< GOOD / ENJOYED. I / WE ARE PLEASED >
Control. Funny name for a developer’s first output since splitting from Microsoft after the debacle that was Quantum Break’s release. Not to imply Quantum Break was a bad game because it wasn’t; I really enjoyed it and played through the campaign twice. However after the Xbox’s planned TV app was canned the project had to be reworked and it wasn’t the first time Remedy’s scope was limited during their time with Microsoft. The much loved Alan Wake was supposed to be an open world game but was eventually turned into the level based experience the retail release presented. This was apparently for narrative reasons and nothing to do with Microsoft, but I find it humorous that their first project since the split is in some sense an open world title.
Control takes place in the Federal Bureau of Control building and plays like a third person, 3D Metroid title. As new abilities are unlocked, more areas of the building can be explored. It’s slightly different in that progress is narrative driven rather than skill and item based progression in other Metroid like titles, but the emphasis on taking keys and abilities to previous areas to explore previously unreachable places is definitely here. I would consistently go back with new key cards to explore previous locked zones and would try to push certain abilities to their limit to reach places I didn’t think the devs would have expected me to go (only to find a chest with some upgrade materials waiting for me). Outside of combat, Control feels like a modern take on a 3D platformer and it feels great.
PLATFORMS: PS4, XB1, PC
MSRP: $59.99
PRICE I’D PAY: $59.99
During combat, players of previous Remedy titles will feel at home. Fast paced with emphasis on moving rather than taking cover behind waist high walls, it feels like a logical progression from Quantum Break’s combat. Instead of time control, Jesse (the main character) gets what I can only simplify as telekinetic powers like being able to throw objects at enemies while also armed with a shape shifting gun that never runs out of ammunition but can only be fired for so long before needing to be recharged. Starting off as a simple pistol, the gun can be upgraded using various items collected from enemies and chests into a shotgun, submachine gun, and other forms or to unlock more mod slots to change damage, the rate of fire, reload times. There are a lot of tools to play with in terms of how a player wants to approach combat, that’s not even including the personal mod slots and the skill tree. Control really has a lot of options for players.
The enemies in Control are generally humans corrupted by the faceless enemy known as The Hiss. Usually signaled by a red flash of light, The Hiss will show up first as gun toting enemies but eventually they look less and less human with my least favorite being these red colored ones that appear to be a human bending backwards while floating who explode when they get near. Health doesn’t automatically regenerate, so when one of these lovely creeps would blow up near me and take a chunk of health I’d be making a mad dash to kill another enemy and collect the health they dropped. Combat can be intense and I died quite a few times, however every time I blamed myself.
But I am sure the question still remains: What is Control?
Control is weird. Control is by far the most out there game from Remedy. The game centers around the Federal Bureau of Control, a government agency that investigates the “paranatural.” The building they are located in is called The Oldest House, which is bigger on the inside that it appears on the outside, constantly shifting, and whose interior looks like what I imagine the CIA and the FBI looked like in the 70s. Old reel to reel technology, paper documents, green monochromatic tube monitors, and just the architecture itself feel like an old government building. Control however is clearly set in present day.
I don’t want to give any of the story away so instead I’m going to talk about an old Twilight Zone episode that focused on a camera that took photos of what was going to happen five minutes in the future. In the world of Control the FBC would go and take this item and examine it as well as cover up any incidents that occurred because of it. A lot of the work the FBC has done is shared via documents found in game that can be read by anyone wanting to immerse themselves in the lore and I recommend it because it highlights the encounters with Objects of Power that are similar to the camera in their paranormal powers.) After experiencing an Object of Power in her past, Jesse has come to the Oldest House looking for her brother. While I won’t spoil anything I will say that the ending left me a little let down. I suppose I expected a crazier conclusion because this game is so odd, but at least the game ended without being clearly left open for a sequel (like Alan Wake and Quantum Break which set up a sequel that never came). There could be a sequel to Control, but I also don’t feel left out in the cold if there isn’t. There was still plenty to do after the credits ran and the main plot was wrapped up so there may be a more concrete ending after completing the game 100% but I did not before writing this review.
Before I conclude, I must say that this game is a graphical powerhouse. A lot of the environment is destructible with particles flying everywhere, which looks pretty but makes my first generation PS4 chug a bit during huge firefights. It didn’t happen a lot, but the handful of times it did it was noticeable but not unplayable. The game seemed to pace the frames during that time so that it didn’t come to a complete stop during gameplay. It did however come to a quick stop after unpausing the game and I’m not sure why. Even after the patch it would still stop for a second or two, sometimes turn black for a second, and then run perfectly fine after unpausing. The map would also not load sometimes, with the labels loading but the actual map not showing up (not that it is a great map but it does its job and I felt it necessary to use at times). The most annoying of the issues however was when I would try to change guns or mods in the menu screen, because sometimes it would not let me move the cursor. I would have to exit and reenter the menu to get the cursor to work.
Technical hiccups and lackluster ending aside, I loved Control. I couldn’t get my mind off of it. I still can’t. I love weird science fiction and this game is filled with it. As a fan of Remedy I loved that they managed to once again prove that they know how to make third person shooters with compelling stories. I won’t say this is the best game of the year but it is definitely my favorite. I want to see every corner of the oldest house. I want to read every piece supplementary material. I want more, but I also don’t feel like I need it. There’s a lot of game here without feeling bloated and I want to talk about how good the performance of the actors are (both via motion capture and live action sequences) and how there are plenty of side missions but I also don’t want to make this review bloated.
Just know that Control is one of the best games of 2019, and if you like weird games, third person shooters, exploration, 3D platforming, or just Remedy, you need to pick this game up.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
