Control Review – Supernatural Activity

It’s been a hot minute since Remedy dropped a game and Control, like Alan Wake, is Remedy at their strongest in terms of visual and narrative storytelling that also sees them flexing their muscles with some of the tightest shooting mechanics in years.

Control
Developer: Remedy Entertainment
Price: $60
Platform: PC, PS4, and Xbox One
MonsterVine was supplied with a code for review

Without getting into too many story details, Control puts you in the shoes of Jesse Faden as she enters The Federal Bureau of Control in search of her missing brother. She picked a hell of a time to visit however with an inter-dimensional entity known only as “The Hiss” has invaded the tower and is wreaking havoc. The current director is dead and Jesse is appointed the new one through a rigorous interview process that involves literally just picking up the old guy’s gun.

Digging too deep into the story will spoil lots of really cool elements of the plot, but just know the entire thing is a very delicious mix of X-Files meets David Lynch. I loved Alan Wake for the world building it did, practically inviting you to come into the town of Bright Falls and immersing yourself in its history and Control does the same here. There’s always something interesting to see in this game that even put me into “movie mode’ going “that’s a good shot, that’s a good shot, that’s a good shot” on an almost constant basis. The game really has some top-notch visual design that lends into some expertly done environment storytelling. And I really want to emphasize how good the environmental design is. It’s good in the way that I’ll be absolutely shocked if someone in Hollywood doesn’t completely ape many of the design elements in this game. Remedy’s art team did a phenomenal job breathing life into this surreal tower and you’re left itching to see what’s around the next corner.

The writing is also just as phenomenal, with case files littered all over the place that gives a peek into this world you’re exploring. Objects of Power, for example, everyday things like a rubber ducky or a fridge, are a key element of the story as they’re the things the Bureau investigates and they also give Jesse her powers. An early one you encounter, the floppy disk, gives whoever binds themselves to it the ability to launch objects with their mind. And there are case files to read for many of these, and I’d keep reading as many as Remedy’s writing team could keep feeding me; they’re just that damn fun to learn about and help build such a strong foundation for this world. And I haven’t even touched on the astral plane stuff that’s in this game.

The game’s main plot does sort of meander for the first half, opting instead to simply let you explore the tower and draw your own conclusions for what’s happening and how things work before kicking the main story into gear. I honestly didn’t even mind the meandering because the world is just so fascinating to learn about; from weird case files about a possible werewolf sighting, or just some notes a person scribbled on a whiteboard. The writing here is damn good, in a way I haven’t seen in a game in ages. When I’m up till 2 am each night, wide awake, just running around looking for more files to read you know you hooked me good. I’d say my only gripe with the game’s plot is that it sort of builds to a grand conclusion and then just abruptly ends with a few glaring loose ends left untouched. It’s a bit confusing because the game doesn’t necessarily set itself up for a sequel so you’re left unsure if you just missed the side-mission for those plot threads or if it’ll be explained in an expansion or sequel later. However, in most games, this would be a major issue for me but the rest of the game’s story elements are just so well done I’m able to overlook a somewhat lackluster finale.

When you first start playing Control the thing you’ll notice almost immediately is how tight the controls are. The more you play you’re almost waiting for the other shoe to drop, thinking that at some point you’re going to get some power or gun that’s going to change how the game plays for the worse, but it never comes. Control just feels so damn good to play. Everything from the shooting to just moving around the environment is tight and responsive in a way that you’ll never want to run past a fight because you’ll simply just want to partake in the game’s combat as much as possible.

Speaking of combat, Control plays like your typical third-person shooter, albeit without the cover mechanics but that’s okay because Control isn’t like those types of shooters. You’re always staying in motion in this game because the enemies are constantly trying to flank you and the environment can get torn apart quickly during a firefight. The powers Jesse gets also help her stay incredibly mobile from a dash that’s exceedingly fun to pop to a levitation power that practically allows you to fly around the environment. Movement powers haven’t felt this good in a game since the Infamous series and I found myself using every power at my disposal to poke into every corner of the environment for whatever secrets may lie.

And secrets are plenty in this game. The Federal Bureau of Control makes its home in a tower called The Oldest House: a surreal, shapeshifting structure that feels like just as important a character in this story as Jesse herself. Once given free rein, you’re able to explore its various levels at your leisure for hidden collectibles or even side-missions to undertake. There’s a pretty good variety of missions to do as well, from wrangling Objects of Power that are unleashing chaos in the tower, locating lost Bureau agents, or even fighting off the sentient mold. Having a sort of open ended structure, expect to put hours into the game and still find surprises in places you’ve already run across. After beating the game a colleague alerted me to a side-mission with a really cool boss fight that I totally missed which just makes me eager to continue poking my head into all of The Oldest House’s crevices. On top of that are timed contracts you’ll get that task you with fighting tougher versions of enemies for some serious loot.

Collecting loot, all named nonsensical things like “House Memories,” will allow you to craft new guns for Jesse and mods for said guns. You’ve got your standard arsenal like a pistol, shotgun, assault rifle, and rocket stand-in, but what they lack in variety they more than make up for in feel. Jesse’s also got a few powers to help even the odds against the supernatural Hiss. Besides being able to soar into the air you can also mind-control enemies or even pick up objects in the environment and chuck them and anyone unfortunate enough to be in your way. Jesse’s launch ability in particular is probably the best feeling combat maneuver in the game. I’ve played a lot of games that tried to make telekinesis feel good, but none have succeeded in the way Control does. There’s just an immediate snappiness to it, similar to how it felt when you throw Kratos’ ax in the recent God of War, where an object just comes to your hand when you press the button and violently flies off when you let go of it. You don’t even really have to search for anything to grab because the game will automatically send the closest object your way, and if you happen to somehow be in a completely empty room then Jesse will just rip an infinite amount of rubble from the environment as ammunition. It’s just a complete blast to use, and the dimensional smoky effect enemies leave when killed is exaggerated more so when killed with your launch ability, just adding a further visual reward to the tactile one. Firefights are fluid affairs that’ll have you blasting a few dudes with your shotgun before levitating into the area to hit some far off stragglers with your pistol before slamming back down to go at it with your assault rifle. There’s a perfect balance between the usage of your guns and powers, with combat becoming a sort of dance as you use all of them in conjunction with each other.

Upgrade mods will allow you to further experiment with combat scenarios as you equip them onto yourself or your guns. Jesse herself can have three mods equipped while each gun starts with one slot, but can each be upgraded to three as well. There’s a good variety of mods, that all game in various tier levels, that’ll definitely have you wanting to play around with combinations to make your favorite gun as powerful as possible. On top of upgrading your guns, Jesse herself will also get more powerful as you acquire ability points from completing missions. These things can be dumped into a skill tree where you can do things like increasing the strength of your shield to allowing you to stay in the air longer when levitating. Control is a game that truly makes you feel more powerful the deeper you get into it, to the point where you’re seeking out enemies to fight to dish out an almost giddy level of chaos.

The Final Word
Control is easily one of the best games of the year and has one of the most fascinating worlds I’ve experienced in a game in years. Don’t look up anything else on it, just go into it blind and get ready to dive into the cold embrace of The Oldest House.

– MonsterVine Review Score: 5 out of 5 – Excellent