This review contains spoilers
Control stole my idea. Well, the creators stole it before I came up with it, but as soon as I read about the game, I knew it would be the exact premise I would love to use in a game of my own. As I’ve made agonizingly clear in a couple other reviews, I’m a massive fan of surreal horror like Twin Peaks, and Demon’s Souls is one of my favorite games for its unscripted choice and consequence, and Control’s premise is a perfect venue for mixing the two. Put simply, the player is tasked to bring a supernatural containment facility back in order after its resident otherworldly entities, both mundane and sinister, broke loose. The setup is perfect for situations where you have to think on your feet, play it smart, and grow in your role as an adventurer-slash-ghostbuster by becoming fluent in the dreamlike logic that applies to these beings. The potential for unscripted narrative is boundless and exciting, and the possibilities are endless.
The first entity you encounter is called The Hiss, and it’s an extremely elegant one to use for introducing the game. It’s just what it sounds like, a supernatural hissing signal that worms its way into the mind and takes control of people. What this means from a gameplay standpoint is fighting mind-controlled soldiers the likes of which can be found in any third-person-shooter, but it still works as a great introduction for two reasons. Firstly, it lets players adjust to the mechanics against enemies they’re probably already familiar with, and provides room for self-orientation before the more atypical challenges are introduced. Secondly, it establishes how an organization meant to contain the supernatural could have failed so completely, with an intangible, invisible signal being a satisfying justification. Containing it could be where the “think on your feet” aspect comes into its own, asking players to find a solution for defeating something that abstract. It would be the first step of learning the sort of cleverness that’s required to be the director of an organization all about containing the uncontainable.
However, the key there is “could”. I genuinely thought the game was going to work like this, that The Hiss was going to be an introductory entity that would give way to other more interesting ones, but it didn’t. It ended up being the main, and essentially only, antagonist, with others being relegated to side content. The third-person shooting against dudes with guns wasn’t just an elegant way to introduce the game, it was the entire game. Of course, there’s a lot more to your disposal than in a standard shooter, with a suite of supernatural powers like launching objects and limited flight, but they contribute more towards the presentation of the game than its depth. Throwing things at enemies and flying around may look spectacular, but the players’ general approach to combat will remain essentially unchanged from the start of the game to the end, especially against the more challenging combat encounters which incentivize playing it safe.
This tradeoff of depth for spectacle is one that Control seems to have made very deliberately, since it’s clearly felt in the sidequests, exploration, and puzzles as well. The entities encountered in the optional missions range from beautiful, to subtly frightening, to outright grotesque, but players are rarely stopped along the way to prove their savviness in a way other than shooting. These diversions almost feel like episodes of a TV show, extremely well-produced with exciting bursts of activity, but often lacking the personal involvement needed to make them stick into memory. Similarly, the aesthetics of bureau, both in its normal (or rather, usual) state and when The Hiss has taken over are masterfully implemented, but it only occasionally translates to unique gameplay, with most fights occurring in brutalistic concrete courtyards or cluttered offices. Similarly, Control comes close to seizing the full potential of its concept with a couple mindbending puzzles, but the majority of them are about finding codes or patterns scattered around instead of requiring much in the way of critical thinking.
So, the question that might arise is why the developers chose to focus so much on the uninteractive aspects like visual spectacle and aesthetic more than the depth of the gameplay itself. This is a question directed at modern games fairly often, with a common criticism being that developers don’t take advantage of the unique strengths of an interactive medium. However, this criticism isn’t as cut-and-dry as it may seem. One could easily critique an action-packed novel for not adequately focusing a character’s thoughts, or criticize an understated dramatic movie for not being visually captivating, when they’re both perfectly valid approaches. Taking full advantage of a medium’s strengths is a wonderful thing, but placing limitations on art is a terrible one, so all a game really needs is a cohesiveness of design, not adherence to a rigid set of principles. Personally, I may have preferred a mechanically deeper spin on the premise, but the shallowness feels like it exists as a deliberate choice to focus on the atmosphere and adventure, not as a byproduct of lazy design. It’s not the dream game I may have had in mind, but it’s cohesive and unique enough to still be a well-made game regardless.
The first entity you encounter is called The Hiss, and it’s an extremely elegant one to use for introducing the game. It’s just what it sounds like, a supernatural hissing signal that worms its way into the mind and takes control of people. What this means from a gameplay standpoint is fighting mind-controlled soldiers the likes of which can be found in any third-person-shooter, but it still works as a great introduction for two reasons. Firstly, it lets players adjust to the mechanics against enemies they’re probably already familiar with, and provides room for self-orientation before the more atypical challenges are introduced. Secondly, it establishes how an organization meant to contain the supernatural could have failed so completely, with an intangible, invisible signal being a satisfying justification. Containing it could be where the “think on your feet” aspect comes into its own, asking players to find a solution for defeating something that abstract. It would be the first step of learning the sort of cleverness that’s required to be the director of an organization all about containing the uncontainable.
However, the key there is “could”. I genuinely thought the game was going to work like this, that The Hiss was going to be an introductory entity that would give way to other more interesting ones, but it didn’t. It ended up being the main, and essentially only, antagonist, with others being relegated to side content. The third-person shooting against dudes with guns wasn’t just an elegant way to introduce the game, it was the entire game. Of course, there’s a lot more to your disposal than in a standard shooter, with a suite of supernatural powers like launching objects and limited flight, but they contribute more towards the presentation of the game than its depth. Throwing things at enemies and flying around may look spectacular, but the players’ general approach to combat will remain essentially unchanged from the start of the game to the end, especially against the more challenging combat encounters which incentivize playing it safe.
This tradeoff of depth for spectacle is one that Control seems to have made very deliberately, since it’s clearly felt in the sidequests, exploration, and puzzles as well. The entities encountered in the optional missions range from beautiful, to subtly frightening, to outright grotesque, but players are rarely stopped along the way to prove their savviness in a way other than shooting. These diversions almost feel like episodes of a TV show, extremely well-produced with exciting bursts of activity, but often lacking the personal involvement needed to make them stick into memory. Similarly, the aesthetics of bureau, both in its normal (or rather, usual) state and when The Hiss has taken over are masterfully implemented, but it only occasionally translates to unique gameplay, with most fights occurring in brutalistic concrete courtyards or cluttered offices. Similarly, Control comes close to seizing the full potential of its concept with a couple mindbending puzzles, but the majority of them are about finding codes or patterns scattered around instead of requiring much in the way of critical thinking.
So, the question that might arise is why the developers chose to focus so much on the uninteractive aspects like visual spectacle and aesthetic more than the depth of the gameplay itself. This is a question directed at modern games fairly often, with a common criticism being that developers don’t take advantage of the unique strengths of an interactive medium. However, this criticism isn’t as cut-and-dry as it may seem. One could easily critique an action-packed novel for not adequately focusing a character’s thoughts, or criticize an understated dramatic movie for not being visually captivating, when they’re both perfectly valid approaches. Taking full advantage of a medium’s strengths is a wonderful thing, but placing limitations on art is a terrible one, so all a game really needs is a cohesiveness of design, not adherence to a rigid set of principles. Personally, I may have preferred a mechanically deeper spin on the premise, but the shallowness feels like it exists as a deliberate choice to focus on the atmosphere and adventure, not as a byproduct of lazy design. It’s not the dream game I may have had in mind, but it’s cohesive and unique enough to still be a well-made game regardless.