Remedy Entertainment released the third-person shooter “Control” in 2019. This underdog went on to win several Game of the Year awards. I sampled it during the game’s brief tenure on Xbox Game Pass, enough to know how awesome it is before buying the Ultimate Edition on sale for $15. This edition has enhanced graphics and performance for new consoles, like my Xbox Series X. The price was an extraordinary value, for a top shelf game. Control is a mind bending thrill ride, well deserving of its praise.
In Control we follow the story of Jesse Faden, who is guided by a supernatural voice in her head to find the secret Federal Bureau of Control. The FBC attempts to regulate supernatural activity, people and objects. When she enters their headquarters, the Oldest House, she quickly finds herself tied up in a crisis at the bureau. Something is possessing the inhabitants, and causing trouble. Jesse has her own motivations for wanting to find the FBC, but must play a delicate game of “give-and-take” with the staff.
The entire game takes place in the Oldest House. This environment never becomes tiresome. There are enough separate, distinct areas. Locations that do exist are richly interesting. Everything at the FBC has this certain touch to it you can’t quite put your finger on. It just feels like a government agency fortress, even when it is shape shifting, or housing psychic carousel horses. Supernatural elements contrast with the sanitary stylistic approaches to create a setting that is deeply immersive.
Gameplay is fast paced, with high reward for creativity, awareness and skill. You gain psychic abilities throughout the game, which all feel powerfully fun. Players can obtain only a handful of weapon types, but anymore would’ve been too much. You can quickly swap between two at a time, there are loads of mods for each weapon, and there is so much going on in the combat already without having to worry about using the perfect, or newest weapon. Variation among enemy types also keeps combat fresh the whole game.
I have read that the main story can be completed in as little as eleven to thirteen hours. For me, I enjoyed the lore, and gameplay so much I did a decent amount of side activities. That said, it took me about twenty hours to roll credits. You’ll be more powerful if you do side stuff as well, so there’s plenty of motivation to enjoy your time with Control. Owning the Ultimate Edition, I also have access to all the DLC, including an Alan Wake tie-in. I am unsure how much of this I will play. If I can’t pick another new game to start, I may give it a whirl.
Graphics and sound design are incredible. With optional ray-tracing on, it looks stellar. The visual design is trippy, engaging and effective. As is the audio. Vibrant color shapes lovingly detailed environments. Eye-popping effects remind you why you’re playing, as though there isn’t much there otherwise. I loved using the photo mode to take pictures of where I was, or what was happening. My only wish is that in the sequel, confirmed by Remedy, that the photo mode has more options. I would love to be able to better capture this game.
Truly cinematic moments guide you through Control’s story. Not just the cool cut-scenes, either. Parts of this game feel like impassioned segments meant to dazzle, not filler material meant to spare time between story beats. One section near the end, the Ashtray Maze, was like a roller coaster. I wish I could just pay to ride once in a while when I fire up my Xbox. A sentiment that wraps up how a lot of this game felt. It was an insane roller coaster, full of loops, twists, climbs and drops. The benefit of being a shorter game, is that it becomes easier to experience again. I’m certain if I started over I would notice all kinds of things maybe I didn’t before. Even if not, I kind of just want to do it all over again for the sake of the experience.
Complaints are few, and frankly mostly not worth mentioning. Even things that I struggled with, I got the impression that I was meant to struggle. Like navigating the Oldest House. Sure, there’s a map, but it isn’t super helpful let alone in a building that alters shape. Sometimes during particularly hard battles, the “walk of shame” from the respawn point back to where I died could become very brutal. This is not an easy game. While at times it made me rather upset I would not say it is too difficult. The story gets a little convoluted, but it is meant to mangle your brain.
People may say Control is not a perfect game, but realistically I don’t know what else you would want from a story-based, single player shooter. If you have the expectations that would have for any similar game, you will be blown away. It isn’t one thing that makes Control great, it’s everything. The setting, characters, story, visuals, gameplay, it all comes together to make an exciting, and complete package.
There isn’t anything really known about the sequel, other than it is getting a larger focus and budget. I am very excited for the potential of a sequel; if they can capture the same magic that this game had, just refined more with a grander magnitude. This game doesn’t end on much of a cliffhanger, fortunately, so it’ll be a fresh story, or continuation. Find Control anywhere you can, it is available on all consoles, even a cloud based version on Nintendo Switch. I cannot recommend this game enough as a big fan of shooters. It feels like a far-out action movie, play it now.
Credit: Control Ultimate Edition. Screenshots by me.
HereticDerek 