Game Website: https://controlgame.com/

Personal Gameplay Footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa3hCg2kRNg

Control is a third-person action-adventure shooter game. Developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by 505 Games, it received near universal acclaim for its storyline, action, art design among other elements, with many video game media selecting it as one of if not the best game of 2019.

Story

The game follows the protagonist, Jesse Faden, who turns up at the secretive Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) to look for her brother, Dylan, who has been missing since a paranormal event (referred to as an Altered World Event or AWE) at her hometown almost 2 decades prior. Unbeknownst to her and the outside world, the FBC (which responds to and covers up AWEs) has just been infiltrated by an interdimensional force that corrupts reality and is on the brink of proliferating beyond the FBC. Inside, Jesse finds the current Director of the FBC dead, and upon wielding the Director’s shapeshifting gun, the Service Weapon, becomes the new Director. She then has to fight her way to not only cleanse corrupted sectors of the FBC, but also reveal clues about Dylan’s fate and whereabouts within, gaining supernatural powers such as levitation and telekinesis along the way.

The initial part of the game is admittedly not very intriguing, with Jesse showing up at a seemingly regular office building strangely devoid of life. Despite the deliberately not well explained beginning, as the story progresses, the player is able to understand more and more of the rich lore behind the game, explaining some of the events that underlie the context of the game and various paranormal phenomena which appear common in the FBC. There are also collectible documents, videos and audio recordings scattered throughout the various sectors, some of which do not contribute to the main storyline but as a whole add depth to an otherwise apparently serious FBC.

Aesthetics

Control is designed to encourage exploration of the various sectors, and as such has very well-designed areas. From the exquisite Research Sector to the industrial NSC Power Plant and the otherworldly Quarry Threshold, each level is full of detail and really brings out the theme of the location. Even small items like lamps and books have not been spared the developers’ attention, adding to the overall immersion of the location. Special effects are used liberally but tastefully, such as explosions and flying debris. Some side bosses like Former and Mold-1 are well-modelled; as they are interdimensional beings, their unusual appearances complement the weirdness of the game and do not feel out of place. Lighting has also been used to great effect, as will be discussed in the lens of atmosphere below.

Mechanics

Most of the gameplay is centred around defeating enemies to reach objectives. This is accomplished either via the Service Weapon, which can take on the function of various firearms like a shotgun or rocket launcher, or via the various supernatural abilities that are acquired as the game progresses. This mix of regular shooter and having supernatural abilities ties in nicely with the kinds of enemies faced; some enemies have extra shielding against the Service Weapon’s attack but which is vulnerable to objects flung at them with telekinesis, so it would be more effective to hurl a few things at it before shooting. One unique mechanic that I’ve not seen in other shooters is that the player can possess enemies to temporarily turn them into allies to fight other enemies. There is also an element of puzzle solving, such as matching patterns, using telekinesis to attach energy sources to plugs or levitating to otherwise inaccessible areas to do actions. These offer a brief reprieve from the fast action pace of shooting up enemies.

Technology

Control is built using Remedy’s proprietary Northlight Engine which debuted on their previous game, Quantum Break. It is also one of the first games that have support for real-time hardware raytracing, which allows for more realistic lighting effects. Remedy also implemented Nvidia’s PhysX engine, for physics emulation to make telekinesis more seamless within the game, and DLSS, a RTX specific upscaling feature. I was unable to make use of most of these as I run an older generation AMD card, and I would have appreciated upscaling as the game is very intensive (deservedly so, the visuals are quite something).

Lens of Atmosphere

The element of mystery surrounding the FBC is central to the game, and the general lack of music and lighting help to enhance that effect. The background noise is mostly silence, which gives the FBC a very serious and secretive tone, and when there is sound it sounds like it was made by otherworldly beings, reminding players of the weird and unnatural phenomena that is commonplace in the game. Many areas of the game, especially previously unexplored ones, are dimly lit, as if to appear ominous and uninviting. Once enemies spawn though, the red lighting that accompanies greatly contrasts the dark areas and draws attention to danger in the area. The background noise also gives way to fast rhythmic music, adding to the tension that comes with conflict. These elements continually reinforce the atmosphere of uncertainty and trepidation.

Lens of Curiosity

One of the main storyline elements is searching for Dylan. Little is revealed at first, including his and Jesse’s backgrounds and her motivation to find him. However, as the story progresses, breadcrumbs are dropped that partially explain the history of the characters, and that draws the player to play more to know more to get the full picture. This piquing of curiosity is also applied to the FBC; as many areas are freely explorable, players can roam around places at their own pace. This is encouraged by a reward system for finding hidden locations, for example areas behind destructible walls or places that were visited before obtaining levitation and hence out of reach initially. As mentioned previously, many internal documents and media scattered around as collectibles build a rich story of the Bureau’s history and organisational structure. Getting the complete picture at the end of it was personally quite fulfilling and mind blowing.

Lens of Novelty

Many weird things happen in the FBC, but this is perceived by the staff as just a regular day at work. Being the Director means that the player needs to get used to it too. The collectibles help explain some of the phenomena; for example, canonically the FBC building internally morphs fairly frequently to the point where there is a standard operating procedure when it occurs, but this is of course not what happens in real life. Special items that can cause or are a result of AWEs or can grant supernatural abilities to people are also a dime a dozen, though they usually take the form of mundane objects like a rubber duck or a refrigerator. Again, these are not what one might expect from everyday objects and hence reading about their backstories in the collectibles are interesting and refreshing. This also made me come back for more and try and find all the collectibles.

Lens of Obstacle

The player mainly faces corrupted FBC agents. These can be simply possessed agents who retain the use of regular firearms or corrupted to the point that they gain supernatural powers like having the ability to become invisible or levitation. As such, there is a wide variety of enemies that require different tactics to take out. When exploring new places, there are usually a few hordes of enemies, and often before a major goal, there is a boss fight involving a few different types of these enemies that the player has to defeat before being able to advance further.