I was one of the unfortunate people who attempted to put up with Control's horrid 8th-generation console ports around its original release. Attempting to play on a base PS4 system, Control was frankly miserable to trudge through and I am frankly surprised I made it as close as I did before I couldn't handle the performance any longer (mission 8 of 10 if you're curious). I told myself I would play through Control again when I had access to better hardware, so what better way to experience Control than intentionally playing the weakest of the 9th gen console versions (Series S) and seeing how that fairs?
Though the resolution and overall picture quality are iffy on Xbox Series S, the performance is solid and rarely had any noticeable drops from 60FPS; a bare minimum for a game that is as frantic and challenging as it is. I was honestly just wanting to get through Control's story as swiftly as possible since a friend has "digitally lent" me Alan Wake II and I wanted to play some of the more connective material in this "Remedy Expanded Universe" or whatever they are calling it. Needless to say, before engaging with any of the expansion content, Control is a solid shooter with that Batman Arkham-esque map design and upgrade gathering to traverse new areas and search for all sorts of goodies. Control doesn't reinvent the wheel with its game structure and loop, but distinguishes itself enough in flow, pacing, and of course, its narrative and art design; said narrative and design were also strong enough to pique my girlfriend's interest, who normally goes for "cozier" or pick-up-and-play experiences aside from 10+ hour narrative excursions unless I play with her.
The last thing I can think of to distinguish this release from the original is the new accessibility features. As someone with a debilitating right-hand injury, it's nice when I can "take the load off" from as many thumb stick movements and mashing. It's appreciated that Remedy offered some adjustable auto-aim options to take a bit of the load off my right hand while still being able to make the game challenging.
Though the resolution and overall picture quality are iffy on Xbox Series S, the performance is solid and rarely had any noticeable drops from 60FPS; a bare minimum for a game that is as frantic and challenging as it is. I was honestly just wanting to get through Control's story as swiftly as possible since a friend has "digitally lent" me Alan Wake II and I wanted to play some of the more connective material in this "Remedy Expanded Universe" or whatever they are calling it. Needless to say, before engaging with any of the expansion content, Control is a solid shooter with that Batman Arkham-esque map design and upgrade gathering to traverse new areas and search for all sorts of goodies. Control doesn't reinvent the wheel with its game structure and loop, but distinguishes itself enough in flow, pacing, and of course, its narrative and art design; said narrative and design were also strong enough to pique my girlfriend's interest, who normally goes for "cozier" or pick-up-and-play experiences aside from 10+ hour narrative excursions unless I play with her.
The last thing I can think of to distinguish this release from the original is the new accessibility features. As someone with a debilitating right-hand injury, it's nice when I can "take the load off" from as many thumb stick movements and mashing. It's appreciated that Remedy offered some adjustable auto-aim options to take a bit of the load off my right hand while still being able to make the game challenging.