Control is an interesting game filled with interesting characters set in an interesting setting. Combat can be approached in a number of interesting ways and exploration is typically rewarded with something interesting. Control sounds interesting, doesn't it?! All jokes aside, what Remedy has crafted with Control might be my favorite outing from the company since the original Max Payne.

Story

Jesse Faden and her brother Dylan were involved in a paranormal incident in their hometown of Ordinary, Wisconsin. The Federal Bureau of Control arrived to contain the event and collected all of the evidence and took Dylan into their custody. Jesse was able to escape with the help of a supernatural being that now resides within her. About 17 years have passed since then and Jesse has arrived at the Bureau seeking answers. Instead, she finds death and an invasion from a supernatural force.

Gameplay

Control has players assume the role of Jesse as she seeks answers to her past and searches for her brother. Right from the get-go the atmosphere at the Federal Bureau of Control’s headquarters, the Oldest House, is tense and ominous. Where is everyone, isn't this a government building, how did Jesse just waltz right in? It doesn't take long for things to get weirder as you run into a creepy janitor named Ahti, who always knows more than he lets onto. Ahti thinks you are applying to be his assistant and sends you on your way. A mysterious elevator ride later and you find yourself in the Bureau Director's office where you find his corpse and the Service Weapon. And here is where the story of Control really begins!

Picking up the Service Weapon transports Jesse to an alternate plane where she is tested to see if she can be the new Bureau Director. Upon completion of this test not only does Jesse have a shiny new toy, but she also has access to new psychic abilities! From here on out your exploration will be filled with combat with the otherworldly entity: the Hiss. The Hiss invaded the bodies of the Bureau employees and you will come up against a number of different forms as well as the floating corpses of employees who weren't suited for combat; creepy.

Combat can be done in a number of ways but one thing to always keep in mind is Jesse’s easily depleted health. You can take a few hits, but Control doesn’t rely on regenerating health like so many other games of the past decade. Instead, things work more like DOOM 2016, where killing an enemy will produce a health drop of small crystals that you can pick up. Though I don’t recommend rushing out into the open and getting into enemy’s faces as you would in DOOM for the aforementioned health issues. Utilizing the Service Weapon and Jesse’s abilities combined with cover is the best way I have found to survive throughout my playthrough.

The Service Weapon is really fun to use! When you first start out it seems like nothing more than just a basic pistol-type weapon. Throughout your mysterious journey, however, you begin to collect resources from defeated enemies that can unlock new modes for the weapon to change up how it works. There are a few modes available to unlock like shotgun, sniper or machine gun. You can then further modify each form with weapon mods and unlockable upgrades; it is really fun! 

Now let’s dig a little further into Jesse’s abilities. If you have played games like Force Unleashed or Psi-Ops you are going to have a good idea of what you can do here. Jesse’s starting melee attack is similar to a force push that will knock back enemies and the unsuspecting desk. Launch follows quickly after which allows you to hurl objects at foes to do devastating damage, especially against shielded enemies. One of the coolest touches I think Remedy added to this power is that even if there are no conventional objects to throw, you will just rip up a piece of concrete next to you and throw that! By the end of the game, you will be able to dodge, levitate, shield, and even dominate the minds of enemies. Well, I shouldn’t say that; aside from Launch, most of the other powers were achieved in side events that you could totally bypass if chosen. As with the service weapon, each ability can be upgraded with new perks like additional damage or longer durations.

No matter how stellar the combat system is, it only matters if the rest of the game drives you forward to do it. This is where I have both loved and faltered with Control. The Oldest House is an interesting setting, looking like a government building straight from the ’60s with lots of old computers and tech. The game plays out like a Metroidvania title so there will be lots of exploration and backtracking to previously visited areas to access a room you couldn’t before. Clearance cards and different abilities unlock many new paths. Thankfully, Control does employ a fast travel system through a series of Control Points you liberate in various areas. Control Points also serve as your save/healing/respawn points and upgrade locations so they are very important. When I first started Control I enjoyed exploring what was available, but by the end of Chapter 7, I had my fill of the Oldest House and pushed myself forward purely for the story aspects of the game.

The story of Control is slow to get started to me, but one well worth experiencing. Many of the game’s events will be narrated internally by Jesse and I think it worked out well. There are many strange moments and some fun twists that I won’t spoil here for anyone who hasn’t played the game yet. The world around you also has many things to discover to really flush out details about people and items. Again, exploration is really rewarded here to learn every tantalizing detail that you can! Many of the best parts of the game aren’t even part of the main game’s story and are just side missions. There are still many I need to go back and experience since I skipped the last few from Chapter 7 on. 

Speaking of side quests, I am not sure how I felt about Control’s use of timed combat missions. These events will pop up and require you going to a certain location in a specified amount of time and defeat a set number of enemies. Once accomplished you are rewarded with upgrade materials. Again, the combat makes these missions a blast and the enemies are usually tougher than the story-based ones, making it a fun challenge. I just hated interrupting the story element or exploration I was working on to go do them. Dang timers…

Visuals

Control is a fantastic looking game and one of the best looking artistically to me of 2019. I played through this review on both the Xbox One S on a 720P screen and the Xbox One X on a 4K screen and found both experiences to be fantastic. Environment and character models looked nicely detailed with good texturing to my eyes. I especially love the damage effects that can be produced on the floors and walls of the Oldest House from combat and abilities. Performance issues that the game suffered at launch also seemed to be drastically reduced as I encountered no massive drops throughout my playthrough, even with loads of debris flying in all directions as I would run through an office blasting every desk I could see. Though to be fair I do run my games off of an SSD so that may be a factor. Either way, there was never a moment where I felt my enjoyment of the game was at risk due to performance.

Audio

Sound work in Control is also some of my favorite of 2019 with great character acting and great use of ambiance. Music and random noises go along way to make the Oldest House very unnerving and chilling to explore at times.

What It Could Have Done Better

Even though I greatly enjoyed Control and most of its aspects, I couldn’t help but feel Remedy could have come up with more original powers to use for the game. Having played games like Psi-Ops, Force Unleashed, and even to an extent Mass Effect, gave all of the powers less of a wow factor. And even using them didn’t feel too different than these games either. Hopefully, for the expansion, we can see more experimentation and out-there ideas that the game was able to pull off in other regards.

Verdict

I do genuinely find Control to be a terrific game with lots of great ideas and concepts. It might not have the most original powers but in combination with the well-tuned combat system, they might be the best implementation of them we have seen in a game to date. The underlying story is also very well written and the world is an interesting one. I feel bad that I got a little burned out on the location before the end of the game, but I know that I will look forward to digging into those last few areas I skipped once I give myself a little break. If you have yet to play Control for yourself it is a great option for your next gaming pickup and is ready to treat you to a weird time if you are into that sort of thing!