Control Ultimate Edition

"Control" is a refreshing combination of elements already seen in other games. The art direction is what makes the game so fascinating, with the brutalist architecture-influenced Old House building acting as the absolute protagonist. Once a typical office and research facility, it keeps being distorted and bent by some unknown forces from another dimension. It is our job to bring order back by taking down "corrupted" employees and molding the architecture back to what it used to be. Spending a whole game inside the same building can get boring fast, but the level designers made sure to differentiate the mood of each area by playing with different lighting and color palettes. Yet, the overall atmosphere is so recognizable that you can instantly tell you are playing "Control" just by looking at the environment. While the game is supposed to be taking place in 2019, the offices and equipment have a somewhat vintage sci-fi look that kind of reminded me of shows "The X-Files" and the likes. Live-action cutscenes also contributed to giving an old-school feel typical of the games from the 90s, but the art direction and editing keep everything fresh and personal.

The gameplay might feel derivative at first, but the real fun begins once the reality-bending psychokinetic abilities take over the basic third-person shooting dynamics. Combat is intuitive, fast-paced, and incredibly satisfying, as you can potentially destroy everything that surrounds you and even use it against your enemies. The abilities are also added gradually so that mastering each one of them does not become too overwhelming. After a few hours, fighting the same enemies and traversing the Oceanview Motel becomes a little boring indeed, but for a relatively small studio like Remedy, I think they did what they could to differentiate the gameplay as much as possible within their budget.

My only major complaint is that the map is extremely tough to navigate until you have memorized all the areas of the Old House. I am sure the game designers did want us to get lost, but as you are continuously forced to backtrack, it might get a little frustrating.

The plot initially engages but tends to rely too much on text, live-action footage, or stiff in-game dialogues instead of fleshing out visual storytelling or interactive sequences. Cutscenes only teach you the most essential information, while the rest of the plot is to be reconstructed by finding case files, staff correspondence, and audio recordings disseminated on the game map. It was fascinating at first, but I eventually had to give up as you have to literally stop every couple of minutes to read through walls of text or listen to tapes. I am aware that this gameplay element is one of the things that make "Control" what it is, but I wish developers would think about pacing a little more before dumping so much information into collectibles (of which, honestly, only about 20% is needed to understand the plot).

The ending was also a little disappointing, as it just felt like the end of a regular mission rather than a wrap-up of the whole story. A lot of mysteries also remain unexplained to keep the path open for a sequel.