Finally, a game that dares to ask: "what if the X-Files had budget and was based out of the 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 from 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 of Leaves (𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚊𝚞𝚛 included)?"
This happens more and more now.
So much of this game is playing exactly to some of my more niche tastes, from the brutalist office building full of deeply unsettling horror imagery occupying impossible space and time to the absolute overdose of collectibles in the form of data logs, documents, and inter-department communications that rewards exploration with substantial lore and world-building details. For me, exploring the sights and untangling the narrative were the strongest points of Control, and Remedy remains one of the best studios when it comes to environmental storytelling. It helps that this game is pretty much Alan Wake 1.5, while simultaneously making Control into a nexus of sorts for the entire Remedy Connected Universe. The Oldest 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 is an awesome setting for a game too, allowing for effectively infinite possibilities within its pocket dimension - doubly so when the Oceanview Motel and Casino is considered. I've honestly never seen a game so ambitious with its setting alone, truly.
The word that describes this is redacted.
The only thing holding this game back for me is its combat. It's serviceable, but there's simply too much of it given that it boils down to shoot til empty -> launch stuff while gun recharges -> shoot while launch recharges. I also just hate randomly generated loot stats in games - I probably spent a cumulative two hours of the game comparing mods like "health +34%" vs "health +33%" to clear out the abysmally small inventory you get. This issue is exasperated in the expansions when the amount of unique mod types quintuples but your inventory cap stays the same. It's annoying, especially given that enemies randomly respawn as you explore the 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎. If you replaced even a quarter of the random lootbox exploration rewards with more documents or multimedia collectibles or altered items or lore rooms, this would be an easy 10/10 for me.
You want to smile.
All in all though, Control is an easy recommend because there's simply nothing else like it. If you're wondering if you'll like it, here's a good heuristic: does a puzzle that requires you to decipher a code in the reversed lyrics of an in-game song sound rad as hell to you? If you answered yes, then you should play Control.
You want this to be true.
This happens more and more now.
So much of this game is playing exactly to some of my more niche tastes, from the brutalist office building full of deeply unsettling horror imagery occupying impossible space and time to the absolute overdose of collectibles in the form of data logs, documents, and inter-department communications that rewards exploration with substantial lore and world-building details. For me, exploring the sights and untangling the narrative were the strongest points of Control, and Remedy remains one of the best studios when it comes to environmental storytelling. It helps that this game is pretty much Alan Wake 1.5, while simultaneously making Control into a nexus of sorts for the entire Remedy Connected Universe. The Oldest 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 is an awesome setting for a game too, allowing for effectively infinite possibilities within its pocket dimension - doubly so when the Oceanview Motel and Casino is considered. I've honestly never seen a game so ambitious with its setting alone, truly.
The word that describes this is redacted.
The only thing holding this game back for me is its combat. It's serviceable, but there's simply too much of it given that it boils down to shoot til empty -> launch stuff while gun recharges -> shoot while launch recharges. I also just hate randomly generated loot stats in games - I probably spent a cumulative two hours of the game comparing mods like "health +34%" vs "health +33%" to clear out the abysmally small inventory you get. This issue is exasperated in the expansions when the amount of unique mod types quintuples but your inventory cap stays the same. It's annoying, especially given that enemies randomly respawn as you explore the 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎. If you replaced even a quarter of the random lootbox exploration rewards with more documents or multimedia collectibles or altered items or lore rooms, this would be an easy 10/10 for me.
You want to smile.
All in all though, Control is an easy recommend because there's simply nothing else like it. If you're wondering if you'll like it, here's a good heuristic: does a puzzle that requires you to decipher a code in the reversed lyrics of an in-game song sound rad as hell to you? If you answered yes, then you should play Control.
You want this to be true.
RedBackLoggd
25 days ago