Watch the first 15 minutes of Control: AWE
Remedy took to Twitch today to show off the first 15 minutes of the upcoming Control expansion AWE. The second and final DLC will begin with a mysterious distress call summoning FBC Director Jesse Faden to the Investigation Sector, which was sealed off years ago after a spot of interdimensional unpleasantness.
AWE stands for Altered World Event, the reality-breaking events that form the fictional foundation of Control, but it's also very much the Alan Wake Experience: It turns out that the famed writer, who's been missing for ten years (Alan Wake the videogame was released in 2010) has spent the past decade trapped in "The Dark Place." But he's also apparently overcome the writer's block that sent him to Bright Falls in that game.
"Alan Wake is writing again, and you'll be finding pages of his writing," Remedy creative director Sam Lake said during the stream. "The story he's creating is affecting reality here. You can experience the full pages through the hotline menu in the game."
The expansion will add an estimated 4-5 hours of gameplay to Control, and along with the main story will feature new jobs from Ahti, the weird janitor/apparent demigod who keeps The Oldest House looking nice. There will a new enemy, the Airborne Ranger, and a new light-based mechanic that's basically lifted straight out of Alan Wake. It will also reveal more about what actually happened in that game, which will be a nice bonus for fans who enjoyed it but aren't quite sure what the hell was going on. (Which is probably most of us.)
Also coming in August is a free update for all players that will add the new Surge form to the service weapon, seen in the gameplay video, which fires highly-destructive sticky grenades that can be remotely detonated. The update will also add more save spots and checkpoints, particular around tough fights, a new upgrade for the Launch power, and a new "Assist Mode" that will enable players to adjust settings like Jesse's energy recharge rate, how much damage she can take, and the service weapon reload speed.
Control: AWE is set to come out on August 27, which is also when Control Ultimate Edition goes live on Steam. (The Ultimate Edition is also coming to the Epic Games Store, but won't arrive there until September 10.) Before any of that happens, Control game director Mikael Kasurinen will take part in an AMA on Steam on August 18—details on that will be posted on the Control Steam page.