For: PS4, Xbox One, PC
From: Remedy
Rating: (R13) ★★★+
REVIEWED BY SIMON BISHOP
Control is a very unusual game. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, and after having played it, I'm still not entirely sure what to make of it!
You play as Jesse, who enters the Federal Bureau of Control, an FBI-style building, that is encountering an unusual phenomenon. An entity known as the Hiss is infecting the building, and its inhabitants. People randomly hover in the air, walls appear and disappear, and objects are flung at you.
Control is meant to be a mind-bending adventure, and it certainly is that. I don't know whether I am just slow, or whether the story is meant to be extraordinarily complex. Potentially, a bit of both.
Early on you get your hands on the ``service weapon'', a handgun of sorts that throughout the game you can transfer to being various different weapons. This is useful in taking out the game's enemies, which are employees of the bureau who have been infected by the Hiss. There are extravagant boss characters, too, who present a challenge, mostly by using psychic abilities to throw things at you, for example.
Much of the story is told through notes and collectables found throughout the environment and I recommend you pick them up - they're reasonably easy to find and actually valuable. Telling the background (or in some cases reasonably vital information) through optional collectables is always a risky proposition - gamers like me will search them out, but there are many who won't bother and will completely miss it. There needs to be a proper balance between what is and what isn't told in them.
For me, Control puts too much emphasis on these collectables, you spend far too much of the game exploring every nook and cranny rather than focusing on the task at hand.
What will keep you playing Control is the intrigue, the search to know what's going on. The combat is rewarding enough, particularly when you get the ability to toss stuff back at the bad guys, but it's ultimately a third-person shooter, without proper cover elements. That can lead to some frustrating moments, certainly. But if the story leaves you a bit cold or bewildered, what's left isn't enough of a hook for you to carry on.
Overall, a solid game from one of my favourite developers. It's a little bit different and that's a good thing. We need these different experiences away from your standard Call of Duty or Fifa games. For me, this was too taxing mentally but you may find it enthralling. It's worth a try!
