Control by Remedy Catch All

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A new action adventure game by the makers of Max Payne, Alan Wake, and Quantum Break.

Releases August 27, 2019.

Watched Cohh play a bit of it today and I really dig the whole paranormal/conspiracy vibe. I have some concerns about gameplay getting repetitive, and navigation becoming tedious if the environment for the whole game is poorly-lit offices.

Reviews are up, and are very positive. I decided to buy it digitally, so I can play in 4 hours!

I'm probably getting it Friday even though it'll be a bad decision in both the fiscal and temporal economic sense. Still haven't beaten Judgment, getting Crystar tomorrow, still got Switch games I'm working on...

I'm way behind, man.

I enjoyed my first hour. Other than the overall strangeness, it's been pretty straightforward. There have been areas and items that I couldn't get to that I'm sure will be accessible at some point.

As a half-Finn, the first NPC having a Finnish accent and name (same as my great uncle) was nice to see.

The collectables are really fun to read.

Thanks for linking the thread from the PS4 thread. I'm excited for this one (which doesn't necessarily mean I'll get to it before 2020.)

It's very very good! I fought a boss and finished up the first area. The atmosphere is great, and the gameplay is very fun.

One of my favorite lore items so far is literally the first one you can pick up as you enter, since it highlights the interplay of the bureaucracy and the supernatural:

Spoiler:
FEDERAL BUREAU OF CONTROL wrote:

Reminder!

Certain objects are not allowed inside the Bureau. Recent incidents have necessitated an issued reminder on prohibited materials.

- Unauthorized Weapons
- Pagers
- Laptops
- "Smart" Watches
- "Smart" Phones
- "Smart" Gaming Devices
- Anything "smart"
- Number 2 Pencils
- Any objects considered iconic representations of an archetypal concept (e.g. rubber ducks, ketchup bottles)

All material under Bureau investigation is to be brought in through the private entrances. If you see any lobby personnel in breach of these policies, please notify your supervisor immediately.

This game has the most bland name possible so I haven't been paying attention, but if I have the right it's essentially a Warehouse 13 shooter with powers?

MrDeVil909 wrote:

This game has the most bland name possible so I haven't been paying attention, but if I have the right it's essentially a Warehouse 13 shooter with powers?

All the references you could have gone with, and you went with Warehouse 13? For shame, DeVil. For shame.

Why? Warehouse 13 was a lot of fun, and the concept of the Federal Bureau of Control and The Oldest House are closer to that than anything else I can think of.

Maybe if Warehouse 13 were developed by Chris Carter and directed by Christopher Nolan? The tone is all wrong for Warehouse 13, but "shady secret government facility where everything has gone horribly wrong and-"

...know what? It's Resident Evil, but psychic powers and ghost things instead of zombies. At least, that's my impression from the trailers.

All the stuff I have heard of this game reminds me of Stross' Laundry series.

ccesarano wrote:

...know what? It's Resident Evil, but psychic powers and ghost things instead of zombies. At least, that's my impression from the trailers.

...sh*t. I'm gonna have to buy this, aren't I? Time to look at some reviews.

tboon wrote:

All the stuff I have heard of this game reminds me of Stross' Laundry series.

That's more where I would go with it. The Rook is also a good touchpoint. Maybe an especially dark X Files.

Incidentally, I'm not sure when "supernatural bureaucracy" became a genre, and I'm even less sure how it became my jam, but I guess I can't complain if it's all going to be so good.

I got in a few hours yesterday, finishing the first two missions, acquiring the first supernatural power.

It's a Remedy game: like Alan Wake and Quantum Break, the shooter gameplay is challenging. Those on PC might be having a better time, but us console players need to be ready to die and retry several times for tough segments. I think that unlocking powers and the skill tree (which I did just before quitting for the night) might help, though; it wouldn't be the first supernatural shooter with front-loaded difficulty.

It's a shame there's no easy mode, because as usual, Remedy does storytelling and ambiance wonderfully. I don't want to spoil anything, but the opening sequence-- just reaching the first elevator-- plays a clever little trick on you. Exploring further, you get all the suspense and mystery and surreal government agency you've been lead to believe; but they offer enough self-aware humor and enough changes of scenery to avoid fatigue.

Of course one could be forgiven for deciding that they're going to pass on something likely to be difficult, or for waiting for a first patch; although the game looks great, it occasionally struggles to load detailed textures and keep up a high framerate.

I’m going to have to wait for a patch. Sounds like it’s performing particularly poorly on the standard PS4

Higgledy wrote:

I’m going to have to wait for a patch. Sounds like it’s performing particularly poorly on the standard PS4 :(

beeporama wrote:

although the game looks great, it occasionally struggles to load detailed textures and keep up a high framerate.

I'm playing on a standard PS4. I would not say "poorly" for me, at least. I don't have pop-in. By "struggles to load detailed textures," I mean sometimes there will be a sign or painting on the wall that I want to look at closely (because all the flavor is great), and it will appear blurry unless I stand still for a second or two. But this could probably be improved, and I hope we'll see patches that do so.

Of course, I know some people are more sensitive about framerate than me. It definitely isn't a gameplay problem at all (for me) but the slowdown I barely notice could be more glaring to cinephiles.

There is a day one patch that includes performance improvements, so anybody playing the shipped code might have it worse.

Anyone on PC having trouble with a game pad? It isn’t completely recognizing my controller so i can’t move the character

EDIT- Weirdly enough. Adding it to Steam and launching from there resolves the problem.

JC wrote:

EDIT- Weirdly enough. Adding it to Steam and launching from there resolves the problem.

All Steam-vs-Epic REEEE aside that's hilarious.

Due to my inability to sleep I decided to do a little (re?)research on Remedy Entertainment. I had forgotten that they had risen out of the demoscene as part of the group Future Crew. Which spawned many other side efforts as well (some infamous). So I present to you a little 90's nostalgia*.

*Not my fault if you fall into the demoscene vortex instead of playing Control.

Thanks for your impressions beeporama.

beeporama wrote:

I got in a few hours yesterday, finishing the first two missions, acquiring the first supernatural power.

It's a Remedy game: like Alan Wake and Quantum Break, the shooter gameplay is challenging. Those on PC might be having a better time, but us console players need to be ready to die and retry several times for tough segments. I think that unlocking powers and the skill tree (which I did just before quitting for the night) might help, though; it wouldn't be the first supernatural shooter with front-loaded difficulty.

It's a shame there's no easy mode, because as usual, Remedy does storytelling and ambiance wonderfully. I don't want to spoil anything, but the opening sequence-- just reaching the first elevator-- plays a clever little trick on you. Exploring further, you get all the suspense and mystery and surreal government agency you've been lead to believe; but they offer enough self-aware humor and enough changes of scenery to avoid fatigue.

Of course one could be forgiven for deciding that they're going to pass on something likely to be difficult, or for waiting for a first patch; although the game looks great, it occasionally struggles to load detailed textures and keep up a high framerate.

I'm on PC and using a GamePad and I'm doing ok on the shooting scenes.. its Remedy so its always on the hard side in terms of combat and I got completely owned on a timed mission to kill elite enemies. I'm hoping that I can power through and see it to the end. An Easy mode would probably solve this and I think ultimately sell more units for Remedy.

In terms of performance Digital Foundry did a video that shows the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro doing pretty well outside of some intense combat scenes and the base consoles struggling in general throughout the game dipping into the teens often. Xbox One X seems to be the console to play this on if you want the best performance.

In terms of graphics and gameplay its probably on the high end of games I've played.. the destructible environments are really cool and make the combat more enjoyable than it would have been without. Controls are tight and you can both hip fire and aim fire which helps when things get hectic, the powers are also really cool with the destructible environments making your telekinetic powers that much more enjoyable. Graphics at least on a PC with a 2080Ti are really good..some of the best I've seen that still maintain a smooth frame rate with zero loading as you run through the levels. Remedy always builds a detailed world with lots of little things that you can pick out in the background and Control is no exception there. The world they created which seems like its in the 60's but actually in modern times is really cool and just wandering around inspect the levels is enjoyable during combat downtimes. I actually like that the game doesnt hold your hand with markers and HUD elements that navigate for you.. you have to pay attention to signs and figure out where to go and what to do. The outlined or highlighted objects don't exist here so you have to also figure out what do to to solve puzzles.. its a throwback but I found it enjoyable.

I was scared by the DF article to not get the console version (only have baseline PS4 & X1) like I was planning. PC it's gonna be then, but of course I'm always scared by how that'll perform. Quantum Break runs great on my rig and I only use a 1080p display so probably okay. I've been so out of the loop AAA games that I don't even know what my PC is in terms of components aside from pretty old. I think a 970 something GeForce.

It sounds like Remedy's been improving the combat gameplay on a logical line from AW to QB to Control, and they've always been peerless in the story department in my books. I still don't quite understand how the excellent gameplay of Max Payne/2 was never reached again.

***
Also whoah it's been a few years since I visited the forums! Happy to see some familiar names still around. I noticed Shawn leaving and that made me feel nostalgic and sad and happy, so had to (donate and) come back!

Picked up a copy for my base-level PS4. It's my first Remedy game ... I'm excited to give it a go on the weekend.

I'm really digging the plot, setting and world. I think the combat is average at best. It's probable made worse by the fact I seem to die very quickly, no health regen, and long load times when you die. I've upgraded my health a lot but I still feel like paper. My go to strat seems to be just retreat a little and funnel the ai. I think it'll be more bearable as I level.

Oh and ai that can spawn behind you is awful always. Still digging the rest of the game though.

I finished the third mission, and I am loving the game.

In regards to the difficulty, I have died several times. The most frustrating was in a boss battle, but there was a control point nearby. It looks like there are random missions that can appear to kill Hiss in an area, and when I died on that the mission was aborted. Honestly that didn't bother me too much. You appear to keep everything when you die, so the only penalty is time. I did also have a mission to kill 50 enemies without dying, so I believe Remedy expects people to die often.

The Oldest House is just a cool place to explore, and the it has some of the best collectables I've found in games.

I think it was mentioned somewhere that the combat is meant to be played in your face, at close ranges.

jlaakso wrote:

I think it was mentioned somewhere that the combat is meant to be played in your face, at close ranges.

Always be moving, always be killing.

I'm really enjoying this one as well. Not very far into things but the plot is intriguing and it's gorgeous to look at. I'm happily just doing side missions right now and absorbing all of the details they put into this.

jlaakso wrote:

I think it was mentioned somewhere that the combat is meant to be played in your face, at close ranges.

Indeed. Upgraded melee is effective against armored foes and in general being closer means you will pick up the health regens. Far away means all the health regens are also far away

TheGameguru wrote:
jlaakso wrote:

I think it was mentioned somewhere that the combat is meant to be played in your face, at close ranges.

Indeed. Upgraded melee is effective against armored foes and in general being closer means you will pick up the health regens. Far away means all the health regens are also far away

Yeah I usually fight at a distance which means no health drops for me. Maybe I should try up close but I feel if I did i just did quicker. I do like how when you die you don't lose anything.

Just wish load times were better. I have it on my ssd but still seems really slow.

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