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Control gets an ultimate edition featuring DLC and next-generation upgrade

Control Ultimate Edition, which comes with all available DLC, will release on August 27 on Steam for $40, where it will make its debut on Valve’s marketplace. It will then release on September 10 for the Epic Games Store, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 digitally. Physical releases will come later this year for current-generation consoles and early 2021 for next-gen due to production complications stemming from the coronavirus.

More importantly, the Ultimate Edition will be the only way for players to receive a free upgrade to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X version of the game. While publisher 505 Games’ post implies there will be a purchasable upgrade to next-generation consoles for players, there is no information currently on how much that might cost.

Purchasing the original game plus its DLC all at full price would cost around $85, nearly double the price of the upcoming bundle. “Game of the Year” versions release all the time with complete packages of games at a discounted rate. Still, players are upset that those that invested in Remedy’s project from the jump will require to pay even more to experience the game on a PS5 or Xbox Series X.

Numerous current-gen titles are receiving visual upgrades for the upcoming PS5 and Xbox Series X, many of which will be free, with both Sony and Microsoft working on revisions of their in-house titles. Confirmed third-party games currently offering this graphical overhaul at no additional cost are:

  • Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
  • Cyberpunk 2077
  • Destiny 2
  • Dirt 2
  • Doom Eternal
  • Far Cry 6
  • The Elder Scrolls Online
  • Watch Dogs Legion
  • WRC 9

FIFA 2021 and Madden 2021 will temporarily offer free updates, as long as they are claimed before the 2022 releases of both games. NBA 2K21 is taking a similar route as Control, as its Mamba Edition is the only version to include the upgrade. That game is yet to be released, however, whereas Control has been on the market for a year already.

Control launched in August 2019 to widespread critical praise. Since then, it has released an additional game mode Expeditions, which rewarded players by presenting them with a series of combat challenges, and a story expansion The Foundation which continued the story of the main game.

On August 27, the same day that the Ultimate Edition releases, the game’s second story expansion AWE will drop, which will bring the world of Remedy’s previous title, Alan Wake, further into Control‘s universe beyond the collectibles found in the main game.

Tom Caswell
Professional video producer and writer, gaming enthusiast, and streamer! twitch.tv/greatbritom
Control: Ultimate Edition unlocks the PS5 and Xbox Series X’s true potential
Control Force Powers

Control: Ultimate Edition is out now and PlayStation Plus subscribers can get it for free starting today. I have found it to be one of the most substantial next-gen conversions that takes full advantage of the latest technologies such as ray-tracing and the PlayStation's DualSense controller. It also eliminates annoying bugs that plagued the launch of the original game, such as the frustrating stutter when exiting the pause menu.
The poster child for ray-tracing
When Control initially launched on PC, it was held up as a prime example of the visual possibilities ray-tracing can bring to a game, adding unparalleled depth that was graphically impossible on older technologies. With the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X's upgrade, that is now the case for ray-tracing on console.

Control takes place almost entirely in the Oldest House, the headquarters for the Federal Bureau of Control. The space is filled with windowed offices, reflective tiles, and otherworldly lighting. This environment is ripe to show off the capabilities of ray-tracing, which provides true-to-life reflections and shadows. Finding myself in the middle of a firefight in one of the clusters of offices, I'm not only seeing enemies through the glass windows, I'm seeing the reflection of the environment around me. Since the lighting is happening in real time, other windows are then reflected as well, the reflections bouncing off of them doubled up in the glass facing me directly, creating an almost infinite loop of reflections.

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Remedy confirms Alan Wake and Control are linked, third game is in the works
control review 13

Remedy Entertainment confirmed that 2010's Alan Wake and 2019's ControlĀ are linked, and that it is working on the next game in that universe.

In the latest State of Play, Remedy released a trailer for the upcoming AWE DLC of Control, which is set to roll out as the game's second expansion on August 27.

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How to revive dead companions in Baldur’s Gate 3
Withers offering services to the player in Baldur's Gate 3.

You're given a good bit of leeway during battles in Baldur's Gate 3 before you or a companion actually bites the dust for good. While in battle, if a teammate does take enough damage to drop, they aren't dead then and there. Instead, they will be downed with a chance to roll every turn to get back up. If they roll successfully three times, the battle ends, or you use another character to pick them up, they're good. If they fail that roll three times, however, they will be completely dead. That can be harsh when you've become attached to certain characters and want to further their stories, so you'll be looking for any way you can to bring them back. Thankfully you do have a few options for reviving companions in Baldur's Gate 3, but just like respeccing, they aren't so obvious.
Pay Withers to bring them back

Withers is a friendly undead you can find in a secret room in the Dank Crypt found inside the Overgrown Ruins. After finding and speaking to him in his sarcophagus, he will offer you various services, one of which is bringing back any dead companions. He won't do this out of the kindness of his heart (probably because it isn't beating) and will charge you a heavy fine of 200 gold to do so. Still, that's a small price to pay to bring back a beloved character. Once paid, that character will appear in your camp where they would normally be, so there's no need to go back to their corpse and find them.
Use a scroll of Revivfy or learn it

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