65%PC

f these boss fights

there either to grindy or too easy

combat is too repetitive

near the end I just wanted to done with it

I don't have any desire to play the DLCs at all

Edit: Navigation and finding objectives are garbage in this

60%PC

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☑ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ Count the pixel challeng

---{ Gameplay }---
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ perfect at 0%

---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☐ Adults
☐ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☐ Decent
☑ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☐ Old Fashioned
☐ Average
☑ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☑ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u want all achievements
☑ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☑ Good
☐ Perfect
☐ You’ll remember it forever

---{ Game Time }---
☐ One play session
☐ Short
☑ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☑ Free! [gamepass]
☐ Worth it
☑ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Overpriced
☐ At this point just burn them

---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☑ Can get annoying
☐ Cyberpunk 77
☐ There’s a game in this bug

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☑ 6
☐ 7
☐ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

90%PlayStation 4

Stylish, fresh and most important fun. Twin Peaks atmosphere and intriguing story with great mechanics. Foundations to really interesting world used in future titles. Wish more games will be some courageus in creating new settings and stories.

70%Xbox Series X/S

graphic : 70
Audio : 70
puzzle/ quest design : 65 little bit repetitive, especially the motel
combat : 70 still ok, but near the endgame feels pretty tedious. Because it just repeted same pattern from start to end
boss : 65 no memorable boss at all, enemies feels so similar, become tedious near the endgame
characters : 70 mid not memorable
pacing : 70 pretty decent because after several minutes you can save your positions, no prolonged arc
mechanic : 70 feels grindy
story telling : 70 mediocre
plot : 65 pretty confusing and not friendly for some people. Its not easy to grasp the main content

overall : 68.5 still ok, but gives me headache sensation near the end game

70%PlayStation 5

Control is a great game for those who want the 'indie game' experience, without losing their Triple-A comforts - although it does come at the cost of playing a game without a cohesive and unified storyteller.

The gunplay in this one is tight, the world-building has its moments, and the movement stuff works well enough to give this one its own feel. There are a couple of moments where the game has you do random Ubisoft style "clean-up missions,' but the main (and required) missions are largely just the good stuff.

Not a transcendent experience by any means, (even if it really wants to be one), but fun enough to devote a dozen or so hours to.

7/10
Game #51 of 2024, August 19th

70%PC

💬 It's not superstition if it works...

👍 The Good:

- A true masterpìece in terms of world-building and cryptic storytelling. Also, if you enjoy the SCP phenomenon, this is a must-play.
- Combat is enjoyable and the mechanics, as well as the abilities earned during your playthrough, are unique and fun to use.
- The collectibles are quite interesting to gather and read. This game does an excellent job of making you want to grab and read them to learn more about its lore.
- Art direction is fantastic. From the visual appearance of the locations to the scenes filmed with real actors and the soundtrack.

👎 The Bad:

- I thought the navigation in this game was a little clunky. It doesn't effectively explain where your next goal is and I frequently found myself lost in its map, perhaps too often. I believe this would have been better as a linear game rather than a sandbox experience.
-The character and weapon upgrade system is confusing. It also relies on mechanics that I didn't particularly like, such as having to heal while gathering items from enemy corpses.
- I feel that the game suddenly has a difficulty spike around 4 hours before you finish it. I'm not sure whether it's just me but that difficulty spike felt unbalanced and even confused me (I though I was updating my character in a wrong way which wasn't the case).

85%PlayStation 5

Fun game and very cool, SCP-inspired story and atmosphere. The combat could be really frustrating, though, and deaths rarely seemed fair. Your character can literally fly, but if you step off a ledge accidentally, you just have to slowly fall to your death because of the way the controls work.

100%PC

One of the greatest games I have ever played in my entire short lifetime! A MUST-PLAY for every single gamer who loves great combat mechanics, a beautifully made world and a fantastically crafted story with lots of lore to add on. Though the game leaves you with many unanswered questions, the journey through it all is a whimsical adventure that no one can afford to miss out on.

PROS:
- Great combat with good enemy variety!
- Amazing story and lore that will keep you engaged and surprised
- No handholding and freedom to move around as you please
- Beautiful art style

CONS:
- Not the best cover system (but that's what the shield is for)

20/10

80%PlayStation 5

Great story, great gameplay, great environment. I was really surprised at how fun this game was

85%PC

Really really good game with some minor issues.

65%PC

I had an urge to play something unique recently, so I decided to play through Control.
Not gonna lie, Control got me hooked very fast; its story and world grabbed my attention right from the get-go. While most of the game's story is a cryptic and subtle, it's also very damn engaging and intriguing. Unfortunately, its pacing is slow, particularly in the middle of the game, but it always gets you wondering and being curious about what's gonna happen next. Overall, it's a pretty decent story that I enjoyed experiencing... up until the ending; I'm not exaggerating when I say this, but Control has one of the worst endings I've seen in a videogame, ever; it's genuinely insulting, it throws literally everything out of the window and it makes the entire experience absolutely meaningless. On top of that, it ends VERY abruptly, like, it barely even feels like an ending... it's just... shockingly bad.
At least the gameplay is good; it's fun, it's not necessarily deep but it feels great and all the mechanics are really cool. With that being said, I don't like the healing system much, the mission design is quite repetitive, and the map is just a mess, it makes navigation frustrating at times.
The visuals, audio, world design, aesthetic and setting are all beautiful, arguably the best parts of the game in my opinion.
Also, I appreciated the light horror elements in this game, and I appreciated even more the mix of horror and comedy at times, charming stuff.

Pros:
+ Interesting plot ideas
+ Fun gameplay
+ Fascinating world design and art direction
+ Gorgeous visuals

Cons:
- Slow pacing
- Awful ending
- Minor gameplay elements
- Navigation system

Narrative: 4/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Content: 7/10
Characters: 5/10
Music: ?/10
Graphics/Audio: 9/10

Final Rating: 6.5/10
- Pretty Good -
Control is better than the sum of its parts, it's a very charming and mostly enjoyable game... with some noticeable annoyances unfortunately, but still, it's a good experience nonetheless... well, outside of that awful ending that completely brings down the entire experience.

Do I recommend it?:
I'd say yes, but only if you're actually interested in playing it.

100%PC

10-[ game

90%PlayStation 4

One of the most fun & chaotic games I’ve ever played. Story was a little confusing and weird (not always in a bad way) but I still enjoyed it and the two DLCs. Had frame rate problems at first that are fixed now. Awesome game

85%PC

Loved the horror adjacent vibes as someone who gets a bit too scared at full on horror games.

75%PC

Control is a game that captivates players primarily with its excellent storyline. The narrative is incredibly engaging and full of mysteries that make it hard to tear away from the screen. The atmospheric world, filled with strange phenomena and enigmatic characters, gives the game a unique character, and each new piece of information discovered only fuels curiosity and the desire to delve deeper into the mysteries.

Unfortunately, beyond the storyline, the game offers average yet competent gameplay. The combat and exploration mechanics are solid but lack any standout features. Elements such as shooting, using telekinetic powers, or navigating the Federal Bureau of Control building are well-designed but lack innovation and depth that could make the gameplay more engaging.

This contrast between a great storyline and only competent gameplay unfortunately disrupts the overall perception of the title. At times, one may feel that the game could have been much better if the gameplay mechanics matched the level of the story. Nevertheless, for many players, the immersive story and unique atmosphere will be reason enough to pick up Control and experience this extraordinary world firsthand.

In summary, Control is a game that dazzles with its story and world-building but leaves something to be desired when it comes to gameplay. Nonetheless, it's worth giving it a chance, especially if you're a fan of games with deep and intriguing narratives

90%PC

I give it 9.5/10, a little bugs but so minimal. Story is really really good and the dlc adds on top of that. 100% would recommend to a friend.

70%Xbox One

72 (AA)

55%PC

So I'm going to be extremely harsh with this review, which is a shame, because the game itself is pretty cool, but some design choices and issues drove me up the wall.
First of all, what the fuck was up with the Anchor boss. This boss was so unoptimized that the game crashed every time it was spewing it's clocks while attacking. Had to try multiple fixes until, after reading a reddit post, I turned down all the graphic options and muted the sound, which stopped the crashes. It's wild that this wasn't patched by the devs. Next, the expeditions are absolute garbage. Way too difficult depending on your modifiers with ass rewards, and the worst part is that they're timed. Then the garbage side quests should have been removed. I'm talking about where you have to find plants to talk to, or eliminate mold specimens, destroy mold nodes etc. These objects blend into the environment or are hidden in some hard to reach asinine places, so you end up wasting 20-30 mins per quest just because you have to scan every pixel of the environment to find them.
Next are the faces and facial animations in general. So graphically this game looks fine, although it's weird how there's barely any difference between the low and high settings, and I didn't notice any ray tracing effect at all, besides the 60 fps dip. But the faces require a separate mention. They're really in the uncanny valley category, and kind of put me off and look extremely ugly.
The map traversal can be a pain in the ass as well. For the most part it's fine since there are directional boards pointing to various sections of the map, but the problem arises when you need to go between levels from up or down. The map will do jack all to help you, so you will mostly have to figure it yourself. I mean the game is inside a building so everything will be concrete with some plants, but maybe it's not too terrible.
So for the positives. Gameplay is a bit clunky, and doesn't flow all that well from action to action. This is no devil may cry, but levitating around, slamming into the ground and throwing objects around is fun, and carried the game well enough. The story and writing is actually decent, and it has that stylized storytelling that the devs are known for in Alan Wake and Max Payne, so it can keep you intrigued.
The best part of the game is the SCP thematic though. I love all these containment breaches and objects of power, and the best parts of the game were when you had to go and interact with them. I mean there's a bunch of fun silly stuff like chasing after a lighting fast rubber ducky, battling your evil parallel twin in some mirror flipped world, traversing an ever expanding and changing labyrinth while listening to some rock on your Walkman that you received from the janitor, having to stare directly into a fridge to not die and then teleport inside of it into a separate universe where you battle a one eyed titan monster, etc. This shit is what's actually fun and I wished there was more of that. Just remove the garbage side quests and add a few more of those instances. Hell you can you just read a bunch of SCP stories online and implement them, then the game would have been an easy 10.
Yeah so I don't know if I can really recommend this game, it's kind of fun, but I'd suggest anyone to watch a video of it and see if intrigues you.

95%Xbox One

Phenomenal

80%PC

As a Remedy fan, i can't be objective sorry.

85%PC

Interesting game with very cool lore and atmosphere but the story completely lost me.

85%PC

Control is a game with a very slow burn. It takes a while for the full extent of what you and your enemies can do, which makes the early game feel like a confusing, generic shooter slogfest.

However, past that, it has this extremely interesting narrative that leaves just enough blank to gather intrigue, and the story starts piecing together after a while at about the same time the new weapon types start spicing up the gameplay, and mods start actually giving you numbers that matter.

Very nice game, boring as hell early parts.

80%PlayStation 4

Control is a third-person action-adventure game developed by Remedy Entertainment. The game takes place in the Oldest House, a mysterious skyscraper that serves as the global headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Control, an organization that investigates and contains paranormal phenomena.

One of the standout features of Control is the diverse range of abilities that you obtain as you progress through the game. From telekinesis to levitation, these abilities are a lot of fun to use and make you feel like you have a lot of control over the gameplay. The trippy setting of the Oldest House is also a highlight, with areas that change and morph as you progress.

Control also does a good job of connecting to other games in the Remedy universe, including Alan Wake and Quantum Break. This adds an extra layer of depth and immersion to the game.

However, there are a few issues with Control. The waves of enemies in each location can start to feel repetitive by the second half of the game. Additionally, the story can be confusing and convoluted in the first half, with too much mystery and not enough explanation. It's not until the end of the game that everything starts to make sense.

Overall, Control is a unique and enjoyable game that is worth checking out for fans of action-adventure games. While it does have some flaws, the diverse range of abilities and trippy setting make it a memorable and rewarding experience.

(Created with Media Review Aide 🎭 okmss.com/mra)

90%PC

One of Remedy's best!

70%PC

Pretty cool game with a very different concept. Really like the main character although I think the combat and weapon system stinks.

60%PC

The core gameplay is engaging enough. Didn’t really love the paranormal bit and wasn’t invested enough in the world to pay attention to all of the extra reading. It’s worth going back for if I’m in the mood for it.

80%PC

Um ótimo jogo, porém confuso!

Graficamente o jogo é lindíssimo, ambientação muito diferente, eu disse diferente não ruim, pois possui muitas coisas bastante fora da caixa e isso, a meu ver, é muito legal.
Sobre a jogabilidade é muito fluida, você tem uma liberdade incrível com Jesse (protagonista), porém acredito que a Remedy colocou coisa de mais no jogo, se fosse algo mais pé no chão ou focar em algo específico acredito que não ficaria tão confuso

Na história eu achei interessante, existem momentos que fiquei bastante confuso, porém quando li arquivos, vídeos extras, e documentos espalhados no jogo consegui compreender um pouco melhor a história do game
acredito que esse ponto de deixar o jogador confuso seja proposital, porém não gostei da forma que foi apresentado, pois o jogo te mostra muitas possibilidades e muito confuso ao mesmo tempo, mesmo pegando os arquivos, fica com muitas pontas soltas, mas não me leve a mal é divertido e consegue te fazer jogar até o final para conseguir entender o que vai acontecer

Resumindo, um jogo bom, divertido, com uma jogabilidade boa, porém confuso, para uma pessoa fã da Remedy eu super recomendo, para quem não conhece o estúdio, poderá achar um pouco confuso

JOGATINA FINALIZADA NO DIA: 07/02/2022

85%PlayStation 4

I loved this game so much, man. I'm a HUUUGE SCP nerd, so I loved reading every document I collected, and listening to every audio recording left behind by FBC scientists. The story was amazing too, I've seen a lot of people claim it's "too confusing" which I guess could be the case for some people, but those people have also said that they didn't read any of the documents, which contain a lot of the story. Because of that, this game isn't for everyone, and to be honest, I don't think a single Remedy game is. If you don't like reading then maybe this game isn't for you.

Another thing I really liked was the combat. I loved changing around the different forms of the Service Weapon to adapt to different encounters with enemies. Also the different abilities that Jesse is able to unlock during the game makes things feel so much more interesting. Flying around a room and throwing random objects at the Hiss was so satisfying to me.

Another bonus for me was the characters. I don't think there was a single character in this game that I didn't like. Jesse was a really interesting main character to me, and I really wanted to figure out more about her as the story progressed. Dr Darling was also really fun and interesting to me, and I loved watching all of his recordings. Despite all the other great characters, (Trench, Dylan, Emily) I think my personal favorite was Ahti the Janitor. He was in the game for a total of like 7 minutes, left a bunch of radios around the map that were all playing the same song which was just him singing about different Remedy protagonists, told Jesse to fight supernatural poo, then went on holiday. He's barely in the game, yet he was probably the character I was most intrigued about.

Of course there were things I didn't like either. First of all, respawning enemies. You could spend a few minutes fighting enemies and then move to a different room. Once you finish in that room and go back the way you came from, there's a possibility that those enemies will respawn. It just feels really tedious and annoying. Of course you could run past them, but you'll probably take a lot of damage. It's just a pain. The only other gripe I had with the game was the ending. I thought it felt a bit too rushed. The Hiss still being there, and Jesse being nonchalant about Dylan being in a coma felt really off to me. I think those reasons are what's stopping me from giving this game a 90%. But other than that I really enjoyed this game. I think while I personally preferred Alan Wake more, this game was objectively better in a lot of aspects.

85%PlayStation 4

A third person shooter but with Force powers and being able to fly? Sign me up. This was a really fun one, with quite a bit of challenging encounters. It was also fairly easy to platinum if you are good enough, as some of the optional bosses required for the platinum were very difficult and required multiple attempts. The story was told quite a bit through text files, something I don't super love, but it still kept me engaged enough. It is quite a trippy game, but in a way that I really enjoyed. the star of the show is definitely the combat however, gets better and better as you unlock new powers. There's also one specific late game level where you explore through an ever changing part of the map while listening to some awesome music, and that was absolutely the highlight of the entire game. It only lasts about 30 minutes, but that mission is, simply put, gaming at its finest. I'd highly recommend this one.

90%PC

story: 9
gameplay: 8,5
Audio: 8
enjoyment: 9
art direction: 10

100%PC

CONTROL is a game beyond clever. Its controls; polished. Its action; a blast. Its story; well developed and doesn't hold its punches! Get the DLCs. They're beyond worth it and have a great twist for Remedy Entertainment fans.

75%PC

Gameplay is stellar. Still a little lost but nothing time cant fix

90%Xbox One

5th run and just focussed on finishing the game without any side missions etc. Just for the fun of it.

70%PC

Really loved the vibe, story and gameplay in the first few hours. The shooting and powers were so cool to ‘control’. After that it became repetitive and everything felt the same.

50%PlayStation 5

Just never clicked with me to be honest. Story was a little too out there and I just did not feel motivated to keep playing.

70%Xbox One

Enjoy it very much. But I still feeling it could be better.

95%PC

Loved it

65%Xbox One

Not a bad game but not that good either…

Gameplay is good, gunfights are nice too but missions are kinda boring.

I started the game on cloud when it was on game pass and decided to buy it to beat the main story. Now I know why I took so long, It runs like shit on Xbox one S.

90%PlayStation 4

Love this game. While the difficulty put me off, and I eventually just went for an immortal run to get through the game, I love all of the story elements as well as the theme and how they approach it through their notes, movies, and audio recordings. In short, Remedy is weird and I love it.

85%PC

Control

Pontos positivos

- Ambientação: Se passa numa organização nos Estados Unidos que faz testes e estuda fenômenos sobrenaturais;
- Gráficos: Excelentes, dos gráficos mais bonitos dos jogos da geração com aspecto bem sombrio, sem cor e sem vida os lugares, mas quando a situação é de perigo o ambiente fica com uma iluminação vermelha. Possui um raytracing bonito, particulas que interagem com o personagem muito bem feitas e modelagem ótima;
- História: É complexa, mas é intrigante conforme você vai progredindo no game e tornando-a interessante;
- Combate: Muito legal, Jesse a protagonista se move rápido com uma movimentação dinâmica e fluída, e melhora cada vez mais conforme vamos desbloqueando novas habilidades super úteis, é um dos melhores pontos do jogo;
- Inimigos: São bem variados os tipos de inimigos e chefes, alguns deles com uma dificuldade até que elevada;
- Árvore de habilidades: É ótima e deixa o jogo mais interessante conforme a progressão das habilidades psíquicas;
- Armas: São razoáveis as armas novas que vamos obtendo e conforme os inimigos que vamos derrotando podemos aprimorá-las conforme o nosso gosto.

Pontos negativos

- Documentos coletáveis: São muitos e meio que é um pouco necessário ler eles para compreender melhor a história que é complexa;
- Dropada de frames: Por ser um jogo que tem muitas partículas que são interativas com os poderes do personagem a taxa de frames em alguns momentos acaba caindo um pouco, mas nada que chegue a incomodar;
- Inimigo geladeira: Essa é uma parte um pouco sacana do jogo quando você vai enfrentar este inimigo no qual você olha praticamente para cima para acertar ele e o mesmo acaba fazendo buracos no chão que você cai, morre e tem que fazer tudo de novo.

Nota: 8.6/10.0

65%PC

No me he enterado de nada hulio

The bureau vibes are phenomenal, the setting being the best part of the game.

Story is confusing, currently listening to Lore Dump podcast to recap important events and clarify the plot a little bit.

Combat is meh, I probably did not do enough side quests and found Jesse to be very weak against HUMMING missiles (yeah yeah, you can grab them but the fights are frustrating at times)

Powers
1. Hover: A gimmick given too late into the game, should have started with it right away.
2. Launch: Hands down best thing of the gameplay loop is grabbing everything around you and slamming red hue dudes.
3. Dash/Shield: Meh. Using Hover + Dash is cool.
4. Taking control of enemies: I used this a lot and would have hoped the IA was smart enough to help... Kinda dissapointing but at least they soak up some damage.

70%PC

Decent but I can't play that much so had to use trainer, I don't have time honestly.

80%PlayStation 4

A huge improvement in tone and style from Alan Wake & Quantum Break. A huge improvement in gameplay from Alan Wake. Gameplay is still a little lackluster for such a long game and the story leaves a lot to be desired. Definitely not built for a PS4 as I ran into many issues even 4 years later.

85%PC

85%

80%PlayStation 5

The game play is fun, sometimes it's run and gun. Other times, it's a grind just to gain a few feet of ground on your enemies. The story is intense and suspenseful, and the creepy, uneasy, anxious vibe is relentless from start to finish. I know it adds to the mystery and general feeling of unfamiliarity, but the maps were awful to navigate. You have to use the signage within the game to navigate just as much if not more than the actual map to find your way from one floor to the next. There is no way to tell which floor is above or below you on the map. At least I didn't pick up on a pattern.

Otherwise, here are a few rapid fire thoughts:
- The aim/shoot mechanics remind me of a Naughty Dog game, kind of loose and hard to be precise.
- The ending felt anticlimactic and I found the open ending didn't reward the player after 14 hours of play
- Dylan made zero impact on the game and was essentially a MacGuffin

60%PC

Very nice game with excellent story with performance problems - heavy stutter is a second name of this game. My rating without stutter would be above 80%.

90%PC

Amazing game.
I loved the story, pretty crazy and vague at points but to my liking, explaining enough to keep me interested and keeping a lot unclear but not too much.
The gameplay is pretty solid, although nothing groundbreaking. Movement generally feels nice even if not very fast paced, I found the shooting to be ok, even more so for a third person shooter, and the powers are pretty cool and satisfying to use; as you get used to them, it feels pretty natural to use all of them in combination, very fluidly, and this process and the result really tie the player in with the protagonist.
The mods and upgrades allow a good level of customization, allowing you to enhance your preferred style of play but not limiting the versatility brought on by the different powers and weapon forms, being easy to redesign your path and explore new things, and not making anything too much stronger than the rest to the point of discouraging experimentation and adapting to the situations. That being said, the crafting and upgrade mechanics don't add much to the game, in my opinion, and could be simplified.
Highlights are the Ashtray Maze sequence with the music (so cool, so fun) and the big reveal of Hedron which literally made my jaw drop, in the best way possible.
Really made me wanna play the rest of Remedy's games.

80%PlayStation 5

In the mysterious and immersive world of Control, players are thrust into the shoes of Jesse, a determined protagonist seeking answers about her brother's disappearance. As she delves into the enigmatic Federal Bureau of Control (FBC), players are introduced to a surreal narrative filled with supernatural elements and a shadowy organization with a penchant for secrecy. The game skillfully combines elements of combat, art direction, lighting, platforming, and destruction, creating an experience that captivates players from the very beginning.

Control's combat system stands out as one of its strongest assets, offering players a dynamic and engaging experience. The use of supernatural abilities and a variety of weapons adds a layer of depth to the gameplay, allowing for creative and strategic approaches to encounters within the FBC. The seamless integration of these elements contributes to the overall immersion, making each confrontation with the mysterious entities within the bureau a thrilling experience.

Art direction and lighting play pivotal roles in shaping Control's distinctive atmosphere. The unsettling environment of the FBC, combined with the use of colors and architectural brutal design, creates a visually striking world that enhances the overall sense of mystery and intrigue. . The deliberate lack of detail in certain areas adds a unique personality to the gameplay, contributing to its visual stunningness and reinforcing the overall atmospheric brilliance of the experience. This judicious balance between intricacy and simplicity serves to make exploration not only visually rewarding but also a testament to the game's thoughtful design choices.

The inclusion of platforming elements in Control adds a unique dimension to the gameplay. Navigating the bureau's ever-shifting architecture and using Jesse's supernatural abilities to traverse challenging environments adds a layer of complexity to the exploration aspect of the game. This seamless integration of platforming contributes to the overall sense of agency and empowerment, aligning with the game's overarching theme of control. Destruction is another notable feature that adds to the realism and intensity of the gameplay. The ability to manipulate the environment and witness the consequential destruction creates a sense of agency rarely found in other games. This mechanic not only serves a practical purpose during combat but also contributes to the immersive nature of the narrative, allowing players to feel the impact of their actions within the game world.

While the story serves as the backbone of Control, some players may find themselves neutral towards it. The intricate narrative unfolds slowly, revealing the layers of mystery surrounding the FBC and Jesse's own secrets. The protagonist, Jesse, and facial animations, while not detracting from the overall experience, may leave some players feeling indifferent due to their less pronounced impact on the game's narrative.

However, a notable downside emerges in the form of excessive backtracking, which can hinder the pacing of the game. The need to revisit certain areas multiple times may be perceived as a drawback, potentially interrupting the flow of the otherwise compelling narrative. The implementation of mods and upgrades, while integral to the gameplay, might not resonate equally with all players. Some may find the system adds depth and customization, while others might view it as a less refined aspect of the game.

Control, with its blend of captivating combat, mesmerizing art direction, and a narrative filled with supernatural intrigue, stands as a testament to the prowess of Remedy Entertainment. The game's strengths lie in its ability to seamlessly integrate various elements, creating an immersive experience that keeps players engaged throughout their journey within the mysterious Federal Bureau of Control. While certain aspects may not resonate universally, the overall package offers a unique and unforgettable gaming experience for those willing to navigate the intricate web of secrets concealed within the bureau's walls.

80%PlayStation 4

Impressive and enjoyable game. Remedy is not afraid of original concepts for each new game. And it's great.

Pros:
* Overall design is mesmerizing. Title screens for levels, loading screens, projections. Design in this game is 10/10
* Brutalist architecture is an important element of the game. Feels like Inception or Dr Strange on Soviet drugs. Wonderful staff.
* Ahti and his Finnish cursing is love. Also, his singing.
* Mix of shooting and telekinesis feels great. You need to switch between the two. And the final chaos of battles is energising.

Cons:
* On PS4 the frame rate drops in battles. So all the destruction can feel destructing. Also, the game crushed couple of times. So technically it could use some polish.
* I don't get how FBC can function with their death rate of personnel. Also, no one cares for deaths of their colleagues. So the world feels empty and game-y at times.
* The level navigation is frustrating after mid-game. Many doors are closed. And with minimalist architecture it's easy to get lost. I wasn't able to remember level layouts even after many hours with the game.

95%PC

Cinema.