PC players can now access FSR 4 options, with the image upscaling technology being enabled by default when playing on supported GPUs. FSR Frame Generation is also available in the graphics settings. Opacity Micromaps and Shader Execution have seen improvements as well, with the developers now making use of the Agility SDK.

As for the bug fixes, the Crossbow Cult Stash can no longer potentially block access to the Lighthouse in New Game Plus mode. Crashes that could occur when using Quick Slots in certain scenarios have also been fixed. For more details, check out the full patch notes below.

Alan Wake 2 was originally released all the way back in 2023, and we even liked it enough to name it our Game of the Year. Since its release, Remedy continued supporting the title with two expansions – Night Springs and The Lake House – the latter of which helped fill out more details about the larger connected universe that the studio has been building with Control. For more, check out our review.

The title has gone on to do quite well in terms of sales, having sold more than 3 million copies across all platforms as of earlier this month. It had already become the studio’s fastest-selling game by February 2024, crossing 1.3 million, before eventually hitting the 2 million milestone in February 2025. Remedy has said that the horror title is selling at an “expected pace”.

However, the new CEO of the studio – former EA executive Jean-Charles Gaudechon, who took on the role earlier this year – spoke about his belief that Alan Wake 2 and Control both should have sold more copies.

“Remedy is already one of the biggest game authors, with very strong signature products,” he continued. “Now, after seeing it from the inside, there’s so much more we can give in terms of super-strong authored, creative, crazy stories and gameplay. Honestly, we haven’t achieved half of the potential in terms of the products that we make.”

In the meantime, Remedy Entertainment is currently working on Control Resonant, which is slated for release across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on September 24th. Check out its latest gameplay trailer.

Alan Wake 2 August 16th update patch notes:

Improvements and additions

• [PC] Added support for FSR 4. FSR 4 is automatically enabled on supported GPUs when FSR Super Resolution is selected.
• [PC] Added support for FSR Frame Generation. The option is available in the graphics settings on supported GPUs.
• [PC] Opacity Micromaps and Shader Execution Reordering now use the Agility SDK, allowing support across multiple GPU vendors.
• Fixed lingering audio synchronization issues during cinematics on all platforms.

Fixes

• Fixed an issue where the Crossbow Cult Stash could block access to the Lighthouse in New Game Plus.
• Fixed a potential crash when using Quick Slots under specific circumstances.
• Other minor fixes and improvements

While sales for the sequel may not seem very high (it launched in late 2023), Alan Wake 2 is actually Remedy’s fastest-selling title, crossing 1.3 million by February 2024. It eventually sold over two million in February 2025, and recouped all development and marketing costs in the process. At this point, everything else is royalties, especially with the lack of “platform deal accruals.”

Alan Wake 2 is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. It debuted to exceptional critical acclaim and even won our Game of the Year award for 2023. It’s received two paid expansions, Night Springs and The Lake House, since release, the latter teasing the events of Control Resonant.

Remedy is currently focused on the latter, which launches on September 24th and has already passed 1.5 million wishlists. Pre-orders are also performing quite well, at least on PlayStation, and marketing momentum continues. Check out the latest gameplay here or learn more about the overall playtime (which blows the original out of the water).

Discussing his previous tenure at Electronic Arts, Gaudechon spoke about understanding the fear that fans of Remedy’s works may have about whether this will end up turning the studio into something like EA. However, he said that his appointment as the studio’s new CEO happened because he knows “exactly what Remedy is,” and how the studio needs to be supported.

“There’s been a lot [of talk] about EA,” Gaudechon said. “What does it mean to have someone that has been spent time at EA? And I completely understand the fear of, ‘is he going to bring methods that work for a massive company and crush the soul of a studio like Remedy?’

“But I think I got chosen because I know exactly what Remedy is. And what needs to be protected, needs to be supported and needs to be grown. Remedy is one-of-a-kind. It’s a studio that has amazing creative drive. It’s a studio that also has been messy here or there, and that’s the beauty of the type of games that were made and how. What I hope I can bring to Remedy is vision on where the company could go and where we could make some improvements.”

“Who am I to change the DNA of a 30-year successful game studio?”

He spoke about the love and respect that Remedy has already garnered from its fans thanks to games like Alan Wake 2 and Control, and recounted getting messages from his friends telling him, “We love Remedy so much. Don’t f*** it up.”

“That shows you how much people love Remedy,” he said.

“Remedy is already one of the biggest game authors, with very strong signature products,” he continued. “Now, after seeing it from the inside, there’s so much more we can give in terms of super-strong authored, creative, crazy stories and gameplay. Honestly, we haven’t achieved half of the potential in terms of the products that we make.”

As for his plans for the studio, he wants to continue on the path that had already been set by Remedy Entertainment before his appointment as CEO. This means looking at how the various IPs owned by the studios can be turned into franchises.

“[Our deal with] Annapurna goes into making our games, our franchises shine further and reach an audience that doesn’t exist today,” he explained. “It’s a pity, I think Alan Wake should have sold more. Control should have sold more. To me, that’s one of the first things we need to fix, even before trying to make more games to a certain extent. First of all, maximize the potential of the ones we have, because they’re incredible. And cross-media is going to help us do that.”

Gaudechon also spoke about one of the biggest elephants in the room when it comes to discussing the gaming industry’s future – the use of generative AI. He noted that, while the studio is being “extremely cautious and not embracing AI clearly,” he sees the potential for AI tools to be useful in earlier stages of development and prototyping. While there won’t be a top-down mandate to force the use of AI tools, he also won’t block any of the developers from using AI where they think it might help.

“My stance is that AI is not going to make things cheaper, and it’s not going to make things cheaper for a pretty long time,” he said. “People thinking, ‘Oh, we can now make games cheaper with this’, I have big question marks around that. And what types of games, by the way? I said this during the earnings call, good luck trying to do Alan Wake 2 with AI. Try to use Genie and do that, and we’ll see where you land.”

“But we’ve always been an R&D studio. It’s always dabbling with tech stuff. So, I’m not going to block people from doing so. But we’re going to be extremely cautious on that, never getting anywhere close to creative and anywhere close to user-facing.”

Remedy is currently working on Control Resonant, which will come to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. There has been no announcement of a release date yet.

You’re going to be searching for pages from Alan’s writings across four new familiars that fans out there are sure to recognize. Of course, you’ll likely run into complications, and will probably have to steel your nerves if you wish to come out of it all in one piece. That’s not to mention all the terrifying moments between your first contact with a ghost and the moment you either escape or prevail against it.

Combine that with Alan Wake 2’s bizarre worlds, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for a limited-time event that we’re eager to check out as soon as we’re done telling you about it. The update’s live now, and is available until June 2nd. It came with a trailer that should give you a solid idea of what to expect, although we’d warn you that things can go wrong quite quickly in Phasmophobia, a facet of the experience that we really liked in our review.

“With the latest PSSR update, Silent Hill f now delivers an even smoother gameplay experience than before,” said Konami’s production team. “Fine details – from swaying blades of grass to shadows cast across the ground – are rendered with greater clarity, deepening immersion in the fog-shrouded Japan of the 1960s.” A short new trailer highlights the difference between the current PSSR and its upgraded version with the latter pretty much eliminating any flickering.

Ninja Theory head, Dom Matthews, noted the team’s excitement to collaborate with Sony while also being impressed by “the quality of particle effects with this latest update, helping to bring key gameplay moments to life through enhanced visuals.” Remedy’s graphical technical director, Tatu Aalto, also noted how the improved image upscaling resulted in “efficient stochastic sampling without sacrificing image stability” and how it “responds quickly to visibility changes in games, keeping motion clear while improving temporal stability.” The result is even “better, more stable image quality” in Control and Alan Wake 2.

Those worried that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth on consoles would never fully depict the beauty of its characters’ hairstyles should also rejoice. Director Naoki Hamaguchi notes how “fine details such as character’s hair are naturally restored.” Of course, “less flickering and afterimage feeling” is also a bonus. You can also expect sharper edges for wildlife scenery in Nioh 3, whether it’s foliage or various flowers.

And while Capcom didn’t provide any additional comments on the technology, it will be available for Monster Hunter Wilds and Dragon’s Dogma 2. Resident Evil Requiem was the first title that leveraged Upgraded PSSR, and the results have been quite stunning thus far. Stay tuned for more details on other titles that will implement it in the coming weeks.

Available earlier this month, the upgraded upscaler offered even higher image quality for supporting games, starting with Capcom’s Resident Evil Requiem. You can expect the same for Control Ultimate Edition and Alan Wake 2, with Remedy promising “noticeable improvements in image stability and clarity of motion.”

Which is interesting because when it first implemented PSSR for Alan Wake 2, it received no shortage of criticism. Of course, Remedy worked to improve on this, adding ray-traced reflections in Quality Mode and an improved resolution in Performance Mode. It also eventually provided the option to turn off PSSR.

Upgraded PSSR must be enabled separately as well, so those who don’t like it can continue to enjoy both titles in their current PS5 Pro iterations. When these will be available is unknown, but Remedy says “soon.”

Of course, with its older titles embracing the same, it seems a given that Control Resonant will follow. It was recently confirmed to feature Path Tracing and RTX Mega Geometry on PC at launch later this year, so stay tuned for updates.

The latest in a series of older posts discussing the Epic Games Store and Steam by, among other people, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, New Blood Interactive CEO Dave Oshry, and Larian’s director of publishing Michael Douse, Remedy has referred to Epic as being “an excellent partner” regardless of the game being unavailable on Steam.

“There would be no Alan Wake 2 without Epic Publishing. The publishing deal with Epic was very fair to Remedy. While these complex deals can often take even a year to reach their conclusion, and may not always be fair to the developer, this one was. And it only took months to get done. Epic Games was, and is, an excellent partner to us. Steam or no Steam,” wrote the studio.

As for the longer discussion taking place, it all started when Oshry revealed that games published by New Blood Interactive have been seeing spikes in sales figures after they were given away for free on Epic Games Store. He noted that sales went up by as much as 200 percent during these events. Sweeney acknowledged this, noting that “on some transactions, Epic wins. On more, Steam wins. But one thing is constant on every transaction: gamers and developers win by having more options and better deals.”

In further posts, Sweeney went into how Epic Games Store is roughly 55-60 percent the size of Steam in terms of monthly active users, and the company focuses on reinvesting its revenue to work with more developers. Alongside this, he also threw in a dig at Valve president Gabe Newell’s yacht purchase.

“The more telling number is monthly active users, where Epic Games Store is 55%-60% the size of Steam. We heavily reinvest back into engaging users through the Free Games Program, putting our revenue back to work for developers in a way that those yachts and diamond teeth don’t,” he wrote.

Responding to this, Douse offered his own two cents, noting that despite Epic having a large hand in funding the development of Alan Wake 2, the company did little to help Remedy’s own financial issues in light of Alan Wake 2 not coming to Steam.

“I understand Epic entirely funded Alan Wake 2 but this altruistic pro-developer talk doesn’t sit well when Remedy seemingly went into financial crisis because they couldn’t tap Steam for AW2 sales suffering potentially hundreds of millions in lost revenue,” he wrote.

“Ultimately the viability of the store sits on their ability to convert hundreds of millions of Fortnite players into mid-hardcore premium gamers, and I don’t see the Fortnite brand attempting to do that,” his posts continued.

Alan Wake 2 was released on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2023. For more details, check out our review.

From grand open-world adventures and haunting psychological thrillers to emotionally layered narrative journeys and tightly crafted action, these games prove that single player games are thriving. These are the games that immerse us, challenge us, surprise us, and remind us why we fell in love with gaming in the first place. With this feature, we are running down 15 of the greatest single-player experiences from 2021 to 2025.

Clair Obscur Expedition (2025)

Clair Obscur: Expedition transports players into a dreamlike world where reality is painted, reshaped, and wiped clean every year by a mysterious celestial artist. It’s combat system blends turn-based mechanics with real-time inputs, which helps it stand out from the crowd. Every encounter feels like a stage performance of sorts, and its unique setting wraps everything in a surreal, painterly aesthetic. Expedition succeeds because it fully commits to its artistic identity; story, visuals, and music all speak the same emotional language. 

Its haptics were designed for immersion, being able to simulate a range of different surfaces. weapons, and other effects, while its triggers would adapt to what was in your hands on-screen, making for a controller that feels like it’s a part of the game along with you. The touchpad and speaker made a very welcome return from the PS4, too. However, not all games make use of the DualSense’s immersive capability.

And yet, others do, with some very nice results. If you’re looking to find a few titles that do the DualSense justice, we’ve got a few great ones for you. Let’s get started.

1. Ghost of Yotei

As a PS5 exclusive, Atsu’s revenge-fueled rampage across Ezo was bound to make use of the DualSense in some form. The guiding wind was already mapped to the touchpad, as were a couple of key functions. But having players swipe across the touchpad to navigate their shamisens, or actually move and tilt their controllers to cook over a campfire, were fantastic touches that brought a layer of realism to the open-world and its activities.

Even building a campfire was cleverly implemented here. While we would have liked the haptics and adaptive triggers to really come alive during the game’s combat, they do a decent job overall. This one’s a great choice if you’d like your DualSense to really come along with you for the ride.

2. Astro Bot

Team Asobi’s platformer was so rooted in PlayStation history and put so much into the DualSense that there’s an Astro Bot-themed one all on its own. The haptics made surfaces like sand and metal come alive, the motor’s intensity pulsing ever so differently and giving a distinct feel to each one.

There were even different trigger responses on various power-ups. Suction devices made the triggers actually push against your fingers, simulating a device that was slowly filling up. The boxing gloves made them click satisfactorily in place, making it feel like you were landing punches yourself. We could go on, but you get the idea. This love letter to PlayStation is a logical choice for those of you who want to enjoy everything the DualSense has to offer.

3. Gran Turismo 7

As a racing sim that takes itself quite seriously, it only makes sense, then, that Gran Turismo 7 made use of every tool in its arsenal to improve player experience. If you’re thinking that it’s good news for PS5 players thanks to the DualSense, you already know what to expect.

But it’s hard to describe how each car’s engine brings a subtle, yet obvious shift in the haptic feedback you get, while bumps in the road or changes to your tire’s grip come right back to you as you attempt harder turns. The adaptive triggers do well to shift the weight of your brake pedals between cars, and even simulate ABS-assisted braking. It’s a long list, but definitely worth discovering for its visuals and authentic gameplay alongside its DualSense integration.

4. STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl

The PS5 version of GSC’s long-awaited addition to the STALKER franchise does interesting things with the DualSense. For starters, the developers have discussed their use of the adaptive triggers at length, highlighting how the weapon enthusiasts on the team ensured that each gun’s heft and distinct features were translated well into the triggers.

All of the game’s radio chatter is routed through the DualSense’s speaker, while the haptics have been trained to simulate a variety of different, varied surfaces across The Zone’s many biomes. In a game that’s as immersive as STALKER 2, the PS5 version is the one to beat, and the DualSense is a major part of that distinction.

5. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

As if bringing Peter Parker and Miles Morales together as dual protagonists wasn’t enough, Insomniac decided to make the DualSense feel alive in your hands as you zipped around the city, a ray-traced reflection of Spidey coming back at you to remind you that this one was a next-gen game at the time.

Of course, the DualSense played its part, its haptics simulating the feel of the wind on your web wings, or the adaptive triggers suitably seizing up as Spidey gathered the initial burst of force he needed for his next launch. Personally, the first time trying to glide along on water was among the best ways to feel the controller’s haptics at work. This one’s definitely worth checking out on the whole and as a showcase for the DualSense.

6. Horizon Forbidden West

Another great PS5 exclusive, this one is another great use case for the DualSense’s unique feature set. For starters, the controller’s integration into the gameplay loop is done so subtly, you might barely notice it’s there at the outset. But you’re soon going to be looking for ways to fire up the haptics by your in-game actions, and that’s where the fun begins.

You begin to notice the ever-so-slight vibrations of the blades of long grass you use to remain unseen, or the way a fall from a high place makes the controller tell you quite directly that it was a bad idea. It’s in the way that different strokes in the water as you swim evoke different responses from your controller, even as the triggers make each weapon feel distinctly different. This is one that you have to check out for yourself, and it’s a great game, too.

7. Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

Hideo Kojima’s 2025 masterpiece needs no introduction, but Sam Porter’s latest adventure does bring some interesting, DualSense-focused touches to the table. It essentially made the controller feel like an extension of Sam and the player, with every texture the character stepped across making the controller come alive just a bit differently in our hands.

The triggers made us feel the weight of his cargo when he handled it, even as every drop of rain from a Timefall occurring around us gave a sense of foreboding, thanks to the DualSense making us uncomfortably aware that time was of the essence. It’s brilliant stuff, and perhaps an indicator of even better things to come for the controller in the near and distant future.

8. The Last of Us Part I

This remake of Naughty Dog’s original 2013 classic did very well to make good use of the Dualsense to elevate an experience that was so familiar it ran the risk of feeling dated. Guns and Ellie’s bow are suitably different in your hands thanks to the triggers, while the haptics add to the tension you feel when you’re navigating the environments that cause it.

They’re also a part of some of the story’s most important moments, bringing a subtle yet fresh touch to those scenes in a way that wasn’t possible at the time of the game’s development. If you’re a fan and would like to experience the original adventure in a fresh new way, the DualSense is going to help with that.

9. Dead Space Remake

Returning to the USG Ishimura with a DualSense in our hands made for an interesting time when we tried this one out. The plasma rifle suddenly felt all the more satisfying to use, the haptic feedback from each shot working well with the visuals of a terrifying enemy being put down in front of you.

Every step with your magnetic boots is sent back to you via the haptics, while the triggers do well to make each weapon feel distinct enough that you might even tell them apart with your eyes closed once you spend enough time with them. If you have the stomach for some scares, give this one a go.

10. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Cloud Strife’s revamped tangle with Shinra in this continuation of the story from Remake came with excellent implementations of the DualSense’s haptics and triggers. They did well to add the usual immersive layers we’ve come to expect to the game’s combat and exploration, but they were also neatly tied into the story and a few minigames, too.

Rebirth is a great example of how the DualSense could be woven into a game’s narrative cutscenes as well, while also being a part of more than just combat and a way to simulate the texture of the ground under a player’s feet. This one’s a no-brainer on the controller front, and you’re likely going to enjoy it on its own merits as well.

11. Alan Wake 2

This one’s probably our favorite one of the lot. There’s a case to be made for combining a controller like the DualSense and a game that’s as atmospheric as this one. While the visuals could take a while to praise considering how great they look on a PS5, having the DualSense add-on to that immersion is a great way to enjoy an experience that’s already among the finest ones you can find.

From the way the rain patters down around you while the controller gently vibrates to make you feel like a few drops caught you instead, to how a shotgun and crossbow feel castly different thanks to the triggers working very well to make that so, this is a game you’re going to find excuses to replay once you finish it for the first time.

12. Black Myth Wukong

You’re going to appreciate the DualSense’s role in this one right off the bat. Fighting the several bosses throughout the game brings the controller alive, with each blow you fend off, making it rumble in your hands. But Wukong also weaves in other subtle touches to its gameplay loop that make it worthwhile to play on a PS5 (or a PC with a DualSense if that’s your thing).

From resistance to your staff to the build-up of spells, the adaptive triggers are always looking for ways to differentiate your gear, while the haptics do a great job of simulating different occurrences and, of course, making combat come to life. Tracing the steps of the protagonist is certainly a task worthy of the DualSense.

13. Deathloop

Deathloop is a solid example of the DualSense being used effectively across the board in a video game. The haptics are woven into your exploration loop, effectively making each surface you walk across feel as it should in the real world, while the triggers differentiate your weapons very well indeed.

But integrating the haptics into cutscenes made for an experience that was all the more engaging as a result, adding weight to the moments where the developers wanted it. Take the DualSense along to Blackreef, and you’re not going to be disappointed.

14. Stray

We can’t help but feel like this one was made for the DualSense and not the other way around. The controller feels like such an important part of this surreal adventure, coming alive with every purr your feline protagonist makes. The triggers make you appreciate why cats like to scratch things so much.

Our favorite use of the controller was at resting points, where watching your kitty cat take a well-served nap comes with the bonus of having the controller mimic its breathing in a way that’s as satisfying as it is adorable. This is one of the more innovative uses of the DualSense on our list, and perhaps a very innovative experience on its own.

15. Baldur’s Gate 3

Larian did well to translate its UI over from a keyboard and mouse to a controller, its radial menus offering players a lot of options as they navigated the many mysteries and adventures of Faerun in this very memorable take on Dungeons & Dragons.

The triggers did well to bring that shift to life, with varying amounts of pressure controlling the behavior of radial menus in the game. The light bar on the DualSense switches colors depending on the spell you’re casting, while the haptics rumble away at the appropriate times to make things interesting. It’s surely worth a shot, especially with official modding support from Larian for the PS5 thrown into the mix.

And that’s a wrap on games that are best enjoyed on the PS5, thanks to how the DualSense makes them even better. Here’s to many more on the horizon.

Gears 5

The Gears series was always at the forefront of modern rendering techniques, and Gears 5 is obviously no different in that regard. Released in 2019, Gears 5 continues to impress with its gorgeous level of detail present in every aspect of the presentation, including but not limited to the environment, characters, and the sheer spectacle of the firefights on offer.