About a week ago I started playing Control and wrote my first impressions blog. Now that I have had over a dozen hours with the game, I have an even better understanding for how Control plays.
Let me just say that I have wanted to play this game for well over 6 months, back when I randomly found out that it existed. I held out on buying Control since I had so many other games in my library. Just last month I got Control for free with PlayStation Plus. Not only was it free, but it was the Ultimate Edition which came with the PS5 upgrade & DLC.
I was psyched to finally have the game, I had a feeling that it was right up my alley. Little did I know that Control would become one of my favorite all around single player experiences ever. I’m not saying it’s the best game of all time, but for me it is definitely one of my most memorable experiences when it comes to a video game.
I’m sure Control won’t be for everyone, but it just works so well for me. I’m someone who has had many psychedelic experiences with things such as psilocybin and DMT. This has led me to experience otherworldly things that I once never knew were possible. Control is a game that targets the supernatural world and asks questions that many fail to ever consider during their life on earth.
Let me explain a bit more why I like Control so much.
My dear lord is this game weird and beautiful. I have been so surprised by the creative ideas that the developers for this game have come up with. There are areas that morph, cascading hallways, and portals to different dimensions. There is a muted color palette for most of the game, but occasionally there will be splashes of color such as vivid red. I love the grayscale tone of the world and get excited during the rare moments where color bleeds into the world.
Each time a new ability is unlocked, you are teleported to the astral plane to undergo a tutorial. I thought this was especially clever because it made me know right away that I was about to learn something really cool, plus the astral plane was just a unique atmosphere.
Control is one one of those games that can put you into a trance, so don’t be surprised if you look at the clock and several hours have passed by while you’ve been playing.
I’m just obsessed with the look of this game, it really is a beauty to behold, especially if you have a nice tv/monitor. You can probably get a good idea from all of the photos that I took in photo mode, every image in this blog was captured by me during my gameplay. This world of Control has encouraged me to stop and enjoy the view quite often so far.
The aiming is quick and on point. I have been able to be extremely accurate with my shots and I can now take out a room full of Hiss with finesse.
You only have one gun in Control, it is called the Service Weapon. At first I thought all I was going to have throughout the game was a very fun to shoot revolver-style gun. I was enjoying it very much, so I wasn’t even upset about that.
Then I realized there were different forms that the Service weapon can take. Throughout the game you unlock the ability to morph on the fly. You can have two different versions of your gun equipped at a time and switch them out anywhere by pausing the game. All it takes is a button press and the gun transforms to the other option that you have currently selected.
There is a pistol, shotgun, smg, rocket, and pulse rifle that I’ve used so far. I believe there is at least one more gun too, but I’ve yet to discover it. Although all are the same service weapon, every version handles totally different. I love the variety and didn’t dislike any of the Service Weapon options.
I’ve got to hand it to the DualSense controller on my PS5, it has made this game even better than it would have been without the haptics and adaptive triggers. Feeling my footsteps rumble realistically in my controller as I walk/run is just so realistic. Then add in the fact that the triggers actually kick back and require some effort to pull when you are shooting the gun. I say without a doubt that this game is best played on PS5.
This is where the game really stands out, superpowers like you have always dreamed of. Control introduces these powered gradually instead of all at once. This not only keeps you from being overwhelmed by all of the buttons, but it also keeps the game feeling fresh non stop.
As soon as you get used to killing the Hiss one way, you are given another to wreak destruction with. There are so many different options between the Service Weapon and your unique abilities. You can even combine them together to create total chaos.
You can expect to be able to do things such as control objects and throw them at enemies. The stronger you get, the bigger and more things you can lift with your mind.
You also have a shield ability that lifts a cluster of cement from the ground to defend you. That same cluster can then be turned into a barrage that flies towards enemies for damage.
One of the lesser exciting, yet still cool abilities is the melee attack. It’s a powerful force smack that once upgraded can be pretty deadly.
The seize ability let’s you mind control your enemies to join your side of the battle. Once upgraded, you can seize the most powerful enemy types and have them do all of your dirty work for you.
Levitation is one of the coolest abilities you get. This enables you to raise high up off of the ground and hover. This allowed you to explore once inaccessible areas.
While above the action on the ground, you are able to use all of your other abilities and service weapon. It’s stupid fun raining down terror from an elevated position.
An added perk to the levitation ability is the ground slam. This lets you target an area on the ground and fly down with high force, damaging everyone in your way.
The headquarters for the HBC is located inside of the Old House. This giant building houses several different divisions of the HBC and is overtaken by the Hiss when you first arrive there searching for your long lost brother. This means most of the FBC employees are either turned into Hiss or hiding to remain safe.
The Old House is pretty quiet and empty thanks to the Hiss problem. When the Hiss do spawn, it is often out of nowhere and a horde of them surprise you with an attack. Occasionally you’ll be exploring and out of nowhere one lone Hiss is waiting around the corner to scare the life out of you. I have jumped out of my socks multiple times while playing Control. The sound effects are so damn good, especially with my new Pulse 3D Wireless Headset.
The environments are destructible to a certain degree. It doesn’t get much better than lifting an object to throw at an enemy, then while your pulling it from where it was originally all of the things it comes in contact with are torn apart. It’s easy to leave a room looking a mess and especially cool when you’re in the office with papers flying around everywhere.
There are a few parts of your exploration that leave you in a ever-changing labyrinth. This was so satisfying to go through. Although the Old House seems like a plain cement office building, it is chock-full of surprises.
I don’t want to give too much away here, the story is very well worth experiencing yourself. I’ll give you a few reasons to believe that statement though.
The Old House is a place where many hidden experiments where done to test the boundaries of our physical reality. The collectibles in this game do a great job of giving you extra information about the things mentioned in the story if you so desire. Luckily collectibles are not terribly hard to find. As long as you explore every room, you’ll find the majority of them.
Jesse Fayden and her spiritual friend Polaris are both very likeable. I’ll let you find out on your own about Dylan Fayden, Jesse’s brother who she is searching for throughout the Old House. There’s other characters that are worth interacting with as well. I didn’t meet anybody that felt like a waste of time, all had their own unique flavor.
The objects of power are some of the most unique story elements I’ve seen in a game. Be sure to pay close attention to them. Side missions are definitely worth your time in this game too.
In just under 15 hours of gameplay I have already completed the main story of Control. There is still more than half of the side missions left for me to do and all of the DLC content. I’m aiming for the platinum trophy on this one, I’ll have it very soon. I also plan to get all of the DLC trophies although they are technically not required for the platinum.
This is one of those games where I was wanting more after the main story, it’s just so fun. I am not even close to being tired of Control yet. I’m glad I have the Ultimate Edition so that I have more content to continue playing. It’s well worth the money if you aren’t able to get it for free like I did.
Control is highly recommended from me.
Look out for my platinum trophy video for Control which should be ready in the next week or two.
Hive Artwork by: 
@jesusmedit| Join my fanbase on hive.vote ✅☑️ | Message me on Discord 💬 | Follow me on Twitter 🗣🐦 | Create a free Hive account 🗽 |
|---|---|---|---|
| click here | daltono#5080 | click here | click here |
