Control tells us the story of Jesse Faden, a woman with a mysterious past, who is searching for answers and her lost brother. To do this she goes to the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC), a clandestine organization of the United States government in charge of the containment, study and control of supernatural phenomena. What Jesse does not know is that when she gets there, she will become the new director of the agency after the death of the former director and that the agency was invaded by a threat from another world called the "Hiss".
Now without going into detail I can tell you that, although the main story is short (it only covers 10 chapters), it is worth playing it and it is accompanied by good cinematics, visuals and exploration, which is one of my favorite aspects.
(EXPLORATION)
Called the Oldest House, exploring the building is a creepy experience, its dark atmosphere with red tones, the floating people, voices speaking in the background, possessed enemies and twisted structures, are some of the many details that will make you want to explore all its corners. You will find a lot to do with the main and secondary missions, in addition you will be able to find a collection of collectibles such as documents, files, videos and audios that will tie you with the events that occurred inside the building and their unique details. And if you still lack the desire, exploration will reward you with boxes containing pistol upgrades and personal upgrades that can be found everywhere on the map.
(GAMEPLAY)
Now speaking a little more about the mechanics, I can say that they have many that are very excellent and there are others that cause discomfort. To start the best: Jesse has supernatural abilities, which you can acquire as you progress through the game. From throwing objects to controlling your enemies you will never tire of combining these to make combat a dynamic one. Abilities are acquired by doing missions related to power items, which are a type of altered item from another dimension known as the astral plane. You will know more if you play it. In combat you will combine these abilities with the service pistol, a power item that can only be wielded by the FBC director. Now, the most interesting thing about the gun is that it is literally alive and in this case it chooses you. The same 4 shooting modes, of which you can equip 2 and switch simultaneously while fighting. To unlock the modes you will have to find the necessary materials and have enough virtual coins to make the modifications. Just in case, this gun doesn't need to be conventionally reloaded so you won't have to worry about that.
One of the skills you unlock at first is throwing items, and this is where the environment is a big factor. The environment of this game is one of the most satisfying that I have had to explore, virtually everything can be destroyed and you can use it in your favor or against enemies. There is no greater satisfaction than seeing the massive destruction you have left after combat with enemies or a boss. From the enemies you will find a great variety of them, from security guards, military and regular people who were possessed by the Hiss. Bosses for their part, although rare, will challenge your abilities. And if you want an even bigger challenge, you can explore the secondary bosses that appear in the secondary missions.
To save the game you will have to go to the different control points scattered around the map, there you can use your skill points, fast travel to other locations that you have already cleared and build improvements. You also get interesting animation with some of the control points, almost simulating Doctor Strange scenes.
And as a small detail, in the game there are puzzles that will give you a different challenge if you are interested in this type of gameplay. Almost none are part of the main narrative so you don't have to worry if it's not your style.
(THE NEGATIVE)
Definitely no game is perfect and here in certain aspects that could detract from your experience.
The things you cannot control will be the performance of the game when you are in combat where there are many enemies at the same time. And is that the aesthetics and combat effects of Control are ambitious, but come to the decrease in performance and frame rate. This defect does not occur on PC but on base consoles.
Although the mechanics of saving the game through specific points has been seen in other games, such as Horizon Zero Dawn and Jedi Fallen Order, if you die you will have to repeat some previous battles and travel distances that you had traveled before just because there is no other point where to save the game. There are no manual saves either.
Another mechanic that could be frustrating is not being able to control the level of difficulty. The game is inconsistent with the level of challenge it proposes and you may find combat repetitive on some levels, while others challenge you in a way that seems almost impossible to defeat.
Exploring, as I said before, is one of my favorite aspects of the game, but using the map is frustrating since you can't navigate it and you can spend hours circling around to get to a specific place. It is better if you use fast travel or search for a guide on the internet if you do not want to waste much time.
Finally, the narrative around Jesse is interesting for the most part, but there are definitely characters that feel underdeveloped and the length of the game doesn't help at all. If all the characters were at the level of Ahti, the janitor, it would definitely be a better game.
What is the end point of the game?
Control is a game of exploration, mystery, and action. You arrive with a mission to find your lost brother, but you have the responsibility to solve what has happened inside the FBC. You will visit other dimensions, you will find power objects, you will use your abilities and you will fight against threats to take Control. If this theme interests you and you have played any of the other Remedy titles or you just want an unconventional experience with a delicacy of missions to do and places to explore, I recommend this game.
Now without going into detail I can tell you that, although the main story is short (it only covers 10 chapters), it is worth playing it and it is accompanied by good cinematics, visuals and exploration, which is one of my favorite aspects.
(EXPLORATION)
Called the Oldest House, exploring the building is a creepy experience, its dark atmosphere with red tones, the floating people, voices speaking in the background, possessed enemies and twisted structures, are some of the many details that will make you want to explore all its corners. You will find a lot to do with the main and secondary missions, in addition you will be able to find a collection of collectibles such as documents, files, videos and audios that will tie you with the events that occurred inside the building and their unique details. And if you still lack the desire, exploration will reward you with boxes containing pistol upgrades and personal upgrades that can be found everywhere on the map.
(GAMEPLAY)
Now speaking a little more about the mechanics, I can say that they have many that are very excellent and there are others that cause discomfort. To start the best: Jesse has supernatural abilities, which you can acquire as you progress through the game. From throwing objects to controlling your enemies you will never tire of combining these to make combat a dynamic one. Abilities are acquired by doing missions related to power items, which are a type of altered item from another dimension known as the astral plane. You will know more if you play it. In combat you will combine these abilities with the service pistol, a power item that can only be wielded by the FBC director. Now, the most interesting thing about the gun is that it is literally alive and in this case it chooses you. The same 4 shooting modes, of which you can equip 2 and switch simultaneously while fighting. To unlock the modes you will have to find the necessary materials and have enough virtual coins to make the modifications. Just in case, this gun doesn't need to be conventionally reloaded so you won't have to worry about that.
One of the skills you unlock at first is throwing items, and this is where the environment is a big factor. The environment of this game is one of the most satisfying that I have had to explore, virtually everything can be destroyed and you can use it in your favor or against enemies. There is no greater satisfaction than seeing the massive destruction you have left after combat with enemies or a boss. From the enemies you will find a great variety of them, from security guards, military and regular people who were possessed by the Hiss. Bosses for their part, although rare, will challenge your abilities. And if you want an even bigger challenge, you can explore the secondary bosses that appear in the secondary missions.
To save the game you will have to go to the different control points scattered around the map, there you can use your skill points, fast travel to other locations that you have already cleared and build improvements. You also get interesting animation with some of the control points, almost simulating Doctor Strange scenes.
And as a small detail, in the game there are puzzles that will give you a different challenge if you are interested in this type of gameplay. Almost none are part of the main narrative so you don't have to worry if it's not your style.
(THE NEGATIVE)
Definitely no game is perfect and here in certain aspects that could detract from your experience.
The things you cannot control will be the performance of the game when you are in combat where there are many enemies at the same time. And is that the aesthetics and combat effects of Control are ambitious, but come to the decrease in performance and frame rate. This defect does not occur on PC but on base consoles.
Although the mechanics of saving the game through specific points has been seen in other games, such as Horizon Zero Dawn and Jedi Fallen Order, if you die you will have to repeat some previous battles and travel distances that you had traveled before just because there is no other point where to save the game. There are no manual saves either.
Another mechanic that could be frustrating is not being able to control the level of difficulty. The game is inconsistent with the level of challenge it proposes and you may find combat repetitive on some levels, while others challenge you in a way that seems almost impossible to defeat.
Exploring, as I said before, is one of my favorite aspects of the game, but using the map is frustrating since you can't navigate it and you can spend hours circling around to get to a specific place. It is better if you use fast travel or search for a guide on the internet if you do not want to waste much time.
Finally, the narrative around Jesse is interesting for the most part, but there are definitely characters that feel underdeveloped and the length of the game doesn't help at all. If all the characters were at the level of Ahti, the janitor, it would definitely be a better game.
What is the end point of the game?
Control is a game of exploration, mystery, and action. You arrive with a mission to find your lost brother, but you have the responsibility to solve what has happened inside the FBC. You will visit other dimensions, you will find power objects, you will use your abilities and you will fight against threats to take Control. If this theme interests you and you have played any of the other Remedy titles or you just want an unconventional experience with a delicacy of missions to do and places to explore, I recommend this game.