Remedy's new game, Control (Gaming)

by cheapLEY , Wednesday, August 28, 2019, 21:00 (1912 days ago)

I just need to rave about this game for a minute.

I've only played about three hours, but I'm already convinced this is Remedy's best game yet.

You play Jesse Faden, who starts the game wandering into the Federal Bureau of Control building in New York. She's trying to find out what happened to her brother, Dylan, who was apparently taken by the FBC over a decade ago.

The FBC is a government organization that is basically the SCP Foundation, searching for and securing paranormal objects. The first such object you find is the Service Weapon, a gun that can transform itself at will. Only the Director of the FBC can wield the Service Weapon. Luckily for you, the previous Director shoots himself as you approach his office, so now you get to be the Director!

The gameplay is sort of standard Remedy at this point, but it's probably the best feeling game they've made yet. The shooting actually feels pretty dang good and much more responsive than I've come to expect from them. The Service Weapon starts as a pretty basic pistol, but can be upgraded along the way to turn into a SMG or a shotgun (and probably more). The real highlight is the powers, though. You get a really great feeling dash move and an ability called Launch. Launch allows you to pick up objects from around the environment and throw them around. It's really satisfying, due in large part to the particle effects and environmental destruction. Rooms that start as pristine offices end up looking like a tornado just blew through. It looks and feels really incredible.

The standout of this game is its environment and atmosphere. The FBC building is a brutalist government facility with a paranormal twist. The rooms can shift around and it all ends up feeling sort of maze like. There are great collectibles strewn around, ranging from case files on paranormal objects (called Objects of Power), which give new abilities when found, to inter-office memos, to Dharma Initiative style training videos (all live action and amazing).

The game is also absolutely gorgeous. The lighting is stunning and the normal office rooms all end up feeling really surreal in a cool way. The particle effects and destruction are really impressive.

Videos of this game don't really do it much justice, in that it looks like a pretty standard Remedy style action game. I suppose that's ultimately what it is, but I really think it's something special, a game that's more than the sum of it parts. It's completely enthralling.

Videos of this game had me anticipating buying it when it went on sale in six months. Listening to the newest Waypoint Podcast had me buying it on my lunch break so it would be downloaded when I got home. I highly recommend reading Rob Zacny's review.

I'll shut up now, but if you like Remedy games, definitely go play this one. Unless you have a base PS4 or Xbox One, that is. The game is damn nearly unplayable, dropping below 15fps for significant chunks of intense firefights. It's been completely fine on my One X so far, but basically everyone has called out extremely poor performance on base consoles.