It’s difficult to fault those that hadn’t heard of Control, the latest game from Remedy Entertainment, the studio behind Alan Wake and Quantum Break. 2019 is, after all, a pretty crowded year in terms of game releases, with many bigger games that have higher marketing budgets overshadowing Remedy’s newest experiment. However, Control has released to incredible reviews, with many calling it one of the best games of the year. This has left many people wondering: what is Control?
In Control, players fill the shoes of Jesse Faden as she locates the Federal Bureau of Control, or FBC, and quickly gets wrapped up in defeating a supernatural enemy called The Hiss. The game features an interesting cast of characters, and Jesse herself even regularly talks to herself, but in a charming kind of way. The game does feature some Stanley Kubrick-style horror elements but also has an impressive array of moment to moment action gameplay, so there’s something in there for just about everybody.
Jesse has a spread of abilities she can use to defeat The Hiss, somewhat similar to those found in Remedy’s last game, Quantum Break. In our Control review, we praised the game’s aggressive combat system, which allows players to zip around the environment and cause chaos with all of Jesse’s abilities. The game should feel great to those that like fast-paced combat rather than the more methodical passed gameplay of titles like Red Dead Redemption 2.
Control doesn’t take long to beat though, so those hoping for a 60-hour romp may walk away disappointed at the game’s short length. In Game Rant’s own testing, it took about 8 hours to complete the main story and a few sidequests. While the game’s length will vary from player to player, even a completionist run will likely cap out at 15-20 hours. It’s definitely on the smaller side, but at least it won’t overstay its welcome.
Control isn’t actually out until tomorrow, August 27th, so curious players still have a little bit of time to decide if they want to pick up a launch copy or not. The game certainly seems unique, so it may be worth checking out for those with a few evenings to kill. Plus, the unique narrative will likely give most players cause to play multiple playthroughs.
Control will release August 27th, 2019, for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
