Remedy Entertainment has delivered us another great title with Control launching on PC, Xbox One and PS4 today. Sam Lake of Max Payne fame has penned the story and while Control might not be everyone, it certainly is one of the best games we’ve played this year and we’re here to tell you why
In Control, players will take on the role of Jesse Faden. A seemingly innocent civilian Jesse enters the mysterious Old House and things go awry as per the norm in video games. The Old House is the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Control. What exactly is the Federal Bureau of Control? That’s for players to find out throughout the course of the game.
Playing as Jesse, players will soon discover that there’s a lot more going on that meets the eye despite the rather normal surroundings they find themselves in. Players will collect documents with blanked out and censored text. Recordings will explain the paranormal events and the mystery deepens itself within 15 minutes of launching the game when Jesse becomes the new Director of the Bureau of Control.
To say things escalate quickly is an understatement. Control tosses you into the deep end and works its way backwards bringing you up to speed as to what’s going on in the Old House and in the game’s world. As you progress through the game you’ll gain more insight into the story and more complex game mechanics will slowly unlock.
The story of Control is told from the perspective of Jesse. There’s a lot of internal monologues that you’re privy to and there’s a mysterious psychological “effect” of sorts that she talks to which provides guidance to her. More of this is revealed later in the game as you get through the various sections of the Old House and discover more about Jesse and the Bureau’s past. If you dislike games with a lot of text or you’re not a fan of reading in video games, this game is probably not going to appeal to you as much as it did to us. When the mystery pieces itself together, Control’s story is a masterpiece.
The game’s setting is the Old House and while it looks like a typical governmental building with offices and various staircases and floors, the Old House is a paranormal hotspot that can shift and change itself. Players will encounter enemies known as the Hiss and their invasion of the Old House is something Jesse is tasked with resolving.
There are various different types of Hiss enemies to fight and since they are human beings that have been “Possessed” by the paranormal, Jesse will have to make use of the Director’s special weapon to dispose of them. The Service Weapon as it’s called is an object of immense power and one that can shapeshift later in the game and allow Jesse to use different types of attacks. This coupled with Jesse’s “psychic” powers makes players a formidable opponent to the Hiss. That said, there are various encounters throughout the game where you’ll have to take cover and hide from enemies or make use of proper strategic gameplay to survive their onslaught. There isn’t a difficulty slider in Control so players will have to adapt their playstyle to survive. Running in guns blazing with the Service Weapon will only get you killed. Especially since it takes time to recharge once it’s ammo is depleted.
The gameplay in Control is therefore based on third-person shooter elements interspersed with what could be described as superpowers. Jesse can choose to gun down Hiss enemies or melee them with her psychic powers and it is incredibly enjoyable either way. There’s a layer of customization in the game too with mods for weapons as well as a level-up system which unlocks new weapon forms for the Service Weapon to take on. Additionally, you can also choose to change Jesse’s outfit at specific points in the game.
Graphically, Control is one of the best looking games of 2019. With support for Nvidia’s raytracing, the game looks absolutely breathtaking and there are some points in the game where the photorealistic aspects of it’s graphic’s engine lighting the environment are truly mindblowing. Even with raytracing switched off and on lowest settings, Control is a gorgeous game and sets a new standard for graphics in games.
The soundtrack used in Control is filled with some great tracks as well as some licensed music which can be muted in the options so as to not get into trouble with copyright laws if you’re streaming or recording your gameplay. The voice acting in the game is also excellent with all the major characters sounding convincing throughout. This helps drive home the narrative story Control sets out to deliver with its mixture of story and gameplay.
Overall, Remedy has done a stellar job and have created a game that will etch itself into the memories of many gamers as something truly worthwhile much like Alan Wake did before. Control is definitely a must-play title and one that will surely keep you entertained throughout its 15-hour long story.
Control is brought to us by Global videogame publisher 505 Games and its partner, internationally renowned developer Remedy Entertainment.
The game is available on PS4, Xbox One and PC
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