You have no idea the pain I felt that "Dynamite" is a YT copywritten song I want to CRY

Someone once described Dr. Darling as a mad scientist where the emphasis is put on the SCIENTIST instead of the MAD part.

It's weird Alan Wake always just says he is a writer. Not author, not novelist, not some hyphenated combo. Just writer. Almost like he is not... in Control of the story.

"This is a Thor's hammer situation."
BRICKY IN THE GAME THEY SAY THAT IT IS LITERALLY EXCALIBUR. THE SWORD IN THE STONE.

An interesting tidbit: the reason why the Oldest House doesn't like new technology is because objects function based on what they symbolize when in it, not how they actually work. Newer technology hasn't been around long enough to solidify as a symbol, so it becomes volatile when it enters the Oldest House. The stronger a symbol is, the more stable its real life counterpart is. That's why the FBC doesn't just use old technology, but incredibly uniform technology. All the phones, computers and vending machines are identical. Hell the only writing utensil allowed inside is the number two pencil. It's because these items have been determined to be the strongest symbols for the things they need

Solution to your issue with Jesse: She isn't funny. She's ground to the bone personality wise because she had to be growing up. She wants to be funny, so tries to crack jokes in her head, it's also a coping mechanism. It all fits in rather well with someone who went through buckets of trauma and has a lot buried away simply to survive. And she is a survivor, as we all know.

It's insane how they made the 'ORANGE PEEL' joke into a legitimate plot point in the Alan Wake DLC. Sam Lake, you hack!

One thing that I wish you had touched on: The weird chant / poem that the Hiss infected people recite is not always in the same language as the rest. The game checks your region and locale settings and, if those differ from the language you set the game to, plays the chant in the language of that region instead. So basically, even if you play the game in English, you will usually hear the chant in your own native language - which adds A LOT to the supernatural mystic element of it. It's GENIUS and I've never seen any other game to that.

I adore that bit with Shawshank, her remembering it at the very end. It is so perfectly stupid.

That last level in the nostalgia department, when you cross into the Astral plane, the board tells you they're juicing you up for this fight. It's normal for you to one shot everyone. Sorry Bricky, it wasn't just you

Pat's "dragons dogma is the best 7/10 game" vs Bricky's "control is the worst 8/10" fight

“She’s still panting my guy, you didn’t even get her a towel” is the funniest analogy I’ve heard for the ending.

I kind of want to defend Langston. Justice for Phillip and all, but if you listen to his dialogue and finish his sidequests you find out he's actually really good at his job. He wrote the Tennyson Report, basically outlining his theory that treating the items with some respect might be better than treating them as prisoners. Plus he's just kind of a dork.

The more I think of Jesse's character, the more the cold front she puts on and the awkward quips she says feel more intentional. Her and Dylan experienced traumatic events while messing with the projector in Ordinary, and afterwards they both experienced their own personal traumas after that event. I.e. Jesse "shares" her mind with Polaris, and Dylan is taken and placed in a lab by the FBC. It's clear to say that Jesse didn't have a normal childhood by any means considering every adult in Ordinary vanished, and her only sibling was taken away from her. Her only "friend" in a sense was Polaris. Trauma can alter your brain's chemical balances permanently and change your behavior and even how you speak. I imagine what she experienced as child altered her brain in that way. Polaris latching onto Jesse in it's own way can be considered a traumatic event, because how, as a kid, can you comprehend that? I like to think that Jesse's cold exterior and awkward quips are just mannerisms she's learned to utilize to come off as a normal functioning person in society. Many people who've experienced traumatic events as children use humor to come off as normal and find it's the best way to "fit in".

I do like that it’s never said but basically screamed to you that the titles of “Janitor’s assistant” and “Director” are the same damn job lmao

I've heard Sam Lake (that hack) discribed as the Finnish version of Hideo Kojima. They're both not afraid to let us know exactly what inspires their projects and make effective use of music, mixed mediums and wild character writing. (Also a real shame because James mccaffrey was definitely supposed to have a major role in the universe).

You're probably going to need an entire sound board of "Sam Lake... YOU HACK" for Alan Wake 2.

It’s not Bricky, it’s an ocean.

"from my friends to you" his old friends being THE OLD GODS OF ASGARD god i feel dumb for not having gotten that sooner

The big issue with Control is that I just want more of it. More depth and choice in builds and powers, more interesting Altered Item interactions and side quests like the camera chase, more explanation for what the hell everything is, more interesting locations, more interesting character stuffs, more enemy types and bosses, etc. It's a shame, but at least I'd rather my issues with a game be "I want more because what's here is good" rather than "I want less because it's bad"

Also I want more Dr. Darling singalongs

One of the things that made Control so fun for me was when i eventually learned you could control the big sphere enemies to make them heal you. It truly opened up the game in one of the funniest way possible, being able to tank miniguns to the face because i have a big health orb and they don't. If you still go back and play this, I do recommend you try this. The spheres will also follow you to help you.