Control review

The wizards at Remedy Entertainment is known for creating some pretty good games that include the likes of Alan Wake, Max Payne and Quantum Break. The latest offering from the Finnish studio is entitled Control. This third-person, action-adventure shooter is less linear than previous games by the studio and more about giving the player choice.

Let’s take a look at Control and its supernatural theme to see if Remedy Entertainment’s brand-new IP continues the tradition of high-quality games that the company has become known for.

Control Details

Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Stadia
Reviewed on: Stadia
Developer: Remedy Entertainment
Publisher: 505 Games
Genre: Third-person shooter, action-adventure
Modes: Single player
ESRB Rating: M (Mature 17+)

A narrative driven adventure centred around mystery and the supernatural

Control takes place at the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) in New York city. Remember that old saying “Never judge a book by its cover”? Well, the same can be said about this secretive agency’s building. From the outside, it looks like just an ordinary building. However, on the inside, it’s a whole other ball game.

Dubbed The Oldest House, what happens on the inside doesn’t follow traditional rules. In fact, this Place of Power is constantly changing physically and expanding its own spatial limitations due to its paranormal properties. You play as Jesse, who has been looking for the FBC for her whole life.

You begin the game as you arrive at the FBC in search of your younger brother Dylan. He has been missing for seventeen years, after the two siblings encountered an Altered World Event in their home town. As a result, portals were opened to other dimensions and Dylan disappeared. It is because of this that Jesse has been searching for this secretive agency all these years.

Gameplay-driven experience that keeps you engaged

In addition to Control‘s unique and supernatural storyline, its varied gameplay is another reason that drew me into the game. In order to be successful, you have to successfully manage super hero like abilities, modifiable loadouts, and environments that respond to you.

Jesse wields a firearm that is one of the best weapons in a game in recent memory. It’s upgradable via a skill tree and has supernatural abilities that adapts into a variety of different forms. Additionally, you have various other superhero like abilities such as levitation, telekinesis and the ability to control certain enemies.

Taking a strategic approach on combat is necessary in order to be successful in Control. Enemy encounters are varied and offer a broad range of difficulty. Moreover, a piece of advice that I can offer is to keep moving use the environment around you to your advantage. I never got tired of hurling chunks of concrete, oxygen tanks and anything else that wasn’t bolted down at my enemies.

The world of Control

The vast majority of Control‘s visuals are impressive and the environments are full of detail. Boss encounters are epic and enemies are animated well. However, I do have one gripe about the overall presentation of Control. The character’s mouths are animated in an odd way that they don’t always match up with what they are saying. Finally, Courtney Hope and supporting cast do a fantastic job of bringing their characters to life on the screen.

Control is one of Remedy’s finest offerings to date

Control is a finely tuned accumulation of everything Remedy has learned over the years put into one neat package. Its cryptic narrative can be confusing at first but quickly pans out as the story unfolds. Additionally, Jesse’s unlockable abilities make you feel like a superhero battling the bad guys. I never once felt like I was at a severe disadvantage against the enemy and strategic combat is the key to being successful.

A side from the main story, Control features side missions that help flesh out the story and give you a deeper understanding. Additionally, these side missions contain even more abilities for Jess to combat the enemy.

+ Excellent mix of action, mystery and humour
+ Jesse is an extraordinary lead accompanied by an engrossing story
+ Gameplay driven experience that keeps you engaged in the game

– Some lip sync issues

OVERALL ASSESSMENT OF CONTROL

Gameplay: 4/5
Graphics: 4/5
Sound: 4/5
Lasting Appeal/Replayability: 4/5

Overall Rating 4/5 (80%)

Get Control for PlayStation 4 
Buy Control for Xbox One

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