Control

[TheVoice]

https://controlgame.com/
Releases Tues 27th August on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

Anyone else looking forward to this new one from Remedy? I've always enjoyed their previous games (Quantum Break was a bit weak at times but I still enjoyed it), this one looks great and quite fresh and creative in a lot of ways.

After a secretive agency in New York is invaded by an otherworldly threat, you become the new Director struggling to regain Control.

From developer Remedy Entertainment, this supernatural 3rd person action-adventure will challenge you to master the combination of supernatural abilities, modifiable loadouts and reactive environments while fighting through a deep and unpredictable world.

Control is Jesse Faden’s story and her personal search for answers as she grows into the role of the Director. The world of Control has its own story, as do the allies Jesse meets along the way. Jesse works with other Bureau agents and discovers strange experiments and secrets.

This one goes into a bit of detail about the "New Weird" literary genre which the game has taken a lot of inspiration from:

The rest of the Dev Diary videos are here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDDaqwy2GJQkF5K45jfki5Mb9R30ATZNO

 

[TheVoice]

Incredibly short game, not worth the money.

I've seen 12-15 hours quoted depending on how much side stuff you opt to do, that seems more than reasonable for a single-player title of this type.

It’s probably a candidate for Xbox Game Pass so will wait. It’s supposed to be getting good reviews though.

I'm not sure, Sony seem to have funded exclusive content and marketing so I'm not sure how that affects its chances on Game Pass.

 

[TheVoice]

Genuinely surprised there's no HDR in this on the PS4, considering the visual style they're going for this seems like a huge omission.

 

[TheVoice]

Err... yes, I know... That's what the joke hinged upon....

The chapter titles etc are presented in large text across the screen in-game, it's part of the design style they've gone for in the game hence why I tried to pay some homage to that with the logo (lifted directly from their website).

Not sure what the complaint is regarding the third-person camera, it can sometimes feel a bit too quick but I've had no issues with the view being obscured by the perspective.

 

[TheVoice]

I think you might be giving yourself a little too much credit by calling it a joke.

 

[TheVoice]

Agreed, cannot quite fathom how people are saying this is a short game, it simply isn't unless you're not taking the time to explore all the areas.

 

[TheVoice]

Cannot beat the Anchor for the life of me (always struggle with multiple flying enemies)

Just in case you're still struggling, I eventually found that you're better off not engaging them and just keep moving, they'll get taken out pretty quickly by the Anchor's attacks and you can then hoover up the health they drop.

I agree with you though. I'm finding the boss fights really annoying, far too much trial and error involved, and the awful checkpoint system that just throws you back to the nearest control point doesn't help. They are by far the least enjoyable part of the game for me.

The rest however, is great. Once you get Levitate the areas really open up and you can start exploring for hidden areas which are great for boosting your ability points and finding more collectible documents etc that expand the story and give information about other items. As I said before, I'm baffled that this was being called a short game, it simply isn't and I assume it's only come about because reviewers (or worse, YouTubers) have just followed the path of least resistance to get to the end credits.

Also the map is the worst implementation of one I've seen in any game in at least the past 10 years. There's no sense of layers (so you can't tell if a room or area is above or below), you can't zoom, you can't leave a marker, and it doesn't show you locked/unlocked doors or other inaccessible areas. It's such a frustrating thing because it makes backtracking to find a previously locked door or inaccessible area so much harder, and you end up having to run around until you recognise the place rather than being able to pinpoint it, all while getting sprung-upon by respawning enemies.

 

[TheVoice]

I finished it last night, quite an easy platinum too I'd say (making it my second one ever), wasn't anything too taxing or specific and I only had to do a few more Board Countermeasures after I wrapped up the story to get it.

I think I was pretty thorough in my playthrough so there doesn't seem to be anything left for me to do or get. Worth mentioning that you can go and speak to some of the characters one last time and get some more dialogue from them, plus Jesse narrates to herself when you return to certain major areas, if you like that sort of thing.

Looking forward to seeing what they do with the DLC; apparently the jukebox in Central Executive is related to some kind of new mode they're adding in one of the next updates, and the second of the paid DLC packs is hinting at some kind of Alan Wake tie-in. Not entirely surprising, if you're quite thorough at exploring the map.

 

[TheVoice]

New DLC out today on PS4:

The Astral Plane is colliding with our reality. Jesse Faden, as the Director of the Federal Bureau of Control, must travel through the caverns of the Foundation to prevent the Astral Plane from consuming the Oldest House. The missing Head of Operations, Helen Marshall, may hold some answers to the mysteries surrounding this threat. As she travels deeper, Jesse will learn more about Marshall's disappearance, and the enigmatic Board.

 

[TheVoice]

Anyone else been playing the Foundation DLC? It's decent enough, I'm finding the "boss" fights absolutely brutal and very unforgiving though, and the terrible checkpointing system makes them even more frustrating.

 

[TheVoice]

Not there yet, bought the game recently on PC during a sale and snagged the SP as well so I'll get to it

I'm around halfway through but this has to be one of the most unique settings for a game ever, so much potential here. I'm finding lots of cool stuff so I hope it won't let up till the end as it starts a bit slow. Digging the metroidvania design.

One thing that also caught my attention is that the destruction and physics on PC are bloody ****ing incredible, as are ray-traced reflections, but destruction takes the cake.

I adored the full game, poured hours and hours into it and was more than happy to be absorbed into the world and explore everything.

The DLC...not so much. The main environment feels very repetitive after a while and I'm just not enjoying the difficulty spikes and the penalties incurred for dying. It's great being back in this world again but I've now got three boss fights I simply can't seem to complete.

 

[TheVoice]

I enjoyed Control, I was going to pick it up a few months ago when it was "deal of the week" on PSN, but then added £10 and bought a Now Subscription instead.
I loved the game, the environment, the story, all of it really - I did however have a real problem with the "optional bosses". I mean, I completed the story, but remain unable to beat any of the 4? bosses.
There are game mechanics there, but just could not get to grips with them - there being no "difficultly levels" just made those encounters frustrating. Yer it's great to beat bosses on the difficulty level you're playing at, but at least in most games if you've spent hours you can drop it and at last beat them.

**** my only gripe and I must get around to the DLC at some point.

Yep, think I've said it before but the game (especially the Foundation DLC) can get punishingly difficult at times. I got the platinum for the full game but there are still three boss encounters in Foundation that I haven't been able to complete, which is absurd.

 

[TheVoice]

That is kind of a shame, I bought the digital deluxe edition on release so I feel like they could have at least included it in that version too, but I guess doing it retrospectively for specific versions would be difficult.

 

[TheVoice]

ABOUT AWE
AWE brings new story content and side missions as well as new weapons and mods to the world of Control.
The Bureau studied its most dangerous Altered World Events in this lost sector. The records were sealed, the objects contained, and their powers abandoned. Now, the sector is breached and the objects are loose…

Finished AWE last night, really enjoyed it and it felt a bit more interesting than Foundation and didn't have quite so many punishing boss encounters. The new weapons and abilities were more interesting than what was added in Foundation too.

I liked how they've tied it in with the events of Alan Wake although I feel like they could have probably focused on that a bit more as I imagine people who haven't played Alan Wake were left fairly confused as to what was going on. It certainly feels like they're giving themselves the opportunity to do an Alan Wake 2, although that ship has perhaps long since sailed.

 

[TheVoice]

I see what people mean about the map being mostly useless now. I was looking for some Doctor guy and ended up in a spooky area with violent fauna. Completely the wrong way!

The map has improved a bit since launch (it was really, really bad) but you're mostly better off using in-game signage and landmarks to navigate.