Control Ultimate Edition

At one point the game has corrupted my save file after a crash, forutnately I was able to pull an older save from the GoG cloud because I didn't quit the game as soon as I found out that the save was corrupted and thus prevented the corrupted file from being synced to the cloud. If you don't want to rage after losing 15 hours of progress you might want to find your save files and make a copy from time to time because if a corrupted save file makes it to the cloud you are screwed. How can developers be so incompetent to fail at something so basic as save file validation in the year 2020?

I waited quite patiently (more or less) for the game to show up in a general platform (as opposed to yet another proprietary launcher) and from what I seen expected a very enjoyable experience when I finally got to play the game. I was not wrong, as the game has a great balance of suspense and playability. The majority of the controls feel quite intuitive and the storyline is just spooky enough to keep me going, and just challenging enough that I cannot simply race through the game. The problem though is that I end up playing through the game repeatedly, since the game saves reasonably often, I try to remember to save when something noteable has occurred, but since the game crashes so frequently, I play for twenty minutes, crash, replay ten of the last twenty minutes, play another ten minutes, crash again, replay those ten minutes and consider myself fortunate that I get another twenty minutes in after that before it crashes again. I really enjoy the game when it is working, since it suits what I want in a game so well, but the crashes make me log off after every second or third time, since I just cannot bring myself to replay yet another section of the game unless I take a break first. It is a bit frustrating, since it makes game immersion very momentary.

Remedy games were always great games, but not for everyone. This one is not an exception as well. Pros: - Interesting story with huge intertwine with another loved game from Remedy - Alan Wake - in DLC (I think, it is not a spoiler, since Alan is in arts and trailers of DLC) - Design and atmosphere of the Oldest House is very fitting together and produces feeling of a complete picture - Combat is decent, although... Cons: - ... a bit repetitive. RPG part was not really well developed in my opinion. I used 1-2 weapons and never used shield or mind control to complete 100%. - A bit grindy, which also fits to not well developed RPG part, they would be better of doing it Alan Wake style and just giving you weapons and abilities at some story points. Cons wouldn't really make me remove 1 star, because my gaming experience was on great level despite them, but what made me remove 1 star is shitty publishing - Epic Games exclusive with uncertainty and muddy statements about Steam/GOG releases as well as controversy with next-gen upgrades on consoles forbid me from giving them 5 stars. In other words - 5 stars for game, 3 stars for publishing, total - 4.

I was pleasantly surprised by Control, all things considered. Apart from the obvious - that it's a good way to let an RTX graphics card stretch its legs with ray-traced reflections - this game also offers a fairly entertaining gameplay loop, high production value, unique and gorgeous environmental design, and tons of little snippets of lore to find from start to finish. The gameplay itself isn't perfect, but my biggest issues are easily solved via mods that can be found on the Nexus. Adding the ability to swap weapons with the number keys gives you a tremendous amount of variety for how you can deal with enemies, and while some of the game's skills are mundane stat boosts, others offer whole new features and additions to your arsenal. Ammo and energy are both infinite but based on cooldowns/recharge meters, and health is gained from killing enemies - aggressive play and balancing your abilities is encouraged, and you've got a lot of mobility options, as well. What could be improved? Honestly, the game gives me Soulslike or Metroidvania vibes at times, with the level design and "control point" system in particular reminding me of Dark Souls. It's a shame, then, that there are only a handful of truly stand-out boss fights, because those few that do exist are fantastic. They aren't unfair and if you learn the boss's patterns they can be overcome, yet they still took me several attempts to surmount - and those moments were some of the best that Control had to offer. The fact that bosses like that are so few and far between is unfortunate, because it shows that Control *can* offer tough and spectacular encounters. So, apart from that fault, this is a fairly tight experience with an interesting gameplay loop and great visuals. I probably wouldn't recommend it at full price, but I was very happy with it for $19.99, and the game performed very well for me. With a 2070 Super and RT settings at medium, I had one crash my entire time playing, and ~75 FPS throughout.

Control is a Remedy game to its core; like Alan Wake, playing this for the first time will let you wondering, and generally for every question answered, five more are nagging at the back of your head. Narrative is interesting and keeps on giving. Main character is likeable, and she actually acts and thinks like a human being for a change. Atmosphere is gripping, and the Oldest House is a wonder to explore. Remedy is famous for their level design, and here they nailed it once again, both artistically, and technologically. The game was basically a RTX show-off at release, so the visuals are understandably gorgeous. One grievance with the game I do have, and that's the grind. The game is pretty difficult, and to progress on anything higher than easy difficulty, you have to do side missions, find collectibles, recipes for upgrades, and upgrade your character. Normally, RPG elements in this kind of game are great, but here, all the side missions are procedurally generated, quite boring, and bring nothing to the game except the resources you need. Could have been done in a better way. As with all Remedy story-based shooters, you pick this up, play it, be amazed, and then quickly shelve it until next Remedy game arrives. Replayability is pretty poor, so, if you want to enjoy this, make sure you have a decent RTX card for it, and go. If this kind of games is what you like, you won't go wrong. I wish I could give 3.5* because of the grind, but overall, the game is leaning towards a solid 4, so here we go.