Control Ultimate Edition Review [Is REMEDY STILL in CONTROL of Narrative Experiences?]
Updated: Mar 13, 2021
A corruptive presence has invaded the Federal Bureau of Control…Only you have the power to stop it. The world is now your weapon in an epic fight to annihilate an ominous enemy through deep and unpredictable environments. Containment has failed, humanity is at stake. Will you regain control?
Control is a third-person sci-fi action adventure game with lite horror and rpg elements.
Intel
We played on the PC via Steam maxed with RTX fully on combined with DLSS 2.0 at 2560x1440p. Completed in just under 35hrs with 44/67 Achievements unlocked, all sides quests found completed minus juke box tier 2+3 & DLC. It's time to see if Remedy continues it's control on single-player narrative driven action game genre!
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First is the good, bads and uglies then we drop a score! 0 means straight up no, 5 average, and 10 a must for anyone with a screen.
The Good
• Ray-Tracing Showpiece (this is the game to look at if you want to see what the fuss is all about RTX / DLSS 2).
• Great voice acting and performances from the main protagonist and its cast of characters especially a certain Janitor!
• Fun physics throwing combat and mechanics.
• Metroidvanian style gameplay lends to a desire to explore and discover new things especially when combined with the RPG elements.
• Excellent sounds, effects and presentation style (little things like the bold text intro that shows at new locations adds a cinematic feel and flair to the production).
• Interesting and intriguing story, setting and core concept makes for tasty potential of ideas / content for the future of the setting (If you wanted a mature Men In Black Warehouse 13 Alan Wake style game; this is it!).
• Cool abilities and useful upgrading weapons, skills and mechanics.
• Interesting world building notes, videos and recordings.
• Unique mix of live recording and engine that works well compared to most if not all games that have done it before.
• Threshold Kids...show your kids this to help them live a stable and normal life (or fracture their mental wellbeing thereafter likely).
The Bad
• The map is a hot mess. You pretty much have to rely on memory, so I wouldn't leave this one too long between plays.
• Quest targets, completion parameters / goals and backtracking can be a little unclear / tedious at times especially when you couple this with the map.
• Some busy work quests here and there that repeat perhaps a little too much or just don't maybe fit the story depth.
• A minor but the respawn nature of mobs does sometimes feel at odds with the realism feel / matureness present in the game. Makes sense mechanically but still worth a shout.
• A loooot of reading if you so choose. The documents are relevant, story enriching and worth the read, but boy oh boy there is a looooot of it, and more narration probably wouldn't have gone a miss.
The Ugly
• None really.
The Score
9.5/10
Another excellent game from the Finnish masters! A must for 3rd person action game and Alan Wake fans! Has the story and setting depth you'd expect. The mechanics work really well, are fun and the game with raytracing is the definitive showcase for Nvidia & raytracing tech, especially when coupled with DLSS 2. Loved it!