total that enhance the story immensely. Many of them wonderfully describe scenes the player will soon find themselves in the middles of and if they have been paying attention and reading these, they may be able to enter some encounters prepared and aware for specific enemies to approach from specific places.

Constant narration from Wake throughout the entire game is welcome, with each piece of dialogue feeling meaningful, interesting and insightful. Brought to life by the incredible performance of Matthew Porretta, Alan feels alive, deeply developed and believable. Accompanied by an atmospheric score, thrilling audio cues and fun sounds that accompany the beginning and end of Dark Presence encounters give the entire sound design focus and an excitement that never waivers.

Visually, Alan Wake Remastered is an obvious step-up from the 2010 original though it still looks a little dated. The improvements are undeniably better, that is not in question, there is just an overall look that says the game is over a decade old at heart. Alan himself and the environment are wonderfully revitalised however and though the assets and characters that populate the remainder of the world aren’t as re-inspired, this remaster looks amazing where it counts.

The pair of special episodes that originally launched as DLC are both included, adding an extra 3 or so hours of content that expands upon the main game’s ending, introduces fun new gameplay mechanics and raises questions about the future of Alan Wake on a character level and a franchise as a whole. Players that have experienced Remedy Entertainment’s Control, that originally launched in 2019 and its second expansion ‘AWE‘, which starred Alan Wake and introduced him to the world of Control and what is now known as the Remedy Connected Universe, may be witnessing Alan’s origins for the first time and that additional insight certainly enhances the impact here.

Alan Wake Remastered is the hard back edition to the original. Neater presentation, a reinvigorated interest and opportunity for a new audience while serving as a tasty addition to the collection of existing fans that have been clamoring for more of the troubled writer for over a decade. Much like a novel, Alan Wake in any capacity is like a book you just can’t put down.

+ Incredible writing and thrilling story

+ Unique gameplay

+ Atmospheric tension

+ Ominous score

+ Welcome visual and technical improvements over the original

+ Inclusion of both DLC episodes

– Pre-existing issues such as poor stamina, stiff animations and clunky platforming

– Still shows the signs of being over 10 years old

The post Alan Wake Remastered Review first appeared on Games of DAYNE.

“It’s not a lake… it’s an ocean” for the newly established Remedy Connected Universe.

As anticipated as the second story expansion for Control has been, the stakes were raised significantly with the confirmation that the somewhat dark horse cult classic Alan Wake would feature as a crossover of sorts. With Alan now officially canonically tied to the Control universe, and the Remedy Connected Universe in broader terms, AWE certainly delivered some fan service but not at the expense of a meaningful expansion to the world of Control itself. AWE is packed with more of the supernatural action, platforming and puzzle solving that contributed to its countless accolades. It didn’t need Alan Wake’s long awaited return but his involvement solidified Control’s expansion as one that you don’t want to miss.

Altered World Events exist within Control when paranormal events intrude upon our perceived reality. These events defy logic, physics and even time and space. This is where the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) steps in and investigates. This is the foundation of Control, no pun intended. Players again resume control (again, no pun intended) of FBC Director Jesse Faden as she delves into the Investigation Sector by following the mysterious voice of long missing novelist Alan Wake.

Roaming the labrynthian sector of the Oldest House is the hauntingly mutated Dr Emil Hartman, the sinister psychiatrist from Alan’s self titled psychological horror adventure back in 2010. Consumed by darkness and corruption of the Hiss, the antagonist supernatural force that have wreaked havoc throughout the entire Control experience, Hartman is a force of pure evil and his harrowing appearance visually solidified his complete decent into inescapable horror.

With the premise established, AWE is more of what players love about Control sprinkled with lore and appearances, both figuratively and via a myriad of interesting and enlightening collectibles and audio logs from the Alan Wake mythology.

Fans expecting a heavy dose of Alan himself may not be prepared to accept that this is still Jesse’s story and as such his prominence does take the backseat though his involvement is still satisfying and rewarding for those longing for more Wake. Those unfamiliar with Alan won’t be alienated from the core experience as the story is self-contained but eagle eyed fans of both titles will certainly benefit more from the subtle tidbits found in particular via the written and audio collectibles.

The gameplay introduces the use of light as popularised in Alan Wake. Lights found littered around the environment can be levitated for its beams to devour the darkness that covers objects and pathways. It’s fun to see this mechanic make its way into Control and adds even more depth to the already excellent abilities required for the various puzzles to solve. The boss battles against the monstrous Hartman are heavily light based and will certainly feel familiar to those who have played Alan Wake.

A new modification for the service weapon is also introduced in the form of Surge, essentially a sticky grenade launcher. Up to 3 projectiles can be fired and detonated on enemies, surfaces or midair. This brings a bit more bang to the wave based encounters and makes short work of the Hiss.

An Arcade machine can be found that allows for arcade type modes such as clearing hordes of Hiss or defeating X amount within a time limit where each kill increases the timer. These are fun and challenging and make for a light distraction from the heavy tone of the narrative.
AWE expands the Control universe while reintroducing Alan Wake in a fun and long sought cross-over with a gripping teaser conclusion. Fans of either or both will be satisfied with the events but both will likely long for more. The future of Control, Alan Wake and the Remedy Connected Universe all move forward with impact after the expansion and the only thing for certain is… there are more stories to be told and hopefully “written”.

Final Verdict:

+ Creative crossover
+ Deep and interesting story
+ ALAN… WAKE!
– Puzzles a little repetitive
– Lack of new enemy variety

Games of DAYNE Rating

Developed by: Remedy Entertainment

Published by: 505 Games

Release Date: August 27 2020 

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4  and PC

The post Control – Expansion 2 “AWE” Review first appeared on Games of DAYNE.

* Disclaimer: This review was originally written as a member for One More Game and Xbox Gamer Dad, edited by co-founder Adam Potts and/or founder Matt Brook. A review code for this title was provided by OMG/XBGD. This review was written from my perspective with editor input. Click HERE to read this review as originally published on onemoregame.com.au *   

Remedy Entertainment have established themselves as master world builders, releasing the likes of cult classic Alan Wake in 2010, its 2012 spin-off Alan Wake: American Nightmare and the divisive live action episodic integrated Quantum Break in 2016. These titles were complex, narrative driven explorations into the human psyche and the supernatural. In August last year they went on to release Control, a supernatural psychological experience that garnered critical acclaim and brought the studio the wide-spread attention that had alluded them thus far. Winning numerous Game of the Year awards and countless other accolades and nominations, the first of two expansions – The Foundation, launched on PS4 in March and finally on Xbox One on Thursday. Diving deeper into the mysterious Oldest House that serves as the headquarters for the Federal Bureau of Control, which is now under the leadership of newly appointed Jesse Faden, protagonist from the core game. 

Important to note, The Foundation can only be accessed after completing the base game. This I believe is for two reasons; to avoid spoiling the main narrative and to ensure the player is appropriately levelled, as there are some difficult encounters the player must face as Jesse. While Remedy could have gone the route of other DLC releases by allowing the player to access it without completing the game and just kit the player out with a capable load out, it would genuinely be a disservice to Control as a whole. The narrative of The Foundation would be confusing and in order to understand it, Jesse’s position and motivations plus the state of The Oldest House itself would not make sense. 

The Oldest House serves as the headquarters for thyroid Federal Bureau of Control, a secret service like organisation that investigates the paranormal and protects the world from being exposed to it. As the director, Jesse has access to a red phone known as the Hotline, a direct line between the director and the Board which itself is somewhat of a supernatural existence. The board says the Oldest House is in danger and Jesse needs to prevent the astral plane from further bleeding into reality as she knows it, to stop the two realities colliding. 

What follows is an action adventure seeing the player traverse the Foundation of the Oldest House, navigating a labyrinth of caves that are reminiscent of Crait from the film Star Wars: The Last Jedi, striking red sand that beautiful canvases the terrain. These caves are populated by large crystal formations that obstruct several pathways that can’t be destroyed without unlocking one of this expansion’s two new abilities.

Fracture allows the player to shoot these crystal formations and destroy them though some of them will reform after a brief amount of time, killing Jesse if she is on the area where they reform. If enemies are standing on crystal formed sections of flooring, the crystals can be destroyed and the enemies will plummet to their demise. Shape is the other new ability and this allows for crystals to manually be formed at specific spots as indicated by an outline of the base of a crystal formation. This is largely used to platform and navigate the area, reaching higher or otherwise inaccessible areas. Alternatively, this ability can be used in combat to form crystals to damage or defeat enemies who may be standing under or beside them. Both of these abilities are fun to play with and are consistent with the type of abilities already present in the world of Control. Unlocking each will task the player with mastering a trial in the astral plane to prove their competence with this new power. These are fun and interesting encounters that act as a necessary tutorial to understand the abilities at their maximum potential. 

A handful of opportunities exist for a radio to be used for Jesse to call in a Ranger to back her up, providing assistance on the battlefield. This AI support was surprisingly capable and competent in battle and was actively engaging the enemies, wreaking them as well as eliminating them. This was a cool way to ease the chaos of some rather large swarms of enemies. 

Small offerings of optional side missions are present as well as the main story missions that add variety and most importantly extend the 3 to 4 hour main story expansion. The areas are decorated with an assortment of collectibles that offer new backstories while also fleshing out the goings-on of The Foundation itself. 

The final mission of this expansion features a fun and challenging boss fight amidst a stunning red backdrop. Assisted by the AI Rangers, the player is tasked with depleting the boss characters health bar while disposing of waves of regular enemies. Executing the new abilities with mastery is critical in handling this mission as easily as possible and when all is said and done, a string of cutscenes will lead the player back to the main area of The Foundation to further explore, collect things and complete the side missions. 

The Foundation is a strong first expansion and feels well within the established world of Control, providing an interesting story and fun new abilities.  

+ Interesting and complex story 

+ Fun new abilities to master 

+ Striking environment 

– The main story is a little short 

– Players may be overwhelmed by complexity of story if the base game isn’t fresh in mind 

Games of DAYNE Rating

Developed by: Remedy Entertainment 

Published by: 505 Games 

Release Date: June 25 2020 

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC 

‘The Foundation’ expansion is available to purchase on its own or as a bundle in the Season Pass which also contains the upcoming ‘AWE’ expansion.

– Additional Links –

For my review of Control, click HERE.

For my review of Control – Expansion Pack 2 – AWE, click HERE.

For more of my reviews, click HERE.

The post Control – Expansion Pack 1: The Foundation Review first appeared on Games of DAYNE.

Remedy Entertainment are the studio behind two of my all-time favourite narrative driven video games, Alan Wake and Quantum Break. The former is an excellently well written psychological thriller, the latter, an intricately detailed tale of time manipulation and supernatural abilities. Their latest release, Control, is a masterful blend of both, putting you in the shoes of Jesse Faden as she explores the incredibly deep and complex setting known as The Oldest House, located inside the FBC, the Federal Bureau of Control. Due to an Altered World Event, an intrusion on reality triggered by an Object of Power, random objects entangled with supernatural power which can bind with those who interact with them. This AWE as they’re referred to has opened the floodgates for the Hiss, a sinister evil that has corrupted the agents and mutated them, giving them deadly supernatural abilities, while others are floating in the air in suspended animation. 

This third person supernatural action title wastes absolutely no time in placing you right into the mayhem, quickly introducing you to this unique and innovative world, giving you a taste of the insanity and action it will eventually bring to the table in droves. As you progress, you unlock new supernatural abilities which encourage you to mix up your combat and explore different tactical approaches to every enemy encounter. 2 of these abilities are unlocked during the 10 story chapters, Launch which allows you to hurl almost any object in the environment and Levitate which will allow you to temporarily float and hover. The other 2, Seize which allows you to corrupt an enemy to fight for you and Shield which summons rubble to protect you, will need to be earned by completing specific side missions, all 18 of which are completely optional. 

The various enemy types and their attacks require different approaches and your arsenal of abilities are perfectly capable of getting you through most without any trouble. As well as your abilities, you have a melee attack and what’s known as the Service Weapon. This weapon has 5 forms, 4 of which require unlocking but provide you with one of the coolest weapons I’ve ever wielded in a video game. It’s the only gun you use in the game but depending on the form you are using, it acts as a completely different weapon. The 5 forms are Grip (standard pistol), Shatter (shotgun), Spin (SMG), Charge and Pierce (barrier piercing, almost Sniper-like). 

You are able to upgrade, unlock, craft and equip various mods for your weapon and personal use such as additional damage against armoured enemies, extra health, less weapon recoil etc, as well as upgrade your abilities. You truly are able to tailor Jesse and the Service Weapon to your personal style of combat which is refreshingly different from your average action/shooter. This can all be done at any of the Control Points which you have captured, acting as a checkpoint system that you will respawn to upon death, or fast travel from to any others that you have captured. 

The materials required for crafting are found by defeating certain enemies, interacting with various containers and as rewards for completing Board Countermeasures and Bureau Alerts. Board Countermeasures can be activated 3 at a time at Control Points, tasking you with killing certain enemies with specific weapons, abilities or in the different Sectors. The Bureau Alerts are triggered randomly and task you with travelling to a certain sector and clearing out enemies, supporting other Bureau Agents and the likes within a time limit. You don’t have to participate in them, they are completely optional but the crafting rewards and upgrade points awarded are worth going out of your way for. 

Speaking of a non-linear approach to combat, Control offers an extremely non-linear world to explore. The Oldest House has a labyrinth of Sectors to explore, with each Sector containing dozens of areas within it. A lot of these areas require various Clearance Level codes to access, meaning some of them won’t be accessible until later in the story after you have acquired them. Rarely seen in your typical third person action title,  allows you to continue exploring even after the credits have rolled, meaning you can go back and check these previously inaccessible areas out and complete side missions etc. that you were unable to earlier. 

While talking about the credits rolling, without going into spoiler territory, the ending is cleverly produced in that it provides you with an extremely unexpected false finish. Right when you think it’s all over and the credits begin to roll… just like everything else in the experience you’ve just had, things aren’t what they seem… 

The story in Control is personal for Jesse. She’s at the FBC to uncover why they took her brother 17 years ago after they found an Object of Power that led to the destruction of their hometown. To go any further into the details of the plot would be riddled with spoilers but it will continue to grip, intrigue and ultimately enlighten you as to the true nature of what is happening. It’s a complex and multi-layered story that may take a minute to digest after you have completed the somewhat anti-climactic finale. The pacing is consistent throughout the 14 or so hours it took me to complete the story and explore just a few of the optional areas, so it’s a little disappointing that the finale fails to fully realise and capitalise on the events that lead up to it. That’s not to say it isn’t satisfying, it just lacked that little bit of an emotional punch and context that would have left you feeling more satisfied with Jesse’s journey. 

Remedy have gone to extraordinary lengths to bring the visuals of The Oldest House and those who inhabit it to life and make the environment extremely destructible. The reality bending alteration of the structure itself as well as the manifestation of the Hiss and their intrusions look incredible, complimented by an eerily appropriate score and sound effects. The distortion of reality is cleverly represented in the games audio and to play without sound would strip away a core part of the overall experience.  

Control will engage you, challenge your combat wits and enthral you with it’s incredibly unique world. There is a plethora of things to do outside of the story and the collectibles offer incredible insight into the bigger picture. On the Easter egg front, if you keep your eyes peeled on the various television sets throughout the world you may just recognise the actor from one of Remedy’s cult classics, a game that Control wouldn’t even be possible if it weren’t for it. Last time we saw him he was facing a different form of evil with a flashlight… 

The quality of this game is what we would expect from Remedy but even then, the surprises and innovation they have packed into Control continues to be unexpected. I highly recommend checking this out if you’re interested in a solid narrative driven but open world to play as a character whose customisation truly puts Control in your hands. 

+ Deep and engaging story 

+ Stunning visuals 

+ Fun gameplay 

+ Haunting sound design 

– Complexity of story may confuse casual players

Games of DAYNE Rating

Developed by: Remedy Entertainment 

Published by: 505 Games 

Release Date: August 27 2019 

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC 

– Additional Links –

For my review of Control – Expansion Pack 1 – The Foundation, click HERE.

For my review of Control – Expansion Pack 2 – AWE, click HERE.

For more of my reviews, click HERE.

The post Control Review first appeared on Games of DAYNE.