Control

Game Verbs - what do you actually do in Control?

Shoot – There is a lot of shooting here. It’s an action game foremost and The Hiss will regularly spawn in with the sole videogamey purpose of hindering your progress through the massive building that makes up The Oldest House, where The Bureau of Control resides (alongside a worryingly large collection of paranormal objects of power). The shooting feels almost perfect. It is smooth, punchy and, best of all, you don’t need to worry about ammo. Bullets are unlimited, you just need to account for a gun cool down period.

Shift – the form of your gun, known as The Service Weapon. You take on the role of Director as soon as the gun bonds with you. As you kill Hiss, you gain upgrade currency which can be used to unlock different gun forms. There’s a standard pistol, a shotgun-like shatter mode, an automatic fire form, a charge-up mode and more. Personally, I stuck with Spin and Pierce for most of the game and found no need for the other modes. You change weapon form by pressing X on Xbox One.

Seize and throw – all manner of objects using Jesse’s new telekinetic powers. Simply hold down RB and an object will come and float by your side, to be flung with deadly inertia at whichever Hiss asshole you automatically lock on to just by looking in their direction. Sometimes, Jesse will even pull concrete from nearby supporting columns or the floor itself. This looks amazing and makes the destructive aftermath of some battles look like something from a Red Faction game. The system is very smooth and I found that I was always able to target exactly the enemy I wanted, even during some very hectic and busy battles. The level of destruction here is truly impressive. Combine it with very cool light and smoke effects while fighting The Hiss and Control features some of the best looking and most satisfying combat in recent gaming.

Levitate – by pressing and holding the A button. This is a power you unlock a bit past halfway and although initially thrilling, I can’t say I used it very much except for the last few battles, which were open enough for verticality to be an advantage. Other times, hovering just exposes you too much. It’s still a thrilling ability to have, though, and the fact that it is not tied to your energy meter makes constant Peter Panning about an enjoyable traversal gimmick.

Control – The Hiss. After unlocking the skill, you can take over a weakened enemy by holding down X. These possessed enemies gain a new health bar that depletes to zero over half a minute or so. I found it effective to take over any hovering Hiss as they are the most difficult to hit and can really help when on your side. Rocket bastards are also worth targeting.

Seek – health. It takes a while to get used to having a health bar that only replenishes if you collect little blue shards shed by injured and defeated Hiss. Over time, it becomes clear that this pushes you to be aggressive and keep moving, risking damage against the hopeful reward of a refill. Most of the time, this works, with only some of the fights proving too chaotic. I died a fair bit in Control, sometimes a bit unfairly, with rockets and exploding Hiss combining to effectively combo me dead, time and again. That said, a change of tactics saw me through the more difficult moments. One time, I even managed to skip a few encounters altogether because I knew exactly where to go and rushed there and triggered the next checkpoint before I could be overwhelmed.

Upgrade – Alongside weapon and skill upgrades, you can equip modifiers to your gun and person. These cover the likes of “chance of ammo recharge” or “% increase in head-shot damage”. I only encountered a few truly useful mods in my play through. The create-a-mod option never really produces anything that is better than what you pick up from defeated Hiss, so the best tactic is to seek out encounters and Hoover up the XP and mod drops.

Scratch – your head, trying to work out exactly where you need to go next. Although the name of the area that you need to reach for your current mission might be displayed on screen, actually getting there is sometimes not simple as there might be a particular lift or route to get there and the house is so huge that it’s easy to get lost and disoriented. A way-point system would have helped, even if it only appeared on the map (which is generally too tiny and difficult to use, by the way).

Warp – between Control Points. I didn’t use this feature as much as I thought I would, as the plot generally pushes you to new areas. However, the central control point in the Executive section of the building is where you can turn in completed side quests (tasks such as kill x number of Hiss with Shatter or with head-shots), so I did warp back there a few times. Load times are very long, which often makes it faster to just run through to where you want to go. Let’s hope this can be addressed with future patching.

Listen – to a fantastic custom song by Poets of the Fall (reprising their role from Alan Wake as The Old Gods of Asgard). This is seriously the best moment in the game!

Timeline - how long to beat, any trophy/achievement issues, how much is left after passing?

It took me around seven hours to beat the main game. That includes several deaths towards the end (the battles get very hairy) and the completion of a handful of side pursuits. I ended up with around 700/1000 achievement points without really looking at their requirements.

Once you finish the game, the side missions and random tasks that pop up could definitely keep you busy for the same amount of time, if you wanted to mop up all the achievements and unlock all the upgrades.

Saving Frustration - any issues with the save system for parents/players with regular interruptions?

The game saved frequently and I never had an issue with pausing. What a breath of fresh air these days!

Patchwork - how is the game being supported with updates?

Remedy and 505 Games have reportedly assured players that a patch is coming to address performance issues. This may even be ready as you read this.

Online - any online details and population trends

N/A

Summary - an elevator pitch to sum up the experience

Control is X-Files meets Twin Peaks meets Alan Wake meets compulsive destruction simulator. It is as weird and cold as the government architecture of its setting, yet something human shines through as you uncover the reasons for Jesse’s involvement and develop relationships with the survivors of the Hiss invasion.