Overview

Learn about the Federal Bureau of Control, the paranatural phenomena, and the Hiss invasion in this Control game overview.

In the world of Control, resonances from higher dimensions interact with a Jungian collective-unconsciousness, causing strange phenomena. The Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) studies these paranatural phenomena. Jesse Faden and her brother Dylan were caught in an Altered World Event (AWE) in Ordinary, Wisconsin, which changed them and caused most inhabitants to disappear. Dylan was taken by the FBC, and Jesse escaped, guided by a voice in her head to the Oldest House, the FBC headquarters, to find him. Upon arrival, Jesse is appointed the new Director.

The Oldest House is under lockdown due to an invasion by the Hiss, a higher-dimensional resonance. Bureau employees are either hostile or mindlessly chanting. As the new Director, your first task is to deal with this crisis.

Control excels at atmospheric world-building. The Oldest House, while strange, resembles a government office with typical furnishings. Bureaucratic jargon is prevalent, with terms like Altered World Events (AWEs) and Altered Items, which are objects changed by higher dimensions. Objects of Power are particularly potent Altered Items that grant paranatural abilities.

Gameplay is action-adventure with RPG and Metroidvania elements. Initially, you use a gun, but you soon gain abilities to throw objects and eventually manipulate enemies and perform aerial attacks. However, Control incorporates frustrating elements from the Soulsborne genre, including sudden-death mechanics and a hostile checkpointing system. Upon death, you face a lengthy loading screen, must re-fight previous enemies, and lose 10% of your in-game currency. The game features high, non-selectable difficulty and a single save file that is overwritten automatically, raising concerns about player time and save file integrity. Boss fights are described as difficult spikes that impede progress.

Ultimate Edition Update:

The expansions _Foundation_ (June 2020) and _AWE_ (August 2020) were released with the original game as _Control Ultimate Edition_. _Foundation_ is a post-game adventure in a sealed area of the Oldest House, noted for weaker world-building and a less engaging story, focusing on an underdeveloped NPC (non-player character — anyone the game controls, not you) and told through logs from a researcher named Ash.

The _AWE_ expansion is an improvement, with better world-building and a creepy creature. It requires knowledge of the game _Alan Wake_ for full context. While some content may be baffling without prior context, it recaptures elements of what made the original game enjoyable. The expansions also introduced cheat modes to address difficulty, though the loot system is considered dismal, with most mods being garbage. _AWE_ also added a new weapon form with associated trophies.