Developed by Remedy Entertainment PLC. Published by 505 Games. The Remedy logo and Northlight are trademarks of Remedy Entertainment Oyj, registered in the U.S. and other countries. Control is a trademark of Remedy Entertainment Oyj. 505 Games and the 505 Games logo are trademarks of 505 Games SpA, and may be registered in the United States and other countries. All other marks and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
I enjoyed this game quite a bit. There's enough story to keep you interested and the gameplay loop is fun. It rewards precision and mixing your abilities and gunplay. Graphics are obviously the selling point and the RTX settings make a difference. The one thing that soured my experience with this game is that, as of writing this, there's a CTD bug that hasn't been addressed. I'm not sure if it's specific to the GOG.com version or what. Several users have reported it: https://www.gog.com/forum/control/ctd_in_anchor_fight.
Control is an unusual game. Having finished it, I have absolutely no idea what it is about. I think this is due to willful ambiguity in this story that allows for multiple interpretations, with the intention of the writers being that no one can be sure which interpretation is correct. However, it is also possible that the story is simply a mess. If that is the case, there is little to recommend; the rest of the game is mediocre.
The bulk of the gameplay is third person shooting, which has some force-like abilities to differentiate itself, but it becomes repititive very quickly. It's arguably an open world game, but it technically takes place inside a single building, which is both charming and restrictive. I know many reviewers are upset about a crash to desktop that reliably occurs during an optional boss fight. I experienced this myself, and I would have been more frustrated, but lowering the graphics all the way and switching to window mode allowed me to get past it, and I mostly forgot about it. It does run well, and it looks decent enough, with character models based on real people with imperfections and a flare for cinematic storytelling.
Again, though, my overall opinion of the game hinges on how much credit this storytelling really deserves. If there's really as much to read into as I think there is, it's arguably one of the greatest games ever made on that basis alone. If not, it's just mediocre.
If I had to appraise the game solely on its story I would give it solid 5 stars without hesitation. Once again Remedy have created yet another compelling script for us to follow in the familiar format of interactive movie. Storywise everything gets high marks - atmosphere, characters, plot, the small references here and there and all the collectable reading materials. And when we're talking about atmosphere there is no way that I can skip mentioning the incredible level design backed by the gorgeous game engine. That being said, the only place the game falls short is game mechanics. I guess with the intent of creating different strategies for playthrough, Remedy have come up with a skill/weapon system that seems bloated and mostly redundant. I've completed the game with a very limited variety of weapon/personal mods. I really didn't feel any benefit from most of the weapons and special powers. In fact some of those were downright harmful almost every time I used them. So replaying the game for a different combat experience isn't something I would be doing. I'm deducting a full star for this wasted effort.
P.S. I also feel that the AWE DLC was a missed opportunity to have shadow soldiers from Alan Wake using the same combat mechanics with light from the titular game.
- Environment/Setting: phenomenal
- Gameplay: brutally satisfying
- Story: mysterious, chill-inducing, engaging
Beyond Two Souls meets The Force Unleashed and by the end that comparisons fade: Control is and does its own thing & I'm gladly pay for any future DLC/expansion/sequel, can't wait!
