What if the world we live in, isn’t actually what it seems? You might not believe it, but it’s true. Mole people have been seen underneath the ████████ subway system. Aliens ████████ and proved ████████ landing was fake, and what if I told you, Obama is actually from █████…
Think about it…
It’s not true, and even if it was, I’d be dead within minutes for sitting on information like that. But even if it’s fake, the warm joy of watching Youtube conspiracies at 3am, sipping a cold cup of coffee is difficult to match. But what if Youtube conspiracies were a game. A game called Control?
Control is a semi open world FPS set in the Alan Wake universe, where you run around a facility called ████████ trying to unearth the mysteries surrounding a bureau called “Control”. If you’ve ever heard about the famous internet website SCP, then you’re automatically aware of the base premise of Control. The game is heavily, and I mean HEAVILY, inspired by ████. A fictitious organization who’s sole purpose is to contain and manage supernatural phenomena around the world. Objects, ████████, even magical disasters. This describes both media. Control, and SCP.
Although the gameplay itself is fairly simple in Control, the overall lore and worldbuilding is phenomenal and, in my opinion, the strongest aspect of the game. There’s a lot of reading, both dialogue from NPC’s and documents that you find scattered around the facility. The story aspects are broken up with combat where you use a combination of supernatural abilities and a magical gun to combat the challenges. The game isn’t particularly difficult, but it makes up for the lack of challenge with a fun and interactive gameplay loop that never felt especially tiring. It’s not a long game either, and keeps a nice mysterious pacing throughout the whole ordeal.
Although the environments can feel a bit similar at times, the sound design and atmosphere is kept on point, and there’s this constant creepy sensation that kept me on edge. I’m also a huge ████████, so it might just have been that.
The story is, simply put, amazing. It’s unique, mysterious, and it never felt like they dropped the ball. The DLC’s equally so. All in all, the journey from not knowing anything to slowly uncovering the mysteries of the bureau felt great, but it’s important to pay attention when playing since it’s very easy to “fall off” the storytelling momentum and miss important details that explains the overall world you’re residing in.
As you progress through the game you’ll encounter sidequests, something I didn’t think the game had at first. Some of them can be easy to miss, but doing them is very worth it. You’ll not only get appropriate rewards, but the quests themselves are super fun. Since it’s set in a world with supernatural objects and creatures, almost all sidequests are tied to these so called ████████ and challenge you by distorting the laws of the world you’re playing in. I won’t spoil any of them, because there’s not a lot, but I’m confident that anyone who enjoys the game will have a blast with the sidecontent and would argue that they’re a “must do” aspect of the game.
Overall, do I recommend the game? Absolutely, ████. It’s a ████ game, and arguably a ████ piece of art. Just don’t expect a “balls to the walls”, high ████ experience. It’s a slow burn. 8/10!
“Did you have piss in your sock?” – Ahti
Control is so awesome omg