Decided to just re-play the whole game again when initially I was just waiting for the AWE DLC to drop. I was very very excited for it and I'm super glad that it (other game spoilers) decided to canon-weld Alan Wake and put him in the spotlight this time. Previously, he was just slyly referenced little by little. Alot of my appreciation for the AWE DLC is because of my love for Alan Wake, which is why I played all of its games in anticipation last year. I'm not really too happy about Ultimate's integration because the DLC has unique powerups and mods strictly only for the floor you explore in. It would've been nice to have them throughout the whole game as playing it now expertly, it would've greatly helped with balance; the monsters and fights got way too easy less than halfway in and all I had to do was pump the TK/Launch Skill. Bosses that I would have a hard time repeating over and over before, are suddenly trivialized because I threw 3 forklifts at it (exaggerating, but it is possible). There were fights that I absolutely dreaded not repeating only to be surprised that it was done in 30 seconds or less. I completely abandoned using guns late-game.
But now I'm back to gush about Alan Wake. God. The universe fits so well and I'm so glad Remedy decided not to forget about their other franchise. I was honestly expecting Alan to finally escape the darkness, but then I realized what with how Control is framed, Alan's entire existence within the darkness is now a much better element than if it were a story about him escaping.
They put in alot of breadcrumbs that answer some of the unanswered mysteries in the form of how the government agency is seeing it. And I'm satisfied and impressed about it. I also got to fight and defeat Hartman, who if you know you're Alan Wake, is an asshole who you didn't get to directly deal with before. And by the end of it, of course they make it all open ended and hint that something AW-related is going to 'return'. I'm all for that honestly, but they better make good on that promise. It's been way too long.
Maybe they can integrate Max Payne too, lol.
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It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.