Control — A near-flawless supernatural experience | Review

One game that manages to leave players on the edge of their seats is Control, a third-person action-adventure title created by Remedy Entertainment and published by 505 Games. This game was released on August 27, 2019 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

The plot of Control is quite intricate. The game takes place in a supernatural world, where you take on the role of Jesse Faden, an agent who went through a traumatic experience during her childhood and acquired supernatural powers. Jesse is searching for answers in the Federal Office of Control building, a clandestine government agency tasked with studying and containing supernatural phenomena. This office, known as 'The Oldest House', has been invaded by a mysterious force known only as Hiss. Jesse becomes director of the agency through a ritualistic process and begins to be tormented by former director Zachariah Trench. Your mission is to find your way through the halls of the Oldest House, defeat the Hiss, and uncover the mystery behind these events.

Imagem: Divulgação/505 Games

The game left me quite perplexed from the beginning, even with the subtitles in Portuguese. It is a narrative rich in details, but with very peculiar elements. I recommend that you read all documents, such as papers, media and other similar items, as this can be of great help in understanding the plot of Control.

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Control's gameplay is quite simplified, with traditional aiming and crouching mechanics. The notable difference is in the inclusion of Jesse's supernatural powers. Jesse Faden can use his powers to pick up debris and turn them into shields to protect himself from enemies, in addition to being able to throw these objects at opponents. Additionally, she has a pistol called her 'Service Weapon' which can be modified to improve her performance in several ways.

A notable highlight in the gameplay is the ammunition system, which, instead of forcing the player to collect bullets and magazines around the scene, performs an “automatic” reload. After firing a certain amount of shots, you need to wait for the ammo to automatically reload, similar to energy filling in many contemporary FPS.

However, the gameplay can be a little overkill in terms of freedom of interaction with the environment. Control allows you to interact with various objects in the scene, but in some cases, this can feel awkward, with the character climbing onto tables and chairs, for example. This may be a little different from reality, but it is important to remember that this is normal within the context of the game, and it is necessary to be realistic in this aspect.

It is also important to mention the issue of artificial intelligence. At first, the enemies are quite easy to defeat, without offering much resistance. However, as you progress and encounter new types of enemies, the difficulty increases considerably.

Imagem: Divulgação/505 Games

In games with engaging stories, personally, I tend to leave analyzing the graphics for later. Control presents excellent graphics, very well detailed and with extremely well-designed scenarios. The game offers a variety of scenarios, and although this may go unnoticed, it is evident the hard work that must have been invested in creating this world. Additionally, the game's lighting system is one of the most impressive I've seen in all my years of gaming experience. It is extremely well executed and, at certain moments, gives the sensation of watching a film.

Jesse's powers are notable, especially in terms of sound effects. The effects are well optimized and expand the player's immersion when interacting with Jesse's powers. However, unlike the impressive sound effects, the game does not feature a striking soundtrack. It goes unnoticed and doesn't stand out.

Imagem: Divulgação/505 Games

Like most games, Control is no exception and presents problems, one of which is particularly serious, which unfortunately harms the game experience. This is particularly disappointing since the game generated high expectations and attracted many eager players. Control's main problem is related to performance, with significant drops in the frame rate per second during any combat with enemies. In addition, there are problems loading scenarios, dialogue issues and even problems when returning to the game after exiting the pause menu. It's unfortunate that these performance issues persist in Control, especially considering the game was released on the eighth generation of consoles.

Control is another Remedy title that seeks to stand out in the video game industry. It offers a well-structured story, although it can be confusing at times, impressive graphics, engaging game mechanics, but unfortunately, it suffers from significant optimization issues. It's important to note that this review was conducted on the PlayStation 4 Slim, and Remedy recently announced that it is working to resolve performance issues affecting the base Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles. Let's wait for these improvements.

Analyzed on PlayStation 4

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