Finnish developer Remedy Entertainment has been widely known in the past decade for their action, world design, and storytelling through games like Max Payne, Quantum Break, and Alan Wake. With Control that streak continues exceptionally.
Control takes you through an eerie and paranormal building called The Oldest House set in downtown Manhattan. The Oldest House acts as the main hub for The Federal Bureau of Control which has been kept a secret from the world for decades.
The Oldest House is truly a remarkable area to explore as it gives you so much mystery, while also giving you so much history through the collectibles you find throughout the game. The House changes as you progress through the game in minor ways, which makes the environment all the more mystical. The enemies, The Hiss, have been unleashed in a mysterious way that you uncover slowly as the game goes on, but all invade the House in a great and truly paranormal way.
You play as Jesse Faden who has been in search of The Federal Bureau of Control ever since they took her brother after a mysterious accident when they were both children. Jesse subsequently becomes The Director of the FBC, mostly throughout the game that is her least important goal. Her main goal is to find her brother, Dylan.
The characters of Control are all likable! One of my favorite characters you see a couple of times in the game is Dr. Casper Darling. However, you see Dr. Darling through live-action videos explaining his scientific findings. These live-action videos are not bothersome, in my view, they are so entrenched in the world, that they seem so fitting. Dr. Darling’s arc itself is so interesting where he loves his findings of The Hiss and other things, but uncovers things that are too mysterious to not overlook.
The amount of customization to your character is pretty extensive. You are playing a Jesse Faden that is truly your own. You aren’t playing a Jesse Faden that is locked to certain things.
There are always upgrades that are elusive in the menus enough sometimes, that you might just forget about them completely. However, they are still extremely helpful in the game and the progression when you do find them. You may upgrade your powers and your gun through modifications.
The gun itself, The Service Weapon, is a very interesting way to have guns in the game. You have five different gun forms that you may change on the fly with two of the five ways. My personal favorite was the Shatter form, which acts as the shotgun of the game. However, all of the gun forms have its own purpose. The most helpful one would be the Spinner form, which is the machine gun of the game. The modifications of the guns are each individualized enough that they are all very helpful in regards to conquering The Hiss; like having each gun have a damage increase modification, or mods that can make guns more accurate, and many others.
The gameplay is amazing within the abilities and the combat in the game. The enemies can feel like a hurdle in certain areas, but always feel like an accomplishment when you outsmart the enemy with your abilities, like telekinesis with enemy ammo. All abilities are extremely helpful in the gameplay. The ability I used the most would be the Telekinesis ability, which is such an awesome way to attack enemies as I mentioned with enemy ammo prior, but all objects that are highlighted are used for attacking. However, this costs energy which is limited, so you have to manage your health, your rechargeable ammo in The Service Weapon, but also your energy to conquer The Hiss, which I love the management of all three of these components.
Overall, Control is one of my favorite games of the year. The gameplay, the characters, the world, and the gameplay mechanics are each beautifully integrated into the game that they make it so beautiful to experience. Jesse Faden is a likable character throughout the game but has multiple levels of intrigue and mystery to her character.
My Score: 9/10
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