Control was nothing short of incredible. With a story reminiscent of Twin Peaks meets X-Files, I found myself engrossed in every aspect of the story. While the main storyline wasn't anything incredible, I took the time to read and/or listen to every single document, audio log, training video, and office memo regarding toes gossiping amongst themselves. While the mechanics were fairly standard once they got up to speed, the setting, puzzles, and encounters that were set up around them were nothing short of amazing.

Fun and fast-paced combat system comes packaged with a decent supernatural story.

As of writing this, I have not played Alan Wake so any easter eggs or references to it were lost on me. That being said, at no point did I feel like I was missing a large part of the story because of it. Control gets a lot of praise, and after putting around 60 hours into the game, I can see why but I can also see where it stumbles.

Firstly, Jesse Faden is a great protagonist. She's come to the FBC in search of answers as well as her brother and gets wrapped up in the increasingly bizarre and paranormal events taking place within the walls of Bureau. Courtney Hope does a great job voicing Jesse and it was nice to not be bombarded with quips from her nonstop. Supporting character such as the mysterious janitor, Ahti, or the eccentric scientist, Casper Darling, are also great. The biggest issue the story has in my opinion is that it never really reaches a strong climax and ends quite abruptly. A lot of mystery and intrigue culminates in a finale that feels a bit unfulfilling. Despite that, the world building and lore along the way is very strong.

Combat is stylish, fun, and sometimes quite chaotic. Between your service weapon many forms and your supernatural abilities granted over the course of the game, you are given many options to how your approach fights and with a large enemy roster using the correct tool for the job is important. Additionally, Control features semi destructible environments that create a spectacle as you dash through windows and desks while hurling furniture at your enemies. There are some boss fights as well though only a handful are truly interesting rather than being essentially a named variant of a normal enemy type. Some of these fights can be kind of tough especially due to the camera not giving you a good view of whether you are levitating over a surface or the void (and your death).

The environments of Control are kind of a mixed bag, though mostly great. While this is not a normal government office building, it does still contain much of what you would expect. A plethora of offices, boardrooms, bathrooms, and SO much of the color grey is too be found here. A lot of samey environments can also make it somewhat confusing to navigate the FBC, even with the map you are given. With that said, Control is still very visually appealing, making good use of ray-tracing, and featuring some beautiful set pieces. The ashtray maze was a specifically memorable segment.

The Ultimate edition comes bundles with two major story DLCs, The Foundation, and AWE:

The Foundation is the weaker of the two DLC, taking places under the FBC and featuring a large cave system filled with red sand. After the novelty of the red sand wears off, this rocky network becomes unfortunately dull. The DLC also centers around a side character from the main game who was rather forgettable, only appearing momentarily before disappearing. I found it hard to get hooked on the story here outside of the broader lore tidbits sprinkled throughout. The side missions here are pretty good though such as one where you are cleansing a supernatural film camera by starring in your own action flick. If this DLC was on its own, I would only recommend it on a deep sale.

AWE, on the other hand, was very enjoyable, possibly more so than the main game. This DLC ties heavily in with Alan Wake, and I would imagine hits even harder for those who have played the game prior, but I found it gripping nonetheless. AWE takes you to the investigations sector of the FBC brings the player much closer to the horror genre than anywhere else in the game. Encounters with the main "entity" are intense and can be genuinely frightening. The environments are more memorable here even including a recreation of a moon landing with the real Apollo 14. Side missions are pretty much non-existent here though there is a arcade game mode you can play. AWE was my personal peak of enjoyment while playing Control and would recommend it highly if it were standalone.

Control offers a breadth of content without overstaying its welcome and makes up for its weaknesses with great combat, excellent atmosphere, and a relatable protagonist. You can regularly find the ultimate edition on sale for dirt cheap making for a real steal based on what you get.

SENSACIONAL!!!!!!
O combate é uma delícia de se jogar, ficar flutuando e tacando coisa nos inimigos é muito satisfatório. A Jesse é uma protagonista bem legal, seria perfeita se tivesse escolhas nesse jogo e mostrar mais um pouco da sua personalidade. Tem muita coisa confusa nesse jogo, principalmente toda a lore em volta, e também todo o conceito do Ruído, então, é fácil ver a agência como se fosse a SCP de casos, anomalias, entidades e objetos paranormais, e o Ruído sendo uma espécie de vírus paranormal. Eu zerei a história e gostei bastante, e pretendo fazer o pós-game depois disso, mas certamente irá demorar para fazer tudo.

Eu sinto pena de Control ser um jogo e não poder ser chamado de surrealista.

Antes que esse comentário soe como pedante ou diminutivo para jogos como arte ou Control como um jogo, preciso deixar claro o que senti enquanto jogava Control.

Eu já havia deixado de jogar Control antes, mas por estar testando e não ter ido muito a fundo no que se tratava. Depois de ter jogado Alan Wake, jogar Control era o próximo passo lógico e estava emocionalmente preparado para o que quer que fosse esse jogo.

Control é bem estranho, de fato.

Visualmente, é um espetáculo, o surrealismo aqui se mistura ao brutalismo e nos deixa insignificantes e ao mesmo tempo, inconsequentes. Isso, apoiado em uma narrativa bem única, promove um jogo AAA pelo menos “estranho” e nisso Control me fisgou em vários momentos. É uma pena, porém, esse jogo encontrar amarras justamente no que o torna um jogo.

Inicialmente, as mecânicas de Control são: jogo de ação com poderes. Os poderes não são nada de mais e a maior conexão que consigo tirar é que, de fato, estamos TOMANDO CONTROLE.
Os poderes nos fazem tomar controle de objetos, pessoas e até de nós mesmos ao levitarmos e manipularmos nosso corpo. Porém, essa conexão é uma linha fina e sensível que acaba se estourando ao ser estressada pelo loop encharcado de combate. Eventualmente, o ato de controlar, que inicialmente parece tão significativo quanto a lanterna do Alan Wake, se torna apenas mais uma mecânica de combate junto às diversas armas, upgrades e mods que você encontra pelo jogo.
O momento em que Control foi mais livre é o labirinto vivo do TAKE CONTROL. Ali o jogo consegue ser livre em estética e arte, mas também em mecânica, ainda mais se, assim como eu, você balanceou o jogo para ter energia quase infinita e poder flutuar e usar poderes à vontade. Se eu não tivesse feito isso, talvez não teria terminado esse jogo, mas, graças a uma feature modular de dificuldade, consegui ter uma experiência boa, mas que beirou o cansaço e exaustão de combate, ainda mais quando se trata da FUNDAÇÃO, a DLC que é, basicamente, combate e puzzles.
Puzzles aqui que não usam 100% do que poderíamos fazer com a simples mecânica de telecinese. Em Alan Wake, por exemplo, a Remedy extrapola mais o significado de luz e temos equipamentos e puzzles que utilizam a luz, alguns até de forma inteligente. Aqui, os puzzles são simples e parece que a mecânica de telecinese se resume a encaixar objeto A no ponto B, coisa que poderíamos fazer com as mãos.

Porém, se formos olhar em uma perspectiva de design, Control é amarradinho no que se espera de um jogo, e é nesse ponto que eu não gosto da conceitualização de Control como “video games”. Do mesmo jeito que criticamos a implementação de mundos abertos sem um porquê, sidequests, níveis e loot sem um porquê em jogos AAA do mercado, me pergunto o mesmo para Control que, surpreendentemente, inclui cada um desses aspectos citados. Agora, por que? Não consegui encontrar essa resposta no jogo, mas em mim, isso apenas me desconectou da experiência como faria em qualquer jogo da Ubisoft.

Na verdade, essa falta de conexão na minha experiência ficou também na narrativa. Apesar de adorar sua direção, os temas são, basicamente, Worldbuilding. A trama pessoal da Jesse aqui não importou muito para mim já que o jogo parecia se importar mais em explicar e estender as regras daquele universo.
Existe uma questão sobre explicar universos fictícios que me intriga em alguns jogos, o apego pelas regras. As regras do mundo são cruciais para a elaboração de um worldbuilding, é isso que aprendemos em cursos de narrative design, mas quando vejo um jogo que se preocupa tanto com regras e “porquês” eu sinto um realismo que não me agrada muito em jogos que querem ser tão livres quanto Control. Ao meu ver, esses jogos brilham quando justamente o Porquê não está em um item de lore, um codex ou uma teoria do personagem, mas sim em nossa interpretação.

Por que a Jesse é a Diretora? Porque o jogo é sobre controle, e para mim, isso é suficiente.

Mas, novamente, isso é esperado de grandes jogos. Mesmo sabendo que jogos são tão jogos com ou sem combate, upgrades, mundo aberto e um worldbuilding coeso, Control parece se render, o que é uma pena. Afinal, não diria que Control é surreal, já que absolutamente tudo naquele jogo está imerso e ancorado na sua própria realidade e, sendo as suas regras claras, as consequências são previsíveis e pouco subjetivas, mas pelo menos divertidas.

As a long time SCP fan, Control really hit the spot for me. The brutalist architecture combined with the seemingly mundane government building structure grounds the concept into reality, all of which disguise the dark depths of some parts of the FBC. I had the most fun just exploring the building, seeing the non-modern tech they use and finding the slice of life type documents.

I did find the combat incredibly difficult, repetitive and frustrating, which I’ve found with other games by remedy, there doesn’t seem to be a consistent balance in their combat gameplay.

That being said, there is SO much that Remedy can build upon here, and this feels like the first Alan Wake did, an introduction for what’s to come. Extremely excited to see what they will bring with Control 2, and even more excited to delve more into it’s big crossovers with Alan Wake

Short Review of Control: Completed in 27 hours, All Side Quests, DLC AWE and The Foundation

The beginning was frustrating, but the game gradually became addictive, especially from a combat perspective. Some set-pieces and segments are truly artistic (like the Ashtray Maze and Altered Item quest). The world lore is fascinating, and I appreciate the David Lynch-style dialogue and characterizations. However, the ending of the main story felt a bit underwhelming, leaving me with a sense of 'Is that it?' Instead, it was the second DLC that provided a proper ending segment.

Overall, I'd give it a 7.5/10.

First time I played this game in 2019, I gave up because the combat got repetitive. That is still an issue, but having just played alan wake, I have a deeper appreciation for the world/universe Remedy are building.

The combat is totally fine, but my issue is how much of it there, is, almost every room you go in has a new 5-10 min combat encounter, backtrack through that same room a few hours later? More combat. Considering how cool the world is, the audio logs and the atmosphere, it's a bit of a bummer that those wow moments are ruined by another copy past combat encounter.

However, the story and world make up for this, especially if you've played previous Remedy games.

“Control” is a masterclass in surreal storytelling and innovative gameplay. From the moment you step into the Oldest House, the game’s enigmatic setting, you’re drawn into a world where reality bends and the supernatural becomes your playground. The game’s stunning visuals and dynamic environment, paired with the gripping narrative, make for an unforgettable experience. The combat system is fluid and satisfying, allowing for creative approaches to each encounter. “Control” is an adventure that keeps you on the edge of your seat. A must-play for anyone looking for a deep and captivating experience.

The overall atmosphere and story was interesting, the strange vide of the entire place was cool. But i couldn't be bothered to read all (any) of the collectible files, so I didn't get too deep into lore of it all.

Really fun and unique fighting mechanics with many abilities and weapons to keep things fresh. The world and characters were also solid.

Would recommend this game.

I also played both DLCs which were both decent, new unique mini adventures utilizing existing and some new mechanics.