Control: Ultimate Edition Review
Overview:
Control by remedy is by far one of the best games to come out in recent years. Releasing in 2019, the game follows Jesse Faden, as she searches for her brother, while she traverses a covert government agency called the Federal Bureau of Control whose job is to investigate “para-natural” anomalies. Objects and events that defy the natural worlds way of working. However, she’s arrived during a lockdown as an entity know as the Hiss has infiltrated the headquarters of the FBC, the Oldest House. She then goes on an insane adventure involving, black pyramids, shifting buildings, other dimensions, and things beyond our comprehension.
Gameplay:
The gameplay is quite fun. It has a a robust skill tree with many abilities to earn as you progress with none of them feeling like they’ll never be used. Of course you’ll end up using the flying and throwing abilites more often than any other cause who doesn’t like to float around flinging things at a high velocity. It even takes certain game machenics like the fast point travels and makes them lore by having it be an ability that Jesse has that nobody else does.
The gameplay never gets boring when fighting the overwhelming force of the Hiss. As you progress through the game you’ll encounter harder and unique enemies which will make you think about how to beat each encounter. Your main tool is the Service Weapon which is a transforming gun that turns into a weird variations of guns that have various upgrades for each type.
The best part of the game, by far, is the Ashtray Maze. It’s something to experince best blind so I won’t spoil it. Just be prepared for a fun, action-packed time.
However, the map could be clearer on where you are. At times it’s very hard to figure out where you are or where you need to go, especially in the Maintenance Section where there’s multiple objectives in places you haven’t found yet or even have been before.
Narrative:
The plot is very simple but is not the main focus. “Hoe can the plot not be the main focus?” You may ask. The main focus is the world building. Going through the Oldest House you learn that the world isn’t what is actually seems. It takes mundane things like paperwork and janitors and turns it on it’s head. The Director of the FBC is a role assigned by an entity known as the Board which is an invested, black pyramid that speaks with multiple nouns, only after you pick up the Service Weapon and survive its trial where your projected into a place called the Astral Plane. And that’s just the tip of the ‘pyramid’. All of which the FBC is tasked with researching and protecting the world secretly from. The plot of Jesse searching for her brother is just a launch plate to bring you in and discover.
However, the way the game is told may not be for everyone. It might even seem boring to some. This won’t satisfy the regular COD player who’s into Michael Bay movies.
Art Direction:
The game bases its style and direction on a lot of things weird and eerie. The main ones being Secure, Captain, Protect, or SCP Foundation writing project and the genre of The New Weird. Weird concepts, insane ideas, crazy technology, but all locked away in the contemporary with a simple and retro look.
The acting primarily comes from Courtney Hope as Jesse faden in which she does a fantastic job. Other side characters are all well written and acted. A stand out is Antonia Bernath as Dr. Emily pope who flawless plays a person who loves to write research papers in her spare time. The game also boasts the talent of James McCaffery, rest in peace, as the former Director, Zachariah Trench, as well as Mathew Porretta as mad scientist Dr. Casper Darling. Both in live action roles within the game.
Sporting Remedy’s Northlight Engine, the game looks sleek and clean. The included picture mode helps you capture stunning photos in game with no loading times. Though it may be a little barebones with only a handful of filters and a sometimes hard to control camera.
Audio:
The audio design is done quite well. Unique sounds come from everything you can think of but what really tickles the back of your brain is when you enter a new location; a foreboding boom and a big title in bold, white text. A small and simple detail that just makes you think ” oh let’s do this” every time.
The music has some original song by a fictional band called the Old God’s of Asgard by real band Poets of the Fall, which just like in Remedy’s Alan Wake which is used perfectly in this game as well.
Conclusion:
everything I said also translate into the DLC which the Ultimate Edition includes. It expands the lore with the Investigfations Department in the AWE DLC and connects to Alan Wake giving more mystery and intrgue to the overall world. This also reigns true for the Foundation DLC where you learn the origins of the Oldest House. It’s a near perfect game that may not be for everyone. If your into mysterious, weird, thrillers with wild action with an artistic approach, this is a game for you.
5/5