Suppose I had a meeting with the shot callers at Remedy Entertainment Oyl. In that case, I’d waste no time to ask them to release more games or at least more sequels because Control was another testament to the developer’s commitment to making outstanding and bizarre games. 

The characters, story, atmosphere, and action excite me as much as they confuse me right from the beginning of the game. Get ready to delve into a surreal world where you take on alien-like humanoid creatures while the character possesses a firearm with weird history. But in Control is not a game to be played in a hurry; you may need to take your time and go with the flow until the game unravels itself to you.

Let’s Jump Into The Plot

Control is a 3rd person action fantasy game that makes beautiful what would ordinary not be. The games start with you playing as Jesse Faden, a young lady searching for her brother and answers. She accidentally finds the Federal Bureau of Control, a United States government agency focused on investigating and containing paranormal scenarios known as Altered World Events ( AWEs). 

The Bureau operates from an invisible brutalist architectural skyscraper named the Oldest House. The building is only accessible to those in search of it. In this house, Jesse came in found her shapeshifting firearm called the “service weapon.” The Service weapon can transfer its powers to a human host through touch. However, not all can wield it. It also automatically confers on the user the position of Director of the Bureau. Jesse was able to wield it and, as such, not only became endued with superpowers, like the ability to move things with her mind and to levitate. 

There are also things known as “objects of power,” which are physical objects that have come in contact with forces from an alternate universe, the Oldest House’s biggest being. Touching an object of power takes you and Jesse – yes, because very soon you would become so attached to the character it would feel as though you both are the same – to the astral plane. 

The astral plane is a realm that exists between reality and alternate reality. As you go deeper into the game, everything becomes more mysterious, and without warning, the game throws you into an ocean of weirdness, and it is your job to find the lifeline.

Gaining Control

The Plot of Control is designed to make you elicit a feeling of confusion like a driver who has lost control of the wheels. I spent the first few hours writing down acronyms, pausing cutscenes to try to keep up. It is quite understandable if Remedy decides to remedy the situation by making the combat and gameplay not so complicated. Control gameplay revolves around movement, target shooting, weaponized telekinesis, and debris shield walls. 

The game has various enemy types called the Hiss Entities. They are humans, formerly employees of the Bureau whose interdimensional evil powers had infected. These blood-thirsty creatures are sure to come at you from every corner and would do anything to take you down, from going invisible to being suicidal. Jesse is incredibly weak and unable to withstand damages. With no cover, to stay alive, you have to keep pushing the enemies’ position, Doom 2016 style. The only other way to stay alive was to use your telekinetic powers to build a shield of the earth that doesn’t last for so long.

Combat in Control, as I earlier mentioned, doesn’t require a lot of special techniques. You have just two offense mechanisms. First, Jesse’s multipurpose weapon; is a singular pistol that you can upgrade to any class of your choosing. Magazines don’t matter here as the gun has unlimited ammo; however, the energy bar acts as its cool-off system, so once it runs down, the gun stops firing. Another important and possibly more effective combat mechanism is the Launch. The Launch allows her to use her mind to pick up objects, sometimes even enemies, and haul them at opponents/enemies. With the Launch, the player can alternate between the use of magical powers and a gunfight. To increase the effectiveness of your Launch, you can upgrade.

Control adopts the Metroidvania format with a large open-world map that is replete with missions and side missions. I often get lost in the Oldest House and can spend minutes at a stretch just roaming trying to find my way. Thankfully the elevator comes in handy when this occurs; it allows me to select where I’m headed on the map. As you get past missions, you reach Control Points which act as save zones and travel porters for going to previous Control Points. Side missions provide an opportunity to garner rewards and can sometimes include puzzles, which I find very distracting, by the way.

A Realistic Atmosphere

It is often said that a good display cannot make a bad game good, but it can make a good game better. The display of Control is just A-amazing. Kudos has to be given to the Finnish developers. One couldn’t but notice the incredible feedback and how realistic the destruction gets. Although it is not the first game to incorporate psychokinetic powers and gunplay, yet it sets itself apart with its artistic ingenuity. You can work into a room after a fight and be amazed at how ripped apart it is; with papers flying around, walls are broken, bodies lying around… it is just beautiful to look at the mess we’ve made. 

The game tends to glitch once activities get too much on the screen, but this is not rampant enough to kill the game’s fun and it is because it is memory intensive. Towards the end of the game, it tends to get repetitive, which can be a slur. But thankfully, the missions and combat are too encapsulating that I couldn’t care less if I had to do it all over again.  

Overview

Control is perhaps Remedy’s best game yet. Its weird non-linear narrative told using cinematic cutscenes, beautiful surroundings, and a distinguished combat style is just electrifying. The pacing is nice, and the dialogue, both with the voice in Jesse’s head and with other characters, helps to push the game forward. There is more to Control than meets the eye, so dive in, enjoy the game, and in due time it will all make sense.