Tahseen Control Review

Control has to be my favourite game from their studio by far. It’s an SCP inspired story about a government agency charged with keeping tabs on supernatural items and individuals. The whole agency is on lockdown and you arrive as the new janitor/director of the whole thing. We play as Jesse Fayden, who has been searching for the federal bureau of control her whole life, and now walks into an impromptu job interview only to have the safety of the bureau and the world put onto her. The story of control is one of intrigue and mystery. The main objective is to find Jesse's long lost brother and to put a stop to an infection (“the hiss”) from taking over the oldest house (the bureau’s anomalous building). I enjoyed playing through the story as Jesse, who is a bit confused but very headstrong and ready for the challenge. I had a blast going through the oldest house and finding out how it all works. How the old directors of the FBC failed at handling the paranatal and how they tried to control the situation. The oldest house is full of lore and information on various anomalous items, places and people and their best attempts and protecting the general public from it all. The lore and world build is top notch and I loved getting into it, whether it was through documents, audio logs or some very well done real life segments. I just adore para-natural concepts and this game was a playground for my imagination. The gameplay is really well done. I hated Alan Wake’s combat, so when I got into controls combat, it was like a breath of fresh air. This is the remedy magic that everyone keeps talking about. At the start sure its just a looter shooter with subpart shooting, but once you fuse with some objects of power and get some upgrades the combat flips on its head. Now Jesse plays like some crazed telepath, flinging objects, enemies and the very foundation of the house all over the shop. The feeling of being able to tear concrete out of the wall and hurl it at mach speed toward an enemy is amazing. When Jesse enters a room, all heII breaks loose. Bits of set dressing flying here, there and everywhere. By the end of the game I was still hurling objects around the room and never once got tired of it. Goes to show just how amazing Remedy’s team is at putting together this system that reminds me so much of Half Life 2’s gravity gun and how fun it was back then. I whole heartedly recommend this game. It isn't a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination but it is a well crafted experience that is also immensely fun to play. Oh and the music, don't get me started on the tunes. That old Finnish janitor can SING. Still have that tango on repeat. All that aside, Let me say that I look forward to whatever Remedy does next! < Congratulations, Director > 8/10