With the holidays of 2019 approaching, gamers normally get all the best games of the year within a few months. Control is one of the first releases of the season. Control is developed by Remedy Games and published by 505 Games. Remedy’s Control is available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

Developer & Publisher // Remedy Entertainment, 505 Games

Platforms // PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Amazon Luna

MSRP & Release Date // $59.99, August 27, 2019 & October 20 2020 (Amazon Luna)

Reviewed On // Xbox One

Graphics And Performance

Control is not an “eye-candy game”, but it is not below what the consumer is expecting for a game to look like in 2019. I played the game exclusively on the Xbox One S for this review. The title has a very grimy, dark filter throughout the whole game. This never really impacted the game whatsoever and actually served to increase the horror factor that the developer wanted to impart.

As far as performance, this game ran very poorly on the Xbox One S. From what I’m told the other platforms are not any better, besides the PC. The frame rate would drop noticeably doing just about anything.  Open up the map? Drop frames. Press start? More frame drops. Go to the control points? You get the idea. This game ran horribly about 50 percent of the time.

Control is made on the Northlight engine, which showcases a unique physics system only seen in their games. This game has some of the best destruction you’ll see in a game outside of games like Red Faction or Battlefield. One of the powers you have access to is psychokinesis the ability to throw objects with your mind. While the environments typically provide plenty of ammunition to throw, the walls and floor are equally viable for your psychic abilities.  So you can be in certain battles and after it’s all over, the majority of the foundation around you could have been used as a weapon.

Story

The story in Control is confusing to say the least, and it is one of those  games that require you to complete it before you really  understand what is going on.  The game starts with the protagonist, Jesse Faden, entering a building looking for her brother that has been missing for years. The set up left me asking a ton of questions.  How did Jesse get here? Why does she say in her mind that it’s not a good idea to do something but yet still do it?  At times the game feels like it leans too far into its horror tropes to the frustration of the player.  The whole game gave me a huge Stranger Things feeling, which given the show’s popularity, I’m sure a lot of people will talk very positively. Now, I’m not saying the story was bad , if anything this game felt like a sequel, and you always feel like you are missing key points to what is going on.

The setting for the game left something to be desired. It took place entirely in one location, and every section of the map looked identical. Sure there were some unique places on the  map that did not have an office feel but most of the game you are in the same type of room

Overall the story of Control was not horrible, but the way Remedy Games told it was not ideal. Instead of letting the narrative be told through the characters on-screen, they let it be told through the optional collectables. In the end, I did feel a little satisfied with what happened. It just wasn’t enough to forgive the horribly convoluted and explanatory storytelling they did to get me to that point.

Gameplay

This is the saving grace of this game and is the only reason not completely write this game off in the first few hours of playing it.  The gameplay starts out fun but slow. They do well-explaining everything and making sure you understand how to use all your abilities.

What makes the gameplay so addictive is the options you have your disposal. The game allows you to play as a straight-forward shooter with viable upgrade pathways for all your guns. The real joy in the game though is by upgrading your superhuman powers. Remedy nails the feeling of floating around like a vengeful god, throwing everything around you at your enemies. Control excels at keeping the fight unfair in your favor and giving the enemies almost no chance to win. There is something really special about hovering in mid-air and throwing satellite dishes at your opponent. The gameplay was so good that toward the end, I almost forgot about all the problems. It’s the way Remedy Games was able to combine fluid moment and well thought out powers that ended up giving Control such a fun type of gameplay.

Conclusion

Control is a game that had a rough start. The baffling story was enough to make me stall out on the game multiple times in the opening hours. However, once you start unlocking abilities, the game really unfolds into something special. At that point, it’s easy to go from hating the game, to deleting tweets saying you’re dropping the game.

Though the story is a confusing mess and some won’t know what’s going on by the end, the solid gameplay is worth making a visit to the Bureau of Control. Just make sure you read everything and maybe catch those cutscenes a few extra times.