Control Review

I’m admittedly semi-horrible at shooting games. Although this has changed considerably in recent years, as experienced with Rage 2, this genre was never my strongest suit and I tend to shy away from any game that heavily relies on guns as primary weapons. That was the beauty of Control, though. Your fire-arm is more of a secondary attack because YOU are the weapon. YOU are the destroyer or The Director, as the game calls it. During your time with Control, you play as Jesse Faden, a young woman searching for answers in regards to her brother’s disappearance; only to find the establishment holding all the pieces of the puzzle is under siege by a supernatural entity known as The Hiss. Due to your connection with an otherworldly being and your previous encounter with the undercover bureau, you’re chosen as the only woman who can save the complex, its workers and to obliterate The Hiss before it reaches further into society.

Developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by 505 Games under the direction of Mikael Kasurinen, Control is a supernatural action-adventure title that was released at the end of August 2019 to the Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. I saw the game advertised for months, but skipped it until it was available for half off due to Black Friday sales. Boy, do I wish I purchased this game sooner! Not only has it become one of my favorite games of 2019, but it’s also a game that returned my interest to stories outside of classic RPG narratives. As I mentioned above, Jesse uses her gun in battle against monsters and possessed office workers, but she’s capable of so much more when she is embedded with the power of The Director. She has increased stamina, she can cause explosions, glide through the air and use mind control to force weaker enemies to fight on her side. Jesse is an absolute bad-ass with a motive that she holds dearly and secretly, and that made her incredibly relate-able as a playable character.

I read on other websites that you can beat Control in ten hours or less. I disagree with this wholeheartedly as someone who loves to do every side mission and explore every foot of territory. Control routinely throws you mini side quests to boost your ability points and personal/weapons mods, as well as providing you with a dozen over-arching main side quests that develop the story and increase the power of Jesse Faden. In my opinion, it’s hard to pick up the controls (no pun intended) and map of this game; resulting in a lot of confusion and running around in the beginning. Once you get a handle on the controls and just how the game works in general, it’s going to be a great experience with tough boss battles, an original story-line and a lot to experience as a Matrix level, cinematic experience. Trust me, Control is more than worth the price of purchase.

I’m looking for any reason as to why I shouldn’t recommend this game to you, but I really can’t find one. Besides long load times and boss battles that sometimes take 20-30 times to defeat (did I mention I suck at shooters?), Control is an A-quality, standout game that encompasses several subgenres of games into one beautiful masterpiece. It was a world I wanted to be a part of, and a world I hope I get to see again in the future. And better yet, it’s a female-fronted game – establishing Jesse Faden as one in a new generation of female action heroes the world desperately needs right now. Two of the other main heroes are also women, and I’m in full support of women taking a backseat to the other sex. Especially when it comes out as awesome and masterfully as Control. Give this one a shot!

About The Author

Michael Therkelsen

[He/Him] Michael was born and raised at the Jersey Shore and he loves love horror films, video games, hiking and cooking. He auditioned for American Idol in season 6 and worked as a vet tech before finally discovering his passion for writing. He has several short stories available for purchase on e-readers, and is obsessed with UFC, American Ninja Warrior and running half-marathons. With a wide area of interests and hobbies, he’s excited to help other people in the LGBT community discovery the world of gaming.

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