GAME REVIEW: Control - Foundation & AWE DLCs (Series X)

 (Will You Be There? - The Sherlocks)

2019's release of 'Control' was met with generally positive reviews. (You can click here to read my own review of Control.) Remedy Entertainment had a pretty decent track record with both storytelling in general and also the horror/occult/paranormal genres so this wasn't much of a surprise.

Remedy immediately went back to work, not content to rest on their laurels. (The Oldest House requires a considerable amount of care, after all!) By the time another year had elapsed, they'd managed to drop two DLCs with anywhere from five to seven hours of gameplay baked into each one.

What follows is a review for each one, including a few light spoilers for the original game.

THE FOUNDATION

Both of the DLCs for 'Control' blend rather smoothly into the main story of the game itself. In the case of 'Foundation', its events take place after you've concluded the main storyline of 'Control'. The Board will summon you to a new mission and off you'll be!

The stage for this DLC is actually set much earlier on in the main campaign of 'Control', specifically by speaking with two NPCs. The first is Arish. After you secure the NSC Power Plant in Maintenance, you'll have the chance to go speak with him about a variety of subjects, including what he thinks about the Bureau's head of operations, Helen Marshall. Pay attention to what Arish says here and be sure you keep track of him when he migrates from Maintenance to Central Executive. We're not done with him yet.

The second NPC you'll need to speak with is Marshall, who will am-scray for unknown reasons after your stint to restart HRA productions concludes itself.  She mutters something about having to check on something that the hiss absolutely cannot be allowed to find, aaaaand then off she goes.

Keep checking back in at Central Executive. Marshall will vanish between one mission and the next, and Arish will be there instead.  Speak with him about Marshall as soon as you can and he'll mention that she occasionally takes long trips to the Quarry, sometimes for days, and no one knows what she does while she's out there.

Come back to Arish again towards the end of the game and he'll have new conversation options for you, including even more dialogue about having last seen Marshall heading into the Maintenance sector...which, for the eagle-eyed viewer is on the way to the Quarry.

When the main campaign of 'Control' ends, Marshall's whereabouts are still unknown. All is about to be answered though.

'Foundation' sees you exploring the lowest parts of The Oldest House to try and stop what's described as an 'Astral Bleed', a collision between the astral plane and our own. You'll also find out exactly what Marshall was up to, which absolutely sets the stage for 'Control 2', whenever that gets here.

Most of the 'Foundation' DLC is set in relatively new terrain composed of rocky cavern and fissures covered in the same kind of red sand that you ran into in Darling's massive HRA lab near the end of the game. You'll also spend a large amount of time in the Astral Plane.

'Foundation' treats you to several new abilities and astral modifications for the Service Weapon as you proceed through its new areas. You'll also run into some new enemies that are easily the most challenging ones you've had to face yet. 

Generally speaking, you'll burn anywhere from five to seven hours working through the main mission and smaller side quests that get generated.  Here are a few things to keep in mind as you play through:

- There is a lot of bright light in 'Foundation', and if you don't have a television or display with a good dynamic contrast ratio, you're in for some serious eye strain while you try to see what the hell is going on around each massive light bloom.

- Foundation is designed to be played after you've beaten the main campaign of 'Control'. This assumes that you'll be at least moderately powerful and you'll need to be. The enemy encounters in 'Foundation' are NOT easy and will require strong mastery of your Service Weapon, Levitate, and Launch. I went into this DLC with my Health, Energy, and Launch completely maxed out and with Levitate and Shield almost maxed. I still died. A LOT. A part of this challenge is the introduction to several new enemy types. Don't feel like you can breathe easier once you leave this area of the game either...these new enemy types can crop up in random encounters throughout the rest of The Oldest House as well.

- 'Foundation' brings to the forefront a game mechanic that I didn't even know existed prior to the DLC: Destructable walls. There are sections of The Oldest House that you can simply blow through using Melee. (No, you STILL don't need to upgrade Melee. Base Melee still works just fine.) See an area you can't get to? Find a wall next to it and give it a punch. I would have sworn that this ability was added as a part of this DLC except that I've now started blowing holes in REGULAR parts of The Oldest House. I don't know if Remedy games did this by design but if so, this was GENIUS. This added an entirely new level of exploration to the main campaign for me and made me want to play the whole game all over again. 

- 'Foundation' introduces a new game mechanic that it doesn't tell you about that's REALLY important, and that's your ability to stop elevators by triggering them again in mid-transit. This -might- be something that you can do in the main campaign but you're never called to do so, so I've never checked.  You very much HAVE to do this in 'Foundation' though, so...you know, keep that in mind.

In general, 'Foundation' introduces more of the same really lovely gameplay that you've come to love about 'Control'. The mileage you get out of some of the new toys that it throws at you will vary greatly depending on your play style but considering it was released around six months after the launch of the first game, it's a pretty damned solid addition to the game that doesn't feel like Remedy should have just bundled it with the main game and chose not to. It's just a very solid addition.

A.W.E.

Before I get started talking about this excellent content, I do want to offer up a little health and safety PSA: 'Control' includes a lot of flashing lights that could cause problems for people with certain neurological conditions...or, by Remedy Entertainment's own admission, even those who DON'T have neurologic photosensitivity. If this is a problem for you, you absolutely want to stay away from this DLC as there are several parts in it that take the whole 'flashing lights' business to an entirely new level.

It's also worth noting that, in keeping with the theme of the content covered in this DLC, AWE strays a wee bit into the 'horror' genre. You might wanna play this one with the lights on.  There are no jump scares here though.

Also, yes, Hartman is a serious problem. Keep reading for spoilers.

Released in August of 2020 -- in the middle of COVID, no less! -- A.W.E. is Control's second DLC and, in my opinion, the better of the two. This is saying something because 'Foundation' was a lovely offering.

For the record, A.W.E. stands for 'Altered World Event', Control's way of referring to a serious bit of weirdness happening out in the wild somewhere outside of the FBC. AWEs are what happens when it's not just a single object or person behaving strangely, it's an entire PLACE.

 This DLC presents itself less as a continuation of the main story and more as a reward for both Alan Wake fans and those paying attention to all of those files and message laying around about the various other AWEs that the FBC has investigated over the years, most notably the Bright Falls AWE. 

Still confused? 

Stated a little more plainly, Remedy Entertainment also makes a game called Alan Wake, a supernatural horror/thriller set in and around a cabin located in Bright Falls. That game is in the same universe as 'Control', and the AWE DLC plays on the events of Alan Wake. A LOT. This might feel like a cop-out in terms of creating new and original content except that the story from Alan Wake is actually really cool, really creepy, and plays really well in 'Control's world.

In-game, the DLC presents itself as an optional side-mission as soon as you start the 'Face Of The Enemy' segment of the main 'Control' campaign. A new area to explore, the Investigations Sector, will become available via the Service Elevator and you'll have access to a side-mission called 'A Dark Place'.

Summarizing the story from the AWE DLC would involve a lot of exposition and spoilerage about both the DLC itself and 'Alan Wake', so I won't bother with it here in great detail. Suffice it to say, weird shit happened at Bright Falls and, as they are wont to do, the FBC got involved. Naturally, doing so had side-effects for the Bureau and your job in this side mission is to suss those side effects out.  You'll do so over the course of around seven hours. If you've enjoyed 'Control' up until now, you'll probably eat this with a fork and a knife. In addition to adding onto 'Control's already excellent story, AWE also brings another form of the Service Weapon to bear, one with applications outside of a localized area of the game! It's a gaggle of fun to use and I won't spoil it. I -will- say that it can be a very situational weapon but, if used properly, can contribute to some absolutely MASSIVE damage dealing on your part when used in tandem with your other abilities.

Some notables and thoughts about this DLC:

-  There are off-handed comments made in the main campaign of 'Control' that you can use Launch to grab light-emitting objects and use them to see around dark areas of the game. I literally never had to do this a single time in the main campaign and I always wondered what in the hell Remedy was on about.  Turns out, it was this DLC. 

- AWE is a VERY welcome DLC for a variety of reasons.  Not only can you pick up some incredible new power-ups in it, it takes place earlier in the game, giving you the chance to beef up even more before the brutal experience that is 'The Foundation's combat.  Anything you can do to get stronger before 'The Foundation' is a good thing.

- Good ol' Ahti is back and he's brought his Finnish Tango with him! He's also brought some additional work that needs to be done by the Janitor's Assistant. I won't spoil it for you except to say that, like his other side-quests from the main game, they're very, VERY worth completing, especially before you move on with the rest of 'Control's main campaign.

- The train car is supposed to have audio once you get inside of it.  There -is- a glitch in the game that sometimes keeps the audio from playing though. If this happens to you, completely close your game down and restart it.

The best part about this DLC, BY FAR, is how it ends.  Remedy has conducted a masterclass of manipulation through the course of this DLC, pushing your mind and behavior in a very specific direction and then taking outrageous advantage of that when it matters most. It's some of the smartest gameplay I've ever seen. I'll go into that more in the Spoiler section.

AWE is an outstanding DLC on its own. It also manages to be really superb fan service at the same time, a tricky proposition that it manages with ease. It's well worth the money and is some of Remedy's strongest work to date. Get it. Play it.

...And if the ending is giving you trouble, keep reading.

SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING OF AWE DLC

Let's all stop for a second and give Remedy the respect they deserve. They've been playing you like a violin this whole time and you probably didn't even realize it.

You're going to run into the character of Hartman pretty quickly once you get started with this DLC and it's logical to assume that you'll have to do something about him -- it? -- before the curtain falls. You'll be given several chances to do so throughout the DLC, lulling you into a certain false sense of security. What most of us don't really appreciate here is the fact that these initial encounters with Hartman, while relatively easy to resolve, aren't just about the encounters themselves and advancing the story. They're opportunities for the game to screw with you, to influence how you think about Hartman.

To make you afraid.

This isn't really a problem at first because you're always allowed to run from the fear that the game builds in you. You dance through the darkness, running to the light as quickly as possible to keep away from the monster lurking in the shadows. When the lights come up, Hartman cannot stand. In this, you are never required to face the fears that the AWE DLC has slowly been feeding inside of you. The final encounter with Hartman inside of the Bright Falls AWE sector is not like the others though; it comes off like a sucker punch, resulting in the hardest fight in the entire game.

It's also one of the most masterfully crafted encounters I've ever played. It is gleefully manipulative. The DLC has been shaping how you think about Hartman from the very beginning, preying on your fear and encouraging you to behave fearfully. Every time you run into Hartman, he's dark, scary, and you need to RUN AWAY. Because of this, the final encounter will most likely find you very inside of your own head.

You'll be tempted to keep Hartman at range and just wail away on him with as much force as possible. You've figured out by now that letting Hartman get his claws on you is a very, VERY bad idea. To counter it, you'll be tempted to go airborn for a lot of the fight or to dodge around the area, throwing whatever you can get your hands on at him.

The fight starts out normally enough, asking you to dump loads of damage into Hartman while dodging his eye-wateringly powerful attacks. He'll occasionally get angry with you for beating on him and knock a few power cores out of their fixtures to kill the lights. Putting them back in is business as usual at this point and you'll soon have him whittled down to no health...

At which point, the 'real' fight begins.

Hartman will turn the lights off AGAIN...and then summon Hiss to back him up.  And put up a stonkin' great shield as well. That shield cannot be penetrated in the darkness, nor can your energy replenish itself. You'll have to quickly turn the lights back on and beat on him...at which point, he'll turn the lights back off again, which is when more Hiss will arrive and you'll notice that his shield is regenerating. FAST. You have to get those lights back on as quickly as possible and then push enough damage as you can into him before he turns the lights off again.

This. Is. HARD.

Let me make this live for you: I went into this DLC -AFTER- having completed 'The Foundation'. I was absolutely loaded for bear. I had all of the weapons fully upgraded, an inventory full of Absolute weapon and personal mods, everything except for 'Seize' maxed out in my AP tree, and Hartman still absolutely wiped the floor with me over and over again. 

If you have balls of solid rock and excellent ranged combat skills, you will win this fight through sheer, iron-jawed determination. There is no special trick here, at least on the surface. It literally comes down to dogged determination and skill. It is, as I mentioned, easily the hardest fight in the entire game, including the main campaign. Hartman deals ridiculous amounts of damage with his ranged attacks and area of effect attacks and unless you've stacked your personal mods up for health recovery, you can't possibly stay ahead of the damage without some serious skill.

So what's the trick? 

Wait for it...

You have to conquer your fear of Hartman and approach the fight as predator instead of prey.  I shall now elaborate:

You've spent every other attempt at this fight trying to keep Hartman at range. Stop that. The whole fight revolves around you learning to stop running from him. 

Hartman doesn't move conventionally. He doesn't move at all, really. He teleports around the map but he doesn't do it erratically. He's always pursuing you so he can grab you and steal a massive chunk of your life for himself. "Yes, dumb-ass," you cry, "That's why I've been trying to stay the hell away from him!" Again, calm thyself. Hartman telegraphs everything he does, and I do mean EVERYTHING. When he teleports towards you, you have more than enough time to dodge away from him and then STOP MOVING, turn around, and pour a shit-ton of damage into him. "But Steve," you cry, "What about his ranged and PBAOE attacks?" Again, he telegraphs those by glowing bright red before unleashing them. If you calm yourself and watch him, you'll have more than enough time to evade to safety and cover.

Best of all, once you've mastered your fear and learned to stay closer to him, it opens him up for the biggest game-changer of the whole fight. See, once you pour enough damage into Hartman or wait long enough during Phase 2 of the fight, he'll get fed up with that and stop attacking you. Then he'll streeeeeatch one of his big arms up, mutter something about the darkness or being too stretched out, and then turn the lights out again. When he stops to do this, be ready to do one of two things:

- Use Pierce to put a shot directly into his head.
- Use Launch to EITHER pick up a large object -OR- three smaller objects (You'll need a max-level Launch to do this one but it's MUCH easier than making sure you grab a 'Large'-class object...) and feed them to him.

Do this quickly enough and you will stagger him...and he won't be able to turn the lights off. He'll instead launch back into another brief attack cycle before stopping and trying to turn the lights off again. Wash, rinse, repeat. If he can't turn the lights off, this rapidly turns from the worst fight in the game to a much more manageable one.

Make no mistake, it's still not an easy fight. It requires a certain amount of nerve and patience to do properly.  Here's what I went in with:

- Health, Energy, and Launch maxed fully.
- Pierce, with damage boost, armor piercing boost, and a certain reward from Ahti. (You'll know it when you get it.)
- Spin, with damage boost, damage boost, and more damage boost.
- Launch Efficiency, Health Increase, and Health Boost.

Here's how I beat the bastard:

1. Open the fight by resisting the urge to blow through the glass and get immediately stuck in. The first thing you should do is look to your right in the control room to find a Ranger station. Summon backup. This Ranger will not only continue to harass and distract Hartman, he'll also pretty much single-handedly deal with any Hiss that get summoned.

2. Once your ranger is summoned, take the elevator down to the floor arena so that your ally can join you. From there, I pulled Spin out, went airborn, and grabbed three objects with Launch.  Then I got stuck in, making a beeline for Hartman in the air and unloading on him first with Launch and then a full clip of Spin. DO NOT just repeatedly launch things at him. Get a clip of Spin into him, lob three things at him and then STOP to give your resources time to regenerate! Panic firing will only get you dead.

3. Once my initial barrage was over, I immediately dropped to the ground and started waiting. Hartman teleported in right next to me not long after. I dodged away, put a small amount of additional distance between us to be safe, then turned around and unloaded on him with Spin and a full launch salvo. While this was happening, I made sure to stay near terrain I could duck behind.

4. Wash, rinse, repeat. Unload on him, wait for the teleport, dodge, and repeat. Sooner rather than later, he'll start glowing red, at which point you need to find cover. Wait for his attacks to finish, then get back on your attack cycle. Always keep him in sight. Never turn your back on him. His visual cues are critical.

5. He WILL turn out the lights a time or two during the first phase of the fight. This is why it's so important to NOT just panic launch things at him.  You need your energy full. When you see Hartman pause and stretch up to turn the lights off in Phase 1, GET TO THE MIDDLE OF THE ARENA. When the lights go out, IMMEDIATELY get into the air. If you've done it right, you'll be in the middle of the room with full energy. Get the lights back on.

This will end Phase 1 really quick for you. Launch + Spin is a nasty combination for damage. Don't use Spin unless you have the 'Instant' mod reward that you receive from the Ahti sidequest. It's too slow otherwise, same as Charge. 

You CANNOT stagger Hartman during the transition from Phase 1 to Phase 2. Keep an eye on his health as Phase 1 progresses and save your ammo and energy when you get him down to 1 HP.  He'll turn the lights off and summon two low-level Hiss to back him up.  Again, if you've done this right, you'll be in the center-ish of the room with full energy.  Get airborn and get the lights on. Ignore the Hiss. That's for your Ranger buddy to deal with.

If said Ranger has expired and you can do it safely, it's VERY handy -- for once! -- to use Spin to whittle down a bad guy and then Seize him. Bonus points if you can get both Hiss on your side. They're wonderful distractions for Hartman!

Once you're in Phase 2, Hartman has a shield, which is basically just another health bar. Your combat strategy here should remain exactly the same: Hit him like a tank, watch for his attacks, and be ready to dodge. It is more critical than ever at this stage that you not just blindly panic fire. When he stops to turn the lights out again once Phase 2 has started, you need to IMMEDIATELY be ready to do one of the two things I mentioned above to stagger him. The closer you are to him, the better chance you have of landing your damage properly. If you can pull this off, he'll most likely never get another chance to turn the lights back off again and the fight will be over.

Congratulate yourself. This is a cheap, ugly, manipulative, crazy-making boss fight that requires a ton of discipline and, dare I say it, Control.

Then again, maybe that was the point all along.