Control Reviews
For the most part, Control is a resounding success.
Despite its confusing story, Control is a great action adventure game with a varied gameplay. The idea of a weapon being used for all functions, combined with all of Jesse's psychic powers, makes combat work very well. The simplified "metroidvania" style is also very good, making Control to be not so linear.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Control is so good that even when faced with such annoyances you just jump right back in. It’s like a Remedy greatest hits compilation, taking the best bits from all of the studio’s previous titles while adding a Metroidvania spin, and it really works.
Control offers some of the best combat from Remedy, balancing supernatural abilities with a handy service weapon. Its non-linear twisted levels, populated with varied Hiss enemies, make for an appealing supernatural world. With a better protagonist and some fine-tuning, it could have been truly extraordinary.
Control is truly unforgettable with loads of ways to play, terrific acting, lots to explore, satisfying gunplay and abilities, and a spectacular world and story to experience.
Although it’s certainly weird and has a story that leaves you in the dark, slowly piecing together what on Earth is going on, when it all comes together, Control offers a really satisfying and enjoyable game. It’s world and characters are complex and like the game’s story, hide some very interesting things below the surface. If you’re a fan of mystery stories, or ever dreamed of being part of the X-Men you’re going to really enjoy what Remedy have done with Control.
This game is not as good as perhaps expected. Level design is poor, the main character is not very interesting and the Metroidvania-way of exploring is maybe too difficult. However, the game gets a bit better in the end.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Is Control Remedy's apex moment? No. Is it their best game yet? I don't think so, but I wouldn't scream at you if you thought it was. Control's story and world-building, its thematic cohesiveness is better than anything out of Remedy yet, which is saying a lot. Unfortunately, Control has some blemishes, most of which aren't very distracting, but when you couple it with some considerable performance issues it adds up and saps a little bit of that specialness.
Control is undoubtedly the most ambitious video game ever made by Remedy. The Finnish software house did not want to give life to a story for its own sake, but to a universe that can grow, mature and become something important in the videogame scene over time.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Control is a great game with cool gameplay, interesting concepts, and a sequel looks imminent.
Control can be summed up as a psychedelic trip through a labyrinth full of mysteries. Its psychic abilities and gunplay work in tandem to create enjoyable and creative combat encounters. While short on replay value, the experience is fun while it lasts. Physics-based gameplay could be the future, and Control gives us a glimpse at it.
Control is a deep game and very well thought out, although it may remind us a bit of Beyond Two Souls, is much more adult and global and the whole background is perfectly explained within the game. It mixes action and story so well there will be no room for boredom.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Sometimes we are left with the feeling that the action is a bit too much in relation to what suits the subject and that the solving of mysteries is not as significant in the universe that Remedy has created.
Review in Greek | Read full review
Control is a game that really fired on all cylinders for me. I’ve grown tired of the narrative space that so many third-person action games operate in, but this is a world and story I just want more of. By combining that with combat that encouraged me to fight aggressively and strategically, Control shot to the top of my favorite games of 2019. I feel this is Remedy’s best work, and some of the best weird fiction ever produced in games.
Control is a game with an enjoyable variant of standard third-person shooter gameplay, an excellently unsettling atmosphere and setting, a big but not overwhelming world to explore, and surprisingly fun and charming collectibles to find. However, it’s held back by an underwhelming crafting system, some particularly frustrating boss fights, and sometimes-severe performance issues, at least on an original PS4. The length and amount of content is respectable for $60 USD – I’d estimate my playthrough took 20-25 hours for the main story – and there’s still things to do once you finish the story missions, mainly cleaning up any side missions you have left and the few postgame missions, or just exploring more of the Oldest House and finding more collectibles. If you like Metroidvanias and you want one with its own special brand of weirdness, I’d definitely recommend Control.
Control is a once in a generation game in terms of world building and atmosphere. Games this richly detailed do not come around that often. While the game has a myriad of technical issues that occasionally take you out of the experience, it is still a game I cannot recommend enough.
Control is an interesting title. It features some truly incredible gameplay, with visuals and audio to match; but disappoints in terms of providing an engrossing narrative. The puzzle like structure of the overarching story can be confusing and often lacks any real draw for gamers to continue pushing through the game's 20 hour campaign. At best, the draw to find out what is actually going on and to help Jesse's brother will keep players moving forward; at worst, there are a multitude of side quests and mini-bosses to invest in as players push toward the conclusion. Narrative aside, Control features superb level design that encourages exploration. The exploration coupled with the superb gameplay help mask the repetitive nature of the title, thus making the game genuinely fun to play. Jesse being a likeable protagonist, with her fourth-wall breaking moments of introspection, not to mention the often crazy and psychedelic level design, should keep players interested for some time to come.